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I am entering my 10 thof teaching and I am always looking for ways to improve and stay fresh. Looking forward to learning how CHOICE can help me@

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Hey everyone! I'm Deanna Bullins from Patrick County High School. This is my 8th year of teaching middle school. I have taught agriculture and 8th grade science. I am currently teaching 8th grade science. I am looking forward to being apart of CHOICE and expanding my learning to help my students learn and grow.

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My name is Becky Melton and I teach Practical Nursing and Intro to Health and Medical Sciences. I am excited to add to my content knowledge. Healthcare is an ever-evolving field and I am committed to leading my students in lifelong learning as professionals.

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Thank you for allowing me to participate in CHOICE! I am a 3rd year teacher of CTE in the licensed practical nursing program and I am in my 25th year of nursing as an RN. I am looking forward to engagement in professional learning to better serve my nursing students who will then better serve the patients they will care for in their nursing career.

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College Board Workshops & Summer Institutes 

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College Board Workshops & Summer Institutes 

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Workshops and Summer Institutes - Professional Development | Education Professionals - The College Board

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College Board training programs for education professionals including workshops on topics like AP, Pre-AP, financial aid, and the SAT.

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Hello, my name is Candice Artis and this is my first experience with CHOICE. I have taught Biology over the past 10 years in a variety of capacities and to a variety of students on different academic levels from General, Inclusion, and Collegiate. I hope to learn more about ways to differentiate instruction so that I can minimize planning time creating different assignments or learning experiences. It would be great if I were able to glean ideas from other professionals.

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I'm Ed Gawlik in my third year teaching and developing a course.  I am looking to enhance my educational toolbox and see what I can accomplish with this outstanding opportunity through CHOICE.

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7 Characteristics of Great Professional Development
by Drew Perkins, Director of TeachThought PD

As the end of the school year starts to draw to a close, administrators start pulling together their PD plans in preparation for the next year. Meanwhile, teachers sit anxiously by with the dread that can only come with the anticipation of the PD days that their contract says they must attend.

It's not that teachers don't want to grow and improve their craft. They do, and they find it refreshingly professionalizing when they get to. It's just that this 'ain't their first rodeo'. They've been made to sit through pointless professional development in the past and they lament that they're thinking "how long will this last and what will I have to turn in...and when is lunch?" as they trudge toward the library down the hallway that so obviously lacks the normal student energy they've used as fuel for the past 9 months.

But it doesn't have to be like that. In fact, if we do things well, teachers are likely to come away from their professional development energized and excited.
1. Teachers prefer PD that is relevant to their context.
Seems like a no-brainer right? But how often have we sat in meetings listening to someone talking about something that isn't directly relevant to what we teach? To be fair, that's an overly simplistic way to look at this. But for the cynical teacher (and really all teachers) who's been to this rodeo before it's important to be intentional in including and growing PD from your teacher's voices.

So ask them what they want and what they need, but place it in the context of the school's Mission and Vision (you've clarified those right?) and their own personal purpose and growth. Are they aligned? Are their short term and stretch goals that they're working on? Are they beginning teachers or experienced? How do they see themselves in the ecosystem of the school and district? What do they need to know and be able to do better in order to achieve their ideal selves?

2. Teachers prefer PD that helps them plan and improve their instruction.

This doesn't mean that everything in your PD should be lesson planning time. It does mean that teachers should have ample work time to plan and meaningful processes to reflect and refine their instruction. Sometimes this means challenging each other and themselves by discussing new approaches. Or perhaps teachers are critiquing each other's planning and teaching through the lens of a quality rubric.

What about significant work time with thought partners from both inside and outside of the school to collaborate and ask questions? What it can't be is large chunks of time spent on things that teachers don't see as helpful in improving teaching and learning.
3. Teachers prefer PD that is teacher-driven.
Teacher-driven doesn't necessarily mean that teachers are the ones "leading" the work. While "unconference" types of PD where teachers are presenters like EdCamp and TeachMeet can be a great part of a balanced PD approach, having an outside partner that grows the professional learning from the questions of teachers can be powerful.

