Week 11 2106 Program Improvement 2

 A few reminders about literacy programs to think about before you read the chapters on Program improvement that deal with assessment, incorporating writing, thinking about linguistically diverse learners and Response to Intervention for those who are struggling.

Literacy programs should be a collaboration of the educational community in and around the building. It should be built around common goals and expectations for all children, and be comprehensive so that in addresses all aspects of language and literacy. Program improvement, you all noted, is ongoing across all age levels in your educational institution. It is systemic and not just aimed at a classroom or a teacher. Before thinking about how to improve your program, you need to think about the aspects of a program that you will need to look at to see if or what needs tweaking, adjusting, or transforming. Those aspects include the following: the curriculum (what is taught and learned), instruction (how literacy is taught and learned), assessment (how learning is determined), materials (what is used for teaching and learning, such as books, technology, manipulatives, real life materials, games, etc.), the organization and environment (what happens when with whom, time, grouping, staffing, PD, school and classroom climate), and parent and community involvement in the program.

So think about those topics I mentioned at the beginning of this blog. What do you think the role of a literacy leader for each of the topics?  I look forward to hearing your thoughts now and to reading your discussion on your blog.

Week 9 2016 Professional Development 3

 
This week is also about professional development, but it is a time for you to discuss with your group the program you are developing, and what,if any feedback you have gotten on it.

I have uploaded a video describing the different roles a leader can take on in a PD session/program.  Please view it this week and integrate the roles into the descriptions of your activities in your overall plan. It is in the Planning and Creating PD programs section on D2L.

For your own blog, Talk about where you are in your PD program planning process and in your coaching practice. You might want to solicit input from your group and talk about feedback you have gotten.  You might also want to start talking about which one of the activities on your plan you intend to plan in detail and how that would relate to your grant proposal.

Remember that on Oct. 21 we are meeting at 3:30 for the face to face class.  See you then.

Week 8 2016 .Professional Development 2

Well, I had an interesting time at the State Capitol this week.....I am very thankful for the colleagues I have at OU and around the state. 


This week you will be reading about different types of PD besides workshops as well as how to plan a workshop. These will be useful as you plan your own PD program. Most of us, myself included, see PD as being a workshop with an outside expert telling us about new research or teaching methods.  I do quite a bit of this kind of PD, especially in my international work. But it is really important that literacy leaders know about alternative formats, ones that may address large groups but be more informal or ones that are focused on small groups who are interested in a specific topic.

The formats you will read are  different types of PD aimed at supporting teacher knowledge development. They are article study, pd at faculty meetings, and lesson study. What do you know about each type?  Have you ever participated in one of these formats?

Strategy 7 is about planning powerful PD. I'd read this strategy last after you have read the others. What has made a PD workshop powerful for you?


After you read, think about how these strategies will help you plan your PD program.
When will you get together to give each other feedback on your drafts of program plans, and help each other incorporate the feedback that you got from the faculty and administration?  How can I help you?
 Have a good week!