Check out the MRVED website
Click here for an article on the MELT along with a slideshow set to music. After tallying the evaluations, overall the MELT received very positive reviews. Thank you for your feedback.
Upcoming Meetings
March 4 Agriculture
March 6 Industrial Technology
March 11 FACS
March 14 Title III Paraprofessionals
March 18 Guidance Counselors
March 20 Social Workers
March 21 Business (rescheduled from March 10)
March 26 Superintendents' Council
Friday, February 28, 2014
Brandon's Brainwork - Instructional Coaching
Instructional Coaching
Instructional coaching has been a hot topic lately in Minnesota, due in part to the legislation on teacher evaluation. If we are to truly make our peer review or instructional coaching models effective, we need to think deeply about the process we have in place. Here are a couple questions to help guide the discussion in your district.
Instructional coaching has been a hot topic lately in Minnesota, due in part to the legislation on teacher evaluation. If we are to truly make our peer review or instructional coaching models effective, we need to think deeply about the process we have in place. Here are a couple questions to help guide the discussion in your district.
- Who should the instructional coaches or peer reviewers be?
- Should there be more than one coach? Should everyone have to observe and provide feedback?
- Who will see the observation notes and feedback?
- Is everyone getting constructive criticism, or is it merely "pats on the back"?
- Do all the teachers have a clear understanding of the framework being used?
- Do all instructional coaches and peer reviewers have a clear understanding of the framework?
- Is there ample time given for reflection and feedback?
As your district embarks on looking at peer review as part of the evaluation process, take a moment and reflect on the process you have put in place. Will it really make a difference in the classroom?
A good activity to do as a whole staff, grade level or content team is to find a video of a teacher teaching a lesson. It can be a video of someone you know or a complete stranger. Watch the video together and take observation notes. See where you have agreement and/or disagreement. This activity really gives a good test to your rubrics and/or model. It also gives you a great opportunity to talk about what good teaching looks like.
The Kansas Coaching Project with Jim Knight is an excellent spot to go when looking for instructional coaching resources. He has also authored a number of books on instructional coaching that I highly recommend.
Reflection Questions
1. Am I capable of providing constructive criticism to my peers?
2. Do I know what good teaching looks like?
3. Do I have a "toolbox" full of ideas to help a colleague?
4. Am I in the right mindset to be able to accept constructive criticism and then make a change based upon that feedback?
Looking For Ways to Raise Money
If you are looking for different ways to raise money for classroom technology or supplies, here is a great article from t h e Journal that provides examples as well as resources to go to for fundraising. The scavenger hunt example is a fun and amazing way to raise funds for anything as well as include community and businesses in your venture.
Tech Tip
Screencast from Chromebook
One downfall to using a Chromebook was that you could not do any screencasting on them. Websites like screencast-o-matic and screenr did not work on the Chromebooks. Then I came across a post on FreeTech4Teachers and Richard Byrne introduced me to Screencastify. Being able to screencast on the Chromebook now opens up a variety of activities you can do in your classroom.
You can now screen record straight from your Chromebook, allowing you to record directions or lessons. Students can record projects, processes, and if they are having issues with their device, they can record their screens to demonstrate their issue.
One downfall to using a Chromebook was that you could not do any screencasting on them. Websites like screencast-o-matic and screenr did not work on the Chromebooks. Then I came across a post on FreeTech4Teachers and Richard Byrne introduced me to Screencastify. Being able to screencast on the Chromebook now opens up a variety of activities you can do in your classroom.
You can now screen record straight from your Chromebook, allowing you to record directions or lessons. Students can record projects, processes, and if they are having issues with their device, they can record their screens to demonstrate their issue.
Friday, February 21, 2014
MRVED Business
TAC Meeting Update
The Teacher Advisory Council met at the MRVED on Thursday of this week. The day consisted of multiple opportunities to network as well as a great activity on peer review and teacher evaluation. The group enjoyed lunch at Pizza Ranch and more networking over the lunch hour. The afternoon was spent looking at MELT evaluations and providing feedback on future professional development opportunities through the MRVED. Lots of great ideas were generated in the afternoon. The TAC does an excellent job of providing direction for the MRVED. Thanks for a great day!
Upcoming Meetings
February 26, 2014 Superintendents' Council
March 4, 2014 Agriculture
March 6, 2014 Industrial Technology
March 11, 2014 FACS
March 14, 2014 Title III Paraprofessionals
March 18, 2014 Guidance Counselors
March 20, 2014 Social Workers
March 21, 2014 Business (NEW DATE)
The Teacher Advisory Council met at the MRVED on Thursday of this week. The day consisted of multiple opportunities to network as well as a great activity on peer review and teacher evaluation. The group enjoyed lunch at Pizza Ranch and more networking over the lunch hour. The afternoon was spent looking at MELT evaluations and providing feedback on future professional development opportunities through the MRVED. Lots of great ideas were generated in the afternoon. The TAC does an excellent job of providing direction for the MRVED. Thanks for a great day!
Upcoming Meetings
February 26, 2014 Superintendents' Council
March 4, 2014 Agriculture
March 6, 2014 Industrial Technology
March 11, 2014 FACS
March 14, 2014 Title III Paraprofessionals
March 18, 2014 Guidance Counselors
March 20, 2014 Social Workers
March 21, 2014 Business (NEW DATE)
Brandon's Brainwork- Lifelong Learning
Lifelong Learning
I heard this quote recently, "Human beings are not static people, we are constantly moving. Either you are moving forward or you are moving backward". I'm not sure where this quote came from, but it really made me think and eventually put something into writing! Teaching is a craft. Like any craft, there is always something more to be learned. Even the best teacher can learn something new and/or get better at their job.
Sometimes this learning is self-directed, driven by choice. Whereas, other times learning is forced upon us, either by state mandates, school administration, or a number of outside forces. Either way, with the right mindset (see Brandon's Brainwork - Mindset) something new will be learned. Even going into a training on something you already know, with the right mindset, will lead to learning something new, even one thing.
We want our students to become life-long learners, and we should do our best to model what it is we expect of our students. Continue to get better. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are a part of the learning process. You don't expect your students to be perfect 100% of the time when learning new things, why should you expect any more/less from yourself.
A quick search on Google for "Becoming a lifelong learner" yields 217,000 results. I know it's not fully researched based, but WikiHow has a great quick read on becoming a lifelong learner and offers some very good advice. Becoming a Lifelong Learner from WikiHow.
You can always start your new lifelong learning journey by attending one of your teachers associations conferences. A list can be found in the update this week.
Questions to Consider1. Have you embraced the role of lifelong learner in your craft?
2. Do you reinforce lifelong learning in your classroom?
3. Do you go into all new learning experiences with the right mindset?
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