Great Journal Article analyzing PD

Best Practices in Teachers’ Professional Development in the United States (2015)

• 5 features of effective PD: content focus, active learning, coherence, sustained duration, collective participation
• Insights to improve implementation of PD based on the above features:
• Small, simple changes are easier than large, complicated changes
• PD should be calibrated to individual teacher needs
• PD is more successful when it is explicitly linked to classroom lessons
• Teachers are more likely to use ideas and strategies from PD when they are aligned with leadership priorities
• Challenges
• Coherence of PD over time
• Connecting PD to the classroom
• Measuring effectiveness of PD
• Conclusions
• establishing periodic monitoring and feedback loops is essential (creates a cycle of continuous improvement
• Evaluate PD rigorously to increase understanding of why some PD activities are effective and others aren’t

Free Formative Tech Tools

Digital Jigsaws

Chrome Extensions and Add-ons I Actually Use

Graphic Organizers on Google Slides

Google Slides is a wonderful tool for creating Graphic Organizers, both digitally or printed. The digital versions are also a great addition to HyperDocs. Here is a folder of templates I have created. Below are some examples:

Collaborative Summarizing Strategies

Building a Discussion Culture in the Classroom

Re-branding Lecture Notes

Finding the R in SAMR

Being a part of the edtech community for the last few years has brought me into contact with the SAMR Model (in short, SAMR is the tech version of DOK or Bloom; SAMR 120 second video; SAMR Article with examples) numerous times. In fact, I cannot recall the first time, as it was several years ago. However, I recently discovered that most educators have never heard of the SAMR Model. This was an "aha" moment for me. As we all transition to a 1:1 (one internet accessible device per student in the classroom) environment, models like SAMR will be essential in transforming our pedagogical strategies to take advantage of our new access to the internet. 

Below is the Slides from a PD session I have been doing recently. The SAMR model is briefly explained and four strategies along the continuum are explained.

Schoology Training Modules

Question Formulation Technique

Twitter for "micro-PD"

Google Keep

Chrome Extensions

RUSD LearningFest

Welcome Back!

Here are some google cheat sheets in case you forgot over the summer