2023-24 Vanguard Speaker Series
We are excited to continue the 2023-2024 Vanguard Speaker Series with Dr. Catlin Tucker and Dr. Sarah Sirgo. Dr. Tucker will be speaking on Nov. 7th and Dr. Sirgo will be presenting on April 16th. Both keynotes will be held in the Auditorium at Frederick High School. Registration is open now! Links to register and more information can be found on the Vanguard website - https://sites.google.com/fcps.org/vanguard/Professional-Learning/speaker-series.
Editor's Note
Welcome to the Spring edition of the Making Learning Personal Newsletter! We have been working hard to bring you the latest updates and information from our FCPS classrooms, all while processing the end of the school year at the same time. We hope you find the articles in this Spring issue timely and useful.
The first article gives you permission to take, and strategies for rest over our 10 WEEK summer break. The feature topic is playlists, and two articles share valuable insights on playlist design considerations through the MBE lens. Another playlist article focuses on leveling up writing instruction through a playlist. Additional articles offer an eye-opening view of ChatGPT, and a newsletter blurb on accessibility and PL resources to share as you see fit.
As the end of the school year draws to a close, it can be a mix of emotions for both teachers and students. It can also be a time of reflection, growth and gratitude as we look back on the experience and relationships that have shaped us over the past year. Be kind to yourself, support each other and don't forget to stop and smell the roses along the way.
Heather Rose
Innovative Learning Team
MLP Editor
Innovative Work Requires Rest
Liz Matheny, Teacher Specialist for Innovative Learning
Teaching is creative and innovative work. We instruct, observe, assess, reflect and adjust to meet the needs of every child in our charge. In order to do this work, we are resourceful, creative, thrifty and innovative with resources and opportunities as they become available. I mean, who hasn’t looked at a box of forgotten craft supplies and thought, “I should probably take this to school,” or used a new tech tool and immediately thought of its application in an upcoming unit, or interacted with a community member and then said, “Would you be willing to talk with my students?” This thought process is constant and helps us be in service to our students every day. It’s really hard to turn off the “teacher brain!” But, we all know it also comes with a price this time of year -- we are tired, we don’t feel as sharp and we most likely need more rest than what we’re currently getting. That’s because this work, this deeply innovative work, requires rest.
Blended Learning Part III: Purposeful Playlist Design
Kim Brandenburg, Organizational Development
In the journey to find the best ways to differentiate and personalize instruction for students, teachers often use playlists as a way to customize instruction and meet the needs of every student. Playlists are a “road map” or an individualized sequence of learning activities designed to move students through clear learning goals and objectives. Using a playlist shifts control to the student for various aspects of learning. Playlist-based instruction can provide students with greater choice, agency, and motivation while giving teachers more time to provide individualized support to students who need it most, but like any other instructional practice, we need to consider the cognitive load of our students. Making instructional decisions through the lens of equity and MBE, helps to ensure all students are successful.
ChatGPT: The Benefits and some Dangers of Revolutionizing Education with AI Technology
Emily Fairbrother, Brunswick High School
The artificial intelligence (AI) tool known as ChatGPT, or Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer, is revolutionizing how students and teachers communicate and learn. ChatGPT is a chatbot that can produce customized answers to student inquiries, offering individualized guidance and support. Both kids and teachers stand to gain greatly from this technology. However, even though ChatGPT and other AI technologies can be beneficial teaching and learning tools, there are a number of possible hazards that should not be disregarded.
Leveling Up Your Writing Instruction with Playlists
If you’re in the intermediate world of elementary education you have, by now, become familiar with HMH’s writing and reading structure. If you’re anything like me you’ve found that it’s rather difficult to get through the whole lesson and still provide ample opportunities for your students to write, and for you to conference with them. This is the challenge I was facing and I knew by Module 3 that I had to make a change if I wanted my students to become independent writers and if I wanted to have time to meet with every student.
Designing Student Playlists Using an MBE Lens
Using the research-informed lens of Mind, Brain & Education, this activity guides you through a closeup view of how student achievement and cognitive load associated with playlist design can have a significant impact on learning.
FCPS Access For All
Amy Boehman-Pollitt, Augmentative Communication and Technology Team
FCPS is committed to accessibility with systemic initiatives supporting every child, every day. The FCPS Board of Education is committed to inclusion and acceptance of all students. In response, the CII Innovation Team is partnering with DTI and ACTT to create awareness of designing usable learning materials. One avenue of communication is a YouTube Channel titled @fcpsaccessforall with a first playlist containing eight of the top accessibility considerations to be aware of: format, font, color, images, hyperlinked resources, video and audio, live captioning, and screen readers. Subscribe to and follow this Channel for current releases. Points of contact are Amy Boehman-Pollitt, ACTT and Heather Rose, CII.
Upcoming Dates and Reminders
May 30 , 4:30-6:30: Vanguard Celebration at Hood College (Cohort 4)
June 14 & 15, 8:00-4:00: Vanguard Summer Academy (Cohort 7)
Vanguard Summer Book Studies:
- Cohort 5: Register here for Power Up Blended Learning
- Cohort 6: Register here for Spark
Nov. 7, 4:30-6:00 - Vanguard Speaker: Dr. Catlin Tucker at FHS
Apr. 16, 4:30-6:00 - Vanguard Speaker: Dr. Sarah Sirgo at FHS
- Links to register and more information can be found on the Vanguard website - https://sites.google.com/fcps.org/vanguard/Professional-Learning/speaker-series.
Vanguard Teacher Program
Email: eric.haines@fcps.org
Website: vanguard.fcps.org
Phone: 301-644-5182
Twitter: @EHaines24