SDCO Fall Professional Newsletter No. 4, October 2007
|
Introducing
Sharon Jones as the New SDCO President
Welcome to another year of professional learning! I am pleased to be serving as this year’s president of the Staff Development Council of Ohio, in no small measure because of the wonderful people who are sharing the leadership with me. While we have kept our eyes focused on the present, we envision a future of professional learning that adheres to NSDC's new purpose: "Every educator engages in effective professional learning every day so every student achieves."
 |
by Lawrence D. Pfrogner
Many
of you have already received your Membership Renewal Reminder. One of your SDCO
Board's major goals for the year is to enrich membership benefits. There should
be some "value-added" to that $35 Membership Fee. Here's a partial list
of your 2007/08 membership benefits:
- Quarterly Professional Newsletters
- Member discount for SDCO's annual conference
- 10%
Professional Development tuition discount voucher from
- FREE 3-month subscription to
InfoSource Learning professional development modules (new this year)
- SDCO membership networking directory
- Bi-annual professional development resource newsletter (new this year)
Incase you've misplaced that email, click HERE for a copy and a full list of membership benefits. New members are welcome to use the same form, so feel free to make copies.
|
SDCO Offers Workshop by Joellen Killion
The
Learning Educator: A New Ear in Professional Learning
by Sherri Houghton
The Staff Development Council
of Ohio is pleased to announce that Joellen Killion will be presenting The
Learning Educator: A New Ear in Professional Learning at our annual
conference on Wednesday, January 30, 2008. This presentation will debut Joellen and Stephanie Hirsch's recent work
for a new book that will be published in December.
|
SAIL Offers Professional Development Curriculum
|
|
 |
By Julie Davis, Ed.D. Phone:
888-964-SAIL Email:jdavis@sailforeducation.org
|
We
at SAIL for Education purposely align our curriculum and learning activities
with the professional development new standards and believe that each of our professional
development courses supports an educator's growth throughout the span of
his/her career. Each set of the
 |
Imagine.
Their Dreams. Their Future. Your Legacy.
NSDC's 39th Annual
Conference
Dallas 2007, December 1-5, 2007
By Sherri Houghton
Read more about the NSDC Annual Conference
|
Ohio Department of Education
Report from the Office of Educator Quality
By Judith Monseur Email: Judith.monseur@ode.state.oh.us
Background of
the Office of Educator Quality
The
role of Office of Educator Quality at the Ohio Department of Education is to
oversee initiatives that promote teacher recruitment, selection, retention, and
professional development.
Read more about the OEQ's programs
 |
www.k12tlc.net/front.net Great Quality! Great Value! Subscriptions Are Only $117/school/year or less! |
|
SDCO Gains a New Board Member: Mr. Eugene Norris
The
SDCO is proud to announce the addition of a new board member. Eugene Norris's expertise will be a
great addition to the current board.
Eugene
Norris is an independent educational consultant. He is currently contracted with the
and Supporting High-Needs Schools
By
Randy Flora
What will it take to close the gaps in student
achievement among diverse geographic groups, including low-income, minority,
and limited-English students and students with disabilities?
That topic was addressed
nearly a year ago when more than 550 of the state's most accomplished teachers gathered
to recommend solutions to the policy challenge of closing achievement gaps and
educating all students for success in the 21st Century.
The Ohio Education Association (OEA), in collaboration with the National Education Association (NEA), the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and an impressive coalition of Ohio-based education organizations hosted this first-ever summit of Ohio's National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs).
Read more about the National Forum
|
Workshops
That Really Work -
The ABC's of Designing and Delivering
Sensational Presentations
Written by Hal Portner, Corwin Press
Book Review by Sherri Houghton
Hal
Portner is an experienced consultant and presenter. He is a former public school teacher and
has worked closely with school districts to develop and implement professional
development programs. He has also
written Mentoring New Teachers, Training
Mentors Is Not Enough, Everything
Read more of the Portner Book Review
What
American Accent Do You Have?
by Lawrence D. Pfrogner
We've all been there. You get your cup of coffee (yah I hear
yah, don't they know some people drink tea?), grab your packet of hand outs, find
a seat somewhere on the aisle...and sit back for an all day "park and bark."
