Teacher Leader Playbook 2017-2018
September 2017
Dear Ipswich Public School Community,
Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year and another exciting Teacher Leader Playbook! Here, you’ll find descriptions of each of the district-facilitated teacher leader groups, including purpose statements, meeting dates, members signed up so far, and more.
Without a doubt, these teacher leader opportunities play an integral role in continuing to build Ipswich Public Schools as a district of innovation and collaboration. This year, we’ll continue developing and reflecting on a Culture of Thinking that encourages creativity as a thinking strategy in our classrooms and in our professional development. Throughout all the teacher leader opportunities described in this Playbook, we’ll encourage a growth mindset for the IPS community where reflective practice and space for exploration and risk-taking is supported. As an example, this school year includes an exciting year-long Project Based Learning course. Funded by a Payne Grant and led by the Buck Institute of Education and myself, this course is a great opportunity for teachers from each school to collaborate in order to dig more deeply into Project Based Learning curriculum and instruction.
I hope you consider joining in on this exploration of creativity as a thinking strategy through a teacher leadership opportunity. Whether you’re seeking to hone the creative craft of teaching, learn more about facilitating creative learners -- be they students or adults -- or challenge yourself to try a new leadership role, I hope you’ll find something here for you.
Enjoy perusing this year’s Playbook! Let’s work together to grow, create and lead.
Tracy Wagner
Director of Teaching and Learning
Ipswich Public Schools
Compass Committee Playlist 2017-2018
Ipswich Public Schools
2017-2018 Purpose Statement: This year’s Compass Committee will continue the work begun in IPS to facilitate and encourage curriculum design and alignment at the district, building and team level. In particular, this year’s Compass Committee will dive into learning about the creative process and the skills associated with creativity as a thinking strategy. Using creativity as a lens, this year’s Compass Committee will pilot priority (power) standards systems of curriculum alignment and bring these systems to their peers. Throughout the year, the Compass Committee will play an integral role in supporting their colleagues in incorporating the creative process and skills into curriculum and instruction that supports a Culture of Thinking. For example, the Compass Committee will continue to work with Principals and the Director of Teaching and Learning to facilitate Learning Cycle discussions and other supports to embed creativity within a Culture of Thinking. Throughout, they will try out and, then, model the development or revision of curriculum that emphasizes students at the center of the creative process.
The Compass Committee’s work this year will be informed by the texts Wired to Create: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Creative Mind and Rigorous Curriculum Design, among others. Compass members will serve as liaisons and resources to colleagues and administrators in curriculum development and alignment that supports creativity as a thinking routine.
Facilitator/Person to Contact with Questions: Tracy Wagner, Director of Teaching and Learning; twagner@ipsk12.net
Professional Learning Community (PLC) Team Leaders Playlist 2017-2018
Ipswich Public Schools
2017-2018 Purpose Statement: This year’s PLC team will continue the work begun in IPS to provide support to professional learning communities and their facilitators. In particular, this year’s PLC team will work with their colleagues, administrators and the Director of Teaching and Learning to further the use of teamwork in creating a Culture of Thinking that emphasizes creativity as a thinking routine. In this way, PLC team members will continue to build capacity in PLC procedures and protocols that lead to team unity and ownership in the PLC process. Throughout, the team will focus on using PLC tools that support the creative process and skills associated with creativity. Lastly, PLC members will continue to serve as liaisons/resources to colleagues and administrators in effective teamwork. PLC cohort members must be PLC-facilitation trained.
Please note: These PLC team leader positions are related to but different than the “Interest-Based PLC” opportunity. Interest-Based PLC’s are created and facilitated by teachers with the support of the Director of Teaching and Learning. They use inquiry cycles to dive deeply into unique inquiry topics. The PLC Team Leader opportunity described here is for teachers who are interested in supporting PLC work itself in the district and in their buildings. Teachers may certainly be a PLC Team Leader (here) and also be on an Interest-Based PLC if approved by their principal.
Facilitator/Person to Contact with Questions: Tracy Wagner, Director of Teaching and Learning; twagner@ipsk12.net
How to Apply: As of September 1, 2017, the PLC cohort is FULL. Contact Tracy if you’re interested in joining, however!
Technology Specialist Committee Playlist 2017-2018
Ipswich Public Schools
2016-2017 Purpose Statement: The purpose of the Technology Specialist Committee is to build technology capacity in our teachers district-wide. The Technology Specialist will provide support to their colleagues in making the connection between technology and curriculum, SHOM’s, powerful learning experiences and a Culture of Thinking that supports creativity. They will offer one-to-one assistance as well as run workshops that help teachers gain expertise and comfort using cutting edge technology practices.
