Oh, the wonderful WONDER WALKS strategy!  Chances are you've heard about something similar to this strategy.  Several schools implement a tool called "Pineapple Charts" as informal PD between and among teachers.  You can find out more about this method HERE!  This method allows teachers to observe colleagues and gain ideas about specific teaching tools and strategies.  "Wonder Walks" are similar in that teachers spend time observing and learning from other teachers.  The difference is that they can go into any classroom, observe any content area, and are expected to walk away with something wonderful they noticed and something they are wondering about for their own instruction.

And when the wonder walks are over?
Great question!  You'll want to be sure that teachers hold on to the notes they take!  This is likely the most important part of the whole process.  After the open period of observations, you'll want to have teachers debrief as a whole.  This is so important, not only because it holds teachers accountable for their attention to instruction during the observation time, but also because it can encourage deep, thoughtful discussion about quality teaching.  And HOPEFULLY great practices will be replicated across the campus.  This is the best kind of professional development you could ask for- in-house, student-based, and actionable!   Wondering what the debrief looks like??  Be sure to check out next week's blog post to learn about 3+3 Debriefing AFTER Wonder Walks!

Did someone say "SMORES"?!  Why, yes!  But it's not what you might be thinking.  When I first heard of this site, I was kind of confused about its purpose.  Was it supposed to be a virtual campfire?  A virtual kumbaya of sorts?  A place to learn about outdoor activities?  But Smore actually has nothing to do with any of the aforementioned categories.  So what IS it and how can it be effectively used by educators or educational leaders?  

To quote the website, "Smore makes it easy to design beautiful and effective online newsletters."  What I love about that statement is that it is, first of all, true and second, it makes use of the word "effective".  The words in the statement the website creators use to tell about their site were certainly carefully chosen.  So, let's see how:

• This term is fairly enticing all on its own.  As educators and leaders, our time is spent ticking off that endless checklist and, unfortunately, can't devote a ton of time to creating the amazing designs that we covet on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.  But Smore helps make the creation of newsletters a simple process.  You can choose from a large variety of templates or begin with a blank slate.  The site allows you to insert a plethora of media components so that you can make each newsletter unique to your purposes.  Simply drag and drop your media of choice!

• And who DOESN'T want a beautiful design?  The first step in piquing a reader's interest is by creating something visually beautiful.  Think about your trips to the bookstore, or window shopping, or a drive down the road.  Your eyes are drawn to the things in which you find beauty, regardless of the contents or details that are included.  Visual marketing is a real thing and should be practiced, even in the field of education.   If you're sending a newsletter on a regular basis to the same audience, it might be important to adjust the graphics and design so that your readers remain curious.

• And here's what's most important about digital newsletters:  they are effective!  There's no point in creating an easy and beautiful design if, in the end, it's not effective.  But effective can mean lots of different things, and that's okay.  What matters is that your newsletter is effective in the ways that you want it to be:  Is it effective at gaining attention of the audience?  Is it effective in getting accessible information out to viewers?  Is it effective in holding an audience accountable?  Is it effective in getting readers to come back again and again?  Does it have a way for readers to interact?  In considering your end goal, you can create a newsletter that is most effective for you and your audience.

Of course, absolutely anything can be included in your digital newsletter.  Obviously, it depends on your audience and purpose.  As an instructional coach, I send out a newsletter every two weeks to share about current school events, professional resources, and more.  Here's what I usually include:

• Every newsletter includes a snippet of professional development.  It could be a new professional read, a brief video on a topic of particular interest, or a website link with a blurb included.
• Each of my newsletters also includes any pertinent information about upcoming events with me as the instructional coach.  For example, last month I had teachers sign up for a "Happy Breaks-Giving" that allowed me to provide them a 30 minute break the week before Thanksgiving.
• Specific schools, classrooms, or teachers are highlighted in every edition.  It might be a few pictures and captions from various classrooms, or a resource that a teacher has created and has provided permission to share in the newsletter.
• Finally, I always embed the google form for my coaching services.  It can be completed within the newsletter.  

There are SO many different things that can be included in a digital newsletter.  While I do believe that variation in design elements is important and can affect the appeal of newsletters, readers also enjoy consistency.  A predictable pattern allows your audience to know what to expect.  Therefore, I prefer to keep my broad content topics relatively the same, but take as much creative license as possible with what is posted and how it is presented.

Share your digital newsletter designs!  Let us know if you use Smore and what makes it easy, beautiful, and effective for you!

