PD... It's Not Just For Teachers!

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, there is at least one thing you know for sure... At Austin Elementary, we are passionate about giving learners the opportunity to explore and grow with their interests! That is the foundation of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM).

Aside from fostering those interests and passions, SEM also provides us with a vehicle to strengthen and build reciprocal relationships with our community and local businesses.  This is evidenced by our weekly E-Time visitors from around the community and the countless ways that our learners have made a difference in Coppell (through fundraising, community service projects, etc.).

The next step in strengthening that school/community relationship is inviting our parents and community in to actually partner with us in facilitating enrichment clusters.  Today, our SEM Coordinator (Liz Malone) is doing just that.  Hence the title of this post:  PD... It's Not Just For Teachers!

We are thrilled to have a group of community/parent volunteers going through "SEM Boot Camp" and experiencing the same professional learning as our Austin educators.  Here are just a few things they are exploring-



• What is the difference between E-Time and Enrichment Clusters?
• What is the "WHY" behind our work with SEM?  What "WHY" do they bring to the table in wanting to share their passions/interests with our learners?
• What are the 5 components of a strong Cluster?

By inviting our community to be a part of our professional learning, we hope to further strengthen our commitment to building reciproal relationships with those around us and provide more authentic enrichment experiences for our learners. 

Want to know more about the Schoolwide Enrichment Model at Austin?  Check out our SEM Blog!

Learning Made SEMple

  

Our Return to Confratute...

If you've read any of our previous posts, you may have come across this strange word that we keep throwing around... CONFRATUTE.  Don't try looking it up.  If you do, you probably won't come up with an accurate definition or description (chances are the definition will say something like Conference, Fraternity, and Institute).  That is because CONFRATUTE is indescribable.

Educators from Austin Elementary have been attending CONFRATUTE at the University of Connecticut for several years now.  It is, after all, the "hub" of professional learning for the Schoolwide Enrichment Model and gifted pedagogy.  We were fortunate enough to have our very own Liz Malone, GTI Facilitator and SEM Coordinator, attend again this summer.  Check out her "take-aways" below.  Hopefully, they'll help you come a little closer to understanding what CONFRATUTE is all about!  For more details on the Schoolwide Enrichment Model @ Austin Elementary, check out           Learning Made SEMple .

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CONferenc...FRAternity…InstiTUTE  - Put it all together and you have CONFRATUTE, an amazing, weeklong adventure in learning on the beautiful University of Connecticut campus in Storrs, Connecticut.  If you have been following this blog for very long, you know that CONFRATUTE is where our SEM dream began four short years ago.  That summer, eight educators, accompanied by our principal, Laurie O’Neill, visited CONFRATUTE for the very first time.  When we arrived, we were immediately immersed in a culture of enrichment and talent development that would forever alter the way each of us thought about education.  It didn’t take long before we were absolutely convinced that the journey of SEM implementation was one our school needed to make.  Since that time, we have taken great strides towards full implementation of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model at Austin Elementary.  As a staff, we have spent countless hours on professional development, exploring the research behind The Schoolwide Enrichment Model, and designing what it would look like for our learners.   We have redesigned the way we form our classes, and have implemented “E-Time” on Friday mornings to provide a dedicated time each week for school wide, learner driven enrichment.  Last year, we moved forward with the implementation of Enrichment Clusters.  During these 5-8 week enrichment journeys, our learners were engaged in authentic, real world learning experiences through which they had the opportunity to pursue their interests, develop their talents, and make a difference in our world. 

Parent Course #2 (Schoolwide Enrichment Model)

Professional Learning at Austin is not just limited to our educators.  Through the transformation currently underway, we also realize an obligation to share these professional learning experiences with our  parents.  With this in mind, we are hosting four Parent Courses this school year.  Our first course (see earlier blog post) focused on CISD's Operation Transformation and what that looks like at Austin.

This past week, we were honored to host the second of our four sessions, this one featuring Austin's implementation of the Renzulli Schoolwide Enrichment Model.  If you were unable to attend or would like to review the presentation, please access it here-  Parent Course #2 (SEM).

If you have further questions regarding the Schoolwide Enrichment Model, please contact Liz Malone at lmalone@coppellisd.com.  Also, we invite you to join us one Friday morning to see SEM in action!  Please RSVP at E-Time Tour/Visit.

A Big Success...

