The Danielson Guide to a Highly Effective Thanksgiving

I am very grateful for all of you for making a difference in the lives of our children each day! Major thanks to all the teachers in WWP who shared this today, especially Allan Johnson and Mike Zapicchi. It definitely brought a smile to many faces today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

THE DANIELSON GUIDE TO A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE THANKSGIVING

Unsatisfactory: You don't know how to cook a turkey. You serve a chicken instead. 
Half your family doesn't show because they are unmotivated by your invitation, which was 
issued at the last minute via Facebook. The other half turn on the football game and fall
asleep. Your aunt tells your uncle where to stick the drumstick and a brawl erupts. 
Food is served on paper plates in front of the TV. You watch the game, and root for
the Redskins.

Needs Improvement: You set the alarm, but don't get up and the turkey is undercooked.
3 children are laughing while you say grace. 4 of your nephews refuse to watch the 
game with the rest of the family because you have failed to offer differentiated
game choices. Conversation during dinner is marked by family members mumbling under
their breath at your Aunt Rose, who confuses the Mayflower with the Titanic.
Only the drunk guests thank you on the way out. Your team loses the game.

Proficient: The turkey is heated to the right temperature. All the guests, whom you have 
invited by formal written correspondence, arrive on time with their assigned dish to pass.
Your nephew sneaks near the desert dish, but quickly walks away when you mention that it
is being saved until after dinner. You share a meal in which all family members speak 
respectfully in turn as they share their thoughts on the meaning of Thanksgiving. 
All foods served at the table can be traced historically to the time of the Pilgrims. 
You watch the game as a family, cheer in unison for your team. They win.

Distinguished: The turkey, which has been growing free range in your back yard, 
comes in your house and jumps in the oven. The guests, who wrote to ask you to please
be invited to your house, show early with foods to fit all dietary and cultural needs.
You watch the game on tape, but only as an video prompt for your family discussion 
of man's inhumanity to man. Your family plays six degrees of Sir Francis Bacon and is thus 
able to resolve, once and for all, the issue of whether Oswald acted alone.

http://pandce.proboards.com/thread/258804/funny-teachers-thanksgiving-evaluated-danielson

What does teacher-driven professional learning look like?

Professional Pathway In a More Teacher-Driven Profession...

By Ariel Sacks

3/30/13

Professional development for teachers today is often done "to us," not "by us."  There is a lack of consistency in these top down PD initiatives, as different solutions to old problems are tried almost yearly, but never actually established or appropriately reflected upon by teachers and leaders.  These "flavor of the month" initiatives are met with a lot of eye rolling by teachers, because they rarely speak directly to the needs we have in our classrooms. What's especially strange to me about this model is that it does not set up teachers to be the experts in our own field. 

I imagine that in a transformed, more teacher-driven profession, most teachers would have a professional pathway that looks something like this--

1. Acquire the basics of teaching. Get over the hump of being a beginner through experience, mentorship, reflection.

2. Identify areas of interest, such as designing assessments, teaching the skills of collaboration to students, or connecting with communities around student learning, to name a few possibilities. 

3. Explore these areas deeply in their own teaching, drawing on available research and methods and developing their own practices that work for their students in their school
context.

4. Participate in discourse around these practices within the wider profession.  Unfortunately, the discourse has often included only professors and researchers, and to some degree, preservice or beginning teachers through course work, but not experienced, practicing teachers!

5. Finally, share developments with other teachers, both in teaching/school contexts and outside. Teachers could write, present at conferences, and move into various leadership roles.

Many teachers already have a pathway that looks like this, but they do so, by going against the grain of the established professional development models, and they often don't get recognized or credited for their professional growth and knowledge.  

The result of a more teacher-driven professional growth model would be a more deeply skilled, empowered teaching force, in which we are clearly the experts at what we do.

http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/shoulders-giants/03-2013/professional-pathway-more-teacher-driven-profession

Choices for Professional Learning

In our January-March department meetings we will be coming together to talk about the things that matter most to us: our interests, passions, and questions. These meetings have been designed to provide us with greater flexibility and autonomy and truly focus on areas that we have identified for continued growth. 

All 6-12 science teachers will be meeting on January 15. 

The current choices are:

• The Danielson Framework (Group members will review the rubric and develop a document detailing specific classroom strategies that mirror the expectations in the Framework.)

• Tech Ninjas (The kickoff session will begin with Alan Johnson and Sharon Feig sharing information on the district initiative and the long-term plan. Group members will then develop ways to use technology and Google Apps for Education in the science classroom.)

• Standards-based Grading (Group members will be developing strategies for implementation in their respective courses.)

• Next Generation Science Standards (Group members will discuss ideas for implementing the science practices of the NGSS and create a document that will be shared with all science teachers.)

• Vertical Articulation (Group members will focus on how the core concepts spiral 6-12 and the best practices to increase student proficiency in science.)

• Common Assessment review (PLCs will review the shared work of their students in order to determine if the students have demonstrated proficiency on the common tasks and develop ways to differentiate based on the data.)

You will have the opportunity to either stay with a group for the three sessions or to switch if you are interested in one or more of the other sessions. 

If none of the above choices are appealing to you, please make a recommendation. You will be able to select based on how you would like to grow professionally. 


Please sign up on the Google Spreadsheet to sign up for only one of the sessions in January. You will have the opportunity to sign up for additional sessions in February and March as well. 


 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnbU-Lg-UoWSdFFySVdaNG94ckxKd3hSOHBCTjh0dEE&usp=sharing#gid=0


We will regroup in April to share out our experiences as a whole. 

Formative assessment padlet - Let's share on the wall!

Formative assessment padlet for sharing ideas! Double click anywhere on the wall to add a link, article, or thought. The link to our formative assessment wall is http://padlet.com/wall/n7044b47jp/

Created with Padlet

Chromebook experiences by our 5th graders

After 2 months with their Chromebooks, our 5th graders put together a video highlighting their experiences. What creative practices can you imagine for these students when they are in your classroom?

http://youtu.be/92firOVOCrU

Right to Understand - November Department Meeting

Group Review:

http://ghssafety.com/ghs-training-quiz/

Flinn Online Training

In an effort to provide each individual science teacher with more intensive safety training, I have given back 5 department meetings to provide you with the time necessary to complete the Flinn Online Safety Course modules at the location of your choice. Please make sure you complete the training, print out your certificate, and send a copy to me before July 1. I will forward all of your certificates to Alicia Boyko for your PD hours.

You can sign up for one or two sessions at the January in-service day as well if you need additional time to complete the training modules. If you would prefer to attend a different session during the PD day, you can use time during one of the department meetings to catch up on the training. 

If you want to view the videos on you iPad or iPhone please download the free browser Puffin from the App Store. Puffin allows you to view Flash on these devices. You can also use Puffin for the students o use the PHet Simulations on iPads! 

If you are a high school teacher, you will sign up for the HS safety course.

http://labsafety.flinnsci.com/CertificateCourseSelection.aspx?CourseCode=HS

If you are a middle school teacher, you will sign up for the MS safety course. 

http://labsafety.flinnsci.com/CertificateCourseSelection.aspx?CourseCode=HS

Thank you so much for making safety a priority in your classroom!

Rebecca