A Principal's Reflections

SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

No matter your position in education, you have gone through some form of professional development. In many cases, the act of being “developed” comes in a variety of standard types such as workshops, mandated PD days, presentations, conferences, book studies, or keynotes. Effective teacher professional development.

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A Principal's Reflections

JANUARY 31, 2021

Continue to advance learning and equity in your schools with professional development. While progress has been made in many schools, there is always a desire and a need for job-embedded professional learning that is practical and on-going, something that I emphasize in Digital Leadership.

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Leadership Professional Development Cultures Education 546

A Principal's Reflections

MAY 17, 2020

New ones will most certainly pop up, so the focus should be on not developing the perfect plan, but instead the best one for your situation. During the crisis, we have seen digital leadership strategies embraced and innovation take hold despite roadblocks. In particular, we have seen some kids flourish in this environment.

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Leadership Pedagogy Professional Development Community Engagement 546

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 17, 2021

Professional development days, mostly packed into the beginning of the academic year, are still the preferred mode to support staff while adhering to specific mandates. I have written in the past about the need to move from professional development (PD) to professional learning. Below are a few examples.

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Professional Development Leadership Elementary School Tradition 465

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 19, 2014

During my ten years as a school leader I dreaded professional development days in my district. I am not sure any educator looks forward to these monotonous experiences (developed under the guise of learning!) I attended many of these events just to meet the required hours of professional development.

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Leadership Professional Development Tradition Cultures 352

A Principal's Reflections

JANUARY 7, 2024

Organizational leadership is a multifaceted and critical component of ensuring the success of educational institutions. Several key aspects underpin effective leadership in this context. Firstly, visionary leadership is essential, as it sets the direction and long-term goals for the district.

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K-12 Education Leadership Classroom Management 431

A Principal's Reflections

MARCH 1, 2015

Ensure ongoing professional development – I cannot overstate the importance of this suggestion enough. Teachers need training on how to develop pedagogically sound lessons and quality assessments aligned to higher standards. Professional development should be ongoing and embedded throughout the school year.

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A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 25, 2020

If you can't, consider developing a schedule where administrators and other support staff can fill them in lieu of teachers. Choice in professional learning Forcing educators to engage in one-size-fits-all professional development at this time will tend to be hit or miss depending on the person.

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Leadership Pedagogy Professional Development Tradition 529

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 22, 2013

We can all agree that professional development is essential in any profession, especially education. It is an opportunity to become better at what we do as well as gain knowledge on new pedagogical techniques, learning theories, leadership strategies, technologies, and federal/state mandates. Something has to give though.

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Professional Development Leadership Government Education 345

A Principal's Reflections

FEBRUARY 12, 2014

Ongoing professional development, constant review and analysis of successful attempts at the changes in learning opportunities and the increasing use of technology offer momentum." The Pillars of Digital Leadership provide a practical framework for any leader, regardless of technological proficiency, to improve professional practice.

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Leadership Artifacts Professional Development Cultures 404

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 19, 2018

It is really about helping kids develop many of the qualities and characteristics in life that cannot be measured with an actual number such as leadership, commitment, perseverance, motivation, self-discipline, teamwork, resilience, enthusiasm, and reliability. Coaching is so much more than the result of a game, match, or competition.

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Leadership Professional Development Pedagogy High School 363

ED Surge

DECEMBER 13, 2023

In early spring this year, the local chapter of my teacher professional development organization held our first in-person conference since the pandemic. Having served on the leadership team of our local PD organization for many years, I’ve planned numerous conferences and knew what needed to be done, but this year was different.

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Professional Development K-12 Leadership Teaching 137

ED Surge

JANUARY 25, 2023

Despite my love for learning, I strongly disliked most professional development sessions. On the contrary, teachers want professional learning that is practical, engaging and relevant. In 2017, I formed an after-school student activism and leadership club with a small group of seventh grade students.

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Professional Development Advocacy Tradition Leadership 139

A Principal's Reflections

NOVEMBER 17, 2019

However, a convergence of styles separates generalists from specialists when it comes to leadership. Moving from Specialist to Generalist Below are some common styles prevalent in leadership today. Managerial Whether we like it or not, management plays a pivotal role in leadership.

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Leadership Professional Development Tradition Cultures 394

A Principal's Reflections

JUNE 30, 2019

The same can be said about drive-by professional development. When it is all said and done, the best experiences are ongoing and job-embedded so that the needed support, application into practice, feedback, and accountability for growth lead to actual changes to teaching, learning, and leadership.

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Archiving Leadership Professional Development Tradition 409

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Accessible facilities, ongoing professional development, and family involvement are vital components. Change typically only occurs with effective leadership. It entails individualized education plans (IEPs), differentiated instruction, and universal design for learning (UDL) to meet diverse needs.

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A Principal's Reflections

JULY 5, 2014

Excuses are fueled by elements such as fear of change, a desire to protect the status quo, lack of education/knowledge, top-down leadership, micromanagement, and the unwillingness to take risks. Change Innovation Leadership' We can’t implement this due to the Common Core and an array of state mandates.

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Leadership Professional Development Humanities Cultures 401

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 21, 2010

Yesterday I was granted an opportunity to deliver a keynote at the NYSCATE Leadership Summit in Troy, NY. The topic of my talk was, "Leadership in the Digital Age." Poor professional development : How many times have we sat through training sessions that were boring, meaningless, and didn''t provide any practical implementation ideas?

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Leadership Professional Development Cultures Education 320

A Principal's Reflections

FEBRUARY 2, 2020

One of the best parts about job-embedded, on-going work with school districts is facilitating a variety of professional learning opportunities. They have utilized me as a keynoter, coach (leadership and teaching), and workshop presenter.