This relates back to point #1 and the issue of context and in a truly inquiry-based approach teachers are identifying what they need to know and understand in order to reach their goals. Leadership is supporting them with PD that is driven by those teacher voices.
4. Teachers prefer PD that includes hands-on strategies applicable to their classroom.
Nobody likes sit-n-get. Students don't and teachers certainly don't. If your professional development is stuck at the bottom of Bloom's taxonomy only delivering basic facts, ideas, and concepts for consumption it's going to be a dud. Better to ask teachers to move up Bloom's by applying that learning to their work which can help them make meaning.

Best is to ask them to move from consumption to creation at the start so they can contextualize the thinking and strategies they may apply in their classroom. Doing this also helps grow the powerful shift from push to pull teaching and learning. Does your PD include deliverables from your teachers (and leaders!) that require deep thinking and collaboration? Will they walk away with something they can use in the short term but also fits into a wider context of growth?
5. Teachers prefer PD that is highly interactive.
I'll say it again. Nobody likes sit-n-get. That doesn't mean that your PD should be full of silly games and stuff that "gets you on your feet" for no real purpose. Start your PD off with what I jokingly call "reindeer games" and you'll lose your cynical teachers instantly.

Engaging teachers in active thinking, processing, and dialogue while at their seats can be rewardingly interactive. Mixing that with things that do get them moving like a Gallery Walk or "The Scissors Game" (pictured on the right) where teachers practice the 4 C's of Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking and more outside of the heavy content of the workshop can be great brain breaks to keep the work moving forward. The adage of hands on and minds on works here, just be purposeful in your efforts to not let things get stale.
6. Teachers prefer PD that is sustained over time.
Education is like most other industries in that we have our fads and cycles. Today's buzzword can be tomorrow's memory and the fatigue that builds up over time can make the prospect of upcoming PD days feel tortuous. Aligning your PD with your overall Mission and Vision is a first step in helping break this cycle of "latest, greatest thing!" because it requires an intentional analysis of long-term goals.

It's also important to recognize that significant shifts in practice take substantial time and work. So while your teachers engaging in something like a project-based learning workshop can be a great start it's not likely to make the impact you're seeking without sustained followup. Teachers need to know that the work they are doing in any given PD will be relevant down the line and the cynical ones will opt-out until they feel comfortable that this will indeed be the case.
7. Teachers prefer PD that recognizes they are professionals with valuable insights.
This seems like it might be a statement from Captain Obvious but unfortunately it needs to be said...and repeated. In my 15 years as a teacher I had several administrators run PD/meetings where they made an attempt to recognize teacher voice by saying things like "the answers are in this room." What they really meant was they were going to let the teachers talk until they said what the administration wanted to hear. Not only does this not honor teacher voice, it leaves a sour taste of condescension.

In my experience leading professional development I have come across very few teachers who weren't passionate about their craft and elated when given the opportunity for professional dialogue. When we engage teachers in peer critique of their units and lessons in our workshops they light up with the joy of collaborating in meaningful ways. Administration doesn't have to relinquish control to do this. In fact, just like in the classroom, that control is illusory and the real gold is in flattening the hierarchy and engaging alongside teachers asking beautiful questions to help guide the work toward your collective vision.

Looking to grow your school?

Contact TeachThought Professional Development

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7 Characteristics of Great Professional Development -

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7 Characteristics of Great Professional Development by Drew Perkins, Director of TeachThought PD As the end of the school year starts to draw to a close, administrators start pulling together their PD plans in preparation for the next year. Meanwhile, teachers sit anxiously by with the dread that can only come with the anticipation of the PD ...

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Are you on Twitter? If not, it's a great place for you to connect with other educators who are in the same place as you and who want to focus on specific topics. It's instant access to a community of lifelong learners! And, if you haven't joined Twitter because you don't want to post things yourself, please know that posting is not required. You can just follow and enjoy what others are posting.

Accessing Twitter Chats

One of the powers of Twitter is the Twitter chat, an online conversation around a set topic at a specific time. How do you access these repositories of shared knowledge? You download a free tool. At TCEA we like the following tools:

(Lori Gracey's personal favorite). They also offer a Chrome extension.

Tchat.io - Authenticate with your Twitter log in and then sit back and watch the chat happen in your browser. Can't read the Tweets fast enough? Simply hit the pause button. Too many retweets clogging up your Twitter chat stream? Hide them. The potential is enormous with this tool.

