A Menu Worth Reading

Every professional knows the importance of professional development.  Too often in educational settings it can feel like you are sitting in a room hearing information that may not apply to your teaching assignment or content area.  At Linn-Mar the High School Teaching and Learning Director Jeff Frost and four high school teacher leaders recently collaborated on a professional development day.  Their partnership resulted in a menu of options for teachers to peruse before selecting their learning for the day.

To help understand the needs of teachers at the high school, Sheri Crandall, high school instructional strategist, kept a log of wants and needs staff members had in regard to training and professional development.  She also gathered information from other schools with successful PD programs, like Waukee. After discussing those ideas with other teacher leaders:  Sue Atwater (mentor coach), Tina Oberbroeckling (instructional strategist), and Dana Lampe (technology integration coach) they all met with Jeff Frost to discuss their ideas and come up with a plan.  They took the needs/ideas from the staff and developed 14 professional learning sessions that would interest the high school staff.  Jeff Frost and the teacher leaders were able to find teachers, Grantwood AEA staff, and community resources, such as Officer Daubs to facilitate and teach the sessions.

The day started with a whole staff session on SOS(Signs of Suicide) presentation by Pete Martin, counselor and Lisa Mooney, social worker. Each teacher was assigned to three, morning sessions based on his/her interests.  The afternoon was comprised of department time.  The goal as was to provide staff with the most effective and individualized professional development day possible. The high school coaches and strategists assumed the role of the “resource provider” and “learning facilitator” to create this day for staff.   Teachers requested more “TIME,” so Crandall and the others gave them a block of 3 hours of department/PLC time in the afternoon to work on proficiency scales, priority standards, RTI, enrichment, updating curriculum maps, or whatever their department needed.

This day was packed full of what staff needed to meet their personal needs as well as continue meaningful progress on district initiatives. This menu of learning provided staff with an opportunity to advocate for professional development pertinent to each teacher’s content area.  Because this day was so successful, the high school teacher leaders are in the process of planning a new menu of nearly 30 workshop choices for the next PD day in February.

Well-done Linn-Mar High School!

Coaching Leaders

What do you do when you want to get better at something? 

Practice?

Study?

Train?

Ask for help from the experts?

That’s right.  As Linn-Mar rolled out our plan for leadership, we knew what we needed as a strong foundation:    coaching and training future coaches to help build capacity and promote change within our schools.  To help us head down the right path, we did a little research and found Chrysann McBride from Thinking Collaborative, an organization known for great training and coaching. 

The mission of Cognitive Coaching^SM is to produce self-directed persons with the cognitive capacity for excellence both independently and as members of a community. Research indicates that teaching is a complex intellectual activity and that teachers who think at higher levels produce students who are higher achieving, more cooperative, and better problem solvers. It is the invisible skills of teaching, the thinking processes that underlie instructional decisions, which produce superior instruction. Cognitive Coaching^SM is a research-based model that capitalizes upon and enhances teachers’ cognitive processes. 

Forty-one staff members, comprised of administrators, district leaders, teacher leaders, and classroom teachers participated in the eight days of training. 

In the eight-day seminar, participants learned how to build trust and rapport, developed tools and conversation structures for planning, reflecting and problem resolving.  Participants worked on developing higher levels of efficacy, consciousness, craftsmanship, flexibility and interdependence.  There was also heavy emphasis coaching, evaluating, consulting, and collaborating.  Participants worked extensively on utilizing the coaching tools of pausing, paraphrasing, and posing questions.

These skills will be invaluable to building capacity and changing the climate and culture of our schools.  We are fired up about our experiences and look forward to continued practice in coaching to help our staff continue to:

 Inspire Learning.  Unlock Potential.  Empower Achievement.

New Year. Fresh Outlook. Same Goals.

It's a new year!  Some people greet the new year with disdain when contemplating goals, or thinking of a resolution, or they embrace it with enthusiasm, and a renewed sense of purpose.  A New Year is an exciting time to plan ahead, dream big, and reach for the stars.  Amid all the fireworks, and corks popping, one thing remains the same at Linn-Mar:  Our Teacher Leaders are committed to the Goals of the plan that we have been fervently implementing.  

At Linn-Mar our Teacher Leadership Goals remain the same:  

• Capitalize on excellent teacher resources in the District
• Cultivate and train teachers in the leadership program
• Infuse best practices and cutting edge learning into the schools via Instructional Coaches and other classroom leaders
• Institute an adult learning model
• Improve day-to-day delivery of instruction
• Make adequate yearly growth in all buildings as outlined in the CSIP Plan in the areas of reading, mathematics, science, technology, and safe schools
• Improve student performance and achievement​

Make no mistake, winter break was a gift. Starting fresh is a good thing, and we are ready.
We are rested.  We are refreshed.  We are inspired.  We are well-read, and have reflected on the first six months of our program.  We are back in the trenches and sharing best practices with our teachers and staff.  So, while you are making your New Year's goals, you can rest easy knowing that Linn-Mar Teachers and Staff are working just as hard as ever in our schools.

Happy New Year and Happy Learning!

~If you are new to our blog and want more information on the Teacher Leadership Program at Linn-Mar, follow this link:  http://www.linnmar.k12.ia.us/tlp/default.asp

Storytelling Takes on a New Twist at Bowman Woods

Who doesn’t like to curl up with a good book? 

Bowman Woods Principal, Tina Monroe had a brilliant idea for teachers and staff to share their love of reading with students.  At a recent building Learning Leadership Team Meeting, teachers were discussing doing something building wide to promote the joy of reading. That collaborative discussion, gave Principal Monroe her creative idea to seek the expertise of Ryan Gotto, a Technology Integration Coach, to assist the staff on filming them reading aloud a favorite bedtime story.  After further discussion and collaboration they decided to post the videos in a location where families could access them at home!

Principal Monroe, conferred with  Mr. Gotto on the filming and the website creation.  The project grew from there and sparked interest, participation, and collaboration far and wide within the school walls.  This project really involved so many people.  The librarian, Carla Clanin, and her assistant Kelly Simon, created a special backdrop for the background while people were filmed. Many staff also helped with the filming when Ryan wasn't available, or volunteered to read a story, including at least one educational assistant! 

Not only is this project a fun way to celebrate reading over the winter break, it fosters quality time for students and parents to watch or read along, and finally it provides a great model for students to develop a life-long love of reading.

To listen to the fabulous reading of Bowman Woods Elementary staff, follow the link below:

https://sites.google.com/a/linnmar.k12.ia.us/bowman-woods-storytelling/

The Power of a Conversation

Tina Oberbroeckling and Kyle Becker during a  recent Coaching Conference.

Classroom teachers across the globe find ways to improve what they do in the classroom.  As they look for ways to reflect and find solutions to obstacles in learning, they often have only their content knowledge, personal experiences, and classroom data to analyze.  While all of that information is powerful, it is lacking one element:  another viewpoint.  As Linn-Mar continues down the path of Teacher Leadership, some of the most influential components of the program are our strategists and coaches who find time to meet with teachers and listen to their needs and help coach them to find a strategy to improve what is happening in classrooms each day.  This short term goal leads to a long term goal of improving student performance.

Just how powerful IS a coaching conversation?  Just ask Tina Oberbroeckling, an Instructional Strategist, at Linn-Mar High School.  She recently worked with Kyle Becker, a US History I teacher who was looking to improve a looming end of the semester unit that he tended to dread.  Kyle and Tina met to discuss the unit in question.  Kyle felt like the era did not have the same “oomph” that the previous eras exhibited. He wanted to make changes that would increase student engagement and learning during the unit.

The conversation began with Tina exploring Kyle’s concerns about the lessons in the unit, and what he envisioned in each lesson, as well as what he successfully taught in his classroom during previous eras.  By using a series of paraphrasing, and mediative questions from Cognitive Coaching training, Tina was able to listen to all that Kyle had to share, ask questions, and help provoke thinking.  This conversation helped Kyle discover the missing pieces he needed to ignite his teaching of this unit.

When Tina asked if there was anything else that she could do to support Kyle he smiled and replied, “No, I think I got what I needed.”

Not only was this conversation successful for Kyle, Tina also claimed a victory.  She walked away from this conversation with a sense of purpose and a clearer vision of her role as a Teacher Leader and how she can impact student learning in the Linn-Mar School District.

This quote from Kyle Becker says it best, “As I was struggling with a particular lesson, Tina helped me take a step back and look at the big picture.  I was getting too bogged down in the minutiae of teaching that I lost sight of what is most important – student learning.  With Tina’s help, I was able to construct a history lesson that allows students to make connections between eras while also remaining relevant to their lives today. The sense of perspective that Tina helped me find is most appreciated.”

Make Your Mark!

Westfield Elementary Dot Day Celebration

Students proudly display their dots.

Teacher Leadership comes in many forms at Linn-Mar.  Not only do we have full time coaches and strategists that were willing to leave their classrooms to devote their time to strengthen adult learning and work with their peers, we all so have around 130 classroom teachers that were so devoted to their classrooms, they chose to teach full time AND take on additional responsibilities in the areas of curriculum, model teaching, and leading teams and initiatives that Linn-Mar is implementing.

When we think about building capacity of our leadership program it starts with teachers.  Building rapport, establishing trust, and collaborating with peers to improve what we do on a daily basis is at the heart of strengthening and growing our program.  This week I had the privilege of seeing some of our in-classroom teacher leaders show how collaboration and planning can impact student learning.

Deb Wegmann(left) Sarah Doyle(center) Ashley Messerli(right) proudly sport their dots
and enjoy the celebration of creativity at Westfield Elementary

Meet Deb Wegmann.  She is the librarian/media specialist at Westfield. She is also an elementary curriculum facilitator.  She traveled to ITEC, a technology conference in Des Moines with Sarah, Doyle, 4th grade teacher and 3rd-5th curriculum facilitator, and Ashley Messerli, 3rd grade teacher, and elementary program leader.  They were fortunate to hear Peter Reynold's Presentation about fostering creativity and innovation in our students today and helping them discover how to "Make their Mark" on the world.  His presentation left a mark on these three educators.  They came back to their school and immediately went to work planning their own school-wide DOT DAY, inspired by Peter's Reynolds book, The Dot.  Wegmann, Messerli, and Doyle planned a variety of literacy, art, and other activities that took place over two days in November.

Students created their dots showcasing their unique personalities and talents.

Not only did these three teachers plan activities for students to create in the library, they collaborated with other teachers in various content areas within their building.  Elementary physical education teacher, Chanda Mooney, and Art Teacher Michael Brandt(also a curriculum facilitator) got in on the day's events.  Mrs. Mooney planned gross motor activities that embraced the dot theme.  They created the largest human dot-to-dot in gym and played dot tag.  Mr. Brandt created a space for teachers to make their own dots and has plans to make some permanent dots in their school.

The Dot takes Westfield Elementary by storm.

This unified effort to promote communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity in classrooms is a great reminder that everything we plan and do in education should be about students. At Linn-Mar we are so lucky to have teachers, administrators, staff, and support personnel help our students "MAKE THEIR MARK" within school walls and beyond.

If you haven't read the The Dot by Peter Reynolds, please follow the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CHBrRyPb2I

Enjoy!

Extreme Makeover Classroom Edition

Teacher Leaders preparing for the Classroom Makeover Reveal

MOVE THAT BUS!  This familiar phrase from the TV home makeover show took on a new meaning at Wilkins Elementary last week.  While teachers had a work day to complete report forms and curriculum work, a task force of teacher leaders whisked into a kindergarten classroom to tackle interior design and maximize classroom space.

This makeover was the brain child of Carol Kesl, elementary mentor coach.  After working with first and second year teachers the first quarter of the year she decided to host a drawing and surprise one first year teacher with a classroom makeover.  Her budget was small.  In fact it was $0. So Carol relied on the generosity of her fellow teachers to donate items and money toward the project.  Carol, hosted the drawing at a monthly book club meeting she hosts for first year teachers and then met with the lucky recipient to discuss ideas, themes, and what the teacher wanted help with.  The lucky recipient was Molly Wickham, kindergarten teacher at Wilkins Elementary.  Molly was fortunate to be a last minute hire, the first week that Linn-Mar opened for classes this fall.  This was exciting, but Molly didn't have the time before school started to set up her classroom completely the way she envisioned.  Winning this drawing was a fun way to perk up her classroom and give her time to complete other tasks on her work day, such as report forms, and lesson planning.

Kindergarten Classroom Before and During

Many hands do make light work.  Put eight teacher leaders in a room for seven and a half hours and what you get is a freshly cleaned, organized, and spectacular room.  These eight veteran teachers were able to help this first year teacher clearly define learning and working spaces, find creative uses for nooks and crannies in her classroom, layout teacher materials in key areas, and put away non-essential items for later use.  It has been said that sometimes we don't know what we don't know, and having an extra set of hands and eyes, to help us figure it out is sometimes all we need.

Kindergarten Classroom After

Teacher Leader Makeover Team

Below you will find a link to a video of the day's events created by two of our Technology Integration Coaches.  We hope to make this classroom makeover idea a permanent piece of the mentor program each year.  Our mentor coaches are looking into securing some funding sources to help keep this in place as well as to grow the plan.  Wouldn't it be nice to complete a classroom makeover for each level:  elementary, middle, and high school?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_MCovY-GFc&feature=youtu.be