Sometimes it's even better than you hoped for, and then sometimes you lament
that pile that someone's fertilizing back at the office. But then
once-in-a-Marzano-moon, the great god of professional development offers up a
speaker with "one" of those accents, dialects, whatever, that is just downright
pleasing to listen to. A southern drawl, an Irish brogue, a
Teachers Observing Teachers: A
Professional Development Tool for Every School
Printed with permission from Education World website:
Typically
evaluative by nature, teacher observation is usually linked to classroom
performance. More and more schools, however, are using observation -- teachers
observing teachers -- as a form of professional development that improves
teaching practices and student performance. In this article, Education World's
Michele Israel talks with experts about the benefits of this emerging
professional development strategy. Included: The
benefits of learning by observing -- for the teacher, administrator, and
school, plus five observation models.
Read more about Teachers Observing Teachers
|
Recently
I found a quote by Aristotle that continues to resound in my mind: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but
a habit." In my district, the
We no longer define professional development in terms of singular acts or events. We understand that professional learning must be results-driven, standards-based and job-embedded. As we continue our conversations this year, we on the SDCO board assure you that our intention is to make excellence a habit, not an act. Please let me know how we can be of assistance to you in your own journey of "habitual excellence."
By Lawrence D.
Pfrogner
Director of
Dear SDCO Members,
I hope it's been a smooth opening of the school year for
you. Your SDCO Executive Board has met twice already and plans are well
underway for the new year. Kellie Hayden will keep you informed via our
quarterly Professional Newsletter and I’ll be in touch with membership
information and opportunities.
One of our most important goals for the year is to enrich
your benefits as a member of SDCO. For your $35 membership dues, our plans are
to provide you with "value-added."
Currently I'm working on additional incentives that we're
hoping to make a reality over the next year...membership benefits that will be
brought back to you annually.
For now, renewal of your SDCO
membership entitles you to:
- Quarterly Professional Newsletter
- Member discount for SDCO's annual conference
- Attendance at state affiliate NSDC Conference reception
- 10%
Professional Development tuition discount voucher from
- Reduced
rate subscription to the Teaching and
- FREE 3-month subscription to InfoSource Learning professional development modules
- SDCO membership networking directory
- Convenience of SDCO membership renewal through NSDC annual renewal process
- Bi-annual professional development resource newsletter
- ...and possibly/probably more as the year progresses
Sincerely,
SDCO Membership Chairperson, 2007/08
|
Joellen Killion Workshop continued
By Sherri
Houghton
Two follow-up study sessions will be held in regions close
to participating districts on March 5 and June 18. (Follow-up sessions dates can be changed
to fit the needs of the regions.) Participants will be able to get 1 semester hour credit from
Teams of 3 or more are encouraged to register for this
training with the fourth registration being free and a reduced rate for
teams. This would be ideal professional learning for LPDCs and building or
district staff development committees. The follow-up study groups can be tailored to fit the needs of the
individual teams. SDCO Board
Members will serve as coaches or facilitators for the follow-up sessions. This will be a perfect extension of the
Coaching training that Joellen presented last year. Staff Developers, Administrators, and
Classroom Teachers will all benefit from this learning experience.
Individual registrations will be $285 and teams of 3 or more
will be $230 a participant with fourth registration free. Joellen's presentation on Jan. 30 will
be from 9-4 at the ESC of
Registration information will soon be available on our website or
request additional information and/registration forms by emailing sdco@earthlink.net Please put January 30
on your calendar! Registration will
be limited to 160 participants. Last year the conference closed early with 175 participants. So plan to register early.