Twitterfall - Probably the simplest Twitter chat tool to use, but it does include some nice optional features.

Here are some of the best educational Twitter chats around.

Mondays

#LearnLAP: Mondays, 7 p.m. CST
This chat was created from the book Learn Like a Pirate and is for educators who want to empower their students to collaborate, lead, and succeed.

Tuesday Twitter Chats

Wednesdays

#wiredwednesday: Wednesdays, 8 p.m. CST
Join this squad of educators to help you level up in making a difference in the lives of your students.

Thursdays

#games4Ed: Thursdays, 7 p.m. CST and Sundays 2 p.m. CST
Are you interested in game-based learning or gamification? Start here.

#appleEDUleaderchat: Thursdays, 8 p.m. CST
Jump on into this chat for sharing insights, ideas, and solutions. This discussion is geared towards leaders in education.

Saturdays

Sundays

#PeopleSkillsChat: Sundays, 9 a.m. CST
Gather with people who are wanting to explore diverse topics of human interaction, behavior, need, and impact.

#TeachPos: Sundays, 6:30 p.m. CST
Join other educators in this chat to focus on all things positive in the field of education.

Know a great chat that I missed? Email me or reach out on Twitter, and I'll be happy to add to the list. See you in the Twitterverse!

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The Big List of Educational Twitter Chats

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Are you on Twitter? If not, it's a great place for you to connect with other educators who are in the same place as you and who want to focus on specific topics. It's instant access to a community of lifelong learners!

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Ordinarily, the borrowed high school classroom is dedicated to planetary and stellar science. Still, a question on the wall might apply to the new elective being taught: "What characteristics permit us to analyze and understand the design of the universe?"

The subject is data science. And since data underlies everything, it's a course with a lot of options - both in the nature of what can be explored, and how.

"If 'run all' doesn't work for you, you can also do this ...," Matt Dakolios tells the small collection of uniformed high school students who raptly work with him to code and solve the problem at hand.

Dakolios, formerly an award-winning high school math teacher, decided to switch careers in his mid-30s. He pursued a master's in the University of Virginia's School of Data Science, and when he completed the degree in December of last year, he landed a job as a data scientist with Crutchfield Corp., a major home electronics retailer.

So what's he doing teaching a class back at his old employer, The Covenant School in Charlottesville?

Dakolios had learned that one of his UVA instructors, Adam Tashman, an associate data science professor who previously co-directed the online master's program, had joined a Virginia Department of Education task force to make recommendations for the future of K-12 math instruction - with teaching data science being high on the list.

He reached out to Tashman, and together they built a pilot high school data science course.

"For students to even consider data science, they have to first have an understanding of what it is, in order to give that field a fighting chance," Dakolios said.
Putting Money Where Their Math Is
Covenant prides itself on its math offerings, he said, with Upper School head Colin Anderson being "a phenomenal former calculus teacher, and very much pro-technology and pro-innovation."

Dakolios pitched the data science course he and Tashman created to Anderson, who was more than willing to pilot it at Covenant this fall. With permission from Crutchfield to take a break in his database management responsibilities for two hours a week, the new course was born - now among only a few data science offerings currently being tried with high-schoolers in the state.

Nine students - five seniors, three sophomores and a freshman - ultimately stepped up for the challenge at Covenant. There were no prerequisites for the elective other than interest, Dakolios said. It was assumed that they all had Algebra II by that point, however.

"They have a knowledge of linear algebraic functions, which is helpful, because we will eventually build a linear regression model at the end of the course," he said.

For those readers scratching their heads, a "linear progression model" tracks data over time to see if there is a strong or weak correlation, in the interest of making predictions. The prognostication could range from the likelihood a kicker will score the winning field goal in the Super Bowl to the chances of whether a stock will tank.

Using Data to Game Out Possibilities

On a recent fall day, Dakolios' students picked apart an iris - not the physical flower, but a dataset of open-source statistics about the flower.

Dakolios keyed in students' instructions using Python code, and as a group they investigated how the data correlates. For example, is there a strong relationship between the length of the petals and the sepals that surround them? (The answer: Yes, they are highly correlated.)

As the students build their foundational knowledge, they will work in small groups to come up with their own prediction machines.

