SHARO DICKERSON
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Are You A Great Listener?

3/23/2022

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How great a listener are you? Do you practice the art of asking questions to promote self discovery and insight? Do you take time to interact and build self-esteem to create a positive and safe learning environment? Do you engage in meaningful conversation where exchange of thoughts and ideas elicit constructive feedback? Do you provide suggestions that lead to alternative paths? How do you apply the different levels of listening to your everyday life? Take a closer look at what great listeners actually do and the different levels of listening. 

A good listener is not a sponge that absorbs but a trampoline to bounce ideas off.

Can you safely say you're a good listener?

What Great Listeners Actually Do | https://t.co/c1h5Y842Fb#Infographic: @jhzenger, @joefolkman & @tnvora#leadership #leadershipdevelopmpent pic.twitter.com/gh6I4zkHD3

— John Carbrey (@JohnCarbrey) March 16, 2022
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Four Ways We Learn By @tnvora

3/22/2022

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When students are provided with challenging experiences, they get to stretch their minds and grow more effectively. Likewise, their intellectual development becomes more meaningful when they are provided with many opportunities to hone newly acquired knowledge and skills through relevant practice. Dialog is also significant in their learning, especially when they are engaged in applicable cross-content and culturally relevant experiences. Aside from having the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with peers, learners also benefit with intentional time to reflect and process what they have gained in schooling. Thank you @tnvora for sharing!

4️⃣ Ways We Learn

□@tnvora #edchat #learning #edutwitter pic.twitter.com/gvvibknHgz

— □□□□ □ a place for every educator □ (@TCEA) March 22, 2022
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Developing Self-Directed Learners

10/12/2021

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Today's education have made students meet higher and more complex expectations, particularly when expectations are measured and met with mandated assessments. In the same light, teachers face difficult challenges in providing appropriate interventions and in scaffolding student learning experiences to prepare them for future grade levels. When I was in school, I recall undergoing several testing moments that led to being conscious and worried about grades. There were limited opportunities where I experienced authentic and self-directed learning, and when it did happen, I noticed how more open I was in building better understanding. 

When developing self-directed learners, it is important to teach them to be properly independent. Part of this teachable moment includes the use of meaningful rubrics that learners can relate with and understand. Below is an example of a rubric that can support self-directed learners by  @awordonthird . More details can be found in this link, https://bit.ly/3vfh0Xv
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Standards Alignment Resources through the Lens of Principals & Assistant Principals

9/13/2021

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As campus administrators, we support teachers in designing standards-aligned lessons that deliver student-centered learning experiences according to learners' different needs.
As you explore the slide deck below, click on the linkable images and identify some meaningful ideas, best practices for content delivery, and resources for relevant active and blended learning integration that you can add to your administrator toolbox.
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Thinking of becoming a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert?

9/7/2021

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Design & Creativity starting with User-friendly Templates with Canva

8/31/2021

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I have been using Canva for at least a couple of years now and I continue to be amazed with the different templates, free access to videos/photos/audio, and creative themes to create Bitmoji classrooms, social media posts (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, etc.), graphic organizers, newsletters, graphic design, and many more. Another wonderful fact about Canva is that the app allows you to use some leverage with a Free Account, but I would encourage you to go Pro if you could since that is when added features come to life (e.g. sharing to Instagram, present and record, sharing to Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, etc.)!  For more information, you can visit a blog post in TCEA's technotes, created by Emily Hopkins, "Canva for Education: The Ultimate Template Tool." 
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Level Up with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines

8/30/2021

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a pedagogical approach that emphasizes proper and relevant research-based understanding as well as meaningful strategies for all types of students, particularly those who may need additional support to bridge gaps in learning. The UDL Guidelines provides valuable information on the three (3) major components of UDL, i.e. Engagement, Representation, and Action & Expression. The images below links to websites that you can click to access and visit. 
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A Look Back at Steve Wick's presentation on "Creative Student Voice: Visual Design and Learning"

2/23/2020

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​During the ISTE 2019 convention, one of the interesting sessions that I attended was about the presentation on using visual design and learning as a vehicle in developing creative student voice. With Steve Wick's (@WickedEdTech) presentation, "Creative Student Voice: Visual Design and Learning", he explains the importance of providing essential activities that support students to explore and create visuals connected to creative student voice. Below are some resources shared during Wick's ISTE 2019 presentation. By clicking on each image, you will gain access to deeper and richer resources:

Visual Design and Learning Presentation
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Creative Visual Design Challenges
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Design Resources for Educators and Students
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Creative Student Voice Resources
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The added "bonus" in Wick's ISTE 2019 presentation is the connection he made with ISTE Standards for Students and Educators. As I am in still the process of completing my portfolio to obtain my ISTE certification with TCEA (@TCEA), I am motivated by fellow educators who believe in the significance of applying ISTE Standards in their everyday learning, as well as in teaching others to become innovative in their instructional practices. Below are some of the ISTE standards for Students and Educators that can be connected in developing creative student voice and choice as part of students' everyday learning and teachers' commitment in being lifelong learners. 

