What makes a sustainable teacher career path that attracts and retains great teachers? In a new report, the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) looks at eight school district and charter career advancement initiatives for lessons and challenges,...
Beverley Tyndall
Karen Wolfson on Being a Multi-Classroom Leader®
Karen Wolfson, a math multi-classroom leader, discusses the benefits of Opportunity Culture® and having teaching teams led by fully accountable teacher-leaders. Read Karen's related blog post, Raising My Teacher Voice to Save My Job—and My Students' Success. Can’t...
Where Is Teaching Really Different? New Opportunity Culture® Video
What could you do in an Opportunity Culture®? In a new video, teachers in Opportunity Culture® schools tell how their roles let them: --Reach more students with great teaching --Lead other teachers without leaving teaching—“the best of both worlds” --Give and get...
IPS pilot offers cash to keep great teachers in the classroom while they train peers
Teachers picked for leadership positions could earn as much as $18,300 extra per year Published on Chalkbeat Indiana, February 17, 2016 by Dylan Peers McCoy After three years as a teacher, Britney Yount realized that if she wanted a leadership role in education, she...
Opportunity Culture® Voices: Blending Better Learning for More Kids
“Technology in education is one of the most exciting, terrifying and threatening developments for teachers today. Now into my second year as a blended-learning history teacher—meaning I have a group of students in my classroom every other day, assigning them to work online, at home, on the ‘off’ days—I’ve found the scary parts less frightening than most fear, with far greater benefits than I expected.
“My blended classroom opens the door to 21st-century learning, student-centered instruction, project-based learning, and an emphasis on learning as a lifelong experience, not just what you do for six hours at school. Rather than being another challenge for teachers or a new education fad, my class helped tie this all together.
“It’s been intense but gratifying: Because I teach one class while another works from home, I reach twice as many students in that period than in a traditional setting. The challenge is to reach more students while keeping results as strong as before I extended my reach—and preferably stronger. In the first blended year, my students’ growth scores in American History I were well above the district average, with students exceeding “expected” growth; this year, my blended class averaged higher growth than my traditional class.
“And this isn’t restricted to already-great or highly motivated students—I’ve seen high growth from honors, ESL, special education and average students alike.”
–Cabarrus County, N.C., American History Blended-Learning Teacher Scott Nolt, in Blending the Best: Better Learning for More Kids
What does Scott Nolt pinpoint as keys to getting that high growth in his students? In the latest Opportunity Culture column in Real Clear Education, Nolt notes three big priorities educators should focus on in designing a blended class–including a total commitment to a whole new way of teaching, and an ability to adjust quickly to the different needs of a blended environment. “My class is evolving faster than ever,” Nolt says.
Read more in his full column, and hear his thoughts on students in a blended classroom.
Blending the Best: Better Learning for More Kids
By Scott Nolt, First Published by Real Clear Education, February 17, 2016
“My blended classroom opens the door to 21st-century learning, student-centered instruction, project-based learning, and an emphasis on learning as a lifelong experience.” Blended-Learning Teacher Scott Nolt encourages teachers interested in blending learning to “go all in,” adapt their classes to best meet the needs of students, and make students active in their learning.
Scott Nolt on Being a Blended-Learning Teacher
Scott Nolt, a blended-learning history teacher at Jay M. Robinson High School in Cabarrus County, explains how blended learning enables him to personalize instruction for students at all levels. Read Scott's related blog post, Blending the Best: Better Learning for...
Opportunity Culture® Voices: MCL vs PLC–What’s the Difference?
“When out with friends or at dinner parties, I frequently get asked, ‘So what do you do?’ My ‘I’m a biology multi-classroom leader’ response receives perplexed looks, so my boyfriend usually pipes in, ‘It’s kind of like the science department chair’—and then I have to kindly say, ‘Well, sort of, except that I do all this other stuff…’
“As the leader of a five-person teaching team at a high-need Charlotte, N.C., high school, I teach a senior International Baccalaureate biology class every other day for one period—leaving 88 percent of my time to coach my team teachers, teach with them, pull out students to work one-on-one, lead data meetings, or anything else necessary to help my teachers and students succeed. Now, instead of teaching just my own 80 or 100 students, I reach all 500 biology students.”
–Charlotte-Mecklenburg Multi-Classroom Leader® for Biology Erin A. Burns, in More Powerful Than a Department Chair
In January’s installment in the Opportunity Culture series on Real Clear Education, Erin Burns writes about her experience as a multi-classroom leader (MCL) at West Charlotte High School, and the difference between that role and a previous position as a “professional learning community” (PLC) lead. “As PLC lead, I was in the dark,” about what the teachers in the PLC actually did in the classrooms–and no true authority to match the title, regardless of how the teachers were doing.
As an MCL, she has authority to coach the team, and accountability for the results of all the team’s students. She continues to teach, but has just one regularly scheduled class–giving her great flexibility to co-teach, analyze student data for the team, lead the lesson planning for each week, and meet weekly with the team together and individually.
Read more in her full column about how she does it all, and what glitches she’s encountered–and the difference it makes for students, and hear her thoughts in the accompanying video.
This is the ninth in the Opportunity Culture series–read them all here.
More Powerful Than a Department Chair
By Erin Burns, First Published by Real Clear Education, January 19, 2016
“Now, as a multi-classroom leader, or MCL, I partake in every step of my team’s lesson plans, execution, and analysis.” Biology Multi-Classroom Leader® Erin Burns contrasts her role with a traditional department chair, noting the higher authority and accountability, giving her far greater involvement in teacher and student success.
Erin Burns on Being a Multi-Classroom Leader®
Erin Burns describes her role as a multi-classroom leader at West Charlotte High School, where she leads a team of biology teachers reaching 500 students. Read Erin's related blog post, More Powerful Than a Department Chair. Can’t access YouTube? Watch this video...