Learning Forward Michigan

Just another Learning Forward Sites site

Menu

News/Blog

Learning Forward Michigan president, Fiona Hinds

by

Greetings Michigan educators,  

We hope that the school year is off to a great start for all learners in our educational community!

As the new Learning Forward Michigan President, I am very excited about the year ahead and the opportunities that we will have to engage with our new strategic plan initiatives and professional learning activities. As many of you are aware, last year the Board focused on clearly defining Learning Forward Michigan’s vision, mission, and goals, as well as establishing a 3-year plan that provides direction for our strategic priorities. Dr. Lauren Childs was instrumental in this process, and we are grateful for her leadership and time served as the past – President of the LFM Board.

You may review the Strategic Plan by clicking here. LFM strategic priorities include Standards and Impact, Advocacy and Policy, and Leadership and Practice. We are thrilled to begin a new year with clear objectives and action plans to implement initiatives related to these goals.

We are looking forward to creating online courses about the Professional Learning Standards in support of the Michigan professional learning policy, providing services to a variety of educational communities, and building state level partnerships to create influential professional learning opportunities for educators. LFM has an exciting year ahead including:  

  • Working with a group of teacher leaders to plan this year’s Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers (ECET2). Detroit area teachers will gather to learn from one another and to celebrate the teaching profession. This year’s ECET2 is November 3-4 in Detroit and is being funded by the The New Venture Fund.
  • Facilitating a strand of learning on meaningful professional learning concepts and strategies that impact continuous improvement with our parent organization, Learning Forward, at the AdvancED Fall Conference and Showcase October 20-21 in Novi.  Dr. Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director of Learning Forward, will address teacher agency and voice in the Keynote address and facilitate the same topic areas in the Teacher Panel. You can register online here.
  • The Journey to Cultural Proficiency continues for a third year Learning Forward Michigan continues working with Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools educators as they establish equitable learning environments for all their students.  
  • Collaboration between LFM Board and members to design a sequence of one-hour EdUPaths online modules to build educators’ understanding of Michigan’s Standards for Professional Learning adopted by the MI State Board of Education in 2012.
  • Learning Forward Michigan, in partnership with Michigan Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development continues to convene, for a second year, a group of educators from multiple organizations to grow collaborative, inquiry-based learning across Michigan. Inquiry-based learning is a key professional learning process for increasing educator effectiveness and results for all students.  

Learning Forward Michigan believes that all classrooms should include excellent teaching and learning every day! Our mission is build the capacity of leaders to establish and sustain highly effective professional learning.

Please join us in our efforts to build a powerful network of professionals dedicated to providing the best education to Michigan’s students through effective professional learning. Learn more about membership here.

On behalf of the LFM Board I would like to wish you a great school year filled with outstanding teaching and learning opportunities every day!  

All the best,

Fiona Hinds, EdD
Learning Forward Michigan
President

We are #TeachStrong Agents for Learning

by

As teachers and professionals, we know that continuous growth matters.

Last week, several of us who live and breathe learning had the chance to spend two days in Chicago to present our ideas on how to provide teachers with the best professional development possible.

The Agents for Learning competition—sponsored by Learning Forward and NCTAF—was the perfect opportunity to showcase our ideas. After weeks of researching the Every Student Succeeds Act and how it allows funding for teachers’ professional learning, 12 teams submitted winning proposals. Finalist teams were invited to Chicago, assigned a coach from a supporting educational organization, and given time to fine tune a four minute presentation summarizing our proposals. At the competition, our judges were also distinguished leaders in the field, including 2016 National Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes and the executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Chris Minnich.

Of the 12 teams, three were led by TeachStrong Ambassadors who have committed to modernizing and elevating the teaching profession. The TeachStrong coalition, which includes over 60 diverse education organizations and nearly 100 teacher Ambassadors, has laid out nine principles—including the need to design professional learning to better address student and teacher needs.

Below are some of the TeachStrong Ambassadors’ key take-aways from the experience:

  • Hoping to represent our state (New Mexico) well, we named our team “Breaking Bad PD.” Seth Gerson, the director of government relations at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, gently coached our team as we whittled our proposal into a short, compelling presentation. Who said summarizing was easy?

In New Mexico, we want to ensure that every teacher has the chance to engage in high-functioning, inquiry-driven collaborative teams. Our plan outlined how we can do this by building the capacity of teacher leaders to lead those teams. This training would focus on teaching educators key facilitation skills and continuous improvement processes. We also advocated for increasing administrator training support in developing shared leadership structures and cultures that encourage collaboration and inquiry.

