Back to School PD - Improving Campus Environment

A Challenge Based Learning Approach to Back to School Professional Learning

Back to school professional learning can inspire and encourage teachers to start the year off on a positive note. Having teachers come together and plan the year allows for a collaborative environment where ideas can be shared, goals set, and strategies developed. By providing teachers a voice, they are empowered to create effective and practical solutions for addressing challenges, enhancing student learning, and creating a supportive atmosphere. Empowering teachers to participate in decision-making processes helps build a stronger, more cohesive community where everyone feels valued and invested in the success of the school.

Get Started:

Begin by reflecting on the previous year as a staff and focusing on the good to set a positive mindset. Teachers could write on post-it notes or chart paper or the facilitator could write a list on the board. Once you have shared what you love about your campus environment, shift to the next steps and growth areas. Once educators have a list of improvements, ask them to form small groups around one issue they feel strongly about.

Action Plan:

Now that teachers are in a small group, have them develop an action plan to understand the problem to be solved and explore possible solutions. Their goal should be to implement their strategy during the school year. Remind teachers that their plan does not have to be Earth-shattering or life-changing, it can be a simple thing that adds to the positive culture of the campus. Challenge your educators to take your campus from “now to next”.

Shifting Mindset:

Remind your educators to focus on positive change. For example, if they decided that tardies were the issue they wanted to address, instead of focusing on how to punish those who are late to class, how can we reward the ones who are not? 

Share Out:

Have teachers share their ideas with the entire faculty.  This could be done verbally via quick presentations or using chart paper or even on a digital Padlet or Freeform board.  As a campus, you can decide on which ideas to implement or move forward with for the school year. 

Conclusion:

This collaborative approach fosters a sense of community and support among educators. By engaging in meaningful professional development, teachers can feel empowered, rejuvenated, and better equipped to meet the diverse needs of their students.

Snapshot:

Big Idea: Campus Environment

Essential Question: How can we create a positive environment on our campus this school year?

Challenge: Improve our campus environment.

Guiding Questions:

• What does our campus do well, or what do we love about our campus?
• What are our areas of growth?
• What are other campuses doing to encourage a positive campus culture?

Guiding Activities and Resources:

• Group teachers based on interest in area of growth.
• Research other districts or companies to gain inspiration
• Have educators interview students to find out likes and areas of growths from a student perspective

Download the attached Challenge Organizer to implement this Challenge with your community of learners. Make sure to visit Challenge Based Learning to download additional resources.