Roxi Thompson

  "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...

  "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...