Professional Learning
Inservice Calendar
Inservice Calendar
Professional Learning Calendar (Google Calendar)
Professional Learning Calender (Older Layout)
Professional Learning Communities
Professional Learning Communities
Professional Learning Communities:
In 2021 we formally started our journey to implement practices to become a Professional Learning Community. We are following the model created by Richard and Rebecca DuFour and are guided by these three principles:
- A Focus on Learning
- A Collaborative Culture and Collective Responsibility
- A Results Orientation
Our work began by dedicating time at each school and at the district level to laying the foundation. We are collaborating to determine our Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals. These will serve as our guiding lights through the long journey. While the work may look different at each site, the items below outline what every school will be working on.
Team Time:
The primary focus is making sure there is a regular opportunity for teachers to collaborate. We have a dedicated team time every Wednesday from 1:30 to 2:30 for teachers to answer these four critical questions:
- What is it we want our students to know and be able to do?
- How will we know if each student has learned it?
- How will we respond when some students don’t learn it?
- How will we extend the learning for those students who have demonstrated proficiency?
What does that look like? Answering these four questions requires an intense amount of up front work, regular communication, and constant revisions. Our teacher teams are working to complete the following tasks:
- Identify and review essential standards
- Align the scope and sequence of instruction to ensure all students get on-level instruction
- Create common formative assessments (CFAs) that all students receive
- Include students and parents in the process: make sure they know the learning path, where they are on it, and how to move forward
- Regularly review the results from those CFAs to determine which students have mastered the learning and which students need additional support
- Collaborate on instructional practices that worked the best so that all teachers and students can benefit
- Create a plan for re-teaching to those students who need it and extending for those who have mastery
Cultural Shifts:
In order to maximize student success, we are working on the following cultural changes:
- Learning together: In the words of Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better”
- Holding high expectations: We know that students will rise to our expectations when we set the bar high
- Collective Responsibility: Instead of thinking in terms of “your kids” or “my kids”, our staff will understand that they are all “our kids”
- Tight vs Loose: While we will work together and will be very tightly aligned on certain things, we will also be loose and allow autonomy in other areas
Structural Changes:
In order to implement these beliefs and practices, we must have the right systems in place. We are currently working to align all of our schools with these structural changes:
- Identify essential standards for every grade level and subject and ensure that every student gets quality instruction with these standards
- Tier II: Create additional time during the school day to allow for re-teaching of content that students did not master the first time it was taught
- Tier III: Allow time for remedial instruction for those students who are lacking skills from previous academic years
Distance Learning Resources
Distance Learning Resources
- Overview
- Dual-Teaching Professional Supports from SLSD Teachers
- SLSD Ongoing Professional Supports:
- Elementary Teacher Collaboration Meetings
- SLSD Professional Development Modules for September
- Distance Learning Playbook
- Resources: Ed Tech Guide, Google Classroom Template, ARC Handbook
Overview
The following resources are geared to help support instructional staff as we enter a new paradigm of teaching and learning. Some of these items were created by professional researchers/authors, but most of them come from your peers: the SLSD Content and Delivery Team that met and worked over the summer and into the fall. Please understand that we may not be experts in all of these areas, but we are trying to provide a baseline for best practices in this new world.
Before you learn, check out this video overview of how these training modules will work.
Dual-Teaching Professional Supports from SLSD Teachers
As part of the hybrid model there will be some teachers that must teach to students who are in person as well as those that are online. We call this “concurrent teaching,“ or “dual teaching.” We have several teachers in South Lane who have been dual teaching for parts of this year and volunteered to share their knowledge and experience to help support others. A special thank you to Sarah Parsons, Peter Bowers, Kelcee Colburn, and Esther Takacs for helping us! As you have questions, reach out to your administrator, these four staff members, or other teacher leaders that can help.
- Dual Teaching Conversation: This interview with all four volunteers covers topics such as tech set up, managing materials, utilizing an EA, checking in with students, and more.
