Week 7 2016 Professional Development 1

Don't forget that your survey results are due into the dropbox by midnight on Saturday, Oct. 1. Remember that I need a summary of what you found.

I'm having an interesting week next week, where I'll be demonstrating my literacy leadership by making a presentation to the Common Education Committee of the Oklahoma State Legislature. I'll be trying to help them understand what the research says about struggling readers and what works for them as well as what we do in preservice and inservice teacher preparation to prepare teachers and reading specialists to work with them.  Wish me luck as I don't think it will be a receptive audience.

As you know, coaching is a type of professional development that can be done with teams or individually.  Most coaching related to improving teaching or learning how to implement a new literacy teaching strategy is done individually. This week we will look at other types of professional development that could occur in small or large groups and what makes effective PD. What do you think are characteristics of effective PD? Tell me what works for you.

First read the chapter in WSQ about professional development. You might want to note the characteristics of effective PD from the research, the different types of PD besides whole group workshops, and suggestions for creating site based PD.  All of these will be important to your PD plan you are doing for your school.  Next read the article.  As you do, think about how this example of sustained PD fits with the WSQ chapter.  You might want to blog about that.  Or you might blog about how do the ideas from the article (one example of sustained PD that effected change) and the chapter will help you think about planning your site based PD plan based on your survey.

Let me know if you would like to set up a meeting to chat with me about assignments or the readings. The next face to face meeting will be on Oct. 21 from 3:30 - 9:00.  Remember that we changed the time on that Friday when Kathryn joined us. Let me know if you have any questions.

Week 6 2016 Coaching and communication

So sorry about my glitch last week in terms of publishing the blog.  I'll not forget this week.  Thanks for  your patience.

A key to being an effective literacy leader and coach is being a effective communicator. We are all teachers that communicate daily with the students that we teach.  What do you do well when you communicate with your students? I like to think that I actively listen to what my students are telling me in class. You all would know how effective I am as you are the students (no, you don't have to tell me :)  ). Before you begin to read, think about these phrases: ethical communication, delivering hard messages, proactive communication, critical communication, collaborative communication. How do you think they are connected and what do they have to do with coaching and with being a literacy leader in general?
I am suggesting that you read the readings in the following order: L&T Chapter 5 is explicitly about communication skills and strategies. When you are done reading, you might jot down your responses to questions 1 and 2 on page 102. Then I"d read EP&L Strategy 1 and complete the form about your own readiness for coaching before completing the one about your school's readiness for coaching. Filling out the form in that chapter might help you as you think about the professional development plan you will soon be planning. Finally, think about how communication skills are important as you read about working to create a shared knowledge base.

Have a good week.  Remember, survey results are due this week.

Week 5 2016 Coaching 2

This week, the readings are detailed discussions about the different aspects of the coaching cycle. They include goal setting, modeling, co-planning, co-teaching, and observing. Remember that although all of them are part of the coaching cycle, each can be done separately when you are coaching (such as creating SMART goals for learning with the person you are coaching) before deciding which other parts of the cycle you need to implement. Before you read, think about the brief descriptions that you read in Strategy 18 this past week. Which of the activities do you think you have a good idea of how to do so it is a strength? Which one are you most interested in reading about and discussing with your group?
You will need to read all of the strategies, and as you do, think about if and how you will implement it with the person you are coaching. Blog about what learned and if you have questions that you would like input from your team. Be sure to let me know if you have questions for me to weigh in on as well.  I'll be reading your responses to my blog on Monday and your blogs on Wednesday and Thursday.

 A couple of reminders: Your Survey results are due at the end of Week 6 (so Saturday, Sept.30).  Please fill out the Virtual Check in form (link here: https://goo.gl/forms/SL1heLwOUwWZIEw73 
You will also need to arrange an online meeting with each other to disucss your results and give each other suggestions for the PD plan.  I posted a couple of examples on D2L. 
Have a good week.

Week 4 2106 Coaching 1

I hope you had a good long weekend and week.The tailgating was quite fun.  There were about 800 people there so a bit of a zoo.  WE all wore name tags with our class year on them, and I must say that many of those people who graduated after I did certainly did look older that me instead of younger!

The purpose of this week is to really begin to think about the coaching cycle and the meaning of coaching.  You are reading an in depth view of the coaching cycle in EP&L, and reading 2 articles on the principles for coaching and how coaching is related to professional development. Do you have an instructional coach at your school?  Have you been coached?  What was that like if you were?
 Think about your own strengths as a potential coach.  What do you think they are?
 I'd suggest reading in this order: guiding principles article,  EP&L strategy, and team coaching.

Blog about how you think the ideas in the readings are related to each other and to our class discussion.  What are the 2 most important ideas about coaching that you learned? How do you think team and individual coaching are similar and different?

Week 3 2016 Supporting the learning of others, introduction to coaching

 As you read this, I am in Texas visiting my 90 year old mother.  She is taking us to a tailgate party before the Texas A&M/UCLA football game. It should be interesting. I am an alum of A&M--my master's degree-- and this party is sponsored by the A&M Foundation for donors (my family has 2 scholarships there, one in memory of my father and one in memory of my older brother). I've never done a tailgate party before so I'll let you all know what this one is like! 

This coming week you will be learning about coaching and how to support the learning of others.  You already began that journey as you read about community building and working for change, including principles of adult learning (which you will revisit this week). So before you begin reading, respond to these questions:  How do YOU define coaching?  What do you think are characteristics of effective coach, the type that would be a supportive coach for you?  How does what you just wrote tie into ways to effect change and principles of adult learning that you read about and blogged about last week?  I"m looking forward to reading what you write.

As you read, think about what the literature says are characteristics of effective coaches and compare it to your own ideas. Then be sure you discuss the key ideas about coaching and being a literacy coach that you read about.  What was most surprising to you? What are your strengths as a coach?

Please do a virtual check in by Friday of next week.  Here is the link: VCI.

Have a good Labor Day Weekend!

Week 2 2016 Building a community of learners

As you read this blog, we have completed our first face to face meeting (and maybe you have visited a session at iPadpaloozaOU in Collings Hall.  What are some take aways from the afternoon?

The readings for this week focus on goals for literacy leaders, principles of adult learning, and elements of supporting change. In this blog, I want you to focus primarily on connecting your own experiences to the ideas about adult learning and supporting change.What do you think should be the goals for an effective literacy leader? What has supported your own change in your teaching practice? What makes an effective learning environment for you?

I'm looking forward to your discussion on your blog in coming weeks.  Let me know if you have questions.

SB

Week 15 Revisiting your view of yourself as a literacy leader

Each of you have come a long way on your journey to be literacy leaders where ever you are now and in whatever role you take on. I'd like for you to reflect on your growth as a literacy leader from the beginning of the semester.  Revise your glog to demonstrate that growth.  When you respond to this blog, embed your link to your glog in the comment.  Also briefly summarize where you think your greatest area of growth has been and why you think that is your greatest area of growth. Please do this by Dec. 3 at 5 pm.
Return to this blog after that time.  Using the links provided you, visit the glog of each of the other class members. What else do you see as their growth? Give one compliment about teh glog in general adn one compliment about how they have grown.  Please do this by Dec. 7 at midnight.  I'll be visiting as well.
By the time you read this, I'll have been in Kenya for about 10 days working with teachers there.  Part of our job is to help them become teacher leaders in early literacy. If I can, I'll upload pictures, or I'll add to this blog about my experiences, and what I am learning about myself as a literacy leader.