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Posted on February 06, 2023 in response to AmandaM In response to AmandaM
Something we started this year was a campus podcast! When a teacher has an innovative or even simple but effective digital learning idea, we've started recording conversations about it to share with the rest of the campus. The episodes have been as quick as 5 minutes to as long as 15, depending on where the conversation goes. We use GarageBand for the audio, then attach it to a picture and post to YouTube to make it easy to share. This has been an easy way for our teachers to share with each other since it's literally just a conversation about the cool things they're doing and they don't have to be on video or be up in front of anyone!
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?