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EdTech K-12 Pedagogy Professional Development 539

A Principal's Reflections

SEPTEMBER 19, 2022

Consider providing opportunities for staff to spread their wings by heading up committees, planning professional learning, and working side-by-side with you to develop new courses, electives, and schedules. Move away from drive-by professional development and blanket approaches to personalized, job-embedded models.

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Cultures Professional Development Leadership Research 443

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 4, 2020

Develop a coverage schedule If you are an administrator reading this, hero status can be achieved by working with your leadership team to develop a coverage schedule. They should not be mandated to attend meetings, participate in PLC's, meet with parents, or attend professional development.

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Pedagogy Professional Development Leadership Teaching 512

A Principal's Reflections

APRIL 30, 2012

With change comes the inevitable need to provide quality professional development. Schools can leverage tech savvy teachers to facilitate professional development. 21st Century Education Change educational leadership educational technology Opinion' Rest assured everything else will fall into place.

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Education Professional Development Educational Technology Pedagogy 381

A Principal's Reflections

MARCH 13, 2022

Professional Learning Typical means of professional development (PD) such as drive-by events, one-off workshops, or book studies, while having value, will not lead to impactful virtual learning at scale. There needs to be a shift from “PD” to professional learning that is ongoing, job-embedded, and research-aligned.

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Professional Development Leadership Research Pedagogy 516

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 12, 2010

So many exciting things have happened recently as a result of my own learning and growth in educational technology and leadership. As a result, I have seen my own knowledge increase in these areas, participated in exciting professional development opportunities, presented at both my school and at other events on web 2.0,

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Professional Development EdTech Educational Technology Leadership 265

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 23, 2010

The construction of a PLN enables educators to harness the power inherent in 21st Century technologies in order to create a professional growth tool that is accessible whenever, wherever. Share this post and help a colleague develop their PLN today! Personal Learning Network Professional Development Social Media Web 2.0'

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Professional Development Leadership Teaching Education 393

A Principal's Reflections

FEBRUARY 18, 2024

This means looking at key practices such as Tier 1 instruction, pedagogy, assessment, feedback, differentiation, RTI , real co-teaching , and professional learning to see where there is an opportunity to grow. It starts at the top with leadership. The rest is now history.

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Junior High Pedagogy Professional Development Leadership 468

A Principal's Reflections

SEPTEMBER 14, 2014

These commonly arrive in the form of internal professional development initiatives that chew up a great deal of time, but rarely achieve the types of systemic changes that are intended. It does not rely on someone being in a leadership position in a traditional sense, but more so on a desire to want to change professional practice.

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K-12 Leadership Professional Development Cultures 347

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 25, 2019

I’d even go as far as to say that it is our duty, something I elaborate greatly on in Digital Leadership. Below is my evolved take: "When investing in technology, programs, professional development, and innovative ideas, there needs to be a Return on Instruction (ROI) that results in evidence of improved student learning outcomes."

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Leadership Pedagogy Professional Development Cultures 334

Dr. Shannon Doak

JULY 14, 2020

These types of conferences are fantastic, however, there are many ways educators can professionally develop themselves that are far more impactful than only attending webinars and conferences. Professional development should be relevant to the teacher. Professional development should be relevant to the teacher.

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Professional Development Pedagogy Education Teaching 104

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 12, 2015

The onset of the process is typically fraught with challenges such as overcoming the status quo, a mentality of if it isn’t broke why fix it, fear, a void of leadership somewhere in the hierarchy of schools, lack of knowledge on initiating change, no clear vision, too many initiatives at once, naysayers/antagonists, and a one size fits all approach.

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Leadership Cultures Professional Development Teaching 368

A Principal's Reflections

NOVEMBER 8, 2020

For the better part of my educational career, I always referred to any type of learning to assist me as a teacher or administrator as professional development (PD). Up until this point, professional development was always done to me as opposed to something that I wanted to be an active part of. Thus, my thinking changed.

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Professional Development Leadership Humanities Cultures 356

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 22, 2023

With the suggestions in hand, the leaders were empowered to review what we had seen and my recommendations to determine the focus for an upcoming professional development day I would be facilitating. Feedback is a critical catalyst for professional learning and growth.

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Psychology Cultures Professional Development Leadership 416

Edthena

JULY 9, 2021

Lots of things adjusted with distance teaching, but the changes to professional development for educators has actually helped it become more accessible. Doug Fisher talked about new opportunities to learn and grow in an interview with Edthena founder & CEO Adam Geller for the teacher professional development blog PLtogether.

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Professional Development Leadership Teaching Education 98

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 23, 2015

This past April I was fortunate enough to have been asked to speak at the Moanalua High School Professional Development Conference in Honolulu, HI. It was an incredible opportunity to get back to Hawaii for a professional event as opposed to a vacation.

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Leadership Professional Development Cultures High School 274

A Principal's Reflections

NOVEMBER 17, 2010

21st Century Leadership Shift Happens (must see video for any educator unfamiliar with the tends and impacts associated with technology and social media. Principals can use social media for communication, public relations, branding, professional development, and opportunity. Make free Skype to Skype calls. What did I miss?

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Education EdTech Educational Technology Professional Development 343

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 5, 2012

Support can come in many forms, such as release time, supplies/equipment, professional development opportunities, feedback, and just god old fashioned listening. Professional development has to be relevant to educators, contain numerous choices, and be hands-on. Professional development (see #9) is key.

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Professional Development Leadership Cultures Education 330

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 2, 2020

Digital leadership compels us to meet them where they are and engage in two-way communications using a hybrid approach. Begin with meticulous planning using the information provided in the key focus areas previously covered above. Then think about strategies to inform and educate families as to what their kids can expect.

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Pedagogy Social Justice K-12 EdTech 546