Roxi Thompson

I can't believe it's the last day of ISTELive! My favorite session today was "It’s About How to Pivot: Teacher Educators, Teacher Candidates and Twitter" with  Dr. Sam Fecich ,  Dr. Susan Poyo , and  Dr. Sumreen Asim . I love how they designed their Twitter challenge to support teacher candidates as they learned how to effectively use Twitter to develop their PLN.  My district has a new "alternative" teacher prep program that allows participants with a bachelor's degree other than education to earn their certification while being full-time teachers. I'm curious if we could try something similar with this group to help them connect with practicing educators, find resources, and engage in authentic, self-directed learning opportunities. I'd love to try! Well, that's a wrap on ISTELive this year! I'm looking forward to watching the recordings of the sessions I missed. And I might even try to be brave and submit a proposal to present next yea...

It's Day 4 - we're getting close to the end of ISTELive!  I loved the talk from  Richard Culatta  about our relationship with technology. I spent the morning reflecting on how I can help shift our conversations away from being narrowly focused on what NOT to do and instead model how we can use tech for good. I learned so much in "Beyond COVID: Preparing Preservice Teachers to Integrate Technology Now and Post-Pandemic" with  Jessica Herring Watson  and  Michael S. Mills . I have been t hinking about how these strategies can be applied to shorter PDs and coaching cycles with teachers. My last session "Intentional Coaching Through Purpose and Understanding" with  Nancy Garvey and  Brian Timm  was fantastic! They shared some really awesome resources they created with their teams called "The Coaching Interactions Matrix" and the "Educator Continuum." A few things I really liked about these documents: They articulate interactions beyond...

Day 3 of ISTELive! I started my morning by listening to Leslie Odom, Jr. on the Mainstage. He encouraged leaders to give people permission to fail, described the positive impact of his 5th-grade teacher, and then he sang "Room Where It Happens"! It was an amazing Monday morning! 🤩 Later that morning I had a great time attending "Connect, Create and Collaborate: Edtech Coaches PLN Best Practices and Favorite Tools." I was super excited to  connect with other coaches, learn some new strategies, and hear about some helpful tools! One of the awesome things about ISTELive being virtual is that ALL of the sessions are being recorded. So, I was able to catch up on a session from the weekend called, "A Pandemic's Impact on Online Learning: A Panel." The panel members were  Michele Eaton ,  Diana Gill ,  Dr. Marcus Vu , John Watson, and  Claudio Zavala . They made some great points about choice, student self-efficacy, and the importance of collaboration when s...

  That's a wrap on Day 2 of ISTELive! It was another day of great sessions, and there was definitely a central message running through all of them - the importance of collaboration. The day started with a message from Noelle Silver  on the Mainstage. I love her passion for the power of AI as an inclusive tool to help students thrive. She had so many great messages, including the need for diversity of thought in the AI industry. Next was "Collaboration to Transformation: Tech Coaches in Schools" with  Bonnie Chelette ,  Georgina Dean ,  Jared Johnson ,  Becky Lim , and  Shannon Moore . This group always leads such fun and engaging sessions! I loved learning not just from these awesome coaches, but also the participants who shared tips and ideas on the Jamboard and chat. In the afternoon, I attended a poster session called "The Hybrid Coach — Coaching Teachers in a Digital Space" with  Molly Lutt s and  Tracee Keough . They shared som...

  Day 1 of ISTELive was fantastic! My brain is on overload, and I'm still trying to process all the learning today.  The morning started with an amazing talk from Cornelius Minor on the Mainstage. He shared a powerful message about making school and education accessible to ALL students. Here is one of my favorite quotes from his talk: "Innovating is about more than changing technology. It is about changing systems and ways of doing things." This was followed by a great talk from Deborah Olatunji  in which she advocated for student voice and agency in schools. Her passion is so inspiring! Favorite quote: "Students have stories to tell. We just need these platforms to help them tell their stories." Next, I attended a session with Michele Eaton  titled "15 Strategies to Engage and Motivate Online Learners." I will pretty much attend ANY session from Michele Eaton. 😁 I loved the idea she shared about having students set goals for themselves as online lea...

