101. The Transformative Power of AI

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Folks, let’s face it. Our classrooms are going to look a little different this year. AI, specifically ChatGPT, is going to change the way we design learning experiences and assess student mastery. I’ll be honest, when I first explored the ChatGPT platform I was terrified. As I have dug deeper into the technology and its capabilities, I realized that while it does pose significant challenges — it also presents us with some pretty amazing opportunities. In this series, we will explore what AI is capable of, its implications in the classroom, and how it can benefit both teachers and students. Let’s start by examining where we have been, where we are currently, and looking forward to where we are going. Whether this is a trip you wanted to go on or not, the AI train has left the station and it is time for all of us to jump on board. From Card Catalogs to Artificial Intelligence I belong to the micro-generation called Xennial. Xennials are considered to be a “bridge” between Generation X a...
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#87 Special Edition: Teach in Ten Podcast

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"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives." - John Meehan

There are a number of well-documented benefits to teacher collaboration. Successful collaboration can lead to increases in instructional quality and overall effectiveness.. John Hattie's research suggests that teaching quality has a huge impact on student performance; accounting for up to 30% of the variance overall between our high and low-performers.

In addition to having a positive impact on student learning, teachers who participate in collaborative practices experience increases in self-efficacy, problem-solving, creativity and interdependence. Time spent with colleagues encourages both introspection and reflection on current practices (Mora-Ruano et al., 2019). I think every teacher inherently recognizes that collaboration is important - but it can be really hard to carve out time to learn with and from other teachers. Many teachers are teaching from "instructional silos" in which they don't have other teachers to lean on, or they just don't have the time to have these important conversations. Sound familiar?

In an effort to improve collaboration and the sharing of best practices in my district we have decided to launch a podcast series to fill this "PD gap." I have teamed up with my school's instructional coach, the amazing Steph Sukow, to create a platform through which we can share the amazing work being done in our classrooms, improve communication and collaboration between the schools in our district, and provide teachers with bite-sized professional development that they can implement in their classrooms immediately.

What You Can Expect
We will be hosting bi-weekly conversations about teaching with educators across CHSD 155. If you aren't familiar with our district, we are a high school district located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. We are composed of five high schools: Cary-Grove (Go Trojans!), Prairie Ridge, Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, and Habor Oaks. Our goal is to have meaningful conversations about good teaching and learning - by the educators who are actually doing the teaching! We know that teachers are busy and don't have a lot of time to spend searching for professional development. That is why we limited the length of our podcast to ten minutes or less!

Each series in the podcast will explore a unique theme like social-emotional learning, real-world relevance, and blended learning. We will hear from teachers about what these themes mean to them and what they look like in their classrooms. Really, we are here to have a good conversation about good teaching. Are you as excited as I am?? I am thrilled to be able to share our first two episodes with you!
  • Episode 0: Pilot Episode 
    • In this episode, we will explain who we are and why we decided to embark on this endeavor! You will learn a little bit about who we are as people and our mission.
  • Episode 1: Eric Chandler and Building a Classroom Culture
    • In this episode, Eric Chandler (a C-G alum!) will share strategies he utilizes to build a strong classroom community. Eric is a firm believer in the adage that "students don't care what you know until they know that you care." He will share specific strategies that he uses to build strong relationships with his students and how he incorporates these strategies into his classroom routine.
We would love it if you could join us on our journey! You can connect with us in a variety of ways:
  • Search for "Teach and Ten Podcast" wherever you normally listen to your podcasts and give us a follow.
  • Visit our website at www.teachinten.com. We will share our show notes here and additional resources. Be sure to subscribe so you will be notified when new episodes drop.
  • Follow us on Twitter @teachinten. We would love to hear from you!
  • You can also email us directly at d155teachinten@gmail.com
We hope that you give us a chance! We would love to hear from you. What topics would you like to hear more about in the future? Please comment below with suggestions.

Be Well,
Cori (and Steph!)

Previous Posts:

Resources:

Mora-Ruano, J. G., Heine, J.-H., & Gebhardt, M. (2019, July 29). Does teacher collaboration improve student achievement? analysis of the German Pisa 2012 sample. Frontiers. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2019.00085/full 

Gates, S. (2018). Benefits of collaboration. NEA. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/benefits-collaboration

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