Like students, teachers are being assessed with a one-size fits all mentality. Not all classrooms are balanced in terms of ability, income, language proficiency, emotional stability, and behaviors to name a few. Yet, teachers need to reach the same levels of achievement whether their students attend 180 days a year or 80 days a year. Many classrooms have disproportionate percentages of student demographics and needs.... more »
Teacher leaders need to be advocates for demonstrating that ALL children CAN learn when in the right environment. We need to stop looking at poverty as the reason we perform low on national tests in STEM disciplines. We need to overcome the obstacles by adopting norms that no matter what, our children will learn. It begins in our teacher preparation programs. There are so many inconsistencies between the states and... more »
I believe all teachers should receive information on education policy and teacher advocacy. In the current system, teachers are far too removed from policy decisions that affect so much of what we do in our classrooms. I conceptualize the boot camps to occur throughout the US, much like the EdCamp model. A cohort of individuals would put together the Boot Camp content--a living, digital work-- and provide virtual and... more »
In many classrooms, especially in low-income schools, we see dedicated teachers whose students are not making expected progress. These teachers often receive pressure and attack from other teachers, parents, and administrators. This pressure, intended to motivate, increases stress and anxiety for struggling teachers and is counterproductive. Building a professional community beyond the school increases confidence and... more »
In order to change struggling schools for the better, Instructional Coaches should be used to focus the instruction using research based instructional strategies. Instructional coaches' roles should be clearly defined and should not be asked to do administrative duties such as (but not limited to): lunch duty, disciplining students, etc. Instead as an Instructional Coach 100% of their time should be spent going through... more »
I don't think educators typically have leadership skills. They need to learn how to think and act strategically when it comes to new ideas, changing practice, and learning together. There is lots of research available in this regard and if teachers learn how to advocate and lead, they not only will impact schools with greater skill, but they will also model these leadership skills for the students they teach.
This workshop is designed and created to demonstrate how to use technology tools to promote learning that is purposeful and relevant. Teachers will learn how to utilize these tools in innovative ways in to engage all learners. This workshop is structured around the individual needs of the teachers and their student population.
In improving kids understanding of careers available. By helping them make better informed decisions when choosing their careers. I believe that just waiting for the career day at schools is not enough to give kids the understanding of different careers. I believe that there shall be introduced into their curriculum a career Planning class. Kids need more exposure to different careers and learn more time for their career... more »
To move schools forward, schools have to analyze roles, routines, and structure. To promote this process, school communities need to first decide on a targeted mission/vision. Next, they need to make the time to analyze current roles, routines, and structures with regard to that mission/vision--what's working and what is not working? After that they need to create an action plan to restructure their school to better meet... more »
TLI exists in 13 states. The Governor of Illinois, a gifted businessman with good intentions regarding anti-corruption, has launched an assault on "greedy union bosses" and the union membership in the state. It is imperative that teachers in IL are prepared to lead the profession against the tide of intentional belittling by our elected state officials in both the executive and legislative branches. I would like to see... more »
Computational thinking and coding is the new literacy that is needed for students in order for them to create innovative ways of expression and to solve complex problems that face society. Through explicitly connecting the computational thinking process to problem solving, students learn to decompose complex problems, look for patterns, and come up with solutions. This connects well with the eight Standards for Mathematical... more »
Lead STEM teachers by doing their own experiments and posting themselves on YouTube during summer monthly PD sessions to experience first hand. Teachers overcome their experiment fear and do simple demonstrations with confidences. The videos may also be used as open ended videos on demonstration steps. Confidence is the number one priority for STEM teachers do hands on experiments inquiry demonstrations along with time... more »
To effectively meet the writing demands placed on the middle school students where I am a literacy coach and to help them meet the expectations of the CCSS, content teachers are recognizing a need to develop their curriculum to include write-to-learn procedures. Write-to-learn activities in content area classes build the content knowledge and the stamina for more sustained discipline-specific writing. I am collaborating... more »
Twenty-First Century educators are facing a battle over something younger than we are... Technology. More technology is introduced everyday and we are struggling to keep up, but it is one of the best tools we have for reaching our students which makes it worth the fight. We are teaching a new generation of students to use tools that we, ourselves have little and in some cases no experience with, and about the time we... more »