PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CoPin cooperation with the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish

Education at Brandeis University

&&DIVERSE LEARNERS CoPDIVERSE LEARNERS CoP

with support from Hidden Sparks with support from Hidden Sparks

Effective Professional Development that supports Inclusive Practices for all

Students.

Date: March 16, 2009Guests: Jane Taubenfeld Cohen, Head of School,

SASSDSDebbie Niderberg, Hidden SparksSarah Birkeland, Mandel Center

Goals for our Call

• To explore guiding principles for PD that emerge from implementing differentiated instruction in a day school

• To develop a set of images of PD that could support programs for diverse learners

• To develop questions to take back to your schools for further discussion and consideration

Agenda

• Welcome & introductions

• Three guiding principles to inform professional development and meet the needs of all students

• Discussion of practice informed by the principles

• Resources & next steps

Meet Jane Taubenfeld Cohen

Jane Taubenfeld Cohen has been the Head of the South Area Solomon Schechter Day School (SASSDS) for 20 years. She is the past president of the Solomon Schechter Day School Association Principal’s Council and is a recipient of the Covenant Award.  Jane has worked closely with Gateways and the Jewish Special Education Collaborative to ensure that a wide range of learners are successful at her school.

Meet Sarah Birkeland

Sarah Birkeland is a senior research associate at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University; a senior research associate at Education Matters in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and a research affiliate of the Project on the Next Generation of Teachers at Harvard University. She is co-author of Finders and Keepers: Helping New Teachers Survive and Thrive in our Schools as well as numerous articles about teacher induction, mentoring and professional development. Sarah is a former elementary and middle school teacher.

Meet Debbie Niderberg

Debbie Niderberg is the Executive Director of Hidden Sparks. She is also responsible for developing new initiatives, such as the Hidden Sparks Without Walls, and other new programmatic and funding partnerships.  Prior to coming to Hidden Sparks, Ms. Niderberg served as the Executive Director for The Nash Family Foundation, where she was instrumental in bringing the Schools Attuned Professional Development Program to over 200 New York area Jewish schools. Prior to this, she co-founded the Jewish Children’s Learning Lab, an interactive Jewish children’s museum in New York and managed the Outreach and Special Projects division for the Fund for Jewish education.

Principle #1

Teacher support should be sustained and ongoing.

Principle #2

The more support provided, the more progress a teacher can make.

Principle #3

Differentiate for teachers

as you would with students.

Discussion:Jane, Debbie & Sarah

Sarah Birekland: 1) How do you raise people’s beliefs about whether all kids can learn? 2) How do you bring new teachers up to speed?

Jane Cohen: Always be explicit. In a kind and supportive way, teachers need to know what you believe. Let them know you believe they will get there, know it is a journey. As for new teachers, we spend a lot of time talking about DI. As soon as you see our website, you see that this is at the core of who we are. When people come to work here, I say that if DI does not make sense to you then it might not be the right school for you.

Debbie Niderberg: We also saw that this work needs to be embedded in the school. Some important ideas that Jane mentioned (and that I agree with) are: teacher rounds and teacher-watching, the book clubs and strategic planning at the end of the year looking towards the next year, having realistic expectations. Other questions to consider: 1) What topics might you build in at staff development? 2) What suggestions do you have for starting a process in year 1?

Discussion:Jane, Debbie & Sarah

Jane Cohen: We started before defining the way learner’s think (with the Gateways Program). We spent time having teachers take units taught and look at how to differentiate them (with support in the context of workshops). We have also used the protocols like LASW (Looking at Student Work ) and Consultancy Protocol so that teachers could reflect on their own practice. To transform culture you need to use different modalities and recognize that people will learn through reflection- even when they are not reflecting on their own work. As for how to start, I dove right in but I have also thought it would make sense to start with a core group of teachers that you believe you can bring along and then spread that. You don’t want, however, to create the perception of an inner circle. But small group work could spread to others. You do have to use backwards design –where do you want to be at the end of the year? We started more as a “we’re all in this together and we can do it” approach.

Rivka Stein: I work with diverse learners though not PD. I have created a PLC and we are learning about Mel Levine’s work. What has happened in general is that the communication and sharing of ideas is happening more. This is transferring to some of our grade-level conversations. We also have meetings with public school consultants through IDEA.

Open Discussion:

Debbie Niderberg: All the Mel Levine tapes can be bought through WGBH/Boston.

Jill Gruenwald: The best way is to be in it for the long haul. We used to say, “we work with the living”, that is, the people who wanted to learn. We did book groups and shared articles and they shared this with their colleagues and they were the best sales people. I found that starting too large is not a good idea.

Avi Munro: My first year we asked for volunteers as Jill was saying. After a year of weekly study by 16 volunteers, we came to a plan. (this was a mixed grade level group)

Pearl: Does it cost money to move people into coach or mentor roles? Jane Cohen: It wasn’t more expensive than most schools pay for PD. We read

a lot of books. We spent a lot of TIME. Tons of time. You have to be passionate-it made it happen and it was contagious.

Debbie Niderberg: In some schools the principal gets it but in so many schools it is one or two teachers who spearhead a mini-movement. We groom coaches for particular purposes. The key in these circumstances is to work with teachers who will be non-judgmental and have the right personality to invest others in the process.

Open Discussion:

Jill Gruenwald: The College of William and Mary Center for Gifted Education put out a lot of curriculum that was field tested. I took their materials and used it with our teachers (if it aligned with our curriculum). The teachers used it and discovered that some of their ADHD (and other different learners) were newly engaged.

Jane Cohen: When we “sell” this to our staff and board we need to make sure we are talking about all children. We need to ask ourselves who is sitting in our class and how do we meet their need?

Judy Taff: What stipend do you pay and how do you determine what it is for?

Jane Cohen: I don’t pay stipends to teachers working with each other. I pay $400- $800 for working over the summer.

Going Forward

What have you learned today that will move you from interest to exploration and readiness?

• Should we be creating teacher-to-teacher forums for sharing what is happening? Perhaps we can use Google Groups.

• This PowerPoint can be shared with principals in my school to get them to move toward a more comprehensive PD program.

• I like the sharing over lunch idea to begin to move people toward new ways of thinking.

• Could we compile resources for schools?

Resources

• Looking at Student Work. This website contains background information and examples of protocols www.lasw.org

• Designing Group Work: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom by Elisabeth Cohen (Also see: Tools For Teaching website from UC Berkeley with additional information and strategies.)

• Hidden Sparks Without Walls: Analyzing a Lesson (3.18.09) Analyzing Your teaching Style (3.25.09) Instructor: Karen Kruger M.Ed. 8-9 pm Eastern time For more information contact: www.HiddenSparks.org.