Comments on: Time to network – forget about the social http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/2007/12/18/time-to-network-forget-about-the-social/ Discussions on education and learning Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:15:24 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: Sheryl A. McCoy http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/2007/12/18/time-to-network-forget-about-the-social/comment-page-1/#comment-2679 Sheryl A. McCoy Mon, 24 Dec 2007 06:06:15 +0000 http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/2007/12/18/time-to-network-forget-about-the-social/#comment-2679 Like Dean Shareski, I agree that most Professional Learning Communities do not resemble the DuFour model or other similar collaborative models. As for the time away from students that is involved when teachers meet to collaborate, I would suggest that you don't have to shoulder the entire burden. The practice of using your entire learning community in your professional development process can be enhanced. This will take planning, but most schools have site councils who could take on this task of guided planning for activities, lessons and projects that can be engaging for students while they are also learning. Besides the site council, you may have an official parent volunteer leader, use them to guide the site council through your direction. Encourage the site council to get others in your community to participate. If you don't have a site council, or if they are busy...develop a council of Volunteers (or whatever you want to call it). What about the very smart parents that want to help in the school, but everyone is overwhelmed by them? In similar circumstances, I know that, as a teacher, my attitude towards the "smart kid" really changed after I went to math professional development seminars run by Kim Sutton, http://www.creativemathematics.com/seminars.htm She always called these children, "Teachers-In-Training", and she encouraged us to put them to work in the service of THEIR education. That was a real epiphany for me because I remembered how happy I was when my teachers accepted my help. It came to mind, that I had a resource that I was not using effectively, but if I planned effectively then we both won. The smart kid is more relaxed and much more accepting of the role as student. As an teacher/parent, it seems to me that there are many adults in the community who fall in that "smart kid" category, and the community needs to put them to work. This cadre of potential volunteers is where you get your troops to help you "create more time", so teachers can meet in collaborative groups. This is a process, and it is a process that you must guide. Books are great, but ultimately, if it doesn't feel right to you, it isn't. There is much more to this plan of community involvement, but most of it hinges on the administrator's ability to accept, enlarge, guide and control the learning process and community. Start with one community project, like Journey North, that someone else can organize and report progress to you which you can guide through approval and suggestions for edits to the plan. BTW, years ago, educators were taught how to have a 10 minute meeting, and I bet you can find the literature on that concept. It is a way to compress actual meeting time through preplanning and techniques for staying on schedule that are not rude, but are effective. That can help all meetings of students, teachers, parents, staff and community. Not all meetings will be 10 minute meetings, but some can. That will "make" more time. You have a grand opportunity, and you are very lucky to be in charge;) Like Dean Shareski, I agree that most Professional Learning Communities do not resemble the DuFour model or other similar collaborative models.

As for the time away from students that is involved when teachers meet to collaborate, I would suggest that you don’t have to shoulder the entire burden. The practice of using your entire learning community in your professional development process can be enhanced. This will take planning, but most schools have site councils who could take on this task of guided planning for activities, lessons and projects that can be engaging for students while they are also learning. Besides the site council, you may have an official parent volunteer leader, use them to guide the site council through your direction.

Encourage the site council to get others in your community to participate. If you don’t have a site council, or if they are busy…develop a council of Volunteers (or whatever you want to call it).

What about the very smart parents that want to help in the school, but everyone is overwhelmed by them?

In similar circumstances, I know that, as a teacher, my attitude towards the “smart kid” really changed after I went to math professional development seminars run by Kim Sutton, http://www.creativemathematics.com/seminars.htm She always called these children, “Teachers-In-Training”, and she encouraged us to put them to work in the service of THEIR education. That was a real epiphany for me because I remembered how happy I was when my teachers accepted my help.

It came to mind, that I had a resource that I was not using effectively, but if I planned effectively then we both won. The smart kid is more relaxed and much more accepting of the role as student.

As an teacher/parent, it seems to me that there are many adults in the community who fall in that “smart kid” category, and the community needs to put them to work. This cadre of potential volunteers is where you get your troops to help you “create more time”, so teachers can meet in collaborative groups.

This is a process, and it is a process that you must guide. Books are great, but ultimately, if it doesn’t feel right to you, it isn’t. There is much more to this plan of community involvement, but most of it hinges on the administrator’s ability to accept, enlarge, guide and control the learning process and community.

Start with one community project, like Journey North, that someone else can organize and report progress to you which you can guide through approval and suggestions for edits to the plan.

BTW, years ago, educators were taught how to have a 10 minute meeting, and I bet you can find the literature on that concept. It is a way to compress actual meeting time through preplanning and techniques for staying on schedule that are not rude, but are effective. That can help all meetings of students, teachers, parents, staff and community. Not all meetings will be 10 minute meetings, but some can. That will “make” more time.

You have a grand opportunity, and you are very lucky to be in charge;)

]]> By: kwhobbes http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/2007/12/18/time-to-network-forget-about-the-social/comment-page-1/#comment-2676 kwhobbes Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:31:13 +0000 http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/2007/12/18/time-to-network-forget-about-the-social/#comment-2676 Dean, Where do we draw the line? I'm having to find time to watch classes so our PLT's can work. I'd like to work with each teacher to use technology more effectively and within the division to get admin working together through the use of technology. We also need to reach out to our community using a network, allowing them to communicate with us in another way. So, without a person like you to work with teachers, we are left to do what we can at the school level. With so much available, it becomes overwhelming trying to make sure all the other boxes are checked before we even begin to consider technology. Yes we have teachers doing things on their own but that isn't the best way to do things. As for leadership advocating for time, with the number of students needing more assistance, the focus is on students and it become pretty difficult to advocate when staff cuts are an issue. It's not that I've given up but that is the reality in which we work in many districts and divisions. Dean,
Where do we draw the line? I’m having to find time to watch classes so our PLT’s can work. I’d like to work with each teacher to use technology more effectively and within the division to get admin working together through the use of technology. We also need to reach out to our community using a network, allowing them to communicate with us in another way. So, without a person like you to work with teachers, we are left to do what we can at the school level. With so much available, it becomes overwhelming trying to make sure all the other boxes are checked before we even begin to consider technology. Yes we have teachers doing things on their own but that isn’t the best way to do things. As for leadership advocating for time, with the number of students needing more assistance, the focus is on students and it become pretty difficult to advocate when staff cuts are an issue. It’s not that I’ve given up but that is the reality in which we work in many districts and divisions.

]]> By: Dean Shareski http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/2007/12/18/time-to-network-forget-about-the-social/comment-page-1/#comment-2675 Dean Shareski Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:00:55 +0000 http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/2007/12/18/time-to-network-forget-about-the-social/#comment-2675 Time will always be an issue and is something leadership has to advocate for. I choose to devote the majority of my time focusing on change within the current constraints and at the same time take advantage of every opportunity to seek change in structure and time to support teachers. One thing I'll say re: PLC's, the model that most SK schools are trying to replicate is quite different than the DuFour models because they assign weekly time for teachers. At least in our division, 4 full days a year, doesn't cut it. They can't accomplish much without regular, sustained time. Time will always be an issue and is something leadership has to advocate for. I choose to devote the majority of my time focusing on change within the current constraints and at the same time take advantage of every opportunity to seek change in structure and time to support teachers.

One thing I’ll say re: PLC’s, the model that most SK schools are trying to replicate is quite different than the DuFour models because they assign weekly time for teachers. At least in our division, 4 full days a year, doesn’t cut it. They can’t accomplish much without regular, sustained time.

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