This week we learned how you can package up PD to go, why some coaches coach and how they explain their role, all the benefits that arise when teachers and students work together over time, and more. Enjoy! 😀

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PD Boxes: Personalized Learning To-Go

Angela Mckee shares how to use PD boxes to provide personalized professional learning alongside coaching cycle support, and the steps for getting started with your own. 📦

" When my school allowed teachers to choose which PD sessions to attend, we saw greater engagement than when the sessions were mandatory. . . . A teacher begins the professional development process by choosing a topic that's of interest to them. Alternatively, a member of our administration might have recommended a topic for them. I send them a physical PD box to get started, and in our initial coaching session, the teacher develops a goal for the learning cycle."

Professional Growth Plans

Steve Barkley provides a five-step "backwards plan" to try this year when creating teacher growth plans.

"The learning that emerges from a professional growth plan should be shared in the school community: A professional learning exhibition. When one uncovers that a hypothesis was inaccurate or modifications are needed, we have LEARNING, which is the desired outcome of the plan. . . . Educators as continuous learners should be the system's plan."

Routines and Relationships for Managing Uncertainty

Paige Bergin is embracing uncertainty for the 2020-21 school year by challenging others (and herself!) to read and reflect this summer.

"During such unprecedented times, our minds are likely racing about what procedures will look like when school resumes this fall. We begin to wonder what entering the classroom will look like, or what eating lunch will encompass and more. . . . The idea of a soft start, community meetings, transitions, thinking together around texts, and shopping for books are reminiscent of what laying out the structure and procedures looks like in the first days of a school year."

What Does Instructional Coaching Mean to You?

Kathy Perret reached out to ICs on Twitter to share why they coach and how they explain their role to others.

"As I analyzed the replies and thought of the upcoming school year I could see that no matter the circumstance, instructional coaches have two main focus areas – STUDENTS and TEACHERS. They are there to support, empower, and navigate the terrain as equal partners. The skills of LISTENING and REFLECTING top the list in order to inspire teachers and students to find the strength from within to do their best."

Teacher Looping

Kara Newhouse explores the benefits created when teachers and students work together for multiple years, and how they create opportunities for deeper levels of social-emotional learning.

"Research has shown the importance of relationships to learning in a variety of ways, including student-teacher familiarity. . . . The benefits of looping may derive in part from increased familiarity with peers, as well as with teachers."

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