Roxi Thompson

  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...

  This is the first year that our district is running an official K-8 Distance Learning Program (DLP). We currently have 17 teachers and just over 400 students enrolled. We had intended to start with a much smaller program, but circumstances with COVID led us down a different path. It has definitely been challenging.  However, we just wrapped up our first quarter this past Friday and it finally feels like things are settling into a rhythm. With teachers on Fall Break this week, it's a good time to reflect on what has worked and what we could improve on in the future.  Google Classroom Google Classroom is t he main tool we are using to organize teaching and learning materials. Most of our teachers had experience using the platform from the previous year of teaching online, and several teachers were using it prior to that.  I love Classroom because of its versatility. Teachers can customize the way they use it depending on their content, students, and teaching style. A...

Ms. Amy Marple Ms. Amy Marple is a 5th-grade math teacher at Sunset Elementary. She shared the following quote: “Being the TTL for my school has given me the opportunity to help others overcome their fear of technology and find new and exciting ways to make their teaching more effective. I look forward to learning more technology skills in the coming months and sharing them with my colleagues and students." Thank you, Ms. Marple!

In a previous blog post , I shared three areas where I want to improve when designing and leading PD sessions. One of those goals was the following: Try new strategies to differentiate and support individualized progression I want to share one new way I am trying to address this goal in an upcoming PD session for a group of first-year teachers. One of the things I was asked to do in this session was to help teachers learn and practice Google for Workspace skills that they will need in order to effectively plan for the first few weeks of school. As I began to plan for this PD, I reflected on the following challenges: These are brand-new teachers and I don't know what level of Google Workspace skills they already have I want to make sure the learning is meaningful, regardless of their current skill level I do not have enough time to show them everything they might need to know, so I want to leave them with a resource they can revisit when they need it I decided to create leveled ...

  "...technology is here to stay in education. When teachers take time to reflect on where they stand with technology and how to best integrate it into their practice, they’re better prepared for post-pandemic instruction." I really enjoyed this Edutopia article, " Different Ways of Looking at How to Use Edtech ," from Katie Nieves . She explains how using technology integration frameworks can help teachers focus on learning as opposed to tools. She gives a brief description of the following frameworks: TPACK SAMR PICRAT I'm designing an "Intro to Tech Integration" PD session for 2nd-year teachers, and I have been trying to decide whether to present multiple frameworks or just focus on one specific framework. When I reached out to Katie on Twitter, she replied that she prefers to encourage teachers to explore multiple frameworks and present them as options. I'm leaning toward that approach, too. Does your school or district use a specific framework...

Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post about my goals for improving how I design PD and how I am trying to work toward these goals in an upcoming PD session I am planning for a group of first-year teachers. My plan is to introduce them to Google Workspace for Education skills using the question and three themes below to guide our conversations and activities.  Guiding Question: How can we use technology to improve teaching and learning? Access Efficiency Collaboration One of their first activities will be to explore this topic using a Multimedia Text Set (MMTS) and then add examples to a collaborative Jamboard (linked to the middle of doc). Here are the links if you would like to view and/or make a copy: Tech Integration - MMTS Tech Integration - Jamboard The purpose of this activity is to: Provide some background knowledge about the topic (Google Workspace tools) Model how this strategy/tool can be used to provide choice and differentiation for learners Give teachers an opportun...

  Ms. Shauna Callahan Ms. Shauna Callahan is a 7th/8th grade STEAM teacher at Palo Verde Middle School. She shared the following quote: “We need technology in every classroom  and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time,  and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world." Thank you, Ms. Callahan!

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 ...

  "Ambiguity is the enemy. Any successful change requires a translation of ambiguous goals into concrete behaviors. In short, to make a switch, you need to script the critical moves." (p. 53) I just finished Chapter 3 of the book " Switch, " and I've been thinking a lot about how I can do a better job at "scripting the moves" to better support our teachers as they try new strategies and tools in their classroom. In particular, I have been reflecting on how I can use the steps in the 5-Step Coaching Model to help with this. Here are some ideas: Identify a specific challenge During the first step of the coaching cycle, coaches work collaboratively with teachers to identify a specific challenge. This is an essential step if we want to help script the moves teachers will need to make in order to change and improve their practice.  Sometimes teachers are so overwhelmed with challenges that it's difficult to get them to focus on just one. They keep jump...

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...