Learning Blog ISDT 5369

Action without purpose is rarely effective and often does not serve the real needs of those you intend to help. At the beginning of the professional development training package project, I felt it would be important for me to base decisions about what topic I would address on what was needed in the district and what teachers would actually be able to use. Even if these are not necessary criteria for choosing a topic, it created a sense of purpose for me that would help in crafting a specific plan, one that would potentially be well received and perhaps more effective. On the other hand, I could choose a topic on what I found through external research was most useful or appropriate for the learning environment or type of teacher, and it might well lead to a successful training package, but it would seem to have less purpose outside of the practicum course. I think I have learned this through making the mistake of doing what I thought was best rather than what was needed. I have so far ...

Powerful Learning, Powerful Leadership Last week, I spoke with Sarah, the ELA/ELS teacher I am working with at Livingston, HS, about some ideas for how to better involve parents in what her 6 ESL students were doing and to help them. (In some cases, their parents are not in the country. I had just recently remembered reading a passage from "Early Learning and Educational Technology Brief" that struck me as interesting. When I mentioned that she try something like this with her students because it would give them a chance to bring their home experience into their learning and make it more personal, there was a moment of silence and a strange look came over her face. Then she lit up and said she thought that just might work.  It was clear Sarah had not imagined such a possibility, and I think when I mentioned it, she had to think about whether that was really possible and whether it would really be good for the students. I sensed that she was thinking about the risks it might i...