SAIL Offers Professional Development Curriculum continued
|
||
|
By Julie Davis, Ed.D. Phone:
888-964-SAIL Email: jdavis@sailforeducation.org |
|
Our SAIL for Entry Year Principal Program has been one of the two approved principal induction programs in the state of Our SAIL for Experienced Administrators is a separate curriculum, which focuses on enhancing the administrator's skills as an instructional leader. Our coursework is designed to provide the knowledge and skills to support the learner's movement along the levels of competence as described by the indicators. We know that time on the job does not automatically correlate with attainment of each level of the indicators and so we provide differentiated, online experiences to address the individual administrator's growth areas. These growth areas are determined through analysis of multiple forms of data, including student performance data and the results of a Leadership 360 degree Assessment. Similarly, our SAIL for Teacher Leaders professional development opportunity is closely aligned with the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession. This work is targeted for individuals who wish to extend their influence beyond the classroom without leaving the teaching profession. Our coursework assumes at least a proficient level has been attained on all the indicators and we work with learners to enhance their knowledge and skills to progress to the accomplished and distinguished levels. Lastly, our SAIL for National Board Certified Teachers builds on the propositions of the National Board. The online SAIL professional development for NBCT is a blended model of advancing the Teaching and Learning and Teacher Leadership skills of NBCT graduates. All of our curricula are available in either face-to-face or online delivery formats. The SAIL program provides a unique opportunity for administrators and teachers to not only participate in job-embedded learning that is fully applicable in daily tasks, but also credits for both state-required continuing education and credits toward a Masters or Doctoral Degree. I hope you will consider SAIL for Education courses for the professional development needs of yourself and your colleagues. |
|||||
Annual
Conference in Dallas continued
By Sherri Houghton
|
SDCO is very excited to have two board members presenting
sessions in
Session I 27 on Tuesday Dec. 4 at 9:00 AM will be presented
by Lorie Owens, SDCO Board Member, Cynthia Yoder from ODE, and Linda Williams
from Upper Arlington City Schools. This session, Rolling Standards into Action: Planning, Deployment, and Evaluation of
HQPD will talk about
Sue Showers who is a member of the NSDC Board of Trustees
from
Also from
Crossing the Chasm:
Staff Development for Embracing Data- Driven Instruction is session M 21,
and will be on Wednesday, December 5 at 7:45 AM. Bonnie Strykowski and Dee Morgan fro
Lorain City Public Schools will develop new insights into staff development for
facilitating true, data-driven instruction. Top administrators will explain their
successful combination of workshops and coaching that are producing higher
levels of implementation and student achievement.
You should also visit Julie Davis, SDCO Board Member, at her
booth for SAIL for Education in the Exhibit Hall.
The Ohio Department of Education's Office of Educator
Quality Report continued
By Judith
Monseur Judith.monseur@ode.state.oh.us
 |
As you may know,
To that end, much
of the work of the OEQ in the area of professional development involves
collaborating with both internal and external stakeholders, who assist the OEQ
in the creation of tools, resources, and products to support educators in
meeting the state's high quality professional development standards. Our
collaboration also allows us to facilitate the dissemination and deployment of
various professional development initiatives.
In 2005, the OEQ
developed a Regional Local Professional Development (RLPDC) support team to
facilitate transition to the standards-based professional development state
system. Each of
Most recently, the
RLPDC team assisted in the creation of professional development modules, based
on the state professional development standards, which will enable districts to
better plan, implement, and monitor their professional development initiatives.
The OEQ is in the process of refining these modules, which will be made
available to districts by the end of the year. And in the 2007-2008 academic year, the
RLPDC team will be helping the OEQ develop standards-based criteria for LPDCs
to use to help guide and evaluate their teachers' Individual Professional
Development Plans.
Another exciting
initiative in the OEQ began In October 2006, when the OEQ formed a cross-agency
professional development committee within ODE. The focus of the committee is
to:
- define and articulate the state's role
in professional development;
- develop and implement a process
approach for determining issues that deserve attention in terms of
professional development and describing appropriate actions;
- use
- develop tools and resources to assist
the design, monitoring, and assessment of professional development
programs deployed by ODE.
