The Critical Skills Classroom

Supervising professional and support staff for a Comprehensive PreK through 8th grade elementary school. Must be a dynamic educational leader with a proven knowledge of curriculum, teaching methods and assessment. Candidate should be astute, creative individual, open to new ideas, capable of analyzing data and recommending changes. The district is currently involved in a review and revision of our curriculum, the development of formative assessments and a district-wide adoption of the Antioch University Critical Skills program.

"I have moved to criteria lists because it doesn't really talk about an evaluation aspect per say, but rather a list of expectations."

"The key to generating truly innovative ideas, he says, is learning how to challenge the status quo-which is why he's busy trying to teach people how to "think wrong'" Important pieces to consider when engaged in our work.

Today's teams are not well designed for getting work done in the twenty-first century, argues Professor Amy C. Edmondson . One starting point: learn the skill of teaming.

"...teaming process that includes a deep recognition among individual players of the interdependency of their roles. This recognition leads naturally to early and consistent communication among formerly separate parties throughout their joint work. Once the task is completed, more communication-this time in the form of reflection and feedback-must take place."

Has examples, lessons, lessons learned. Tons of potential here!

Great resource- the standards rewritten as student I Can statements

Crosswalk b/n NH Frameworks and CCSS

"Think big and follow these tips to make the most of your next brainstorming session."

Great lessons for leadership and working with teams.

*This* is the piece about what it means to make change from within the system.

An interesting piece about what it is to make radical change from within the system

Really interesting set of linked protocols for organizational planning. "The Collective Action Toolkit isn't a rigid template for problem solving. It's designed to be flexible and accessible, with an action map and activities arranged into six categories, from building a group, to imagining new ideas, to planning change. The toolkit challenges groups to move beyond discussion to action, continually clarifying their shared goals based on what they learn through the problem-solving process."

This video was created by Bill Vinton, Nelia Dwyer and Jason Finley during the Critical Skills Master Teacher training on Oct. 27, 2012

Everything you have ever wanted to know about Critical Skills, but were afraid to ask...in 4 concise pages.

Tools for Documenting and Making Learning Visible "...includes three types of learning tools: documentation tools, protocols, and technical help."

Relates to the conversation CSPMT has about video in classrooms, institutes, workshop presentations on Sat., October 27. Great resources for using video to document and reflect on student learning and professional practices.

A Dropbox folder where I will storing documents, websites specific to CSPMT "stuff" as I collect it.

"Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily. Never email yourself a file again!"

Can creativity be taught? Absolutely. The real question is: "How do we teach it?"

"How do we create functioning, collaborative groups?  So I did a little thinking about the pieces of the puzzle the I consider when to facilitate effective collaboration and searched for some reputable sources for more ideas."