For the past four years I have taught an English support class for students who need a little extra help being successful in school, and particularly in reading and writing. While I typically change up my lessons each year, hoping to grow off of successes and missed opportunities, one unit that has remained mostly intact […]
In 1982, I was seven years old, and I was typing away on a Commodore VIC-20 computer. In order to load programs onto its whopping 5 KB of onboard memory, I would press play on the attached cassette deck and wait. (Here’s an interesting YouTube video if you have an extra 15 minutes to spare and […]
Module 2 Exploration: How can I successfully build peer to peer learning experiences with faculty, including peer coaching opportunities, in a higher education setting? ISTE-C Standard 1: Visionary Leadership d. Implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and manage the change process in schools and classrooms ISTE-C Standard 2: Teaching, Learning, and Assessment f. Coach […]
In my last blog post I emphasized the need for a district vision for the work of the coach. This week, I’m going to examine another crucial piece that will lead to success, well-developed communication and collaboration skills. In Peer Coaching: Unlocking the Power of Collaboration, Les Foltos (2013) states, “I have asked asked hundreds […]
Successful coaching is achieved through three sets of skills: collaboration and communication, lesson design, and technology integration (Foltos 2013). Success with lesson design and technology integration depend on effective outcomes of collaboration and communication. Without a strong foundation of collaboration and communications skills, the peer coaching relationship will not facilitate quality lesson design and technologyRead More
One statement that often causes me to roll my eyes is when people say, “well, it’s easier in theory than in practice”. I find this insight to be negative, dismissive, a way to throw in the towel before even giving something a chance. This being so, I cannot help but keep having this thought over […]
Triggering Question: How can I make the peer coaching process a seamless one for my colleague, especially in regards to time and scheduling constraints? As a specialist with a fixed schedule, I find myself time and again returning the issue of time and its role in the peer coaching process. Time and time-related issues come […]
“Leap, and the net will appear.” (Zen saying) Overview This fall I began my fifth year of teaching, a milestone in many ways. While I am still at the beginning of my career, I am no longer a “new” teacher. I have greater confidence in my instructional strategies, classroom management skills, and collaborative relationships. I […]
One of my guilty pleasures is watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS. There’s something oddly satisfying about making completely uneducated guesses about an item’s monetary value only to find out moments later unsatisfyingly how uneducated you really are. The most disappointing for me has always been hearing just how out of my price range the artwork […]
Overview In my studies for my digital education leadership master’s program, I have frequently been reminded that effective teaching strategies are not dependent on the learners or the environment. Specifically, many great teaching ideas I come across for my ninth grade classroom are just as relevant to a group of teachers learning about technology. This […]
