BreakoutEDU Faculty Edition!

Professional Development offered at my school (James Clemens High School) is something that, believe it or not, I actually look forward to.  Our in house PD is lead by our Instructional Partner, Ms. Kristi Combs.  Because our school is the "Jets" our professional development sessions have related names.  The two main PDs offered are Flight School and Pilot's Lounge.  Flight School happens during each planning block usually once a month.  Flight school has really opened my eyes about all the new brain research that is out there and the connection to how we learn.  Pilot's Lounge highlights teacher leaders and is offered during Refuel Hour on a monthly basis.  Unfortunately Refuel Hour is the busiest time in the JCHS Library MakerSpace so I have missed out on some amazing learning opportunities; but not this past week!

This past week Ms. Alicia Mendez, JCHS English Teacher, was the teacher leader for the Pilot's Lounge PD in May.  Ms. Mendez wanted to do a BreakoutEDU with our staff to help introduce this cool learning tool to those who might not know about it or who have wondered about using it but had questions.  Ms. Mendez teamed with me and Kristi Combs and together we formulated a plan.  The BreakoutEDU we choose was Time Warp.  We got all the locks set, resources printed out and/or created, and game parts hidden around the room per game directions.  The day before the Pilot's Lounge the three of us "played" the game.  It was a good thing we did this because it helped us to be more prepared to nudge and hint if needed when the real game was played.  It also double checked us making sure we had all of our ducks in a row before the big day!

The big day came and we decided it would be fun to have the Glee version of Time Warp playing on a loop (thanks to the Magic Action Chrome extension)  to greet Pilot's Lounge participants.  We started the BreakoutEDU with a few directions and the Time Warp backstory and then set the group loose to "breakout"!

It was fun watching our awesome JCHS teachers as they worked together to solve the clues and break the locks! Our staff is super smart so it was no surprise when they "broke out" in under 20 minutes (we forgot to set the timer..LOL!) 

Watch the fun below in our Flickr SlideShow!

Professional Development Made FUN & Meaningful

Kristi Combs, Instructional Partner at James Clemens High School

I have been fortunate in the last few years to work with some of the most talented, innovative, caring and genuine administrators.  Jennifer Hogan and Holly Sutherland helped me see the how and why of a school hashtag as well as how to leverage social media for good, rather than blocking these sites. They beautifully handled the awful YikYak app by flooding it with positive messages about students, teachers and our school.  

This quote from George Couros' METC16 opening Keynote immediately brought these two administrators to mind.  

This year the administrative trio of Kristi Combs (Instructional Partner), Allison Miller and Jennifer Flanagan WOWed me at the JCHS Retreat before school started and continue to model innovation and excellence in professional development in our school.

In particular, Kristi Combs, Instructional Partner at JCHS, is an invaluable resource for our teachers especially educators like myself who have been teaching over 20 years.  Kristi's main job is to provide professional development on sound yet innovative, research based teaching strategies.  Kristi doesn't just talk the talk but models the teaching strategies during the professional development sessions.  I also love that none of Kristi's sessions are "sit and get".  Teachers are actively engaged, talking, brainstorming and sharing throughout.  Additionally, for those of us who were actually taught in college the "lecture method",  Kristi will plan with and co-teach with teachers using best practice strategies learned in her PD sessions so that we can better understand how to implement what we have learned from her with our students.

What I love about this is that experienced educators like me don't feel as if our teaching methods are "wrong" but that there are better ways to not only engage but empower students in a classroom environment that has undergone dramatic changes since the days when I was a student teacher.  

Kristi, Allison, and Jennifer also empower teachers to be leaders during professional development sessions.  By doing this the sense of responsibility for professional learning falls on all of us and doesn't feel like a chore or forced time.  It leaves you feeling excited, refreshed, ready to go and more than anything it leaves you with a sense of being a part of a family within our school.

You know you are in a good place when you look forward to professional learning days!