ISTE Standards Targets
​For Students
  • Creative Communicator
    • Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
  • Innovative Designer
    • Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.
For Educators
  • Designer
    • Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.
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"What Do Principals Really Think About Technology?"

2/23/2020

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A Reflection on "What Principals Really Think About Tech" [Education Week article, April 17, 2018]
In the Education Week article, "What Principals Really Think About Tech" by Benjamin Herold, it is interesting to read about the way principals perceive about personalized learning environment, including who the principals think pushes personalized learning. As shown below, twenty-eight (28) percent of the principals surveyed in this article thinks that personalized learning is a transformational way to improve public education. In addition, Twenty-three (23) percent of the principals surveyed believes that personalized learning is a promising idea, while thirty-one (31) percent thinks that personalized learning is one of the many school improvement strategies available to them. The rest of the principals surveyed shared that personalized learning is not on their radar screen, is a passing fad, or a threat to public education.

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With the question, "Who do principals think is pushing personalized learning?", fifty-five (55) percent of the principals surveyed responded that technology companies or vendors pushes personalized learning. On the other hand, forty-six (46) percent of the principals surveyed think that district leaders pushes personalized learning, while thirty-one (31) percent of the principals surveyed identified the students as an influencer.
My Personal Thoughts
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This article was written on April 17, 2018 and from this date, there had been more articles, journals, and research papers that have explored into the different facets of personalized learning. This deep dive has resulted to additional findings, possibilities, and connections that paved ways for teachers, principals, and district administrators to gain information and knowledge about personalized learning.  Some information have been useful that inspired some school leaders to take risks in adopting innovative best practices to develop student-centered learning environments. Even in this day and age, many school leaders are hesitant in implementing personalized learning as part of providing differentiation in student learning. It seems that one of the major reasons of their hesitancy is the expectation for students to perform well in state/federal-mandated assessments, which had been a huge challenge to many public school districts to sustain funding support and academic freedom. Assessments as we all know, such as in the state of Texas, is a well-known tool and strategy to identify and define campus or district performance. For this reason, the intense emphasis on performing well as a campus and as a district according to state/federal-mandated assessments has placed deep stress for all school community stakeholders. 

Recently, I have immersed myself in further reading to understand personalized learning better and how this style of teaching and learning impacts my line of work as a seasoned educator. Personalized learning, in many ways, had been associated and connected with the use of web-based learning systems to deliver content, instruction, and support student engagement (Chen, 2008).  This trend had led to the development of more e-learning systems with accompanying features that support individualized learning among potential learners through personalized learning paths. These learning paths provide choices that are attractive and relevant to the needs of the times. This approach in learning has helped individuals decide as to what career path they want to take and that will take them eventually closer to their professional and/or personal purpose. 

As an educator, I am driven by what is truly meaningful in making a poignant difference in the lives of students. Today, young learners are driven by digital learning and the tablet (i.e. iPad, Android tablet, Kindle, etc.) is one of the many devices that are visible in the classrooms. With the presence of such a device in the hands of young children, many ebooks have been created as a means to develop literacy through personalized learning (Huang, Liang, Su, & Chen, 2012). This type of portable device has also provided opportunities for young learners to explore and use apps that can increase vocabulary and language development. 

Other research identifies the use of personalized learning practices among students to be showing progress over time compared to those students who are catching up to meet expectations and perform at or above national averages (Hwang, Kuo, Yin, & Chuang, 2010). Student progress and instructional decisions are mostly determined through gathering and analyzing data. Likewise, data is used to identify individual academic support, which eventually influence the choice of technology to be used as part of personalization of learning. With the increased demand in addressing student academic performance in reading and mathematics, personalized learning experiences and best practices have been used for direct extensions of common student learning and teaching practices. However, the implementation of more challenging strategies was not as common and many. For this reason, I see the urgency and need to focus understanding of deeper learning on competency-based learning and use of technology for individualized/personalized learning. 


ISTE Standards Targets for Personalized Teaching and Student Learning
For Students
  • 1 Empowered Learner: Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.
    • ​1a Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.
    • 1b Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process.
    • 1c Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
    • 1d Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.
​For Educators
  • 5 Designer: Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability. Educators:
    • 5a Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs.
    • 5b Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.
    • 5c Explore and apply instructional design principles to create innovative digital learning environments that engage and support learning.

