| Responses from the May 2016 PLO |
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I always like the opportunity to connect with other coaches. I find this the most beneficial aspect of the PLO's. I love gaining insights and knowledge from the other coaches and the way they have developed coaching in their schools. The breakout sessions were amazing! Great ideas, awesome resources, and links to the information to share at our PIIC Monthly meeting and with our teachers in our district. I attended What About Words? and am really interested in the Reaching New Heights with Gordon’s Ladder and the iNeed, iLearn, iShare sessions. I heard a lot of great feedback about these 2 sessions. I also love that other coaches are presenting sessions because it adds a sense of relatability to the content. After each PLO, I am reminded of the reflective nature of both teaching and coaching. Too often, we are so driven by the demands of time and the attempts to ‘"fit it all in" that we forget to breathe and reflect. I have come to realize that perhaps the most critical piece of the BDA cycle is actually the After where we have the opportunity to reflect, debrief, regroup, and re-energize ourselves. This is the best PD. I feel there is always so much to learn and everything is so well presented. Fabulous. I consider myself fortunate to attend regardless of the topics I choose. I love the choice and reflection time. I always feel so positive and refreshed when I attend a PIIC PLO. Since I am one of two full time coaches in my district, I always appreciate the collaborative opportunities. I was so inspired by the Non-Fiction Signposts session that I am trying to plan a year-long professional development program around it. The information was invaluable and I am confident that, with the help of my mentor, I can effectively lead PD and hopefully improve the culture of learning at my school. The collaboration and sharing among the group of coaches and mentors is amazing. Everyone offers to share their expertise, resources, and experience. It is an amazing network. Coaches need opportunities such as this PLO to network, to learn, to reflect and grow as professionals. This is a key role that PIIC has provided. I will encourage my mentors to bring more coaches who have not previously been to PIIC. I feel as though I learned much through the collaboration of other coaches during the time we had together. This PLO was very practical particularly in the art of reflection. I believe this is where I need to focus in the year to come in order to improve my practice. The focus on coaching techniques was appreciated. Everything revolved around the BDA process. What stood out to me most is the importance of reflection! We all need that time to think about our successes and struggles throughout the school year. This is how we grow! A big part of what I found helpful was the camaraderie of my coaching peers. I feel that it is an essential part of coaching to be able to listen, talk, and learn best practices with other coaches from other districts. The World Café and time to reflect creates a natural progression to alignment and next steps. I realize that time could have been utilized for additional professional learning breakout sessions, but as instructional coaches we lead reflection more often than engaging in it. We too need time to reflect on learning and align our known to the new. Thank you for that opportunity! Click here to return to Testimonials |
