Things Learned - or Affirmed - as a Middle School Mom

As a life-long middle school advocate, I have always known and valued my students as their teacher and school leader, but recently I became a middle school mom. As a parent, many of my beliefs about doing what is right for middle school children have been affirmed, and I have gained wisdom by seeing the situation from a parent\u27s perspectives. Here are some of the lessons learned or affirmed by a middle school mom

Chat It Up: Backchanneling to Promote Reflective Practice Among In-Service Teachers

In a graduate education course geared toward developing reflective teaching practice in in-service teachers, backchannels, in the form of chat rooms, were employed in small groups to facilitate peer feedback during viewings of video recorded instruction. This study examined the nature and quality of peer feedback exchanged in the digital medium and gauged graduate students’ impressions of the technology, with potential for carryover into their professional practices in P-12 instruction. Results revealed that the backchannel was perceived as an easy-to-use tool that promoted rich, real-time, high-quality feedback and a space to collaborate and exchange ideas, while improving engagement. Backchannel comments had mostly positive or neutral tone, and took the form of observations, compliments, and helpful coaching prompts. Comments were overwhelmingly focused on instructional strategies, teacher behavior, and the learning environment. Participants saw value in utilizing backchannels in P-12 settings, but some expressed hesitation in using such tools with young students

Seeing Is Believing: Peer Video Coaching as Professional Development Done With Me and for Me

As part of their graduate education, in-service teachers identified an area of instructional focus, video recorded their classroom instruction at two intervals in a semester-long course, formed peer groups, and shared their videos for the purpose of obtaining feedback for professional growth. After the conclusion of the course, participants were contacted and presented with a summary of four benefits of the peer video review process, as identified in a recent professional article. Through online survey, participants were asked to share their perceptions of the peer video review experiences in the course and address any evidence related to the benefits raised in the professional article. Qualitative analysis revealed evidence of individual and collective benefits at personal and professional levels and consensus around the value of the experience, despite common apprehension about the vulnerability involved in sharing. Additionally, participants identified strengths of the video medium and provided suggestions for practical applications of peer video review in the field

Examination of access and equity by gender, race and ethnicity in a non-traditional leadership development program in the United States

In developing the next generation of school leadership, school districts across the United States and internationally must consider who is being promoted, the training they are able to access beyond traditional university degree work, the schools in which these emerging leaders enter their first principalships, and how prepared these new leaders are to succeed and remain in the role. This study explores international literature regarding school leader, particularly new leader, development and placement. The study discusses what is happening internationally in terms of the gender distribution of school leaders and the literature of non-traditional leadership development. To explore gender, race, and ethnicity in hiring and promotion practices, the study employs the methodology of case study analysis. This case study analysis formed from a need to understand the changing dynamics of race, gender, and ethnicity in school leadership in four American school districts participating in a non-traditional regional leadership development program. These districts, in the Richmond, Virginia (U.S.A.) metro area, are experiencing changing student demographics by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Specifically, the study addresses the demographic profile of those seeking leadership, the changing demographics of these communities, and the professional assignment of participating early career leaders

Engaging the Power of Peer Observation

As a college professor, I have taught hundreds of graduate students in instructional leadership and reflective teaching courses. The overwhelmingly consistent report I hear from these active and engaged educators is that they rarely, if ever, have time to see each other teach. Teaching remains an isolated event - protected time for teachers to share their craft through thoughtful peer discussion and observation rarely. exists. When time is devoted to these activities, it usually is prescribed by building or division-led professional development initiatives, experiences teachers say do not feel genuine, safe, and focused on true reflection and growth. As Daniels, Pirayoff, and Bessant state, professional development experiences in K-12 education are often disconnected from what teachers actually want and need in order to authentically improve and/or strengthen their practice (2013, p.268)

EduLead: Regional Partnership for Regional Benefit

Faced with decreasing budgets, principal attrition and the pressure for increasedlevels of student performance, school divisions must develop and support leaders who can “do more with less” and are equipped for success when facing the many challenges of school leadership. EduLead promotes a continuum of skilled school leadership through its five programs and regional partnership design. This innovative approach was created to build leadership capacity for aspiring, new, and established educational leaders through a continuum of novel and non-traditional leadership development programs. EduLead’s work represents an example of a highly collaborative school, corporate and university partnership that engages the regional community in the success of schools. Supporting regional efforts ensures a pipeline of skilled school-level leaders and promotes effective succession planning. EduLead’s leadership development activities are made possible through the financial and programmatic support of corporate and Foundation partners who are invested in the success of children in regional K-12 schools