Skip to main content

Shifting from Tool-Focused to District Goal-Focused PD




For the upcoming school year, I'm focusing on three areas where I want to improve when designing and leading PD sessions:
  • Shifting from tool-focused to district goal (or pedagogy) focused PD
  • Trying new strategies to differentiate and support individualized progression
  • Providing more time for meaningful collaboration to promote active learning
I was recently asked to lead an "Intro to Google" PD for a group of first-year teachers in a few weeks, so this is my first chance to try to work on these goals. This group is a cohort of teachers in our BRIDGE program, which is an alternative teacher preparation program.

To try to shift away from being tool-focused, I did the following:
  • Talked with my supervisor to get a better understanding of our district goals
  • Asked our Content Specialists what skills new teachers would need to get started using our district curriculum guides and resources
  • Asked the BRIDGE instructors what skills these teachers would need to be successful in the first few months of this program
  • Reflected on the challenges and areas of frustration that teachers shared over the last year as they were trying to navigate Google Workspace for Education
After taking all of those areas into consideration, I arrived at a framework for introducing this group to Google for Workspace skills. We will explore, discuss, and learn new skills through the lens of these three themes:

Access

One of the basic skills we need to make sure new teachers understand is how to access their Google Drive. However, this past year has also shown us that we need to regularly look for ways to ensure that all of our students have access to quality learning, whether that is in-person or remotely. We can do that by helping teachers learn how to utilize tools such as Google Classroom and Sites to house and organize learning materials.

Efficiency

If there is one thing that is a challenge for new teachers (and really ALL teachers), it is having enough time! Between planning, grading, answering emails from parents, and all of the other things on their plates, teachers never seem to have enough time to get everything done. If we can use technology to streamline some of those tasks, then they have more time to plan really engaging lessons for their students. 

Collaboration

One of the greatest benefits of using Google Workspace in the classroom is how easy it is to collaborate. Meaningful collaboration among students can increase engagement and lead to really powerful learning experiences. The ability to collaborate with colleagues can also really benefit new teachers as they develop their skills in planning and designing lessons. 


I'm hoping this will be a meaningful way to organize the skills and concepts during our PD sessions. 

What are your PD goals for next year?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Create an Instagram Story!

One day on Twitter, I came across a tweet from Ryan O'Donnell ( @creativeedtech ) in which he shared a Facebook template that could be used for students to demonstrate their learning. I clicked on the link to his website , and I was AMAZED at all the cool templates he had created for teachers to use for free!  I decided to try using an Instagram template during a unit on the planets in our solar system. I wanted students to demonstrate what they learned about the different planets, but I wanted them to do it in a creative way.  Here are the directions I gave to my students: Here are some student examples: Student Example #1 Student Example #2 Student Example #3 Student Example #4 I really enjoyed this activity, and I love how students familiar with hashtags were able to create and use them in clever ways! If I was to go back and do this again, I would spend some time working with students less familiar with social media and hashtags and give them some...
2 comments
Read more

First Week of School

We just wrapped up our first week of school! I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know our new 5th grade students! Here are some of the activities we did to start building our classroom culture and learn more about each other: "All About Me" Google Drawing Students learned how to use some of the basic features of Google Drawings by creating a Drawing about themselves. The basic requirements were that they include their name, a picture of themselves, and text/images that describe their personalities or interests. I created an example to give them an idea of what it could look like.  I used this activity last year, and I really enjoyed what my students created. However, I decided this year to give them more time to just play with and explore the tools in Google Drawing. I feel like this really paid off because students were able to discover how to use some of the tools and share with each other instead of just relying on me to show them how to use it.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Virtual EdTech Coaching Sessions

  I'm really enjoying these virtual tech coaching sessions with teachers across our district! Here are some takeaways about coaching virtually: 🤝 Building relationships is still key to effective coaching. I try to look for things a teacher has on their desk or wall that I can see in the camera. This helps start a conversation about something meaningful to the teacher and starts our session on a positive note. ❓ Ask lots of questions rather than jumping in with a solution. I like to ask, "Can you please share your screen and show me how you would typically do/get to ____?" rather than telling them where to click right away. It helps me learn about how they navigate digital tools. 📧 Follow up the conversation with an email. I like to include a short video with a quick tutorial about something specific they talked about during the session. It helps demonstrate that I was actively listening and that I'd love to keep the conversation going and keep working together. What...
Post a Comment
Read more