|
Teachers take extra time to learn tech, leadership
Mar 14, 2010 (Messenger-Inquirer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Teachers from the Owensboro Public Schools district gathered in a pair of classrooms on Thursday evening at the old public library, learning something new to better prepare them to teach and lead their students.
About 60 teachers are taking part this year in OPS Leadership 2020, a six-week series of two-hour, after-school courses covering a range of topics, from technology in the classroom to quality leadership.
The leadership segments focus on professional development, helping the teachers learn how to best make a difference in their schools.
Team building and instructional leadership are also part of the sessions in the course. Learning how to ask the right questions, how to motivate people and how to effectively make use of resources and people were some of the topics covered.
Technology sessions focus directly on the nuts and bolts of how to use computers, cameras, the Internet and more in the classroom.
On Thursday, for example, teachers learned how to videotape, convert video files, stream and download educational videos and how to pull educational videos from YouTube.
The courses, which are voluntary for the teachers, are meant to help educate teachers who will return to their schools with improved skills, knowledge and resources. Those teachers would then, hopefully, help spread and make use of what they've learned.
"Every building has teachers attending this," said Jill Rone, assistant superintendent for instruction at OPS. "We're hitting this core group of self-starters and individuals, but it also has the rebound effect in their buildings."
In the long term, Rone said, they want these people to step up.
"We're growing leaders for the future," Rone said. "They came to learn to be better teachers. They obviously want to advance or they wouldn't be here."
Janie Moseley, principal of Foust Elementary School, also led one of Thursday night's leadership sessions.
"It's an exposure to the principles of leadership, but also promoting leadership where you are at," Moseley said. "If I didn't have leaders throughout the building, we wouldn't be able to accomplish anything.
"You build these leaders and help them channel that to where it is most effective," Moseley said. "It also builds a common understanding."
Another side effect is that it helps bring together teachers who ordinarily wouldn't be running into each other because they teach in different places, and that has advantages, Moseley said.
"It builds cameraderie and relationships across buildings," Moseley said. "When you develop a common district goal (and have teachers spread throughout who know and understand each other) it moves faster."
The technology portion of the classes creates knowledgeable teachers throughout the district and helps teachers learn how to integrate some of the best information off the Internet into their lessons.
Combining technology and teaching makes for something markedly improved, said Paula Roberts, director of instruction at OPS.
"We're modeling the model. When you bring two completely different disciplines together, you end up with a much better product," Roberts said. "I think they (teachers) realize the potential of how it's going to change learning for our kids. We're not just changing what they teach, but how they're learning."
Brian Lashbrook, one of two lead computer technicians at OPS, said the district's efforts are to help teachers to dive in headfirst rather than just dipping a toe in the technological pond.
"(We're trying) to push the envelope with them and show them that they can create content that is exciting to them," Lashbrook said. "They'll be using these skills to really communicate with parents and students (and) it kind of blurs the lines between learning and playing."
Jimmy Lyddane, principal of Sutton Elementary School and the district's newly named elementary digital curriculum developer, said the goal is for technology to open up new doors for everyone, teachers, parents and students.
"We're trying to use it to build relationships," Lyddane said. "There's more transparency and loss of a dividing line between home and school. They overlap now ... I think the kids are going to have many new opportunities from this."
Dariush Shafa, 691-7302 dshafa@messenger-inquirer.com
To see more of the Messenger-Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.messenger-inquirer.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Messenger-Inquirer,
Owensboro, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For
reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or
847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group
Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To Homepage ]
|
Home
Featured Article Archives
eNews
RSS FEED
