Technologically Literate » best practices http://kpruitt.edublogs.org How do we get there? Thu, 20 Sep 2007 20:46:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 en hourly 1 What Does Bad PD Look Like? http://kpruitt.edublogs.org/2007/08/15/what-does-bad-pd-look-like/ http://kpruitt.edublogs.org/2007/08/15/what-does-bad-pd-look-like/#comments Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:53:12 +0000 kpruitt http://kpruitt.edublogs.org/2007/08/15/what-does-bad-pd-look-like/ That’s a terrible question.  We all know what bad professional development is, but it continues to happen all over the world.  I spent Monday and Tuesday leaning a new e-grade book and I couldn’t help thinking of the ingredients that make-up a poor experience. 

1.  Rushed (Having to use or re-teach material/software within a week)

2.  Errors!  (A training model that is poorly constructed and functions sporadicly at best)

3.  The Unknown (District application is still a week away, what is it going to look like?)

4.  The Presenter (Most software people don’t speak in normal everyday terms, nor do they have the the fortitude to stick with “non-techies”)

5.  Local Knowledge (Teachers are partial to certain functionality in grading, the presenter should be somewhat prepared for how the audience works)

The list could go on and on.  Why are teachers being trained before the tech department?  Why would you show your audience the entire system in three hours?  It is extremely aggravating all around.  The bottom line is when things like this happen you leave people with the option of not adapting.  “It didn’t work,”  I didn’t get it,” “I’ll never have time to learn all that.” 

I realize sometimes time is an issue, but as the old saying still goes, “poor planning on your part does not constitute and emergency on mine”.  We will get it done.  We have a great staff and we always mange to shine no matter what is handed to us.  I just hope that in the future more voices are brought into the mix of professional development and system change.  All of this could have been avoided with a short conversation.

I didn’t learn much about our new grade book, but I did learn a valuable lesson.       

]]> http://kpruitt.edublogs.org/2007/08/15/what-does-bad-pd-look-like/feed/ 2 Effective Practices and Coaching Day 1 http://kpruitt.edublogs.org/2007/08/06/effective-practices-and-coaching-day-1/ http://kpruitt.edublogs.org/2007/08/06/effective-practices-and-coaching-day-1/#comments Mon, 06 Aug 2007 23:03:56 +0000 kpruitt http://kpruitt.edublogs.org/2007/08/06/effective-practices-and-coaching-day-1/ This is a bit disjointed, but it is difficult to put 6 hours into a few paragraphs. Good introduction to the workshop and good focus throughout.  Funny, it felt as if they were jumping around, but it all came together after lunch. 

The presenters used several, if not a dozen, strategies as we discussed what effective strategies we recognize or use.  Using posters and post-its, we organized and sorted the groups ideas of effective strategies in 5 categories. 

1.  Student Performance 

2.  Instructional Delivery 

3.  Environment 

4.  Grouping 

5.  Instructional Content

We were in large, small groups, and pairs to discuss.  We used compare/contrast putting our ideas against an “expert opinion.”  Then we ended using a matrix to identify the strategies and questioning techniques in a video lesson.

All in all, a good day of reflection and a good reminder of the vocabulary behind our practices.  It was clear at the conclusion of the day that objective focus and a variety of effective practices can most certainly increase engagement and retention.  (Especially in a group of teachers :)

It was a great deal in a short amount of time. I will try by the end of the week to post a list and maybe a break down of the strategies that we continue to use.  

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