Our presentation went off without a hitch—no falling off of the stage or anything! We especially enjoyed the opportunity to hear from our forward-thinking peers and colleagues.

  • Our team of Michigan Educator Voice Fellows understands that the incredible talent of Michigan educators needs to be shared across the state to increase student success. We recommend using teacher-leaders in hybrid roles, allowing them to keep one foot in the classroom while they share their expertise with colleagues. We also recognize the value of including teacher voice in the education policy space.

The Agents for Learning Competition was an ideal professional learning experience. None of the ideas presented will “sit on the shelf”—instead, the proposals will be used to impact educational systems across the country. Michelle King from Learning Forward (our coach) gave us essential guidance to reflect upon and improve our plan. What’s more, we were able to connect with another Michigan finalist team and are looking forward to blending our ideas to improve the quality of public education in Michigan.

  • Our Michigan team focused on creating collaborative networks. We recommended that four regions of the state unite and create a plan for teachers to collaborate, exchange ideas, and share resources to meet the needs of students. My key reflection from the experience is that when educators have the time and opportunity to collaborate, magic happens. Throughout the competition, our coach asked critical questions, provided feedback, and encouraged action as we streamlined our idea. We received considerations and questions from educators across the country, allowing us to substantially improve our idea. When educators have time to engage and reflect deeply on their ideas, students naturally become the focus of professional learning. This is how change really happens.
  • Over the course of a day and a half, we honed our state-wide, ESSA-based professional learning plan into a four-minute presentation. We also spent time planning next steps and stakeholder engagement, as our professional learning plan is closely aligned with work that our team is doing to advance accomplished teaching in our state. Several of our team members comprise the leadership team of the Michigan National Board Certified Teacher’s Network and we will continue incorporating our state-wide professional learning plan into that work. We are also excited about the opportunity to collaborate with the other Agents for Learning team from Michigan, as both teams’ plans promote access for all teachers to quality, job-embedded professional learning that will result in increased achievement for our students.

The Agents for Learning competition was a truly meaningful professional learning experience. Rather than sitting in a conference room for two days and listening to panels, we had the chance to translate our ideas into action. It is our hope that these recommendations—culled by our years of experience as teachers and teacher leaders—be incorporated into district, state, and federal education policy. We must continue to be afforded a seat at the policy table, especially as these professional development plans are implemented nationwide.

The Power of Book Studies

by

by Dr. Julie Powell, Lakeshore Public Schools, LFM Board Member

I was recently asked by an elementary teacher in my district if I would like to do a book study with her. She was trying to find a handful of people who would like to meet every other week in the summer and read something that was educational and uplifting, yet not too heavy. She wanted something teachers would enjoy reading and get something out of that would positively impact their teaching, but not be overly prescriptive that would dampen the fun of summer. I was thrilled that she sought out my opinion, but more importantly, my participation in this book study. It affirmed for me my place with teachers  – that many of them valued me, saw me as a peer/colleague rather than an authority, felt comfortable with my learning alongside them.

I have gone through the past ten years or so craving the joy of a book study, yet finding it incredibly hard to fit into my schedule. It is also hard to come up with a great book that will feed the souls of all those who are there, benefit everyone and still be social and fun. I have participated in a few where the books were just “okay” and the facilitators may have been loosely organized or the flow was too choppy, and I was disappointed. I have done online book studies where people type in responses to questions, which can be a great learning option other than it doesn’t feel very social. What are the hidden rules or gems for quality educational book studies?

If I am the one leading the book study, I normally feel compelled to find the perfect book, which is daunting. I read many educational books that I like parts of, but that doesn’t seem quite right. Has anyone ever done article studies instead? Does anyone have a great format for a book study that they would be willing to share?

Learning, Collaboration, and Results: Are We Ready for 2015-16?

by

by Tesha J. Thomas, Ed.S.

Yes, it’s that time of year. Classrooms are warm and sticky, kids are too antsy to stay in their seats, and teachers are furiously working to finish up those last instructional units before the year comes to an end. But as the school year draws to a close, many of us have been planning for 2015-16 throughout the past several months. We’ve been working on student schedules, planning professional development, and revising lesson plans – just to name a few. But how much time have we spent reflecting on our school’s capacity to function as a professional learning community? Have we made plans to help us increase our effectiveness as a PLC?

