Ohio Voices
The Voice of May 2016
The OCTELA Newsletter, member of The NCTE Information Exchange, is a publication of the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA), founded in 1957 as the English Association of Ohio (EAO). OCTELA is the only statewide affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) representing teachers of English Language Arts, prekindergarten through college.
OCTELA Executive Board
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Carol Ann Hart Registrar/WROTE/ SLATE Karla Hayslett Executive Director Stacy Ludwig ODE Liaison Sue Malaska Bonnie Chambers Sara Marker Early Childhood Liaison Ruth McClain Advisor Virginia McCormac President Kristine Michael TESOL Liaison Debra Nickles University/ CAEO Pattie Niese Secretary/BCTBA Sarah Ressler Wright Exhibitor co-Liaison Colleen Ruggieri NCTE/ODE Liaision Amanda Schear Diversity Liaison Jessica Sharp Membership Liaison Debbie Thomas Bonnie Chambers Patrick Thomas OJELA Karen Tollafield LGBTQQ Liaision Chris Wagner Social Networking Noah Waspe Middle School Liaison Heidi Weber Elementary co-Liaison Molly Wendel Elementary co-Liaison Sam Whitaker Legislative Liaison Brandi Young OELMA Liaison Joshua Younge Vice President
Jen Baker Secretary Michelle Best President-Elect Margaret Blevins Treasurer Nicole Brickman Exhibitor co-Liaison Karen Carney Conference Planner Stephenie Erikkson Past-President Andrew Ford Webmaster Marge Ford Associate Webmaster
From the Green Room-- Advice on Teaching and Learning in the ELA World Heidi Weber OCTELA co-Elementary-Liaison-
Professional Development Alternatives Spring is a great time for new beginnings. If you are like me, you end your school year with a list of “next year I plan to’s.” Seeds for personal learning are planted as you reflect on what worked and, more often, what didn’t work as well over the past year. You may also be thinking about using summertime to continue your professional growth and develop your individual plan for license renewal. Let’s face it, how many of us really take our summer completely off? As chairperson for my district’s Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC), I approve individual professional development plans for certified educators in my district and ‘e-sign’ license applications. Each year I help guide others on their journey to collect the hours they need while finding the best options for each teacher’s unique situation. Finding the right PD, often for the right ‘price,’ can be frustrating. While taking a college course or two is the easiest option, it is far from the most cost effective. I am frequently asked: What tips and/or resources can you share to help me find personalized learning opportunities for my individual professional development plan? My first tip, of course, is to know what your local committee will accept and ask questions before jumping in. Ohio has guidelines for local professional development committees, but your district establishes its own procedures and protocols. Know what is accepted, what deadlines you have, and investigate what could be accepted for CEUs (continuing education units). It is your responsibility to earn 6 semester hours or the equivalent. Using ‘equivalent’ options can be tricky but rewarding. It takes 10 ‘contact hours’ to equal 1 CEU; it takes 3 CEUs to equal 1 semester hour. Thus, if you were seeking to fulfill your IPDP with only CEUs, you need 18. And to clarify, a contact hour is an hour ‘on your tail’ so to speak; that is the ‘real time’ spent. Secondly, have at least one goal in mind. If you know you would like to work on how to help struggling writers more, seeking out meaningful learning opportunities will be easier. When you search for PD with this mindset, you might be surprised at the options that are available. Today we have access to a wealth of tools and resources at our fingertips. Consider some alternative ways to grow professionally: Webinars, Twitter Chats, and Podcasts: great for finding specific topics of interest with minimal time investment in a single setting. Be prepared to write a reflection or summary of learning. Here are a couple of great podcasts for teachers: Apple Slice, Amplify Teaching Book study: Find a great text to read and analyze. Even better...do it with a group. #cyberPD has been doing online professional book studies in the summers since 2011. Action research: This is a great option for personalizing professional development for your own setting. You don’t have to be formal, but identifying a problem or need you would like to try to solve could be more meaningful than sitting in a workshop. Here’s a nice resource from the Teachers Network Leadership Institute to use as a guide to help you get started. Educational Project: One way not only to help yourself but contribute to colleagues would be to work on designing a teaching unit. Targeting learning goals, outlining resources, and identifying/ building different types of assessments are foundations to build upon. This a great opportunity to experiment with new strategies or technology integration. Observe a colleague: Sometimes collaboration just isn’t enough to get a sense of what goes in other learning settings. I’ve found great joy and value in slipping into the classroom of another teacher just to see things from a different perspective. Make your intentions known and hopefully you have open enough peers to let you in. It is refreshing and a great way to help you not only get ideas, but to also get a chance to be reflective as well. Again, a reflection or summary is in order and taking time to talk with the colleague about their approach is insightful. Write: Reflecting on what you do is probably one of the most powerful ways to develop as a professional. It can be informal blogging or for a professional journal. Patrick Thomas, PhD (Assistant Professor. of English at University of Dayton) did a wonderful presentation at OCTELA on “Finding Your Voice as a "Teacher-Who-Writes": Preparing Your Manuscript for Professional Publication.” OJELA would benefit from your wisdom! There are many other alternatives for professional learning to explore in addition to these such as mentoring, working with pre-service teachers, serving on committees, doing presentations, and grant writing. Whatever options you start to consider, do be sure to touch base with your local professional development committee to find out what meets its standards and guidelines.
Burning question? Looking for advice from the GREEN ROOM? Send your question to Heidi at weberhe@lovelandschools.org
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The OCTELA newsletter is published throughout the year and distributed to OCTELA members. Articles cover events and topics of interest to OCTELA members and English Language Arts educators at large. If you have information you think would enliven or inform our audience, please submit it to the editor via mail or email.
Ohio Voices Karla Hayslett, Editor 1209 Heather Run Wilmington, OH 45177 Email: octela@gmail.com
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