Silver Linings in Self Directed SIP Days

Article

Lynette Thrasher

Silver Linings in Self-Directed SIP Days

It seems to be the nature of the human race to look for the positives in a dark situation. As early as 1634 Milton asked, “Was I deceived or did a sable cloud/Turn forth her silver lining on the night?” And in the midst of a global pandemic, we find ourselves still scanning the skies for that silver lining.

At Momence Community Unit School District #1, a rural, public PreK-12 district in Kankakee County, one of our silver linings was discovered through our need to adapt our School Improvement Planning days to meet social distancing and quarantine restrictions.

Looking for Solutions

As we prepared to return to school in a hybrid model in August, it became clear that the traditional form of teacher development days was not going to work. We had teachers being quarantined, we couldn’t meet in large groups, and we didn’t want to cross-expose people in different buildings. And yet, we had just adopted a new math curriculum-including enhanced digital offerings. Teachers needed and wanted training to learn to best utilize these resources and to up their remote teaching game in general. Our district, like so many, was rapidly expanding our 1:1 capabilities through Covid relief funding. What good would all these devices and

hotspots be for kids if we didn’t help our teachers to feel comfortable teaching in this new environment?

As usual, looking at what our quickadapting teachers were doing in their classrooms helped us find the answer. We would offer remote professional learning for our teachers. We developed a menu of self-directed options for the day that included virtual learning sessions, virtual collaboration, and some reflection and feedback forms to gauge our progress.

Our first attempt was a bit rough around the edges. We had limited choices and kept the topics under the umbrella of either self-directed technology training or some classroom management offerings. Much of the training we offered was in the form of recorded workshops our teachers had previously facilitated for colleagues in a train-thetrainer model. We also gave teachers options like completing their Google Certified Educator training. Teachers had the opportunity to work at school or at home. All we asked was that the reflection/feedback form be completed to tell us what they did during the day and share some thoughts about their experience. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Over 95% of staff members reported that the day met their needs and contributed to their professional growth. We also asked what types of training and topics staff members would like to explore in further training and the incredible diversity of responses inspired us to take our selfdirected SIP days even further.

In the second and third installments, we vastly expanded our offerings by scouring the go-to resources we rely on for in-person professional growth. With free access training offered by the Illinois State Board of Education, ILASCD, and many others, we were able to curate a wide range of focus options for our staff. Some offerings were focused on technology integration and remote learning strategies, some were content-specific pedagogical best practices, while others focused on Social Emotional Learning and becoming more trauma-responsive. We were also able to offer a wealth of training options centered around equity, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ topics. And each training day we also offered a number of learning opportunities related to teacher health/ wellness and self-care.

Stepping up the Self Directed

With more training options, staff members began asking about learning events that were relevant to them. Some staff members used the time during the SIP day to engage with virtual conference material on-demand. Many reported that they ‘attended’ far more sessions

In the feedback form, teachers were leaving comments describing a feeling of a real agency in their own learning.

than they would be able to in person because of this format. Others used the SIP time for completing continuing education hours related to their unique areas of expertise like Speech Language Pathology or Physical Therapy.

In the feedback form, teachers were leaving comments describing a feeling of a real agency in their own learning. One veteran elementary teacher in the district said, “In a world filled with restrictions, it’s nice to be given choices, options, and freedoms.” Another said that by allowing teachers to choose topics that are of interest and relevant to them, they finally feel that they are able to take learning from the workshop immediately and begin implementing it in their classroom. We found out later that some teachers were choosing to coordinate their learning options with their teams and collaborate on their own about their key take-aways after the SIP day. Jodi Tobias, a reading specialist working with a unique role in two buildings in the district said,

“I really enjoy the choose-yourown-adventure format of these PD days. I often find opportunities that are specific to my unique classroom situation, so this gives me time to explore those opportunities which may not be relevant to others. I like the mix of content and tech options and the chance to collaborate with colleagues.”

Accountability

You may be wondering about the accountability of providing continuing education hours teachers complete on their own. In the beginning, we tried to build more accountability into our day by asking teachers to log the times they started and stopped various sessions. We also explored building accountability questions. However, it soon became obvious that this wasn’t necessary. As part of the reflection and feedback form, teachers were asked a variety of questions that prompted them to reflect on their learning. Some examples of responses include things like,

“One of the webinars that I took part in today went over the Illusion of Comprehension and its effect on students, mainly how students can be affected by information (real or fake) simply by having that information repeated over and over

again. That repetition makes it more likely for people to succumb to it. This is a major issue with digital literacy, as students can run into false information and think it’s trustworthy just because it gets parroted over and over again. The webinar went over several ways to teach digital literacy and combat issues such as this one, but this stuck out as being very interesting.”

Other responses reflected on racial equity sessions they attended and how they were planning to apply what they learned in upcoming choice projects they were presenting to students. Some of the feedback reflections read:

“If a student doesn’t know how to read, write, multiply, etc., we teach. If a student doesn’t know how to behave, we punish? They need to be taught, not punished. Respond to the child, not the behavior.”

As a district administrator who has been coordinating teacher professional learning opportunities for several years, this method of self-directed learning and individual reflection and feedback allowed more interaction between myself and the staff than anything I’ve done in the past. The responses were thoughtful and thought-provoking. It’s evident through them that staff members were not only engaged in their learning but really applying that learning to their classrooms. Our administrative team was also able to respond to many teachers and staff members via email and in-person to begin a dialogue that was relevant and individualized to the teacher and their own professional learning needs and goals. Some of those conversations have led to further professional development, some to focusing on building and district initiatives, and all of them have been key components of building real relationships with the teachers and staff members in our district.

Keeping the Silver Lining

The Covid pandemic is a cloud that’s been hanging over our heads for the last 12 months. We, like all school districts, have experienced some difficult days and difficult choices. We have had some tense discussions in our quest to navigate the situation in the best way possible for our students and the staff members who are dedicated to them. Our selfdirected SIP days have provided us with one silver lining amidst the clouds. It’s allowed our teachers and staff members to grow in their learning, and maybe more importantly, it has allowed us to demonstrate that we respect them by allowing them more agency. As we move past this current reality, these types of self-directed learning opportunities

will continue to be an important part of the professional development plan at Momence CUSD #1, and also a meaningful way we build collaborative relationships.

Dr. Thrasher is a district administrator at a rural school district in Northeast Illinois. She oversees the MTSS program for the district and coordinates student service plans for general education students. She has served as a reading specialist, technology and instructional coach, assistant principal, and teacher in elementary, middle and high schools in Indiana and Illinois. She earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration from Ball State University.