Three of the four groups are working on video game-centered projects - who will win the next big online gaming competition and how well a new game will sell are two of the queries - while the fourth group is focused on predicting GPAs.

"For students to even consider data science, they have to first have an understanding of what it is, in order to give that field a fighting chance."

Over the next three months, the students will learn the principles of statistics, basic coding and anything else they need to bootstrap their data "pipelines" into useful tools.

The projects are set to conclude in December with group presentations.

For Nathan Klintworth, a senior who applied to UVA within the past week, the course is already making a difference in terms of his ever-refining career focus.

"I've been pretty set for most of my life on my first choice of a career, math professor, but this class has made me realize that data science would also be a good career option," Klintworth said. "I am very interested in the idea of using math to help solve real-world issues, and data science seems to be a field in high demand nowadays. I will definitely want to continue learning more and taking classes about it in college."

Senior Josie Laugelli also plans to apply to UVA. She said the class has been valuable in demonstrating ways to extract meaning from raw information, even if data science probably won't be her path.

"I love the approach that this class takes with teaching various concepts, trying them on our own and talking about how they can be applied to the analysis of data," Laugelli said.

Though she's more interested in engineering and architecture, "I will keep my mind open."

Dakolios freely admits he borrowed heavily from his UVA mentors' courses, with permission. He specifically credits Practice and Application in Data Science, which is taught by Rafael Alvarado, an associate professor who directs the residential master's program. But he gives overall credit to Tashman for envisioning and building the course.

Both professors provided Dakolios with structures and insights that made his teaching a quick reality.

"I went back through old notebooks and said, 'OK, how did we build a pipeline in that course?' And then, 'How can we make it similar, but on a high school level?'"

Currently, the Covenant students are journaling about their learning experience, which will give Tashman some raw feedback he may use in his recommendations to the state for a more formalized data science course structure.

Everyone involved in the process is learning something new, said Dakolios, who is a former South Carolina Independent Schools Teacher of the Year. In addition to his master's in data science, he earned a master's in higher education/higher ed administration at UVA, in 2009.

"In many ways, I was an expert at what I was teaching before; I was teaching statistics and calculus, and had been doing it for a long time. It was very, very comfortable. I could just walk in and teach a lesson," Dakolios said. "And so this is something new, where I know enough to teach this course, certainly, and I feel like I'm well-prepared. But I'm going from learning a new field, and then just two years later, teaching it to high school students."

"Troubleshooting and doing your own research is paramount in this field," he continued. "And so I think that that's going to be important for me as the teacher to say, 'Oh, I haven't seen this error before. Let's look it up together.'"

Dakolios said despite his ongoing ties to Covenant that include having daughters in its elementary school, he isn't sure how much longer he'll be able to teach the course, simply because his primary job comes first. Still, he's enjoying the unexpected extension of his teaching career while it lasts.

"I'm an extrovert, so I get my energy from the students and being back in the classroom," he said.

In the meantime, Tashman and others in the School of Data Science are actively seeking both private- and public-school teachers who may have an interest to preparing the next generation for careers in data science. For information, contact datascience@virginia.edu.

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Should High Schools Teach Data Science? If So, Alum Says 'Why Not Me?' - School of Data Science

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Ordinarily, the borrowed high school classroom is dedicated to planetary and stellar science. Still, a question on the wall might apply to the new elective being taught: "What characteristics permit us to analyze and understand the design of the universe?" The subject is data science.

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Hello, my name is Albert Cross I am a Criminal Justice Instructor in Washington County, VA. I have been teaching for 20 years and worked in law enforcement for 15 years. I have always felt that PD for teachers should mirror closer to the subject areas that are taught and want to participate in CHOICE for this reason.

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Hello, I have been teaching for 14 years.  I started teaching a brand new class for my district this year, which is exciting.  However, it is a lot of work.  I am excited to work with people from all over the state and learn new things to share with my students.
Melissa C

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Hi!  Erika N here!  Looking forward to working together and making connections across the state!  I've been teaching for a LONG time and am always looking for ways to adapt, change, grow. Right now, getting through all the "pre" practice information and waiting for the next steps...

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Hello Everyone! I am a first year teacher fresh out of college and I am excited to be a part of CHOICE! I teach 8th grade science and can not wait to learn new ways to help engage and thrill my students.