If you've been following us for very long, you know that we are in the process of fully implementing Dr. Joe Renzulli's Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM).  It is an integral part of our Operation Transformation as we challenge ourselves to create a more meaningful and engaging 21st century learning environment.  

One of our biggest hurdles this year in the implementation of SEM was conducting our first round of enrichment clusters and the subsequent enrichment cluster showcase.  It was a big undertaking for both our educators AND learners as we took much of the structure and ideas behind E-Time and dug deeper, but we couldn't be more proud of how it went! 

Below are a couple of resources for you to check out if you're curious about our SEM journey and want to know more about how our first cluster showcase turned out.

-Explore our Schoolwide Enrichment Model blog Lifelong Learning Made SEMple!.  It includes a video with footage/photos from the 4th/5th grade Showcase.

-Check out the following video- The Video Production Company  This 4th/5th grade cluster saw a real world problem (declining participation in our school bank Mustang Mutual) and used their talents and passions to address it.  Check it out!


As always, we welcome your feedback and input!  

Prepping for Clusters

After a successful implementation of E-Time (see E-Time posts), Austin is ripe and ready to begin digging even deeper with Enrichment Clusters!  Clusters are similar to E-Time in that they are both interest based and student driven.

Liz Malone (GT Facilitator & SEM Coordinator) has been working this week with our 4th grade, 5th grade, and support staff teachers as we prepare to kick-off the first round of Clusters with 4th and 5th grade at the end of October.  Additionally, we will work with our parent volunteers who have graciously agreed to share their passions and lead / co-lead a Cluster!

Here are a few of the things that our educators are discovering about Clusters-

Why are Clusters important?

• They support kids' interests.
• They help learners discover new interests.
• They challenge learners on different levels.
• Students learn from each other and from experts.
• Clusters support our Guiding Purpose of unlocking students' passion and cultivating their uniqueness.
• MANY more reasons!

"E-Time" Success!

We sucessfully completed our first session of E-Time!  I think we were all a bit nervous, but things went smoothly.  After all, this was a first for each of us.

Our teachers did an excellent job of introducing the concept of "enrichment."  We frequently overheard words such as passion, discovery, interest, and choice.  Students were excited to "take the wheel" in their own learning.  

After the concept of enrichment was introduced and E-Time was defined more clearly, students had a chance to spend some time on activities that matched their interests.

Check out the video below for a quick "recap" of the morning!
For more info about the Schoolwide Enrichment Model @ Austin Elementary, check out Lifelong Learning Made SEMple and follow us on Twitter with #AustinSEM .

Prepping For The First Day

We've spent a lot of time in the past few weeks prepping for our first day of E-Time (January 6th).  At our most recent SEM Professional Learning session, we shared some ideas on what to do/plan for that first session.  Remember, for many of our students, this will be their first exposure to SEM and enrichment!  Below are some guiding topics and questions that we thought might assist our teachers.  Thank you Mrs. Kirby and Mrs. Raney for pulling this together!

First Day of E-Time

• Class discussion of key words: enrichment, E-Time, interest, choice, passion, discovery
• Show students some of the common interests within the classroom from Renzulli profiles
• Complete grade level interest surveys - (binder in the workroom)
• Group students with common interests and give them time to discuss what types of activities they would enjoy doing.
• Discuss what some of the activities could look like-
• Making cards for new students
• Researching your favorite sport
• Learning how to take care of pets
• Scrapbooking
• Creating clay sculptures
• Interviewing community helpers
• Designing an ocean mural
• Performing magic tricks
• Using problem-solving skills to solve pattern block puzzles

E-Time Is... E-Time Is Not

Our professional learning on E-Time earlier this week was a big hit!  We began with our Scavenger Hunt of the Laurel Mountain S.E.M. blog (see previous post).  We then had an energizing and enlightening (more "E" words) Skype session with Laurel Mountain S.E.M. coordinator Nicole Levitan.  She was kind enough to share her time answering questions and giving advice on how Laurel Mountain has successfully implemented E-Time.

Drawing on what we took away from the Scavenger Hunt and from speaking with Nicole, we then created a list on the SmartBoard of what E-Time Is and Is Not.  Check it out...



We wrapped up our professional learning with a challenging reflection piece facilitated by Laurie O'Neill.  Each teacher thought of one word that summed up the afternoon's learning.  They then shared their word with their E-Team.  Each team then wrote a sentence incorporating every teacher's word (that's when it became a bit challenging).  Check out their sentences below.  It wasn't as easy as it sounds!