Should you have any
questions or comments about professional development initiatives from the
Office of Educator Quality, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to
serving you as a board member of the Staff Development Council of Ohio.
|
www.k12tlc.net/front.net
Great Quality! Great Value!
Subscriptions Are Only
$117/school/year or less!
- We organize the Internet for you into
guides for over 1,000 instructional topics.
- The perfect place to gather background
information for new lesson plans and units.
- In-depth resources for multicultural
instruction, cultural diversity and minority studies.
- Comprehensive guides for all countries
of the world, all 50 states plus D.C. and
- Extensive resources for scientists,
mathematicians, inventors and inventions.
- An exhaustive resource library for
authors and illustrators at all levels.
- On-line world almanac for every day of
the school year, every state, 10 different subject areas.
- A calendar of world holidays,
anniversaries and special events for every school day.
- E-mail lists to keep you current and
informed on over 100 different instructional topics.
- Five news articles each day that bring
current events into your classroom.
- Daily activities to develop student
research skills and enrich their cultural literacy.
- Much, much more!
at our Front Page
|
Eugene Norris New Board Member continued
In the past Norris has been the
Director of Professional Growth and Development for Ann Arbor Public Schools in
Norris's professional affiliations are quite impressive as
well. He was the Chairman of the
Board of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, Minority Teacher Caucus
(DLAMC) Ohio Education Association President, South-Western Education
Association Vice President and Negotiator, Ohio Education Association Executive
Committee Member, National Education Association Board of Directors, Washington
D.C., National Education Association Program and Budget Committee Washington
D.C., and
Ohio
and
Supporting High-Needs Schools continued
By
Randy Flora
The resulting policy recommendations, which addressed
fundamental conditions for successful teaching and learning, affirmed the
importance of high-quality professional development. These recommendations may
be found at www.ohionbctsummit.org.
On October 4-5, 2007, teams of educators from each of these
summit states will be meeting in
State Superintendent Susan Tave Zelman and the President of
the Ohio Education Association, Patricia Frost-Brooks, are leading
The conveners of the forum are the James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy, the National Education Association, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
|
Book Review: Workshops
That Really Work --
The ABC's of Designing and Delivering
Sensational Presentations continued
By
Sherri Houghton
This new book is an excellent choice for any new staff
developer, especially the school based staff developers, who are often teachers
without presentation experience. It
is written about a teacher who is asked by her principal to present a workshop
for her staff.
Chapter One helps readers assess their potential as a presenter and includes some excellent tools to help accomplish this. One of the valuable parts of this book is that reflection is integrated into the writing, emphasizing the importance of this skill for staff developers.
Research information about Adult Learning is presented in chapter
two. A variety of theories about
adult learning are summarized, with enough detail to serve as a review for
reader who may have studied this before, or to serve as a starting point for
those who aren't familiar with adult learning styles characteristics.
Hal then walks the reader through the steps of designing a
presentation and presenting the workshop. Both of these chapters are designed
with questions for the new presenters to answer as they go through this
process. Other tools, including
checklists and practical suggestions, make this a very useable guide. The last chapter on growing as a
presenter would be applicable for experienced as well as new staff
developers. It contains among other
things information on what presenters need to know when they are freelancing,
including a reminder about paying income tax, which is often an unpleasant
surprise to new consultants.
The last part of the book contains resources that are very
useable. It includes everything
from how to begin a presentation, to seating suggestions, to evaluations. This should help new staff developer by
alleviating having to design many of these from scratch. The Bibliography and References will be
an excellence resource for locating more help for learning how to provide
quality professional learning.
Teachers Observing Teachers: A Professional Development Tool for
Every School
Being observed in the classroom can rattle any teacher's nerves. But, teacher observations that serve as vehicles for professional growth rather than performance evaluations have multiple benefits -- for teachers, administrators, and the school.
