Portfolio Element 8 Reflect on Your Practice as an Instructional Technology Coach
Please review the revised ISTE teaching standards. https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches
As an ITC, please provide a description and evidence as to how you demonstrated at least 4 of the ISTE Coach Standards below this school year. The four you feel you best addressed.
Visionary Leadership- I feel that I addressed visionary leadership well this year because I actually had a vision written down. I have seen my visionary statement evolve this year as I have worked with my Teacher Tech Leaders. No longer are we reporting back on what is going well but we have a purpose and a path started as we move into next year with the Bold School book study. Since January we have planned lessons together using the rigor relevance framework and blended lessons as well as station rotations have been more rigorous and relevant for students. My administrator has asked for me to share my vision with her for the next school year.
Digital Age Learning Environment -Blended Learning Environment- This year I have worked directly with each PLC in the building as they have incorporated new devices from our district's 2:1 initiative. I have worked with the math departments as we have collaborated on flexible seating and templates for station rotation. 6th and 7th grade math classes have really taken off this year with the use of flexible seating and using various forms of stations across multiple platforms to get to a best practice for their classrooms. Instead of book reports the 7th and 8th grade ELA departments have used flipgrid as a platform for students to be creative and engage with one another as they share what they have learned from their novel studies. 8th grade Social Studies have utilized video to review and remediate by creating teacher instruction videos in flipgrid and allowing students to respond for accountability.
Coaching- Coaching is an area I would say that has been a struggle in the past for me just because I did not understand the process and was lacking in tools. This year I have been given extensive training and tools on what good coaching looks like and the opportunity to participate in the coaching process with my PLC. I can say now that I have participated in multiple coaching cycles with my teachers this year and have built a great professional relationship with them. My main focus with my teachers this past semester has not been about the tech tool but rather the types of instructional strategies they are using in their classrooms. As we planned together using instructional strategies intentionally, they have become more comfortable with their instruction which allows me to then suggest tech tools to simplify their instruction.
Life Long Learner- The best training I have received in my 13 years as an educator would have to be the Bold School book study combined with the Rigor/Relevance Framework training. It has made the true meaning of pedagogy come to life for me and has molded my coaching and professional development sessions. Since the training I have signed up for a webinar each week ranging from formative assessments and visible learning with John Hattie to nearpod use in the classroom to motivate higher learning. I have began reading 2 books on leadership, Extreme Ownership and The Dichotomy of Leadership, as well as Power Up Blended Learning by Catlin Tucker. This year, because of the Bold School book study, I have read more books, attended more webinars, and reviewed more educational research articles than I ever have and have shared them with my Teacher Tech Leaders as well as my teachers.
Please review the revised ISTE teaching standards. https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches
As an ITC, please provide a description and evidence as to how you demonstrated at least 4 of the ISTE Coach Standards below this school year. The four you feel you best addressed.
- Visionary Leadership
- Integration
- Digital Age Learning Environment -Blended Learning Environment
- Digital Citizenship
- Professional Development – Training Experience
- Coaching
- Life Long Learner
- Reflect on Your Practice as an Educator
Visionary Leadership- I feel that I addressed visionary leadership well this year because I actually had a vision written down. I have seen my visionary statement evolve this year as I have worked with my Teacher Tech Leaders. No longer are we reporting back on what is going well but we have a purpose and a path started as we move into next year with the Bold School book study. Since January we have planned lessons together using the rigor relevance framework and blended lessons as well as station rotations have been more rigorous and relevant for students. My administrator has asked for me to share my vision with her for the next school year.
Digital Age Learning Environment -Blended Learning Environment- This year I have worked directly with each PLC in the building as they have incorporated new devices from our district's 2:1 initiative. I have worked with the math departments as we have collaborated on flexible seating and templates for station rotation. 6th and 7th grade math classes have really taken off this year with the use of flexible seating and using various forms of stations across multiple platforms to get to a best practice for their classrooms. Instead of book reports the 7th and 8th grade ELA departments have used flipgrid as a platform for students to be creative and engage with one another as they share what they have learned from their novel studies. 8th grade Social Studies have utilized video to review and remediate by creating teacher instruction videos in flipgrid and allowing students to respond for accountability.
Coaching- Coaching is an area I would say that has been a struggle in the past for me just because I did not understand the process and was lacking in tools. This year I have been given extensive training and tools on what good coaching looks like and the opportunity to participate in the coaching process with my PLC. I can say now that I have participated in multiple coaching cycles with my teachers this year and have built a great professional relationship with them. My main focus with my teachers this past semester has not been about the tech tool but rather the types of instructional strategies they are using in their classrooms. As we planned together using instructional strategies intentionally, they have become more comfortable with their instruction which allows me to then suggest tech tools to simplify their instruction.
Life Long Learner- The best training I have received in my 13 years as an educator would have to be the Bold School book study combined with the Rigor/Relevance Framework training. It has made the true meaning of pedagogy come to life for me and has molded my coaching and professional development sessions. Since the training I have signed up for a webinar each week ranging from formative assessments and visible learning with John Hattie to nearpod use in the classroom to motivate higher learning. I have began reading 2 books on leadership, Extreme Ownership and The Dichotomy of Leadership, as well as Power Up Blended Learning by Catlin Tucker. This year, because of the Bold School book study, I have read more books, attended more webinars, and reviewed more educational research articles than I ever have and have shared them with my Teacher Tech Leaders as well as my teachers.