Written by There are good ways, bad ways, right ways and wrong ways to do just about anything. But what about the ‘best’ way?
I’m an ideas person, so I knew that coming up with ideas for my action research project wouldn’t be a problem. What I didn’t anticipate, however, was the challenge in selecting and narrowing it down to one specific thing. Something small enough to be realistic and achievable, yet big enough to be a challenge and impact the teaching and learning at RLC in a positive way.
I’ve been thinking about little ol’ me in a big sea of educators. I’m a lucky fish; I’m so fortunate to be able to participate in the amazing opportunity that Cohort21 is. So how can I share this fantastic experience with the other faculty at RLC? And how can I do it best?
With limited time, faculty with a broad range of interests and skills, where do you start?
This year, I hosted my first Lunch and Learn, focusing on critical thinking, based on Garfield Gini-Newmans’ Q chart. 
The session was optional, and yet over 50% of our faculty showed up. They were asked to come with some questions they’d recently asked students. During the session they had the opportunity to revamp them to force students to judge the merits of something, or have them make a decision and rationalize it using the words could, should, would, will and might. It equaled small changes leading to big impact in critical thinking and learning.
With the help of some fellow colleagues, we recently hosted sessions which introduced teachers to Kahoot! Google Add-ons, Diigo and Socrative. Teachers signed up for the sessions of their choice, and shared ideas on how these technologies can best enhance student learning.
It’s a start in the right direction. But there’s so much more that could be done. How do you do a lot with a little? These thoughts took me down memory lane to Sunday school and the story of Jesus feeding thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish. He took something so small,
yet grew it into something to feed thousands. I’ll call it the multiplier effect. Using this biblical story as an analogy led me towards my proposed action plan. How can I take my experience from Cohort21, my metaphorical basket of bread and fish, and multiply it so more faculty can benefit and together we can improve the learning here at RLC?
Or, in action plan speak,“How can I best facilitate a rich, professional learning culture for faculty, to improve student learning at RLC?”
Right now, that feels like an insurmountable task. But I like the idea of planting seeds, sharing ideas and growing together, so I’m ready to go for it!
Hi Meg,
I am so interested in watching your progress with this goal this year. I have not yet committed, but this was high on my list of potential projects. Congratulations on the amazing turnout for your LNL! I struggle with that here. I am wondering what kind of time you are given for the planning and implementation of your integration work. Do you have dedicated time? Or do you have to carve it out of your timetable? Best of luck with your action plan and I look forward to seeing you at MARS.
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
Thanks so much for your message. At RLC, a full teaching course load is 3 out of 4. I have two roles. I teach 2 courses (7 and 8 Language Arts), and my other role is as Academic Coordinator. With my role as AC, I do have designated time set aside for admin ‘stuff.’ Last academic year (2013-14), we created a Teacher Development Program which was rolled out this year. It’s been a great start, but it’s just one level of a much greater picture. We need to add a lot more 🙂 One of our biggest challenges is carving out time when all faculty are free. The short Lunch ‘n Learn approach is one aspect. We’ve also implemented 4, 1-hour PD mornings. The students love it b/c they get a 1 hr sleep in, and the teachers appreciate the time to get together, learn together and share ideas. Like so many PD experiences, they’ve been what you might call one-offs. They’ve been valuable to an extent, but I think the outcomes could be much more impactful. I think developing a more systematic approach with a clear vision will be critical to my action plan.
Hey Meg,
What’s the point in learning if you aren’t sharing! Great post. Ask Garth, Justin, Derek, or Brent about the Ninja Warrior program that they have started at their schools. It’s Garth’s brainchild but a great way to share the wealth!
Tim
There’s not much point in keeping it to yourself! Thanks for some more tips on who to connect with!
Meg
Awesome initiative Meg and thanks for letting us into your world. From the teachers perspective… make the time together count! (and I’m sure you do). I’ve begun to feel that if the meeting is framed by a question then meaningful learning will occur (true pd). If it’s not, then I likely could have received the info in an email (that’s probably not quite true, but you get my point). Also, why can’t you simply replicate Cohort21 in your school? You know, teachers making action plans, blogging about it, etc… If the teachers are experimenting and innovating then suddenly THEY’RE running dynamic pd sessions during LnL’s or your morning sessions.
Hi Graham,
Thanks for your ideas. Replicating Cohort21 is an option for sure. I like your point about framing sessions with questions. It’s a great way to start dialogue and brainstorming. Having the teachers running sessions, and not just me, was great! Definitely room for more of that!
Amazing!! I was wondering about the same sort of action plan and was telling @brenthurley that I wanted to know if I could collaborate with someone from C21. So happy that you’re jumping on this adventure and I want to join you!
It’ll be neat to research and design a program that could help people with a combination of Self-Directed PD & in house, carrousel style PD that would get all learners.
It’s so funny that we are all in the same boat. We’re all learners and what’s good for students is good for staff, and it’s important to get at the growth mindset for both groups. Feedback and reflection are powerful tools so we’ll be able to tap into others’ action plans such as @bnichols, @timrollwagen @jenbibby with her genius hour idea – the possibilities are endless!
Plus, we can plug Justin and Garth since they’ve created what is arguably the best PD going. I am looking forward to exploring!
Thanks, Derek!
Looking forward to connecting with you and some others about all the great ideas and opportunities.
See you Friday!
Really great to read some of these ideas about your action plan, Meg!
At our next Face to Face at MaRS, you should try and connect with @jmott, as you two are asking very similar questions for your action plan and how to best support teacher PD at your school.
I’m excited to see where you go with this!