Cohort 21 is gaining momentum and interest as the word spreads during the new school year. It is important, as I wrote in my last post, to think of professional development on an on-going basis, so that your experiences can be understood and integrated from the classroom into your framework or paradigm of teaching. With this new approach to professional development that Cohort 21 is designed around, your professional needs and support are not only incorporated into the ‘curriculum’ of the Cohort, but you are using the network of the Cohort to better understand your experiences.
As you grow throughout the year, and publish your findings, thoughts and actions, you’ll want to share these with beyond the Cohort. You are actively encouraged to share these with your colleagues to help build capacity around 21st century learning in your own learning community. Thus, the Cohort is exposing you to 21st Century ideas, discussions and learning to build capacity within CIS Ontario, and you are taking these and building capacity around 21st century learning in your own school. You will become an informal hub of leadership. This in and of itself is a 21st century model of leadership (read more on informal hubs HERE).
As a member of Cohort 21, you will be a part of rigorous professional development program, who will help develop and grow CIS Ontario schools understanding and practice of 21st century learning.