I am lucky to work in a school district that values job-embedded professional development. This is evident in the fact that each of our four buildings has a literacy coach to think alongside teachers as they grow professionally.
I am one of those coaches.
Another way our district has provided job-embedded professional development is through a long-time relationship with Ellin Oliver Keene, author of several books about comprehension, including the classic Mosaic of Thought, which she co-wrote with Susan Zimmermann.
Over the past three years, Ellin's work in our district has focused on working with small groups of teachers in examining the gradual release of responsibility and student engagement as well as promoting literacy across the curriculum. As the coach, my responsibility in this process is in organizing the days Ellin is in our building, facilitating those days, and then providing support to teachers in between Ellin's visits.
I'm lucky. The teachers who work with Ellin are lucky. Our kids are lucky.
But, golly... these days are tiring. Ellin pushes my thinking; she helps me to see things in new ways. She encourages us to discuss problems of practice and find solutions together. I'm a better coach from having the opportunity to observe her coach our PD participants in their classrooms.
It makes me think about the students who are learning as well. Are they going home tired from thinking hard about the subjects and concepts we are presenting? Are they feeling challenged and validated? Do they understand why they are being asked to do the tasks and assignments we give them?
If not, why?
You are lucky! Your questions about how we push the thinking of learners and whether they feel the learning the way we do are so intriguing. Now you have me thinking about my students and their learning. I wonder if they do feel that burn from thinking hard about our content. How could I make this happen more often? Thanks for pushing my thinking.
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky! Your questions about how we push the thinking of learners and whether they feel the learning the way we do are so intriguing. Now you have me thinking about my students and their learning. I wonder if they do feel that burn from thinking hard about our content. How could I make this happen more often? Thanks for pushing my thinking.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your reflection on your day of professional development. The work educators do can be intense and the work we ask our students to do hopefully challenges them, too.. It's is tiring work but it's a good kind of tired:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your reflection on your day of professional development. The work educators do can be intense and the work we ask our students to do hopefully challenges them, too.. It's is tiring work but it's a good kind of tired:)
ReplyDeleteI wish our district even had literacy coaches ...we don't.
ReplyDelete