Edcamp Leadership: Kansas City

Over ten locations hosted an #edcampldr event earlier today. The Kansas City site was full of energy and optimism focused on supporting innovation and addressing challenges. Crossroads Academy provided a welcoming and learner-friendly environment to connect with participants and explore topics of interest. Special thanks to the leadership at Crossroads Academy for opening their campus to this event. Thanks as well to our nine regional organizers who brought this vision to reality.

Session 1

With over 23 sessions to choose from at #edcampldr, selecting four sessions was difficult. For the first session I attended “Getting teachers to learn, unlearn, and relearn” in room 109. A variety of educators participated in this session including the Kansas Commissioner of Education, Dr. Randy Watson. It was impressive to see such a high ranking state official in attendance at today’s event. This session explored how teachers learn and what conditions lead to continuous learning. Some of the big ideas from this session are listed below:

We learn by doing and creating. We are social and learn best in collaborative models. Teachers learn through transparent and collaborative professional development where you work on problems of practice. Helping teachers learn and unlearn requires seeing new perspectives. Instructional rounds can be powerful forms of professional development. Developing a common language of instruction as a school requires more than trust.

Session 2

For the second session I attended “What do you wish you had known about tech leadership coming out of college?” in room 110. Given my school’s shift to a 1:1 model with iPads, this session was of great interest. I had the unique experience of visiting with a professor from Missouri State University and an adjunct professor from the University of Central Missouri during this session. Their perspective on educator and principal preparation for instructional technology was enlightening. Some of the big ideas from this session are listed below:

Resistance to change has more to do with mindset than your generation. Appropriate use of technology needs to be embedded throughout a graduate program, not as a standalone course.

Session 3

For the third session I attended “Standards-based grading” in room 108. During this session participants shared their experience using SBG principles in Lee’s Summit, St. Pius, St. Joseph, Fort Osage, and Excelsior Springs. Our discussion affirmed the difficulty experienced by those who implement standards-based grading and the variance of models used by districts. Some of the big ideas from this session are listed below:

When students ask if something is for a grade it’s an indictment of our traditional assessment practices. We must seek to reframe that perspective. What can we do to make the learning experience valuable to the student? Traditional assessment practices don’t bring inherent purpose or value about what we learn. Claiming students were more motivated and engaged by letter grades is revisionist thinking. Allowing staff to opt out of standards-based learning practices brings challenges to a school and may prevent full-scale implementation or stall the initiative.

Session 4

For the final session I attended “Family engagement, building capacity, parents, teachers, etc.” in room 110. During this session participants heard about community partnership efforts at Crossroads Academy, the National Network of Partnership Schools model, and the book Beyond the Bake Sale. Some of the big ideas from this session are listed below:

Your local context directs your community engagement efforts. There is no single preferred strategy. Family engagement should be a topic of great importance in education, but frequently it fails to become a priority.