No Limits on Learning!
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Always learning about teaching, technology, leadership, and other classroom goodness. The opinions shared here are entirely my own and based on 25 years in middle school and high school classrooms.
No Limits on Learning!
2y ago
I recently (re)heard the cliche "write the book you want to read," and that sparked my idea of my goal to "Design the PD that I want to attend."
Rabbit-hole: I wanted to find who authored the book quote, and it's most often attributed to Toni Morrison, but there are many others who shared similar sentiments.
As I wrapped up my first post-2020 summer of providing face-to-face professional learning, and because I attended several events for my own learning, I wanted to reflect on my learning preferences to rethink and refine my own practices.
Refining PD Design
I have numerous models ..read more
No Limits on Learning!
2y ago
Inspiration
As mentioned multiple times in my posts, I'm constantly reflecting on ideas from Priya Parker's The Art of Gathering to upgrade my professional learning sessions, meetings, and personal gatherings.
For today's reflections, I share a more structured approach to the way I begin, or as Priya calls it, the launch. (i.e. How to "Begin with a Bang" - take 2!)
I recently collaborated with a new friend who had not heard about The Art of Gathering, and when I tried to explain this information to her, I realized it was a LOT; thus, this post!
The Launch
Launching the Learning
In The ..read more
No Limits on Learning!
2y ago
Know anyone who might be experiencing some form of burnout? ??♀️
Burnout Background
I started curating information about burnout in the fall of 2020 after hearing Brené Brown's podcast interview with Drs. Emily and Amelia Nagoski about their book Burnout. In the spring of 2022, burnout seemed to be the theme of the season, and since I compiled so much information, I thought I would organize and share some of the resources here.
One key idea I've heard in recent months is that precision of language is important when discussing burnout. Burnout is a continuum, rather than on or ..read more
No Limits on Learning!
3y ago
Preparing Your Participants
As mentioned in several other Purposeful PD posts, my new "textbook" for designing professional learning sessions is The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. Priya's notion that the event begins at the moment of discovery and her quote below inform my thinking about how to prepare participants for the learning experience.
The opening, whether intentionally designed or not, signals to guests what to expect from the experience.
In chapter 5 of the book, Priya explains three concepts about preparing for the gathering: priming (planting seeds for the gathering), ush ..read more
No Limits on Learning!
3y ago
Because of the pandemic and all of the virtual learning experiences, I feel that one of the most important questions I've asked this year is "What's the best use of our synchronous time?" This question is one that I will keep at the forefront of my brain post-pandemic, too.
I don't often share specific tools here, but one of my favorite finds during the pandemic is the Chrome extension called Slides Timer. This extension creates a minimal count down, count up, or current time on Google Slides. I can change the fonts, sizes, and locations, so the timer matches my presentation, and it's very uno ..read more
No Limits on Learning!
3y ago
Over the past few years, I've been reflecting on my own learning preferences, which leads me to consider how I design professional learning for others.
(Yes, the ABBA song "Knowing Me Knowing You" inspired the title of this post, but these reflections aren't too much about a breakup! Feel free to listen to the song as you read along. ?)
I first shared the Elements of Powerful Learning Design in this post in 2019, and because of the pandemic, I changed my views about using video and YouTube for learning. In this post, I reflected on what I learned during 2020 related to designing prof ..read more
No Limits on Learning!
4y ago
Several years ago, I became part of a committee that developed a new framework for how our service center "does" professional learning. (By the way, my director Craig gave me the book The New Pillars of Modern Teaching to help prepare for this committee work, and that book completely changed how I think about teaching and learning. nbd ? Many of my recent blog posts include some connection to Pillars.)
From that committee work, we developed our organization's Professional Learning Model (PLM). At the core of our PLM are seven "Design Essentials," and these elements should be part of every one ..read more
No Limits on Learning!
4y ago
I recently reflected on my journey as a professional learning facilitator, so after one full year of remote learning,
I can now admit that I am completely obsessed with improving how I design professional learning experiences.
In previous posts, I shared reflections on my learning preferences and developing my PD session's purpose in the form of -INGs, and now I'm working to strengthen how I begin my professional learning sessions.
I have a lot of experience planning professional learning, but hearing Gayle Allen's Curious Minds podcast interview with Priya Parker made ..read more
No Limits on Learning!
4y ago
Because of the one-year "milestone" of the pandemic, and now with a bit more hope around the corner, I've been reflecting a lot about what happens moving forward. I don't want to have the TTWWADI (that's the way we've always done it) mindset. I feel like I've learned so much this past year, and I want to continue moving forward with my work, especially in the way I design professional learning experiences. "I used to think there were only a few ways to deliver PD, but now I think the sky is the limit!" I've also said many times this year that even though it's my 31st year as an educator, I've ..read more
No Limits on Learning!
4y ago
I can't believe it's been a whole year since the world changed.
One. Very. Long. Year.
We are resilient.
We are grateful.
We are choosing gratitude.
Come join our #coffeeedu ?☕️????????#EduFriends this Saturday. Can’t wait to see your faces! https://t.co/7B9SwsAiqR
— Marvia Davidson (@MarviaDavidson) March 15, 2021
Many of my favorite podcasts and PLN friends recently shared reflections, questions, and prompts to reminisce on this past year, and since I'm doing a #safeathomespringbreak, I thought it would be worthwhile to spend time reflecting, too. In addition, I received my first vac ..read more