001they are going to send me this and then kind of get on the same page. >> I present at national and international conferences and so this really does mimic that sort of thing at a different level but locally because this is local knowledge. So I think people out there are really into each other's presentation right now and um there's a lot of um networking going on. This is how teachers network. We all do a year-long project um on teacher research. We get to choose a topic that we're interested about. The whole year-long project is a collaborative um opportunity for us to work together with each other. So, it's just really important that we get together and share our ideas and how to make the school life of children better. Starting in October, all the teachers
002came up with a problem of practice, something they wanted to study, but they got to choose it. They have till July 1st to finish their research journey. then they get 30 reertification points. We need to reertify so why not do it amongst friends. >> We are in our individual schools. So this is an opportunity annually for all the teacher research cohorts to come together. And so um my my doctor is actually in teacher development and so this is a very practical way and a fun way for teachers to continue to learn. >> I'm an engineer and product designer by trade. So the idea of of reflecting on your practice is ingrained in my training. So part of that is understanding how learning changes. We know so much more about how the brain learns now than
003when I first started what 30 years ago. So you change your pedagogy to meet that new understanding of how the brain learns. >> The steps in the smart goal are the steps of a teacher researcher. You are gathering data. You're trying things out. At the end, you have to fill in the little thing. What did I find out? What are my implications for the future? That's exactly what we do as a teacher researcher. Those are the exact steps. So, it is your smart goal. Not everybody realizes that. They're like, you're doing it anyway. Why not do it? Have a little fun amongst your friends. >> So, in my case, it was oral reading fluency. Um, and that just uh helps me understand what are the researchbased practices that I can implement in my classroom. So
004this whole project was like what do we need to do and what do teachers need to know in order for them to have their oral reading fluency um be successful. >> Mine was about collaboration. How we improve the learning environment to help a student to be successful as an administrator and looking for practices that help all students and in that way I need to continue to learn. I need to continue to support teacher for me is the most important thing and I need to be a model. >> So I studied just teacher research in APS this year so I'd have the data to show the PL office like hey this is really good stuff. >> When I meet people working with different age groups in different subjects and they start talking about critical thinking. They
005approach from a different perspective using different academic language. So when I get into group with this, I get to see those different perspectives and then I go, ah, a new hook. I can use that in my classroom. I can approach it from a different perspective. I can come at them from left field and get them to think. >> Any teacher can do this. Um, we do have different cohorts. I'm willing to start a cohort anywhere. >> This makes teaching fun. These are usually the things that teachers most get excited about is like how to affect and um, help students learning. And so this gives us an opportunity just to focus on that and be inspired by each other as well.