ISTE Standard 4.4.d states: “Model the use of instructional design principles with educators to create effective digital learning environments.” ISTE standard 4.4.d is not the only one that addresses the importance of instructional modeling. The article ISTE Standards for Coaches 2: Model effective tech integration (2014) explains that modeling effective strategies allows teachers to see […]
When considering the role of an instructional coach or any kind of professional learning facilitator, it’s important to note how their roles are both similar and dissimilar to that of a typical classroom teacher. Both are educators hoping to assist students in reaching learning goals. A notable difference, however, is the fact that instructional designers/coaches work almost exclusively with experienced adult learners who are already professionals in their fields. In what ways, then, …
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The term “21st Century Skills” has been referenced frequently in education circles for over a decade. Though the educational philosophies and political/economic motivations undergirding these skills originated well before the dawn of the 21st century, the list that coalesced into the 21st Century Skills we recognize in American education today gained prominence with educational initiatives like the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) Framework for education (2002) and the Common Core State Standards (2010). 21st Century Skills have been discussed ubiquitously over the …
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Like so many other countries across the globe, higher education institutions in South Africa were forced to reckon with a rapid pivot to online teaching/learning in order to maintain operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 public universities in South Africa, 25 are residential institutions that did not allow distance education prior to 2014 (Czerniewicz et al., 2020). This scramble to change modalities in 2020 came …
For this quarter’s Community Engagement Project I have been tasked with creating a professional learning presentation or workshop on a topic of my choice which would be used to engage and provide professional growth for a selected audience. This project is meant to demonstrate my understanding of the performance indicators for ISTE Coaching Standard 3. …
In 2020, Apple TV’s comedy series Ted Lasso starring Jason Sudeikis became an unlikely hit after its debut season, earning rave reviews, excellent ratings, and a platform as a quirky source of inspiration for coaches–and really just ordinary people–everywhere. The premise of the show has fictional American football coach, the mustachioed Ted Lasso, recruited to …
In 1994, author and educator Gloria Ladson-Billings introduced the term “culturally relevant pedagogy” into the vernacular of the education world. This term was used to describe an approach to teaching that engages learners whose experiences and cultures have traditionally been excluded from mainstream settings. Building on the work of Ladson-Billings, in 2010, Geneva Gay sought …
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As a former classroom teacher, I am deeply aware of the potential professional development (PD) activities have to positively improve teaching practice; it’s the same potential that PD has to overwhelm instructors and use up valuable time, energy, and resources that might have been used elsewhere in jam-packed school schedules. When it comes to effective …
Continue reading “Professional Development & Technology in Higher Education: What’s Working?”
As I wrap up my time in the Digital Education Leadership (DEL) Master’s program at Seattle Pacific University, I decided to focus my culminating project on the Tier II math intervention courses in my district. As a former math teacher this is an area that has a special place in my heart and a subject […]
As has been noted by many educators at this point in the pandemic, it seems likely that the massive shifts to online teaching/learning that have taken place in the last year have permanently altered attitudes towards, and usage of, educational technology. Though most teachers, students, and families will be eager to return to the physical …
