I do spend some of my time “publicizing” our school’s web page to keep students, parents and teachers informed of what is going on in our building. I have recently added a section called “STEM Corner” to Block’s web page. I have done this as we are moving toward becoming a STEM school, and we will be documenting, through pictures, our monthly STEM Wednesday, projects.

I also do weekly publicizing through the Smore Newsletter titled “Q’s News”.   The faculty and staff are informed of the daily activities for the week and reminded of expectations.   It is imperative that my staff be well informed, because we are in this together.

Which one do you need to focus on and improve upon? What could be your next steps?

I rock at the principle of voice. I am good at listening to teachers and letting them know that I hear them, which makes them feel better. They know they can trust me, and that I have their (and their students') best interests at heart. 

I would like to have more opportunity to practice dialogue. There are about 80 teachers and 1 of me. Teachers have limited time, so finding the time for a conversation is sometimes difficult.

Next steps: provide feedback and reflection note for all. Include: Where did you find your ideas, or how did you come up with your plan? How do you think it went? Is the instruction/strategy effective?

-I wonder how my colleagues would respond to the reasons they pass on an opportunity to learn and which one(s) hold them back the most, I wonder which things my staff would prefer to move out of the zero-learning-zone, and I wonder how I can assist my staff to take a chance and move out of the zero-learning-zone. 

2 Applications for yourself and your peers:

-We should video record ourselves teaching to move as learners and flip our perspectives, and we should also conducting hope audits to see if we are coming up empty in either agency, goals, or pathways to the goals. 

1 A-Ha or golden quote from the reading...:

“Our deepest learning experiences usually challenge us to re-think "the stories we tell ourselves about who we are" (Stone & Heen, 2015, p. 23) and reconsider what kind of people we are, our efficacy, ethics, and overall place in the world.”

High SOM: Craftmanship: this teacher likes to access their students work and performance and is frustrated by how much is out of their control with state testing. 

Low SOM: Efficacy: this teacher is stressed and feels hopeless. They blame others and do not see how testing can be of value. 

 

“I’m frustrated by the extreme behaviors in classroom and the lack of support from my administration. All they do is give them a break and send them back to class.”

High SOM: Interdependence: this teacher would prefer to work together with admin to come up with a plan for behaviors, instead they feel isolated. 

Low SOM: Efficacy: this teacher feels hopeless and blames others for issues with behaviors in their classroom. 

-I wonder how many teachers would benefit from reading this article. Would they consider themselves as having been or being in the Zero-Learning Zone? I wonder if they would try to move out of the Zero-Learning Zone.
-I wonder if more teachers would consider video recording or audio recording their lessons more often to learn and improve their teaching and student outcomes.
-I wonder how many teachers would feel they are in the Zero-Learning Zone.

2 Applications for yourself and your peers:

-I would love to work with teachers to help them move forward with their teaching and learning by having them watch themselves teach, listen to a lesson, or interview their students. I feel this could be very beneficial for teachers to create specific goals for themselves that are simple and manageable and help them move forward with their own learning. This is also a goal that would help me as I model lessons or conduct PD sessions.
- As I work with teachers, when we can I would like to set specific goals that are clear and manageable. This would be one way to help them to possibly stay out of the Zero-Learning Zone. 

Golden Quote
"When we lead our own learning, when we see more and learn how to act more effectively, our lives improve."  p. 6