NCCE 2020: Major Takeaways

NCCE is starting to feel a little like a family reunion, and I love it. There are so many educators that I have so much respect for that I've met there, and every year, I always look forward to getting to see them again. I walk away inspired every year, and yes a lot of that is from the sessions I attend, but just as much, if not more, of that inspiration simply comes from the conversations I get to have with all the other educators there. I love hearing about what is happening in schools and classrooms around the PNW and beyond.

The hardest part about any conference is being able to take away the hundreds of amazing ideas and turn them into something actionable. For me, this process always includes identifying big overarching themes that resonate. While I love hearing all the new tools that we can leverage to make learning more powerful, it is the thinking behind the tools that really matters in making a difference in education.

So, here are those big ideas that I'm walking away with this year.

1. Vulnerability is the Key to Innovation

This was really emphasized in sessions from Renton School District's digital learning specialists and J. Roger Hay from Gresham-Barlow School District. Both sessions were around effective professional learning, and I was struck by how essential it is that teachers are encouraged and feel safe enough to be vulnerable. Change doesn't happen if people are afraid to admit they can grow, and in order for them to admit that, they have to know they're part of a team that has their back. 

What I watched in those sessions was teachers on video sharing about their learning process: where they started, why they changed, what they learned, etc. How powerful is that?! That's where change happens. It happens when people are willing to take a risk and then willing to share that with others. 

In my role as a coach, what am I going to do now? For one, I want to make sure there are plenty of opportunities for people to get together informally to help build those connections. On top of that, I want to think about how we can start making reflection part of just what we do. That means staff meetings, it means being intentional with it during PD, and it means me starting every conversation about teaching with opportunities for reflection. 

Even if reflection feels like this sometimes...

2. Leverage the Information Age

Differentiation. Personalization. Intervention. 

So often we hear these words and we think: "THAT'S SO MUCH WORK!" Yeah, it is, if we're controlling everything. 

Why do we have to be the one providing everything? Like, let's be honest, we're taking things from the internet and giving it to our students. We're the middleman in that scenario. We don't need to be the one doing the distributing of information. 

I think about the day I walked into class with a lesson plan about irony, threw is out the figurative window, and told my students one thing: "100% of you need to understand the major types of irony fully by the end of the lesson." 

IT. WAS. AWESOME. 

Students were collaborating, not just cooperating. There was metacognition everywhere. Students were sharing resources by literally yelling out the titles of videos that they liked. 

Think about how different that lesson would have been if I controlled the information? It would have been engaging, but engaging students and empowering students are two wildly different things. The form of the lesson where I gave students control and allowed them to make choices about their learning not only taught them about symbolism, but it taught them how to be a learner, which is honestly way more important than symbolism. And that's coming from an English Language Arts teacher.

So what do I do? Leverage that. Give students a structure and help them understand the learning process so that they can control their own learning. Do I need to provide worksheets to differentiate if that's happening? Nope. Do I need to find ways to incorporate students interests? I mean, yes, but they also can do that for themselves with this. 

3. Innovation Can't Happen Without a Community

Okay, this one is two-fold. 

The first elements of this is centered on developing a PLN. I can honestly say that I'm the teacher I am today because of my PLN. It was fun during my session to look out and see so many people that I've learned from, whether that was new ways of leaving feedback from Theren Hayes, being inspired by Enumclaw School District's theory of action statement, Shannon Cunningham's encouragement to have my students craft mission statements for the projects they engage in, Jeff Utecht's reminder to allow students to control their learning, or Patrick Green's student-centered uses of video in the classroom. All of these people, and many more, have helped develop my skills as a teacher, and I would never have been able to do that without getting into spaces where I can connect with others. 

So, if you are that teacher who still refuses to access some sort of online professional learning space, whatever that may be, you are missing out on the best learning and growth there is. 

Here's the second element of this one. Parents have to be a part of the process when we are bringing in more devices. In my role as a coach, I haven't done this like I should. So many districts talked about their parent nights and how they are empowering parents to see the value of technology. Just as importantly, they are providing knowledge to parents to help combat fear while also ensuring that the devices aren't problematic at home. Maybe even more importantly, I heard some schools talk about how they are training parents to use technology because they want parents to understand and be able to use this power, too. 

What can I do? For one, encourage everyone I can to get plugged into a PLN somewhere. (If you aren't plugged in, this is your encouragement!) Secondly, I want to find a way to bring in parents to help bridge the gap between school and home when it comes to technology use. 

So, those are my big three this year. While there are tons of new tools I'm intrigued by (mostly Microsoft's Immersive Reader), these are the ideas that I can use to change major elements of my practice right away.