Mr. Jared Bowyer Mr. Jared Bowyer is a general/instrumental teacher at Manzanita Elementary. She shared the following quote: “I have been amazed this year to see how all of our teachers and students have adapted to EVERYTHING that has happened this year!" Thank you, Mr. Bowyer!

  In Google's  5-Step Coaching Model , the majority of coaching time is typically spent in Step 4: Implement. This is when teachers are implementing the chosen strategy in their classroom. During coaches camp last week, we talked a lot about the " meet-visit-meet cadence " that should happen during this stage. This includes three types of interactions: Goal Setting Meetings - Meet to discuss strategy, and plan ways to put it into practice. Classroom Visits - Visit the classroom to co-teach, model, or observe instructional practices. Follow-Up Meetings - Meet to debrief strategy implementation, and identify ways to improve. The idea is to go through this "cadence" several times throughout the coaching cycle.  We broke up into small groups and talked about the reasons these interactions are so important. A few things mentioned by the group were: Frequent, informal classroom visits are essential in order for coaches to fully understand the teacher's realiti...

  "To find bright spots, we need to ask ourselves: "What's working, and how can we do more of it?"" (p. 45) Chapter 2 of the book "Switch" has me thinking about how my team can do more to seek out bright spots and use those to spark change throughout the district.  Here are some ideas for next school year: Celebrate examples of teachers using technology in impactful ways When we ask our teachers to try something new and innovative in their classrooms, that can make many of them feel vulnerable. We need to make sure we encourage our teachers to take those risks and try new things by celebrating their successes as much as possible. I have tried to do that by sharing their stories on social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram. However, I could definitely do a better job of sharing these stories on more in-district communication platforms, such as our district websites or school newsletters.  Bring in other teachers to observe impactful techno...

   Ms. Anna Lanuza Ms. Anna Lanuza is a 6th-grade writing and social studies teacher at Moon Mountain Elementary. She shared the following quote: “Integrating technology into the classroom sets a foundation of real-world expectations for our students’ futures while supporting the needs of diverse learners." Thank you, Ms. Lanuza!

The first step of the challenge-based coaching model is to identify and understand the teacher's challenge. The Google coaching curriculum provides some questions coaches can ask during the initial meeting. I really like the following question: ⭐ What strategies have worked and what have not? Why?    A few reasons I find this question really helpful: It provides teachers the time and space to think about WHY a particular strategy didn't work. They often gain new insights just by talking it through out loud. It helps me understand how they are defining "success" when trying new strategies. That will be super important when we select a strategy and plan implementation. It opens the door for a conversation about moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach. This is especially true if they mention that some strategies have worked for some of their students, but not for all of them. What questions do you find effective when trying to better understand a teacher's cha...

  "It is tempting to ask coaches to work only with teachers who seem to be having difficulties with instruction or classroom management. We discourage this "fixer" approach to coaching for several reasons. First, if coaches are perceived as working only with those who struggle, other teachers may not reach out to coaches for support. Second, the coaching relationship becomes less about providing support for all teachers and more about remediation, in which only "struggling" teachers are assigned to the coach." - Jacy Ippolito and Rita M. Bean Based on the conversations I've had with coaches, this seems to be a common challenge. Coaches often struggle to get teachers to volunteer for coaching cycles because teachers don't want to be viewed as someone who needs coaching - like it's a negative thing. However, the truth is that ALL educators can benefit from good coaching. I think this is why it is important to try to c reate a diverse coaching ros...

   Ms. Sonia Hornbaker Ms. Sonia Hornbaker is a 4th-grade teacher at Ironwood Elementary. She shared the following quote: “Technology will not replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational.” - George Couros Thank you, Ms. Hornbaker!