Honestly, if you were to put into every professional development session what you would your best session with teachers, you’d be spending ALL of your time doing nothing but prepping for PD.  As amazing as that would be, instructional coaches simply don’t have the time (or resources) to create bang up, incredible PD sessions every time BECAUSE sometimes, a PD session or event happens with very short notice or no notice at all.  And then there are other times when you simply forgot about professional development you were leading (or it was unclear that you were, in fact, the one leading it). Yes, it’s a stressful situation to find yourself in.  But thankfully, there is a way to be ready for professional development in a S*N*A*P!
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Have a handful of no-prep structures in mind.  ​We all know that the BEST PD sessions are those that encourage active responses and conversations among participants.  Thinking about how to make this happen to its maximum potential can take a lot of thought and planning.  But having a variety of no-prep structures in mind can make this possible in any PD session.  The most common (and simple) structure presenters use is a "Turn and Talk".  While this is an easy go-to, there are several others that can provoke the depth of conversation and participation you so  desire.  Even better?  These require NO PREP and can all be found on my TPT store

• Four Corners​​:  Participants move to one of four corners that represent a theme, topic, idea, or interest.  Once in these groups, participants work with or discuss the content being presented.  Each group should share out new ideas, questions, or thoughts with the whole.
• Hostess:  The presenter calls for "Table for (two, three, four, etc.)".  Participants gather in groups of that many people and discuss the topic.
• Take Sides:  This can take many forms!  It may be that you're having participants take sides based on some "would you rather" phrases.  You might ask participants to take sides based on the topic at hand and their agreements/ disagreements.  Once they have physically moved to a side that represents each of two choices, participants turn and talk to discuss their thoughts on the topic.
• Inside Outside Circle:  Some of your audience will formulate an inner circle facing out, and the remainder of the audience will formulate an outer circle facing in.  Each person should have a partner they are facing.  Either the inside circle, the outside circle, or both can move in a clockwise or counter clockwise direction to move to a new partner and continue discussion.
• Snowball:  This structure is great for sharing what participants plan to take away from the session.  Simply have each person take a scratch sheet of paper or sticky note, jot their take-away, and join in a large circle or group.  They will have a minor "snowball fight" by tossing their crumpled paper into the mix.  Each participant then picks up a nearby "snowball", opens it up, and reads the statement allowed to the group.
• Connect Cards:  This is one of my favorite structures and really encourages critical thinking.  Either the speaker or participants take 6 to 9 cards, sticky notes, or pieces of paper, labels each with a word or brief phrase related to the topic presented, and sets them out in 2 rows of 3 or 3 rows of 3.  Participants think about how to create a complete statement using connecting cards, but they can only create statements for cards that touch sides or corners.

Consider your niche. Think about how can you fit the PD topic on the agenda into your niche. Are you great at delivering mini lessons?  Structure it as a mini lesson with a connection, teach point, active engagement, and link.  Are you particularly talented in leading conversations?  Make it a conversational session and provide talking points on the topic.  Perhaps you love ice breakers and team-building activities.  Incorporate these into your PD.  Chair Tag, Count to Ten, or Edu-Charades are a few that come to mind.  Is technology your jam??  Have some go-to tech tools with which you're familiar and enjoy using.  After all, your participants most likely will all have devices on hand.  Some easy and quick-to-use favorites are Mentimeter, Jamboard, and Padlet.  Regardless of the topic for the PD session you're leading, find your niche and use it to your advantage.
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Get in the mainframe of your audience and find ways to capture their attention with a matching narrative.  We are all naturally drawn to stories and their metaphorical and analogical nature.  When a presenter uses a story to match, in one way or another, our situations, we are more likely to engage in the presentation, be more receptive to the message, and hold on to the information for a longer period of time.  But before you throw any old story out there, you first have to analyze your audience and the PD topic.  My suggestion is to have a running list of personal stories (that may be yours or borrowed) on your handy-dandy phone.  Sift through them and think about what story might make for a great analogy to the topic at hand.  

Here's an example:  

• PD Topic:  Class Management during Whole Group Lessons
• Personal Story:  "I'll never forget my last year teaching first graders.  I loved my job.  I loved the kids.  But I had my hands completely full and although I had been teaching for 10 years, I felt like I just wasn't doing things right.  There was one day that the students met me at the rug after independent reading.  As we sat there in a large circle, I attempted to teach... but nothing came out of my mouth.  I simply started looking around the circle.  At least three kids were laid out on the floor, two were sitting like frogs on their feet, one was making spit bubbles and wiping them away with the back of his hand, several others were making as many random noises as possible.  A teacher friend sat with us on the rug and I glanced at her smiling face and, with crocodile tears begging to spill from my eyes, said, "I can't."  Then I left the room while she so graciously took over."
• As Stored in My Phone:  "The time I couldn't handle first grade anymore"

Does that story fit every PD topic?  Absolutely not.  But I have several other stories logged in my Notes app that hopefully do fit each PD topic I present.
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Make the teachers (or your audience) the presenters.  I can't lie... this is something I turn to quite often, but what a great thing to turn to!  Chances are that, a lot of the time, your audience can come up with so many great thoughts and ideas that you hadn't even considered in relation to your topic.  Allow for opportunities for your audience to collaborate and then present their findings.  In order for this to work well, you WILL need a broad agenda mapped out in your mind.  This could be mapped out in the form of questions the audience will consider, talking points you want them to discuss, or action steps to take collaboratively.  Using "structures", as mentioned above, can support this method of delivery as well.  What's great about this method is that your audience will feel empowered as they take ownership of the material!
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