- Tech Set Up (higher tech version): Watch Sarah Parsons explain how she sets up her technology for dual teaching
- Tech Set Up (higher tech version): Watch Peter Bowers explain how he sets up his technology for dual teaching
- Tech Set Up (lower tech version): Watch Esther Takacs explain how she sets up her technology for dual teaching
- Peter and Sarah mention using the Sphere2 software - click here to check it out
- Materials: Listen as Sarah Parsons explains how she manages materials for both in person and online students
- Using an EA: Listen as Sarah Parsons explains how she utilizes an EA in the dual teaching format
- Students Entering Class: Watch Peter Bowers as he welcomes students to class both in person and online
- Lesson Introduction: Watch Peter Bowers as he gets class going in the dual teaching format
- Transitioning During Class: Watch Peter Bowers as he transitions from one activity to another while dual teaching
- Resources: Click on these links for additional information and ideas on dual teaching:
- In this podcast from “Brave New Teaching,” an English teacher who just experiences this shift shares her own thoughts about how to address the new challenges
- Article by Catlin Tucker: The Concurrent Classroom: Using Blended Learning Models to Teach Students In-person and Online Simultaneously
- Cult of Pedagogy article on How to Teach When Everyone is Scattered
- Catlin Tucker youtube video talking about concurrent teaching
- Google Presentation containing most of the above links (and more!)
SLSD Ongoing Professional Supports:
- Google Read & Write is a web browser extension available across multiple platforms and devices including Google Chrome, Windows, Mac, Microsoft Edge, iPad and Android. In addition to providing text-to-speech and speech-to-text tools, Google R&W has a variety of features that can support the learning of students, particularly those with reading and writing barriers.
- Check out this document for training resources or watch this 30 min training video. The slides for the video are at bit.ly/WUSDrw8-20 and the practice doc used on slide 7 is at this link: Read&Write Practice Doc Template
- The Distance Learning Playbook Unpacked is a weekly video podcast produced by Cassadie Ross, one of Lane ESDs education specialists and Dustin Dawson, their educational technology specialist. Currently there are episodes on The First Days of School, Hyperdocs, Building Relationships, Facilitating Discussions and much more!
- Weekly Clinic Time: Dustin and Cassadie also host a weekly tech support clinic 3:00-4:00 on Thursdays. Click here to drop into the zoom and ask questions!
- District-Directed Staff Development: In November and December we will be providing time for staff to have a “playdate” and engage with their peers in exploring tech tools. Harrison Teacher Scot Hoffman facilitated two of these in September and they were a big hit. Check out this summary of the work.
- November 4th - Elementary Teachers
- December 2nd - Middle School Teachers
- January (exact date TBD) - High School Teachers
- Google Enterprise Suite: Soon we will post a link to video resources to help you learn the functions of Google Enterprise Suite - including upgrades to google meets like breakout rooms, attendance tracking, blurred backgrounds, permanent recordings, and more. In the meantime, find your building tech expert for support.
- Check out this document for some early tricks and tips
- Check out this video for a full tutorial on the features
- Building High Expertise Teaching for Student Achievement (Formerly called The Skillful Teacher): This series of workshops is put on by certified trainers at Lane ESD and is based on the work done by the Research for Better Teaching. This work has guided out professional development for years and is part of our SLSD Teacher Evaluation Rubric. This year probationary teachers will complete modules 1 and 4, and any other teacher or EA is welcome to sign up as well. Since these modules are done outside the normal work day, participating teachers will receive one day of pay at the curriculum rate. To sign up, click on the module link below and enter your information in the Lane ESD website (for “workshop fees paid by...” choose “my district or employer”). Please contact jeremy.smith@slane.k12.or.us if you’d like to sign up.
- Other
Elementary Teacher Collaboration Meetings
- December 2nd Elementary Teacher Collaboration Meetings:
- Kindergarten Notes Sheet, 1st Grade Notes Sheet, 2nd Grade Notes Sheet, 3rd Grade Notes Sheet, 4th Grade Notes Sheet, 5th Grade Notes Sheet, SPED Notes Sheet, PE Notes Sheet
- October 28th Elementary Teacher Collaboration Meetings:
- Kindergarten Notes Sheet, 1st Grade Notes Sheet, 2nd Grade Notes Sheet, 3rd Grade Notes Sheet, 4th Grade Notes Sheet, 5th Grade Notes Sheet, SPED Notes Sheet, PE Notes Sheet
- Sept 8: Elementary Alignment/Report Cards
- This is a live session led by one of the members of the Content and Delivery team. Open this agenda and then log on to your grade level:
- Kindergarten - Led by Ambyr Hankins
- 1st grade - Led by Jill Middleton
- 2nd/3rd grade - Led by Samantha Beach
- 4th grade - Led by Sarah Drew
- 5th grade - Led by Larissa Leavitt
- SPED/Specialists - Led by Jen Rohman
SLSD Professional Development Modules for September
Sept 1: Google Classroom Modules
- Creating a voiceover of a computer screen on a Mac
- Creating a voiceover of a computer screen on a PC
- Creating a voiceover of a powerpoint on a PC
- Creating a voiceover of a computer screen on a Mac or PC using Screencastify
- Creating a video of a teacher’s face only from cell phone or tablet
- Creating a video using a Doc Cam -
- First, check out this document to learn how to set up your doc cam for google meets
- To record a video: PC user’s use this link
- To record a video: Mac users use this link
- Exploring EdPuzzle - Open this document and explore each link. Then give the activities a try to apply your learning.
