Strategic and embedded professional development focused on
instructional observation, debriefing, and reflection is a significant part of
our learning community. WOW (Working on the Work) Days happen on designated
Wednesdays by grade level. A group of grade level teachers spend a whole day
focused on their own professional learning and reflection while students
circulate through our resources (Art, Media, Music, Character Ed, and Physical
Education.) This frees the teacher for learning without having to develop sub
plans and the young learners eagerly anticipate this special day of enrichment
in the fine arts or planned theme-based unit.
It’s a tradition entrenched in our work that gets a huge bang for the
buck; one I would recommend for all schools.
Today was 4th grade WOW Day. In the intermediate
school we are departmentalized so the ELA teachers spent the day together while
their math/science counterparts did the same.
The ELA lead, Mrs. Chascin kept her students for the first WOW rotation
and hosted a Readers’ Workshop demonstration lesson in her classroom. Mrs.
Phillips, the Math lead, did the same and hosted a Math Workshop lesson. As their
colleagues observed, they took notes, read student work, listened to students
articulate their thinking, and reflected on how their instructional practice
aligns with the observed lesson. They then participated in a debrief session to
share ideas, ask questions, and clarify learning.
After lunch, the ELA learning leaders focused on Achieves
3000 training, a new online resource our district has purchased this year, and
the Math/Science learning leaders focused on Interactive Science Journals. The
M/S folks did an article study on the topic, synthesized the information,
reflected on their current implementation level, shared examples, asked each
other relevant questions, and selected their next steps for implementation. In
the truest sense of the word, they participated in a PLC to fine tune their
classroom instruction. 
I spent my day with the Math/Science team and to say that I
was impressed with their collegiality is an understatement. This is the work
that ultimately counts; Work that changes classroom practice with real kids in
real classrooms with real teachers. There
is No Place Like Chets…
Every bit of research points to the quality of teaching being the number one difference in school success, so it should follow that professional development should be the number one goal in every school. Unfortunately, it's not. How thankful I am to be in a school that recognizes the value of teachers and teaching, and uses that knowledge to provide quality professional development that is job embedded and on-the-clock.
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