PIIC Officially Welcomes New IUs to July PD Print
Monday, 08 August 2011 12:20

By Erin Saunders, PIIC Communications Coordinator

PIIC hosted its quarterly Professional Learning Opportunity (PLO) from July 25-27, 2011 at the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College, PA.  The summer session allowed for an intimate approach with over 80 administrators, coaches, and mentors in attendance. The event also marked the first PIIC Professional Development for all 22 Intermediate Units, 12 of whom are new to PIIC.

July 25 started with The B,D,A Cycle of Consultation in the PIIC Coaching Model, an informative general session facilitated by PIIC Executive Director Ellen Eisenberg and IU 8 PIIC Mentor Diane Hubona. Researchers Elliott Medrich (MPR Associates, Inc.) and Ivan Charner (FHI 360) then discussed their findings on coaching in Research and Evaluation: Part II. In true PIIC fashion, the day ended with time for personal reflection and sharing.

The morning of July 26 began with breakout sessions. Coaches and mentors new to PIIC attended Ellen Eisenberg’s session Coaching 101 to have an in-depth look at the PIIC model. Also joining the new PIIC IU mentors were the PIIC Act 45 course participants. Veterans had their choice to attend one of the following sessions: Student Led Discussions and Literature Circles Move into the 21st Century, facilitated by IU 21 Instructional Coaches Dennine Leschinsky and Vicky Romagnoli; Skills for Coaching vs. Skills for Presenting, facilitated by IU 8 PIIC Mentor Diane Hubona; and Beyond the Core 4: Coaching in Elective Areas to Reinforce Core Content Area Standards, facilitated by IU 4 Instructional Coach Laura Cipriano.

The day concluded with three Carousel of Learning rotations. Participants selected three out of five topics to have a “table talk” style discussion with their peers.  After 45 minutes, participants rotated to their next selection. Topics included Active Content Reading, facilitated by IU 18 PIIC Mentor Jessica Jacobs; Protocols, facilitated by IU 9 PIIC Mentor Karen Macartney; T-Pack Game, facilitated by IU 3 PIIC Mentor Chris Caton; Literacy Design Collaborative, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Amy Walker and Laura Yaeger; and The “Hook” in Math Class, facilitated by IU 15 PIIC Mentor Nancy Neusbaum and Regional Mentor Coordinator Gen Battisto. The topics were well received by participants.

All breakout sessions except Coaching 101 were repeated on July 27 to give participants the opportunity to attend two sessions of their interest. Joe Ginotti, Director of The Penn Literacy Network (PLN) facilitated a breakout session entitled The PLN Framework: Connecting Literacy and Learning on July 27 and later presented a session on Common Core Standards: Implications for Instruction .

PIIC’s online conference evaluation was very positive:

“I have literally been to hundreds of workshops and conferences with many subjects and this was by far the most beneficial to me. All [of] the sessions were extremely practical and the knowledge of the presenters and the other coaches and mentors was very impressive.  I am so glad I received this opportunity and am hoping I can do PIIC justice back at the district.”
-Elementary Coach/District Administrator

“I am struck by the care and attention given by PIIC to build a support system for teachers AND a support system for instructional coaches.  The role of instructional coach is pivotal to bringing evidence-based practices into Pennsylvania classrooms.”
-IU PIIC Mentor

“The common core standards are going to create a great opening and need for coaches across all subjects.  I learned more about them in the session that I can share with teachers than I have in several others over this year.”
- School/District/Regional Instructional Coach

The agenda from this event is available on our Past Professional Development Conferences page. Our next PIIC Professional Development will be October 17-19, 2011 at the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College, PA. Details are listed on our Events page.