More and
more, administrators and teachers are viewing peer observation as a form of
collaborative professional development. This kind of observation can yield its
greatest benefits when used as a means of sharing instructional techniques and
ideologies between and among teachers.
"The intention
of teacher-to-teacher observation is that it be a tool for professional
development and, in turn, for student learning," Colleen Meaney, dean of
faculty at Souhegan High School in
LEARNING FROM
COLLEAGUE
Teacher
observation is one model of professional learning that "is key to
supporting a new vision for professional development," explained Stephanie
Hirsh, deputy executive director of the National Staff Development Council (NSDC). The new vision, according to Hirsh,
involves teacher teams that meet daily to study standards, plan joint lessons,
examine student work, and solve common problems. Team members then apply that
learning in the classroom, watching each other teach and providing regular
feedback.
"The most
positive benefit of teacher-to-teacher observation," said Hirsh, "is
that it makes teaching a public rather than a private act."
Cristi Alberino
echoed those thoughts. Teachers should "use one another for professional
development," said Alberino, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and a former
Teacher
observation often has been built into familiar activities, such as mentoring,
noted Trish Brasslow, a media specialist and mentor at
"This, to me,
is a very important form of professional development," emphasized
Brasslow.
ESTABLISHING A
CULTURE
It is
essential to effective use of the "teachers observing teachers"
strategies that school administrators enable a culture that nurtures a
collegial exchange of ideas and promotes a certain level of trust, explained
Dennis Sparks, NSDC's executive director. That culture is often absent when
observation is associated with performance rather than professional growth.
"It's a
risky thing to have your professional practice scrutinized by colleagues,"
said
Most
important to effective teacher observation is that it be student-focused. The
emphasis needs to be on how things can be done differently in the classroom to
ensure that students succeed academically, added
EXTENDED
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Teacher observation
should be part of a pool of professional development opportunities,
Joellen Killion, NSDC's director of special projects, added that a solid repertoire of professional learning is focused on student results -- standards-based, school-based, and content-specific -- and includes training, study groups, action research, and observation.
"Any program dependent on one delivery
mode alone is not likely to produce long-term results," she explained.
"The
professional development that a teacher values depends on what he or she needs
at any given time," said Meaney. "Generally," she added,
"newcomers report greater value in peer observation than do more
experienced teachers."
"I think
that I learn more from observation than from any other kind of professional
development," added Alberino, noting that reading about a particular
instructional theory does not mean it can be easily applied. Observation brings
actual practice to the forefront.
Dr. William
Roberson, co-director of the Center of Effective Teaching and Learning concurred: "Easily, peer observation is
more valuable than other forms of professional development, if the proper
context is created. If done well, it is carried out in a real, practical,
immediately relevant situation. Compare that to attending workshops or
conferences in which participants remain at a certain level of abstraction from
their own classrooms."
There is no
one right approach to teacher observation but, according to Dr. Sally Blake,
professor of teacher education at the University of Texas at El Paso, teacher observation is most successful when
the teacher and observer work together and reflect on the teaching behavior.
Teacher observation is least successful when the observer spends hours watching
without analysis or dialogue with the teacher. Blake suggested the following
sequence of events for effective teachers-observing-teachers programs:
Overview. A simple overview of the program with a
focus on what the main point of observation will be.
Discussion. Immediate discussion concerning the observation.
Observation. A short observation sequence.
Reflection. Reflection concerning how information from the sequence may be used by
the observer.
Application. Application of the behavior by the observer
in a classroom with feedback from the teacher.
NSDC's Hirsh agrees
that there is no single approach to teacher observation, but, says that it is
least successful when a peer observes a struggling teacher who doesn't know how
to benefit from the process, especially if the observer isn't adept at
identifying his or her colleagues' needs. Teacher observation works best when
expectations are clear and participants understand how to use and benefit from
the process, she added.