- Set up: https://youtu.be/ysbiI8LXmsY
- What it looks like to students:https://youtu.be/KApTGFQhWY4
- Text (followed by the links below): These are the PD Modules you will complete on September 1. Click on the link to access the video/powerpoint to view.
- Google Classroom Management PD Module (~25 minutes)
- NEW: Check out this NEW 1-minute video with details about advanced setting in Google Classroom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVYE4pSeRoM
- Google Classroom Content Creation PD Module (~45 minutes)
- Creating Videos PD Module (~60 minutes for all these modules)
- Questions for our experts? Join this google meets at 3:30 to ask Danny Henson questions about google, creating videos, and tech in general
- NEW: Checkout this NEW method to use your doc cam to record videos on a PC. This method requires no additional software:
Sept 10: ARC Handbook
- Click here to access the ARC Handbook (Please download it as a PDF or Microsoft Word document in order for the linke to be live)
- ARC Handbook PD Module
Sept 14:
- Remind Help Center (Upload from eschool to remind will happen in a week or two)
- SeeSaw Webinar
- SeeSaw Help Center
- Mystery Science Quick Getting Started Tutorial
- Using Mystery Science for Distance Learning
Sept 15: Google Forms, Google Slides, and Tech Tools
- Text (followed by the links below): These are the PD Modules you will complete on September 15. Click on the link to access the video/powerpoint to view.
- Google Forms PD Module (~45 minutes)
- Google Slides PD Module (~45-60 minutes)
- Tech Tools: Each level (elementary, middle, high) will have an individualized synchronous session. Your building principal will be in contact with details
- Elementary: Sept 15 8:00-9:30
- Middle: Sept 15 10:00-11:30
- High: TBD
- Danny Henson and Carlan Kephart will be on this google meets at 11:30 AM on September 15th for a Q&A session
Distance Learning Playbook
Use this link to log on to all of our sessions on September 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd 12:30-3:30: https://zoom.us/j/97531308700
- Sept 2 - modules 2, 5, 6
- Sept 9 - modules 6, 7, 8
- Sept 16 - modules 3, 4
- Sept 23 - modules 4, 1, 9
This book will be the base of our instructional approach with students. The authors are well-known and highly-respected educators in their field and the practices in the book align with our SLSD priorities. (Click here for a webinar with the authors.) We have ordered a hard copy of this book for every teacher and EA in the district. Due to high demand, though, the hard copies may not arrive until mid-September so we have also secured eBook copies for you. This PDF shows the specific code for your eBook. Find your code and follow these directions:
- Click here: www.vitalsource.com
- Click on “Sign In” on the top right
- If you are new to VitalSource Bookshelf, simply scroll down to click on NEW TO VITALSOURCE? CREATE AN ACCOUNT, a very simple process (Choose “Other” for institution name)
- Once signed in, click on REDEEM in the top right corner, and enter the voucher code
In addition we will engage in a series of 4 workshops facilitated by Distance Learning Playbook certified trainers. They will walk us through the content of the book and allow us to reflect and go deeper on concepts. These sessions will occur virtually each Wednesday 12:30-3:30 starting on September 2nd.
Resources: Ed Tech Guide, Google Classroom Template, ARC Handbook
We know that the instruction we provided in the spring was not distance learning--it was crisis learning--and we know we can do better. Using both local and national data from students, staff, and parents, our team has created the SLSD Ed Tech Guide (ETG) to help you in planning and implementing lessons. It contains a list of best practices, a model for planning lessons, and a list of tech tools that have been vetted and already approved for district use.
One piece of feedback that we heard loud and clear is that students and parents felt overwhelmed in the spring. In order to provide a streamlined and organized google classroom experience we’ve created a Google Classroom Template that teachers can use as a model. You will have to use this class code to view the template: klkjxfc
The Parent/Student ARC Handbook is a guide to help our families as they engage in distance learning. ARC stands for the following:
- Access learning
- Respond to instruction
- Communicate with teachers
- It includes directions on how to log into google classroom, how to upload photos as student work, how to get tech help, and much more (NOTE: It is important download this as a PDF or Microsoft Word document in order for the links to be live.) In early September staff will meet with students and families to walk them through the handbook and answer any questions they have.