This
past week we’ve had several valuable opportunities for professional
development:
(1)
As part of my
data gathering process for my dissertation, I visited Pacific Elementary School
in Manhattan Beach last Wednesday. I
spent the day observing the 1:1 iPad program, the Maker Lab, and sharing ideas
with their principal. Overall, it was an
enlightening experience that generated many ideas for Rancho Vista’s 1:1
program and science lab. Administrators
should have MORE of these kinds of opportunities to cross-pollinate. It is truly inspiring.
(2)
We sent four
teachers down to Weaver Elementary School in Los Alamitos to observe CGI math
instruction. For many of the teachers,
this was their second visit to Weaver and it served to validate and confirm their
budding CGI practices. These
opportunities are also VERY important for our teachers, many of who have never
taught outside of PVPUSD.
(3)
Finally,
today we had a school wide Thinking Maps training. This was a wonderful opportunity to give
teachers a new instructional tool and provide them with a common language for
K-5 instruction. The staff was engaged,
enthusiastic, and thankful for the opportunity to expand their teaching tool
kit.
