Professional Learning Advisory Applicants

Elementary Candidates (vote for one)

 

Shannon Benne, Title I Reading Interventionist at Westport

I am interested in serving on the Professional Learning Advisory Committee because I am a collaborator, continual learner, and I have a growth mindset. I have served as an SPLS Liaison and I am currently the ELP Liaison and TST Facilitator at my site. I have been a teacher for 9 years and a Title I Reading Interventionist for 7 of those years.  My experience has taught me the importance of professional learning and continuous growth.

Amanda Desa, 5^th grade teacher at Weaver

Joining this committee would allow me to continue to grow as an educator, collaborate with colleagues, stay up-to-date on the most current teaching practices, and most importantly, be an integral part of the professional learning community that brings new ideas to the classroom in order to help students achieve their goals.

Jamie Quirk, IB Primary Years Programme Coordinator at Field and Boyd

I welcome the possibility to serve on the SPS Professional Learning Advisory Team for next year.  Working with adult learners is my passion, and I am excited about the opportunity to gain greater insights on how to better support teachers in our district.  Some traits I am nurturing which might benefit the PL team are:

• being creative and innovative
• being open-minded and collaborative with others
• being aware of multiple perspectives when making decisions (student, teacher, district, parent, community)
• being knowledgeable about current research pertaining to teaching, learning and assessment

I would love the chance to collaborate and grow from others in the SPS professional learning community.

Secondary Members – (Vote for four)

Deanna Gibbs, Art teacher at Pleasant View Middle

I would like to serve on the advisory because I like to be involved with what is going on with professional learning.  I have served on my school’s professional development team for 10 years.  I like to advocate for professional learning that is applicable to all subject areas.  I seek out and attend professional learning workshops outside of the hours required by the district in order to improve my own teaching.  I enjoy being involved with professional learning.

Angela Mansel, 6^th grade ELA teacher at Wilson’s Creek

I would like to be a part of the PL Advisory because I’m a firm believer in being a life-long learner.  Teaching is a profession, like many others, that is constantly changing and evolving.  Teachers and staff need training and support in staying apprised of what is new and how it effects them and their classrooms.  Through being a SPLS Liaison in the past and also being a member of the Professional Learning Department this year, I know the impact that this organization has on the success of our teachers and staff, and I would like the chance to continue being a part of that success.

Alma Pettenger, Spanish teacher at Glendale

As a teacher, I recognize the impact that quality professional learning has in bridging the gap between where we are as teachers and where we desire to be.  I would like to be part of this committee to have the opportunity to be influential and have a voice in the dialogues and discussions that will lead to decisions impacting Professional Learning in our district. 

Brandon Randall, 7^th grade World History teacher at Pershing Middle

As a fellow lifelong learner, I would be honored to come alongside others and help in their professional learning, to better help meet the needs of the students here at Springfield Public Schools.

Gretchen Teague, Theatre/ELA Teacher at Central

I have had the honor of serving on the PLAC for the last three years. It has been a learning experience as I have witnessed the process of bringing professional learning to such a large education community.  I am passionate about instilling a need and a love for professional learning in all educators.  In addition, continuing to learn and grow as an educator is one of my life goals.  It would be my honor to continue to work with the PLAC for another three year term.

 

The What and Why of National Board Certification
by Alma Pettenger, Professional Learning Specialist, NBCT 

Standard 8: Professional Practice

Quality Indicator 2: Professional learning

 

Effective teachers understand that being a lifelong learner is at the heart of good teaching.  In 2012, I was one of two teachers in the state of Missouri to achieve National Board Certification for World Languages.  This was the most rigorous, grueling, and yet the most transformative professional learning experience of my career. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is not about passing a test or receiving an attractive certificate that you can frame to decorate your work space; it is about achieving the highest standards set by a profession, which in turn will support students in achieving their highest potential. 

What is National Board Certification?

Created for teachers and by teachers, National Board Certification is a voluntary, advanced professional certification for PreK-12 educators. The standards identify teaching expertise through a performance-based, peer-reviewed assessment.  NBPTS outlines what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do in these five core propositions:

Proposition 1: Teachers are committed to students and their learning.

Proposition 2: Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.

Proposition 3: Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.

Proposition 4: Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.

Proposition 5: Teachers are members of learning communities.

What sets National Board Certification apart from other professional learning experiences?

