This past quarter of the DEL program has been both challenging and eye-opening. A lot of my former ideas about working in a coaching role have been challenged and some have been validated. Most formal, professional coaching is carried out by qualified people who work with clients to improve their effectiveness and performance, and help them […]
The Little Red Hen’s “Who will help me make this bread?” familiar refrain can teach us a lot about collaboration with our peers. Let me set the stage… The dreaded moment has arrived. You’re in a staff meeting. You’re sitting with a few colleagues at Table 2. You’ve been assigned to read and report on […]
ISTE Coaching Standard 2 provides eight benchmarks for technology coaches to assist teachers in using technology effectively for assessing student learning, differentiating instruction, and providing rigorous, relevant and engaging learning experiences for all students. My focus is on benchmark f: Coach teachers in and model incorporation of research-based best practices in instructional
Peer Coaching Project: My Reflection During the quarter I have been meeting and working with a peer at my building to help improve a learning activity that is in line with the larger goals of the school. I had the option to work with my coworker that I co-teach physical education classes with on …
Overview At the start of the quarter, Triggering Question: How can a peer coach effectively self-assess and gather feedback from others in order to grow as a coach and ensure that the feedback is accurate? For my final blog post of the quarter, I chose to combine my exploration of how to best gather and share […]
Lessons From Business Leaders: What can educators learn from the private sector about a sustainable peer coaching model? Throughout these past three months I’ve been exploring and practicing the peer coaching model. My professor, Les Foltos, literally wrote the book on the topic. His book, Peer Coaching: Unlocking the Power of Collaboration (http://amzn.to/2g7WiW7) is a […]
When I first started to research different resources to help co-plan with my learning partner, I kept thinking about my problem very narrowly. My triggering question is below. Triggering Question: What are some good resources/processes I can use to determine how to best co-plan with my learning partner with 3rd grade math? I kept …
We often hear instructional technology leaders and educators say that it’s not about the technology, it’s about the learning. So should be said for the curriculum. Les Foltos said that technology integration is not something separate from content and pedagogy and is only effective when it supports and enhances 21st-century pedagogy and content. This week’s […]
One major “ah ha” moment I have had during my master’s program research in digital education leadership is that good teaching is good teaching. By this I mean that many of the best practices we use in our K-12 classrooms are equally effective when creating professional development for teachers. This quarter, my cohort has had […]
Addressing 21st Century Skills and promoting critical thinking in a fifth grade classroom can be a tall order when faced with a deeply scripted curriculum. While project-based learning (PBL) is often seen as a catch-all approach to develop the 4-Cs (Collaboration, Communication, Critical thinking, and Creativity), the harsh reality is that fully implementing PBL is […]
