During my final semester I took ECI 508 - Teachers as Leaders. This class helped me to look at the leadership roles I have taken in my school and also to look to the future. I completed weekly leadership logs, where I was able to reflect on opportunities I had during the week, respond to class readings or complete assigned tasks. The leadership logs helped me to see just how much of a leadership role I have, even if not in an official capacity.
I was also part of a book study for The Common Core Coaching Book by Laurie Elish-Piper and Susan K. L'Allier. I chose this book because I wanted to explore the world of coaching more and I thought this book would give me some great information. The layout of this book is easy to follow and it is also easy to read. It is a guide to coaching that would be beneficial to those just starting their coaching career or those who have been in that role for some time. Strategy 15: Co-Planning is one strategy that stood out to me. We plan together on my grade level and I’ve always thought of that as co-planning but now I see that we need to dig in more. This is a strategy that I will talk to my grade level about because I see that we could be doing so much more. We need to look at co-planning as, “putting the planning process into slow motion so that they can have time to examine relevant student data and address critical components of the lesson before actual teaching begins.” (Elish-Piper & L’Allier p. 152) I think we do a good job of looking at student data but we need to look more at the components of our lessons. We need to get into the standards and really dissect them. Another aspect of this class was completing leadership activities. I helped with the planning of Word Week at Marbles Museum and volunteered one Saturday afternoon. I also presented to mini "cool tool" sessions for the Beginning Teachers at my school. I introduced them to Plickers and Padlet. Plickers is a quick and simple way to collect formative assessment data. Students have a "code" card that they hold up to show their answer to a question presented on the board. The teacher can then quickly scan the cards and collect all answers. Teachers can then create reports to show what students understand a concept and which students need more support. I use Plickers with my K/1 students and they love it. I also let the leader of the day create a question for their classmates. The leader asks the question and scans the answers, it is one of their favorite parts of being the leader! The other "cool too" I chose was Padlet. I feel like Padlet can be useful for students and teachers. I like that teachers can create boards with links to a wide variety of things, not just a website. Padlet can be a useful tool for students as well. They can comment on posts from their teacher, create their own Padlet or add to a premade Padlet. Padlet will create a QR code that students can quickly scan with their device so they can add information. Padlet is very user friendly and FREE!
During my time in ECI 508, I completed a Needs Assessment and Strategic Plan. I conducted my Needs Assessment by surveying the K-2 teachers at my school, using Google Forms, to find out about technology use in the classroom. 15 of 17 teachers responded to multiple choice questions and scaled questions about their technology use. Bean & Dagen (2012), state in their book, Best Practices of Literacy Leaders, that needs assessments allow teacher leaders to "gain an understanding of the interests and needs of their peers and then provide them with necessary resources." (p. 26) My needs assessment helped me gain that understanding of my peers interests and needs. The results showed that teachers are using technology but most of the time it is to share information and if students are using the iPads it is to practice skills and not to create products. Using the data collected I was able to create a Strategic Plan for my grade level. Teachers chose to learn about Chatterpix and they had students create their own to share information about Oviparous animals. I enjoyed sharing this tech tool with my grade level and I am hoping to branch out in the future to share with other grade levels as well.
Bean, R. M., & Dagen, A. S. (2012). Best practices of literacy leaders: keys to school improvement. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Elish-Piper, L., & LAllier, S. K. (2014). The common core coaching book: Strategies to help teachers address the K-5 ELA standards. New York: The Guilford Press.