For me, what made this professional learning experience rise above the rest is that it is 100% voluntary, 100% self-directed, and 100% personal.  According to Malcom Knowles’s Adult Learning Theory, adults’ most potent motivator to learn is internal drive—self-esteem, better quality of life, self-actualization, etc. (Caruso, 2010). This means that true learning occurs when adults are motivated to continue growing and developing.  So, embarking on this process as a volunteer is indeed powerful!

Additionally, NBPTS is recognized as the gold standard in teacher certification . The core belief of NBPTS is that higher standards for teachers mean better learning for students.

Why should you consider NBPTS?

Personally, I was at a place in my career where I felt I needed to be challenged to be the best teacher I could be.  I was looking for something that would truly help me move my students forward.  This process transformed me into a more reflective practitioner.  I constantly ask myself the why, the how, and the what-next of every decision I make for my students.

In achieving Board Certification, teachers prove their ability to advance student learning and achievement. Research shows that the students of Board-certified teachers learn more than students in other classrooms, which is why many states and districts offer incentives for teachers to pursue Board Certification. Springfield Public Schools offers a $3,000 yearly stipend for teachers who achieve Board Certification.  SPS currently has 6 teachers who are Board Certified: Melissa Albright, Wilson’s Creek; Stephanie Blake, Middle College; Kathy McGrane, Glendale High School; Kimberlea Gray, Parkview High School; Lisa Lilley, MYP Coordinator; and myself.

If you are looking for a learning opportunity that will inform your practice and will help you become a reflective practitioner, take a deeper look at NBPTS.  Visit the NBTS website for more information about what the process involves. You could also contact me at apettenger@spsmail.org and I will be more than happy to help you explore the nuts and bolts of this process. 

Caruso, Shirly. (2010). Malcolm Knowles and the six assumptions underlying andragogy. eAdult   Education. Retrieved from http://www.eadulteducation.org/adult-learning/malcolm-knowles-and-the-six-assumptions-underlying-andragogy/.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.nbpts.org/.

It’s True: They Do Know You Better Than You Know Yourself
by Alicia Moore, Professional Learning Specialist

Standard 8: Professional Practice

Quality Indicator 1: Self-assessment and improvement

In her 2011 TED talk, Kathryn Shulz asks her audience this question: “How does it feel to be wrong?” To the answers—dreadful, thumbs down, embarrassing—she responds, “Thank you. These are great answers, but they’re answers to a different question. You guys are answering the question: How does it feel to realize you’re wrong?” She goes on to say, “It does feel like something to be wrong: it feels like being right.”

Shulz’s insight applies to all kinds of situations, but perhaps none so much as self-assessment. We each might assume that we know our own strengths and weaknesses better than our colleagues or family members know us. Again and again, however, research has proven this assumption to be wrong.

We are limited by our own perceptions of the world. This phenomenon, the Dunning-Krueger effect, goes something like this: If I’ve mastered a skill, I will underestimate my own ranking because I expect that others find it fairly easy, too. And when I encounter a daunting task, the cognitive load will impair my judgment to the point that I can’t effectively evaluate just how much better others are faring on the same task (Hattie & Yates 2014, p. 233-235).

So what’s a professional to do, then? If we are incapable of assessing our own performance, how do we achieve the goal of continual growth?

The antidote, it seems, is regular feedback. Our blinds spots are mostly limited to ourselves. When compared to self-predictions, people are more accurate at predicting others’ IQs, test scores, and even how likely they are to volunteer in the future (Hattie & Yates, 2014, p. 231). The more often you can calibrate your own perceptions, the more valid your self-evaluation will become.

Consider these sources of feedback as you assess your own teaching performance:

• Students: Create a regular feedback loop by asking students to give you a quick rundown of what’s working and what’s not. You might use simple surveys or exit slips.
• Colleagues: Ask another teacher to spend even a few minutes in your classroom to record what they notice about a specific instructional skill that you’re working on.
• Administration: This may seem too obvious, but your principal has seen a lot of classrooms. Ask him or her for a little insight into your performance on a regular basis.
• Video: Use whatever technology you might have to record and then collect hard data on your teaching. Jim Knight (2014) suggests several categories, including types of questions, instructional vs. non-instructional time, and teacher vs. student talk.

Hattie, J., & Yates, G. (2014). Visible learning and the science of how we learn. New York, NY: Routledge.

 Knight, J. (2014). Focus on teaching: Using video for high-impact instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

 Shulz, K. (2011, March). Kathryn Shulz: On being wrong [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com /talks/kathryn_schulz_on_being_wrong/transcript?language=en#t-376747.