Tools for Learning Schools, Winter 2012, Vol. 15, No. 2 Newsletters Experts agree: Conflict creates better teams While many see conflict as negative and destructive, it is an essential part of team dynamics and careful decision-making. Without disagreements, groups become subject to groupthink, a tendency to emphasize harmony over critical evaluation, resulting in poor decisions….

Tools for Learning Schools, Fall 2011, Vol. 15, No. 1 Newsletters What is your professional learning IQ? Stimulate conversation about what educators and stakeholders know about professional learning with Learning Forward’s Professional Learning IQ quiz. Rather than a quiz of right and wrong answers, this test is designed to surface perspectives and assumptions about professional…

Tools for Schools, Summer 2011, Vol. 14, No. 4 Newsletters Lesson study puts a collaborative lens on student learning Learn how Denver Public Schools’ teacher effectiveness coaches are creating a collaborative change environment through lesson study, a structured process that enables small groups of teachers to plan, observe, analyze, and refine actual classroom lessons. Tool:…

Tools for Schools, Spring 2011, Vol. 14, No. 3 Newsletters Effective presenters set the stage for learning Move your presentations from good to great by laying the groundwork for learning through context, delivery, nonverbal cues, and linguistic patterns. Tool: Like me Use this strategy early in a session to help participants get to know one…

Tools for Schools, Winter 2011, Vol. 14, No. 2 Newsletters 4 KEY STRATEGIES: Help educators overcome resistance to change By Anthony Armstrong Tool: School’s orientation to change Explore your school’s openness to change by thinking about what you need to do to ensure success.   Tool: 6 considerations for delivering a change message When crafting…

Tools for Schools, Fall 2010, Vol. 14, No. 1 Newsletters Trust matters: for educators, parents, and students By Valerie von Frank  Tool: Appreciative interviews Appreciative interviews will help you avoid trying to close the “trust gap” and instead focus on building on the positives. Use this tool to help you and your partners discover what…

Tools for Schools, May/June 2010, Vol. 13, No. 4 Newsletters A world of possibilities: Educating for global competence We have to ask ourselves the hard question: Are we preparing students to be ready for a rapidly globalizing, interconnected, and interdependent world?   Global Competence Building global competence in students often starts in the classroom through…

Tools for Schools, February/March 2010, Vol. 13, No. 3 Newsletters Powerful coaching energizes learning Marie Parker-McElroy remembers a dismal morning when, as a teacher leader, she headed a K-2nd grade-level team meeting for about 15 of her colleagues. NSDC tool: Coach needs assessment Gather information about the coaches’ learning needs. Use or adapt this needs…

Tools for Schools, October/November 2009, Vol. 13, No. 2 Newsletters Let data do the talking: Clarify goals and roles by examining data They go by many names — coaches, instructional specialists, or various other titles. The job title, however, isn’t the only ambiguous aspect of the position expert teachers fulfil by working with their peers…

Tools for Schools, August/September 2009, Vol. 13, No. 1 Newsletters Leadership teams create lasting change Creating lasting change involves building strong school cultures that engage education professionals with their colleagues and communities, according to Sharon Kruse and Karen Seashore Louis, university faculty whose research focuses on leadership and school improvement. NSDC tool: Force-field analysis Gain…

Tools for Schools, May/June 2009, Vol. 12, No. 4 Newsletters Link up & learn: Use technology to create a personal learning network to connect with experts and mentors everywhere Most teachers and principals believe technology enhances teaching and learning. That’s according to the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Past, Present, and Future (2008). But…

Tools for Schools, February/March 2009, Vol. 12, No. 3 Newsletters Protocols: A facilitator’s best friend Protocol. Hearing the word makes some people think of formal dinners or White House etiquette. Others might think of the Kyoto Protocol and treaties among countries. For scientists, the term describes an exact procedure, for physicians, a practice they follow….

Tools for Schools, November/December 2008, Vol. 12, No. 2 Newsletters The evolution of a Professional Learning Team Teachers in your school already may work in school-based teams and committees. Groups of teachers may meet to plan specific school activities, develop the school improvement plan, or help with a special school initiative. Perhaps teachers in your…

Tools for Schools, August/September 2008, Vol. 12, No. 1 Newsletters Reel in your audience: Use film clips, stories, cartoons, and quotes to add impact to presentations Why is it that quotations, stories, cartoons, and film clips are so often woven into speeches or presentations that are so memorable and so powerful? Guidelines for using film…

Tools for Schools, May/June 2008, Vol. 11, No. 4 Newsletters Tune In to what the new generation of teachers can do Three veteran teachers on the 7th-grade math team don’t want the responsibility of leading their weekly team meetings. But Meredith — a recent college graduate who just began teaching — volunteers for the assignment….

Tools for Schools, February/March 2008, Vol. 11, No. 3 Newsletters The power of one: What one person can do to influence policy at all levels Several years ago, Dale Hair seized an opportunity to influence a state educational leader in Louisiana regarding professional development and learned the power of advocacy. Delivering a laser talk Learning…

 Tools for Schools, November/December 2007, Vol. 11, No. 2 Newsletters Work smarter, not harder: SMART goals keep key objectives in focus By Joan Richardson The teacher was sceptical about SMART goals. She had been through planning and goal-setting before. She expected SMART goals to be another addition to her workload that would offer little or…

Tools for Schools, August/September 2007, Vol. 11, No. 1 Newsletters If You Can Envision It, You Can Create It By Joan Richardson Sharing the vision begins by including many voices in creating the vision. Stretching to Create a vision This activity highlights the importance of visions that can stretch and challenge us. It helps us…

Tools for Schools, May/June 2007, Vol. 10, No. 4 Newsletters Learning through a lens: Classroom videos of teachers and students prove to be a powerful professional learning tool By Joan Richardson During a videotape of a classroom lesson, one student consistently had his hand up, vying for the teacher’s attention. But teacher Becky Hinson never…

Tools for Schools, February/March 2007, Vol. 10, No. 3 Newsletters What’s your Professional Development IQ? An effective district leader places a priority on talking with parents and school board members about the relationship between professional development and student learning. What’s your professional development IQ?   What’s your professional development IQ? Answers     Download Full…