Facilitator/Person to Contact with Questions: Chris Burke, Technology Integration Specialist/Coordinator; cburke@ipsk12.net
STEAM Team Playlist 2017-2018
Ipswich Public Schools
District STEAM Vision Statement: STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) education engages students with a sense of wonder about our ever-changing world through questioning, collaboration and innovative problem-solving.
2017-2018 Purpose Statement: This year’s STEAM Team will continue to support the development of the STEAM vision and alignment in Ipswich Public Schools. This year, the STEAM Team will dive into Design Thinking and growth mindset as ways to bring creative thinking routines and mindsets into the STEAM world. STEAM Team members will then bring this creative thinking routine lens to their colleagues and be supports to them. This year’s STEAM Team will also define, develop and produce the 2nd Annual IPS STEAM Showcase, which will serve as an opportunity to highlight learning and celebrate the creative process for both educators and students. Lastly, STEAM Team members will continue to serve as liaisons/resources to colleagues and administrators in all things STEAM.
The STEAM Team will continue to be comprised of community/business leaders, district leaders, an administrator, teachers (with representation from each school and STEAM disciplines), a School Committee member, a parent and students.
Facilitator/Person to Contact with Questions: Tracy Wagner, Director of Teaching and Learning; twagner@ipsk12.net
How to Apply: Please email Tracy with your interest in the STEAM Team. Include your school, any experience you have with STEAM work and/or Design Thinking as well as specific questions and skills you believe you’d bring to this year’s STEAM Team. Tracy will be in touch.
Interest-Based PLC’s Playlist 2017-2018
Ipswich Public Schools
Purpose Statement: Interested in organizing your own PLC group? Have an inquiry question or topic of study you’d like to investigate with a group of teachers? Ipswich Public Schools supports teachers who are engaged in meaningful, authentic inquiry around key objectives and problems of practice. So, we seek to support teacher-created and facilitated PLC’s with well-articulated and tangible goals. These PLC’s are designed to support work that goes above and beyond the expectations of a teaching professional in IPS. As such, team meetings must be in addition to school and school meeting hours.
Please note that in the spirit of creative thinking, preference for Interest-Based PLC’s in the 2017-2018 school year will be given to teams that are cross-grade, cross-content or cross-school.
Special thanks to the 2015-2016 PD Committee for brainstorming this idea, to the 2015-2016 PLC Cohort for “tuning” it and the 2016-2017 Interest-Based PLC’s for piloting!
Project-Based Learning (PBL) Course Cohort Playlist 2017-2018
Ipswich Public Schools
2017-2018 Purpose Statement: Interested in deepening your knowledge of how to write curriculum that uses rigorous, hands-on learning to teach students high-level content and skills? Want to dive into researching the instructional methods that integrate challenging questions, sustained inquiry, authentic learning, student voice and choice, reflection, critique, revision and, ultimately, public products? Come join a cohort of teachers from Ipswich Public Schools as we engage in a year of Project-Based Learning (PBL) professional development! This year-long course will be led in conjunction with the nationally-recognized Buck Institute of Education and Ipswich Public Schools. The result will be a bank of PBL curriculum and tools available to the district, created by this cohort of teachers trained in the Buck Institute’s “Gold Standard” PBL process.
We are looking for three teachers from each school to participate in this year-long course. These teachers and the Director of Teaching and Learning would be trained in PBL from the Buck Institute of Education on-site, here in Ipswich in the fall. These trained teachers will become in-house experts willing to model through lesson sharing and demonstration to support the implementation of PBL into their classrooms. The PBL cohort will meet monthly to share progress and work, problem-solve and give each other feedback as they continue to investigate PBL. Coursework will be guided by the Buck Institute’s “Gold Standard” PBL materials and, locally, by the the Director of Teaching and Learning and the texts Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous Classroom Instruction and Hacking Project Based Learning: 10 Easy Steps to PBL and Inquiry in the Classroom. Teachers in the PBL cohort will be provided with resources to visit each other’s classrooms, as well. This PBL-style of curriculum development and instruction lends itself to all grade levels and content areas.
Facilitator/Person to Contact with Questions: Tracy Wagner, Director of Teaching and Learning; twagner@ipsk12.net
How to Apply: Each Principal will give approval to three teachers from their school. Please speak with your principal if you are interested and, then, complete the following application. Once Principals make their approvals, applications should be sent to Tracy at Central Office. Approved applications for the PBL course are due to Tracy in Central Office by Tuesday, September 19, 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment