I know most of you look forward to sitting thru yet another afternoon of the latest, greatest thing in educational technology to increase your effectiveness as a teacher as you attempt to fulfill that district CEU* requirement. Of course all of you principals have tons of money in your PD budgets to pay those highly sought after and pricey consultants. Plus, you techy teachers out there have plenty of time to prepare an edtech session for your colleagues when the principal asks you (at the last minute) to share one of the neat tricks you're using in your class to engage your learners, right?
No?
Then you absolutely need to consider harnessing the FREE and super-charged power already at your disposal...YOUR STUDENTS!!!
My school, Robeson Early College High, has recently embarked on an interesting quest on what might happen if we allowed students to lead this year's required technology staff development. It actually began when my principal and our tech wary staff put me on the spot in a staff meeting and asked me to plan some PD on tech I'd been using over the past couple of years in class. Not having time to do that on top of all the other things that have to be done at the beginning of the year, I quickly contacted one of my students who had been brilliant with the tech they had requested to learn first. After a little convincing and the promise of help from another student assistant and myself, she agreed.The session was so successful that the staff at my school have asked for a series of other student led sessions.
A month after our first session, here are some reflections I have already made about why this has been such an awesome experience for the teachers and students at my school:
1. Engagment - Teachers were much more engaged in the PD because of the student presenter. There was an air of excitment and pride in the fact that this was one of OUR kids leading that session. Teachers were more focused and open to asking questions and less likely to be texting or working on other things. That instinct to support the student kicked in and the negativity that so often accompanies staff development just evaporated.
2. Student Expertise - Let's face it. Even the most tech savvy of us usually learn only enough about the technologies we use in class to get the kids going and trouble shoot problems that may arise. We focus on the elements that we need for a particular assignment and often don't dig deeper into all that the application will do. The students on the other hand will take it and play around with it in ways that we just don't have time for. They figure out some of the nifty little tricks and technical ins and outs. They become exprets. I found myself, the teacher tech whiz, learning new things about an app I'd used in class for years.
3. Authentic Presentation Experiences - The new CCSS** say that students need more authentic experiences in communicating with audiences. I won't even go into all the standards this covers but I'm sure your mind is racing already. Not to mention for students it is a wonderful accomplishment to put on their college, scholarship, and career resumes. Plus the experience of presenting to a group of adults. I could go on and on.....
4. Alievate Implementation Anxiety - One of the best things I've observed is a higher than usual number of teachers who are actually implementing the technology that was taught at the student led session. For example, I have a math teacher who is a tech-phobe who began using the application in her class the second week of school. When I praised her for it she commented that she felt more comfortable using the technology in class because she knew her students were familar with how to make it work if there were problems. She was relieved that the technology end of her lesson would be handled by students so that she could focus on the content. So far about 2/3 of our staff have implemented what we did in the very first session.
5. Student Learning Perspective - This was another plus that I hadn't anticipated until after the session. Student presenters get the chance to see their teachers as learners. It also gave my student presenters a chance to give the staff ideas on ways they would enjoy using the technology in their education. One of the really neat things is that since I have put out the word that I need student presenters, I have had tons of volunteers. It seems they all want some input in making their classes more engaging and exciting. Some of them are even experimenting with new technologies that haven't been used in any classes....yet! As usual the kids are on the cutting edge of things and we adults are trying to play catch up.
I could go on and on about how this first session has already transformed the atmosphere of our school. As I prepare for this week's session with our next set of student presenters, I can hardly wait to see what comes next! I'll update as we continue with this exciting adventure. I also hope to post some feedback from student presenters.
Have you implemented student-led staff development in your school? Have questions for those of us that have? Please share below! I'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and feedback!
*CEU - Continuing Education Credits (for certification renewal)
**CCSS - Common Core State Standards (National Standards for ELA & Math, implemented in NC & most states this year)
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