Arizona Teachers Create DIY Professional Development
Mindful
of
the tight budgets dominating public education, teachers in the Higley
Unified School District (HUSD) in the southern suburbs of Phoenix
decided to
create their own one-day professional development program.
With
the
Higley USD Professional Development Café, teachers and
district staff
members volunteered to lead one- or two-hour sessions during the October 13
all-day event that was attended by hundreds of teachers.
More
than
30 different sessions were held with titles ranging from "Writers
Workshop"
and "Strategies for Working With ELL and Struggling Students" to "Close
Reading"
and "Teach Like a Champion!" On that list of sessions were several
involved
with incorporating technology into classroom teaching.
"These
activities
will be great to use with my sixth-graders," said Lori Pascual who
teaches at the Higley Traditional Academy.
Pascual
said
she attended classes on Web page development for students, an update on
math standards and one on how to incorporate science, technology,
engineering
and math into the elementary school curriculum.
Janet
Williams,
who works with gifted students at Gateway Pointe Elementary School,
said the best takeaway of the day for her was a session that introduced
her to
the flipped classroom concept in which students study lessons the
teacher
prepares on video at home the night before and then use classroom time
for
practice.
"I'll
use
it all," Williams said.
"Teachers
were
engaged and active," said HUSD Assistant Superintendent Steve Nance.
"They
clearly enjoyed the learning and the new ideas. We hope to continue this
in the
future."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.