Professional+Development

I am currently taking a class called Qualities of Effective Professional Develpment for my masters degree. I am to set up a wiki and will be utilizing one throughout the coming weeks in class. I would love for you to be a part of my school based team and help me on my project by joining my wiki!

Thanks so much!

Whitney Young


 * [|How to Bring Teachers Up to Speed with Technology]**
 * This article offers 5 professional development strategies for integrating technology into the classroom.**
 * EDumas**

Thank you for sharing this article! I definitely understand what they mean by interacting with teachers like they are students. I know and understand many things technology oriented but when it comes to technology and school use I feel like a fish out of water at times. This article helps!



Building a Collaborative Team - some thoughts and ideas on building collaborative teams at GHMS

There are many stages and phases teams will experience when developing a collaborative learning team. Each stage is important for an effective collaborative learning team to take place. It is necessary for a school-based team to understand the fundamentals of each stage to be a successful learning team. It may take time to successfully master each stage but the reward is worth the efforts. The first stage of successful professional learning teams is to have roles and responsibilities established with the members. In this step team members will be identified, a facilitator role will be established, and then the roles of recorder and timekeeper should be made as well. This primary step is essential to the success of the team because it establishes boundaries and responsibilities for everyone involved. Setting each role gives members a sense of belonging. Each role brings a set of skills and importance to the team. The unity begins to form in this stage. According to Killion and Roy (2009) “every member takes personal and collective responsibility for the team’s success (p. 128). This is true when each involved member plays an important role in each team meeting. These responsibilities will successfully include everyone which is imperative for team collaboration. A team cannot be successful if everyone is not involved. The second stage of successful professional learning teams is to set agreements. Every team member involved must agree to take the time to establish agreements concerning behaviors. This holds everyone involved accountable. If teams fail to establish agreements over behaviors, the team may slowly fall apart. Agreements help teams by guiding how the meetings will run. Some areas that need to be decided upon are what time meetings will be held, how often meetings will be held, where these meetings will take place, how will issues/subjects be communicated, and how decisions will be made. In each of these areas, member behaviors are highlighted. Members will need to be prompt in their arrival and ready to work. Members will be required to be respectful of others and to participate. The decision making factor may not always be 100% but can decided upon at a majority after all perspectives have been addressed. An issue than can arise during this stage is experiencing broken agreements. Killion & Roy (2009) acknowledge this by stating that “people are human and make mistakes” (p. 130). Things do happen like people forgetting a meeting without the intention of missing. Teams should have a plan in place for when these breakdowns occur. Being prepared for these hiccups can reduce stress of ill feelings some members may have. A successful team will be able to continue to collaborate and succeed when they can deal with and work through delays and issues such as breakdowns. The third stage of a successful professional learning team is to share leadership. This is a crucial stage to be successful because so many people in the school will benefit. The facilitator’s role here is critical in helping develop the team members’ leadership skills. When an entire team has developed their leadership skills success will take place in meetings as well as in their classrooms. When teachers exhibit strong leadership skills, they can help their students become team members in their class. These leadership skills among teachers and students will give students the chance to practice and excel at a life skill necessary for success in life after school. The last stage is to create and to maintain a sense of a team. In order to reach this final stage, team members share the basic understanding of all stage of team development. By the time a team reaches this stage, the importance is placed on maintaining the team. Teams continue to collaborate and work together towards goals. Everyone has their responsibilities, contribute to the team, work through setbacks, and can progress forward professionally. Each member is valued and open to feedback from one another.