Recently I asked groups of teachers to share an exciting lesson or project to show what teaching and learning using an iPad can look like to showcase for families and community. I received *🦗 crickets 🦗 * - nothing! These teachers were doing phenomenal things that I saw every time I walked into their classrooms, but didn’t feel empowered to share. Maybe because they didn’t feel what they were doing was that special, or because they didn’t feel empowered to view themselves as an innovative instructor.
As I think about growing leaders with the staff I coach, it’s been hard for me to impress upon staff the value they can give and get through sharing their work with colleagues. I’d love to grow our district’s network of innovative educators and empower these teachers who are doing impressive things in their classroom to share their ideas with others in the district.
One idea I had was to create cohort groups that could share the practices and ideas they have in common as a group, thus supporting each other as they build their leadership and presentation skills. What other ways have you found to grow the leadership skills of innovative teachers and empower them to take on leadership roles?
February 02, 2023
Love your idea for implementing communities of practice in your district! I wonder if part of the lack of response is a time issue as well? Do teachers feel they have the time in their daily work to take on leadership roles in addition to their current responsibilities? To support more sharing, could you work to integrate this kind of share-out into existing gatherings (PLC, department, or all-school faculty meetings), so it doesn't feel like an added thing on a to-do list? Could you create a quick survey for faculty to complete, sharing an innovative classroom practice, so that then you can celebrate those practices in a newsletter of some kind or on district social media?
These are a few things we've been trying at my institution, and making the share-out process as quick and easy as possible has resulted in more willingness of instructors to share their work.
I look forward to seeing what other suggestions you receive on this thread!
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