Leading and Learning

I have a new position with my school district this year as a Lead Teacher for Literacy.  As part of my job, I get to support about 16 teachers who are new or new-ish to our district.  I provide professional development, visit classrooms, give feedback and encourage reflective thinking to help them grow as educators.

This is an amazing opportunity for the development of our teachers, but I find myself growing and learning so much as well.  How can I lead others if I am not learning and researching best practices in education?  And so each night, I scan my twitter feeds.  #edchat #leadupchat #edulead #reflectiveteacher #differentiatedlearning #ILAchat #bookaday #n2tchat #educoach  #tlap #satchatwc

Where are the conversations going, who should I follow and how can I share information?

I have a stack of books by my bed for my nightly reading ritual.  Since August, I’ve read five different educational books.  This September was the first time I used the ATA library to request books.  What a great service!  You order online and they mail them right away with pre-paid postage to return to sender later.

As I encourage my coaching group to reflect on teaching, I also reflect.  In the office, our team is constantly sharing ideas, debating and learning from one another.  Sometimes I just have to say, “Let me think about that for a bit,” as I need to process and make sense of an idea.  Is it challenging?  Yes.  But so exciting.

Education is a field that honours and encourages change and growth.  Teachers have the power to make a huge impact on student learning.  With that in mind, I think about my coaching group.  How can I support them in the journey to learn, explore, reflect, and change?  Just like I would with my students in a classroom.  I model and share my own journey.  I look forward to this year of leading and learning.