Professional Development

5 Lessons from Giving the Same Presentation Twice (at the same conference) #HackingPBL

This past Monday at the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference (PETE & C), Erin and I had the opportunity to present on project based learning (PBL). While we had presented on the topic many times before, this was the first time the presentation was mostly based on the contents of our book, Hacking Project Based Learning. (Exciting!) Rather than walking the audience through the book’s ten hacks/chapters, we decided to take a unique approach by focusing on six main symptoms and remedies for PBL Paralysis (obstacles that could prevent educators from implementing project based learning: standardized testing, needing grades, poor professional development, etc.).

Following Monday’s session, Erin and I were asked (and flattered) to present the session again on Wednesday, which we did. Between the two presentations we took the time to revise and edit our work.

That being said, here are five lessons learned from giving the same presentation twice (at the same conference).

Inquiry-Based Learning’s Impact on Professional Development #HackingPBL

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

This post is #5 in a series of 10 posts that serve as extensions of the 10 chapters in Hacking Project Based Learning, which I coauthored with Erin Murphy. This post is an extension of Chapter 5, which focuses on essential questions. #HackingPBL

For all of the posts in the series, tap/click here.

Admittedly, it took me longer than it should have to be able to make the distinction between professional development and training.

In short, I now view professional development as the process of building capacity in participants (or attempting to do so), while training generally follows more of a rigid approach with several “rights” and “wrongs.” Overall, I believe both have a place in education. For example, for about the past two years at my district’s elementary level there have been various forms of professional development involving Writing Workshop, but in January a representative from Heinemann is going to be training these same teachers on the new Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System.

At the same time, I have come to realize there is a third category, which can be triggered when we mistakenly believe we are providing deep professional development, but in actuality we are barely scratching the surface with not much more than conversations and examples related to a specific topic. This third category, which falls somewhere in between the other two on the “autonomy spectrum,” can be called discussion.

Since the line between discussion and professional development can easily be blurred, let’s take a look at how each of these categories applies to educators being introduced to essential questions, the topic that serves as the main focus of Chapter 5 in Hacking Project Based Learning.

EVERYONE Is Writing a Book, or EVERYONE Has a Voice?

By Ross Cooper 1 Comment

Over the past few years the rate at which educational books are being written (mostly by connected educators), has increased rapidly. Thanks to such independent publishers as Mark Barnes and the Hack Learning Series, Dave Burgess Consulting, and EdTechTeam Press, the process of getting a book to market is now that much easier. Many of these books I have read, and here are two from each publisher I can easily recommend (and I’m still making my way through some of the others):

Hacking Leadership by Tony Sinanis and Joe Sanfelippo
Hacking Assessment by Starr Sackstein
The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros
LAUNCH by A.J. Juliani and John Spencer
The Space by Bob Dillon and Rebecca Louise Hare
Innovate with iPad by Karen Lirenman and Kristen Wideen

Despite the quality of this work, it seems like this influx of books has precipitated some eye rolling and sarcastic comments to the effect of, “Everyone is writing a book!” And to be honest, at a point, I too was skeptical.

Nevertheless, after some reflection and time (and some personal growth, maybe)…I have come to believe this growth in popularity of independent publishing is a change for the better as it is indicative of what we should want for our students; everyone can have a voice, everyone has an opportunity to make their work public, and everyone has an opportunity to make a difference. (In fact, I think it might be a bit hypocritical to say, “Students should be publishing!” followed by something like, “I can’t stand all these education books!”)

How Do You Define Sticky Systemic?

By Ross Cooper Leave a Comment

In the last post we explored the importance of professional development leading to change that is sticky systemic:

When a topic is the primary focus of professional development, the goal should be for change that is sticky systemic. That is, the change should be (1) sustainable and (2) prevalent across the district/school(s).

Since the post was published, there’s been a lot of love for sticky systemic, which is a term I coined when planning for this upcoming year’s professional development in the Salisbury Township School District.

That being said, let’s dive a bit deeper into the meaning of the term.

4 Ways to Make Professional Development Sticky Systemic

By Ross Cooper 5 Comments

4 Ways to Make Professional Development Sticky Systemic

This past year at the elementary level we spent the entire year familiarizing ourselves with Writing Workshop, with the idea all teachers will hit the ground running with this framework in 2016-2017. Formal professional development included: three three-hour sessions, a six-hour consultant workshop, an all-day site visit to a school in New Jersey, optional planning time, and an optional book study…That being said, it would be a shame (and nonsensical) if all of this time and effort didn’t result in noticeable, pedagogical shifts in regards to the way our students engage in writing.

Nonetheless, from what I have experienced…Far too often, professional development involves throwing a bunch of loosely related ideas at a wall, crossing our fingers, and hoping something will stick and the necessary instructional shifts will be made.

When a topic is the primary focus of professional development, the goal should be for change that is sticky systemic. That is, the change should be (1) sustainable and (2) prevalent across the district/school(s).

With these thoughts in mind, here are four ways to make professional development sticky systemic.

#ModelSchools Was Awesome! Here’s Why…

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

#ModelSchools Was Awesome! Here's Why...

Currently I’m sitting at the Orlando International Airport, about three hours away from boarding one of my two flights home from the Model Schools Conference. Originally I had planned to instead attend ISTE in Denver, but this past February I was presented with the opportunity to go to and present at Model Schools. So, I decided to make the switch and I couldn’t be happier with my decision.

Here’s a look at some of the presentations/keynotes I attended, as well as overall conference highlights.

3 Reasons to Rethink Your Basal Reader

By Ross Cooper 4 Comments

Currently in my district at the elementary level, we are in the process of strategically moving away from our basal reading program. We’ve already “cut out” its writing component, as next year we’ll be hitting the ground running with Writing Workshop and the Units of Study. Also, we’ve begun the process of designing our own reading comprehension instruction with the assistance of Reading with Meaning, Strategies That Work, and Notice & Note (both fiction and non-fiction).

Now, while it may be “cool” and trendy to hate on textbooks, for the benefit of all parties involved – students, parents, teachers, administrators, etc. – I believe it’s important to be able to articulate why we are choosing to deemphasize the program.

With these thoughts in mind, here are three reasons to rethink your basal reader.

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Reimagining Classroom Walkthroughs

By Ross Cooper 3 Comments

This post was originally published on Edutopia.

In a recent post for Education Week, Peter DeWitt details some of the problems with classroom observations. This got me thinking about the ways in which a school’s or district’s walkthrough tool could be reimagined from the ground up for the benefit of all parties involved.

Asking the Right Question

At their worst, walkthroughs are viewed as compliance checks with administrators strutting around schools and classrooms to enforce top-down initiatives. There’s not much progress when teachers generally wonder, “How can I avoid getting in trouble?” rather than, “How can I collaborate with my administrators to improve things for students?” At their best, walkthroughs are viewed as a part of an ongoing formative assessment process that finds teachers and administrators engaged in a system of reciprocal accountability. They work together to improve students’ results, their own professional development, and each other as people.

The Only Way to Evaluate Professional Development

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

This year at the elementary level, the majority of our professional development efforts have focused on Writing Workshop, with the idea that next school year all teachers (and students) will be able hit the ground running with this method of instruction.

With these thoughts in mind, I regularly ask myself, “How will we know if this year’s Writing Workshop professional development has been successful?” (keeping in mind the learning will continue throughout the upcoming years)