Teacher and Staff Development Activities
The Educator Success Series can be used as both an individual and staff professional development tool. Develop your school’s professional development plan by incorporating The Educator Success Series modules in the following staff development activities:
As a Kick Start or Wrap Up
The Educator Success Series (TESS) lessons can be used as a catalyst for:
- Discussions
- Focusing a group on a specific topic area
- Creating instructional strategies
Example 1: The book club approach. As a department, choose a single lesson from TESS to focus on and have staff members review it on their own during the week. Assign each person one of the references, videos, or additional resources to explore in more detail. When the group comes together to discuss the lesson, each person presents what they learned in the reference material.
This is a great example of using the online TESS lessons and blending them with an existing professional learning process to achieve a richer experience.
Example 2: The staff meeting approach. At the beginning of a staff or faculty meeting, the Principal walks through a module or instructional video from TESS in their presentation to the staff. This allows them to thoroughly review a particular topic, instructional strategy, or teaching approach for a specific content area with minimal advanced preparation required. TESS can also be used as a basis for a "lunch and learn" session with staff.
As an Opportunity for Professional Growth and Capacity Building
The Educator Success Series can be used by teachers to pursue topics or instructional strategies that they are interested in developing further as they grow their practice.
Example 1: Self-directed learning. Teachers can target instructional strategies or topic areas that they would like to know more about with TESS. The Educator Success Series self-paced online modules allow teachers to learn at a time that works with their busy schedule.
Example 2: Staff development plan. Principals assign The Educator Success Series lessons as part of a capacity building strategy with their faculty or staff. In this model, areas for growth and development are identified jointly by administration and educators.
As Support for Situations That Require Immediate Teacher Action
The Educator Success Series can be used by schools to help them as they work to develop and refresh their common approach to a variety of different situations.
Example 1: Behavioral issues. When teachers experience inappropriate behavior from students, they can review strategies within TESS for dealing with the situation. The strategies can either be immediately applied within their classroom or used that as a starting point for discussion with their colleagues and/or their administrator as the school works to resolve the issue.
Example 2: School policies. The Educator Success Series can provide additional information on a specific topic addressed in a school policy or provide examples of strategies that can be used when dealing with difficult situations.