Reflection on TED videos

University of Mount Union

Gayle Kimbrough
ED 607
Dr. Capel
November 20, 2016

1. What was the intent of your bringing these speakers to your school?
My intent for bringing each of these teachers to GlenOak High School was to validate, inspire,
challenge my teachers to embrace their students and 21st century skills (4Cs plus Choice), as
well as build/nurture community relationships, and understand the importance of their role in the
contribution to a greater good.
2. What did you want the teachers in your school to gain from these messages?
I wanted my teachers to hear Joe Ruhl talk about the two important kinds of love: love of subject
and love of students. I wanted them to feel validated in their content knowledge and the pride
they have in being experts in their subjects, but I also wanted them to hear that, equally
important, is to love our students in a way that is decisional, purposeful, and intent driven. With
Tawana Weicker I wanted them to hear about the importance of connections to the outside
world. So often we get consumed with our content, our test scores, and new mandates that are
taking our attention. I wanted teachers to hear that there is a world outside of all this . . . in fact,
it is the world we are preparing our students to enter. I love her message at the end when she
says, We boy local, eat local, now we need to educate local! This would resonate with my staff
because they are very connected to our community and loyal to Plain Local. And finally, I
wanted them to hear from Matthew Peterson that there are so many different ways we can and
must reach our students. We need to, metaphorically, begin teaching past words.

3. What did you charge the teachers to do following this professional development day with
these speakers?
As a follow- up to this PD, I asked my teachers to reflect upon the key messages from each
speaker and discuss in their PLCs. I like to use this method: groups are divided into 3-4 people.
The first person says one thing that resonated with them, but with no explanation why. Each of
the following people speculates about why the first person chose that particular nugget of
information. Finally, the first person speaks again and explains why he/she chose it. This process
continues until each person has shared a piece of wisdom from the presentations. I would then
ask them as a group to decide how they would incorporate the information into their daily
practice or what we could do with it. I believe in CHOICE (as Ruhl mentioned) and autonomy.
My teachers are insightful, passionate, and dedicated people; I would like to turn the remaining
part of what to do from here to them so they can self-direct where they see a need.
4. How did you continue to return to the PD messaging throughout the year? What was the
motivational messaging you sent to teachers? What was the assessment/follow-up along the
way?
The PD would be followed-up each week at our PLCs. The main messages we got from our
discussion would become guiding points in each of our conversations. The motivational message
I wanted my teachers to get is that they are a significant factor in the success of our students. We
need to take that responsibility very seriously and craft our instruction to fit the needs of diverse
learners while providing choices.

5. If you did this PD again, would you bring back any/all of these speakers? Why or why
not? I would bring back Joe Ruhl. His message spoke to me the most and seems to be in line
with many of the initiatives that we are doing at GOHS. We have talked extensively about the
4Cs and also the importance of differentiating lessons to give students choices. Additionally, I
think he would be very well-received by the staff. His experience of 37 years would give him an
instant credibility with them and they respect intellectual capital very much.
6. In addition to the speaking portion of the PD, what else would you have suggested the
speakers do with the teachers?
I would have liked each of the speakers to have a break-out session with a group of staff.
Teachers could choose the speaker who was most impactful to them, but I would like teachers to
be able to have intimate conversations with them to further explore the message and put it into
practical terms for their classrooms.