Resources
  • Chen, C. M. (2008). Intelligent web-based learning system with personalized learning path guidance. Computers & Education, 51(2), 787-814.
  • Huang, Y. M., Liang, T. H., Su, Y. N., & Chen, N. S. (2012). Empowering personalized learning with an interactive e-book learning system for elementary school students. Educational Technology Research and Development, 60(4), 703-722.
  • ​Hwang, G. J., Kuo, F. R., Yin, P. Y., & Chuang, K. H. (2010). A heuristic algorithm for planning personalized learning paths for context-aware ubiquitous learning. Computers & Education, 54(2), 404-415.
  • Pane, J. F., Steiner, E. D., Baird, M. D., & Hamilton, L. S. (2015). Continued Progress: Promising Evidence on Personalized Learning. Rand Corporation.
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Disrupting Education - Designing Equitable Learning Spaces

10/19/2019

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Aurora Institute [iNACOL]: Disrupting Education - Designing Equitable Learning Spaces
Presenters: Karla Virgil, EduLeaders of Color RI, Emily Abedon, Equity Institute
Session Learning Outcomes:
  • Describe how students' cultural characteristics can help develop strong relationships with diverse students in order to effectively personalize instruction.
  • Engage in critical discourse on how equity in a classroom supports the academic success of all students.
  • Understand how equity pedagogy drives instruction to meet the needs of students.
Discussions: What is a culturally responsive educator?
  • Equity and culturally responsive education: What does this mean? How does this look? Does this currently exist in the public school system? [equity institute]
  • Identity development: [images in chronological order: the power of storytelling]
    • showing connections to students through your story [True Story]
    • being involved in the community; contributing back to your community; i.e. racial justice, multiracial justice, vulnerability, equity, cultural responsiveness and relevancy
    • It is important to understand your own identities, use your vulnerability to find commonalities
    • incremental changes happen [Who is your David in your life?]
  • Identity activity: Who are you as an individual? as a person? as a human being? [Molecule Bonds Activity]
    • identity bonds: name in the center [bigger] circle
    • how did it feel sharing your identity with others? how does it feel to listen to each other people's identities
  • Social identifiers: [Self-identify activity]; chart tablets, 
    • race
    • socio-economic class
    • gender
    • age
    • ethnicity
    • religion
    • ability
    • sexual orientation
  • Culturally Responsive Walkthrough Tool (CRT): Framework Discussion
    • Activity Questions:
      • How does this domain the framework acknowledge student identity?
      • How might it support the curriculum you use in your classroom?
      • How might it be used to create an inclusive classroom?
    • CRT1: Classroom culture/environment: How do I create an inclusive environment?
    • CRT2: Student relationship building: How do I build trust and respect with my students?
    • CRT3: Instructional strategies: How do I ensure that I'm being culturally responsive with my instruction strategies?
  • Culture [what is seen vs. what is unseen]; Iceberg image
    • everyone has culture, characteristics of every life of a group of people; plays a role in communicating and receiving information
    • Surface: dance, dress, food, language, crafts, celebrations, language
    • Deep: crafts, facial expressions, body language, eye contact, personal space, concept of beauty, music, concept of cleanliness, patterns of handling emotions, non verbal communications
    • Hidden: concept of beauty, concept of past and future, tone of voice, problem solving, concept of "self", nature of friendships, attitude towards elders
  • Socialization: [Social & Cultural Lens]
    • ​beliefs about intelligence, learning, school and schooling
    • What is culturally responsive teaching?
      • including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning (Ladson-Billings, 1994)
      • Culturally Responsive Personalization: Where to Begin
      • Students' cultural characteristics in daily teaching practices
      • Better connect and build solid relationships with students
      • Acknowledging students' multiple identities and supporting the development of students' attitudes toward learning and the habits necessary to succeed in life
    • What are our beliefs and where do they come from?
    • socialization and identity are linked
    • Beliefs that frame our thinking
      • ​people are both individuals and our members of social group
      • social groups are valued unequally in society
      • valued more highly have greater access to resources of a society
      • schools and teachers actively share students learning
    • activity: frames and lenses - what does it mean? what does it represent? using the lenses as a metaphor
      • think. talk. create: talk with people at your table, write on the glasses to express your thinking about the possible metaphors, share your reflections
      • bridging culture, cant' see reality, only what lens allows, cultural norms
    • culture changes through generations
    • CRT in the Classroom [reference: Joe Bowler]
      • students create objectives of their learning
      • students can evaluate and present their learning
      • students understand and get exposed to using art as a way to send positive messages
      • students discuss race in determining eligibility for naturalization
  • Equity: What is equity? [red shoes]
    • Performance
    • Style 
    • Size
    • Comfort
    • Activity: create an image on what equity looks [defining equity on your table]
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    @sharodickerson

    Director Active Learning El Paso ISD. Social, Economic & Cultural Awareness. Equity in Education. Student & Woman Empowerment
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Copyright 2022 Sharo Dickerson
  • Home
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  • Present
    • PD With Sharo
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