SDCO Newsletter

April 2008

jones President’s Message:
Reflection of Killion’s Conference and Book
By Sharon Jones
SDCO President

How fortunate we were to have Joellen Killion roll out her new book, The Learning Educator, at our conference in January. She chose the state of Ohio...and members of our Staff Development Council of Ohio specifically...as the host for her initial presentation. As always, Joellen gave us much to ponder in the day-long conference, but the title of the book itself is worthy of discussion.

Regional LPDC Support Team News
By Lorie Owens
Assistant Director, Office of Educator Quality
The Center for the Teaching Profession, Ohio Department of Education

The Regional LPDC Support Team, now in its third year, is currently at work assisting districts in unwrapping the Ohio Educator Standards, the print version of which was delivered to every Ohio school this fall. The group has a page on the Ohio Department of Education’s website, which can be accessed by clicking here. The page lists all representatives by region and their contact information. Additionally, a schedule of regional meetings is linked to the site. The Regional LPDC Support Team provides clarifying information on the BCII and FBI checks now required of all teachers.

Engaging Reluctant Learners At ALL Levels:
The Tripod Project
By Tyrone L. Olverson, M.Ed. & Randall G. Sampson, Ph.D.

Reluctant learners can be found along various points along the intellectual continuum. These students are found throughout many different categories such as special education populations (both learning disabled and gifted), all socio-economic levels, gender, race, and ethnicity. Teachers are continuously perplexed with how to reach these reluctant learners. In order to welcome even the most reluctant young minds into the learning process, schools should collaboratively create a personalized learning culture and continuously engage their students through a thoughtful classroom.

Read more on Central Ohio Follow-Up

Try This: Idea for Your Next Professional Learning Session
By Larry Pfrogner

try this We’ve all been there many times. You’re sitting in a meeting or a professional learning session and someone speaks up. If they’re one of the younger members of the staff you either applaud their maturity or smile at their inability to “see the big picture.” If it’s an older staff member, you either value their wisdom or think time’s passing them by. Where is STRS when you really need them?

Consultant Marian Liebowitz offers a continuum that might cleanse your palate next time this happens. If you fall on the older end of this spectrum, you’ll probably smile and say, “Yah, I’ve been there.” If you’re on the younger end, trust that this could be you in the future. As someone with a vested interest in professional learning, click the link below to see how different adult age groups typically “respond.”

Professional Learning Goals:
Trying to Be a Learning Educator
By Kellie Hayden

hayden Three teachers and one administrator from Logan-Hocking Middle School, who make up the LHMS Professional Learning Committee, participated in the wonderful Joellen Killion presentation at the January SDCO workshop. This committee is now back at school trying to use the ideas from Killion’s book, The Learning Educator, to improve professional learning for the LHMS staff.

The Faculty Room:
Exploring the Essential Questions of Education
By Teresa Dempsey

dempsey Focused dialogue and professional learning communities -- we know these two practices can yield great professional learning experiences. The ever-illusive resource of time continues to be one of the greatest challenges for enabling this opportunity, given the reality of our manic work-world pace! Fortunately, technology has some creative options one can now tap into for some alternative opportunities that don’t necessitate a planned meeting time and place for face-to-face gatherings. One that I have found particularly interesting is a professional collaborative blog called The Faculty Room: Exploring the Essential Questions of Education (www.authenticeducation.org). This blog, as well as blogs on other topics, is a technology structure used to hold a virtual conversation with people who could literally be from all over the world – if they are connected to the Internet.