In his book, Professional Learning Communities at Work, Rick DuFour discusses the three big ideas of a PLC:

  1. A focus on learning
  2. Collaborative culture, and
  3. A focus on results.

As we think about the 2015-16 school year, we should be asking ourselves how dedicated we are to these three big ideas.

For example, we could ask ourselves the question: Are we truly focused on learning in our school?

We have a mission statement that says we are here to help all students learn. Do we live that mission statement every single day? Do the decisions we make encourage student learning, or are there some decisions that actually impede student learning, e.g., interrupting class periods with continuous PA announcements, pulling students out of class for various activities, spending 3 class periods watching a movie after we’ve just read the same book. These questions require serious soul searching but if we are going to increase student achievement, we must have a laser-like focus on learning.

Then we have the concept of creating a collaborative culture within our schools. We know we are better when we work together, so what are we doing as a school to build collaborative teams? And once we have built those collaborative teams, what are we doing to ensure that those conversations are focused on learning? We can get together and talk all day, but that doesn’t mean it is going to improve student achievement. What protocols and procedures guide our collaborative team time? What are the expected outcomes and how do they impact student learning? The answers to these questions can help us strengthen the effectiveness of our collaborative teams.

Finally, we know that successful professional learning communities measure their effectiveness using data as opposed to intentions. For years teachers have made instructional decisions using phrases like, “the kids liked it” and “I think it went really well.” But if we appropriately focus on student results, our teachers become clearer on what they are teaching, they come to agreement on what constitutes proficiency, and they monitor student learning to make sure students are reaching those proficiency levels. We need to ask ourselves, do we have an answer to the question, “What do we want our students to know and be able to do?” Do we have common summative and formative assessments to help us determine whether students have learned it? Do we use that data to make instructional decisions? Do we have a plan in place for those students who haven’t learned the material? Following through on the answers to the questions can completely change the way we do business in our schools, for the better.

So, as we wade through those sticky classrooms trying to keep antsy students in their seats while we rush to fit in that last bit of curriculum, make sure to set aside some time to reflect on those three big ideas. If we work as a team to keep the focus on learning, collaborate to improve achievement, and focus on results, 2015-16 will be a great year.

Presence

by

It’s so easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed by all that has been happening in education lately, especially to the teaching profession. Some days it feels like all I’m doing as a teacher educator is hearing, reading, or bearing witness to the pain and joylessness that teachers are experiencing in the current climate of high stakes accountability, public disdain for teachers and teaching, and the lack of respect for the teaching profession. But as soon as I think I just can’t live in that perpetual space of negativity, something remarkable happens. I hear about a teacher who is excited about the work she is doing, speaks about what the endearing students in the classroom are learning, and how grateful she is for being able to do this work for a living. I believe in the power of this optimism to both engage and inspire all of us to continue to seek out and fight “the good fights”  – or those worth fighting –  in the interest of both reinvigorating the profession, and most importantly, improving the quality of learning experiences for all of our children. This optimism can be found through exploring and recognizing our common purpose and commitments as educators in order to chart new pathways to strive towards what matters most… our children.

[Read more…] about Presence

Professional Learning vs Professional Development

by

by Laska Creagh

Administrators would say that ‘if you got one good idea out of a conference or workshop to implement, then that was a good thing.”  I remember some “hands-on” approaches to workshops that actually related to what I was striving for in my classroom. Those settings most often involved teacher colleagues also being in the workshop, so the “we can do this” energy was promoted.  As a team, we would develop the ideas shared in our contextual setting. This type of energy created change in practice.

[Read more…] about Professional Learning vs Professional Development

GET INVOLVED



  • Events

    Network with colleagues, enjoy collaborative professional learning, and increase your leadership capacity with these upcoming events. Learning Forward conferences give evidence-based research and practical strategies to empower you and your peers to achieve excellent results.

    Learn more

  • Services & Resources

    Search our repository of resources on developing leader capacity for building high-quality professional learning systems that lead to Hundreds of learning, teaching, and leadership titles will inspire you, expand your knowledge, and help you develop the skills to support student success.

    Learn more

  • Become a Member

    Network with colleagues who are enthusiastic about improving their skills, staying up to date on the latest knowledge and trends, and building leadership capacity.

    Learn more