June 2008

Instructional Leadership through the Teacher2Teacher Cohort

River Home Link, Mark Clements, Principal

Mark Clements recently completed the DLC’s Teacher2Teacher (T2T) Collaboration Program, our year-long professional development cohorts that are offered free to participating members across Washington State.

As the principal of a K-12 home school resource center within the Battle Ground School District, Clements leads a core team of 50; 20 certified educators and 30 paraprofessionals, including parents. River Home Link’s 465 students access their online classes and resources through the DLC.

Clements’ enthusiastic embrace of the skills he gained through T2T has led to significant growth in his own work, that of his team, and ultimately, the students they serve.

Focus on learning

“I believe that the principal should be an instructional leader so when I saw the opportunity that T2T provided—answering the question How can I integrate technology into effective learning opportunities?—I knew I wanted to invest my time,” says Clements, “I also had a staff member who was interested in that as well. Having a team made synergy possible at my site.”

Clements already had a fairly strong grasp of DLC resources and he found T2T to be “more about enhancing learning.” This training style resonated with his personal philosophy. “The concept of T2T is incredibly important because the focus is on learning and not on the tools that enable learning,” Clements reflects, “As a profession, we tend to see teaching as activities, and we hold activities sacred instead of focusing on learning and seeing that activities can be adapted to further learning.”

Roles that T2T leaders play

A T2T teacher leader, or “instructional leader” as Clements defines it, assumes many roles within a school:

• Facilitator: Plan meetings; provide teachers with technology-rich lessons.
• Collaborator: Assist teachers in writing/adapting standards-based lessons, activities or units that are rich in technology.
• Consultant: Expertly model effective ways to integrate DLC tools; team-teach a lesson; present meaningful uses of the DLC and provide examples of student work at staff meetings.
• Coach: Build relationships and trust; help your cooperating teachers become independent learners; use communication skills to focus on student learning.

A year-long exploration

At a three-day retreat last summer, Clements met his fellow collaborators and instructors, the cohort group that would explore the concepts of peer coaching, powerful teaching, and resource integration that are the cornerstones of the T2T program. The group continued their study with two follow-up reunions and a DLC discussion board where they extended their learning online.

From theory to practice

Taking what he learned in T2T, Clements combined other resources and attained a higher level of understanding of the material. “The goal is to make it practical and that worked here. I’ve actually used the T2T concepts and applied them to a study group in my church with incredible success,” says Clements. He even uses T2T protocols at district negotiation meetings.

“In traditional lesson design and practice, we tend to forget that opportunity to reflect and [these] protocols provide a very simple yet powerful way to bring reflection back into lesson planning and the classroom. Teachers have taken that concept and used it,” Clements recalls, “I visited a social studies classroom where seventh and eighth grade students were giving oral reports. I saw students who were actively engaged in the student presentations, rather than just acting like they were listening, waiting for their turn. Kids went from complete disengagement to active listening and engagement. This is truly exciting stuff because that is what we are all about.”

Build your team, trust them, and have fun

Clements believes that it is important to attend a T2T cohort with a team from your school. “Kent Graham and I, on a daily basis, could remind each other--or choose to ignore each other,” he jokes, “We are digital immigrants, so just having him here is helpful. Collaboration among staff is a real benefit.” Email announcements, staff meetings, and demonstrations by internal “experts” on DLC resources are a few of the ways that Clements broadcasts and implements T2T principles.

His staff has new perspectives on lesson design because of T2T and some teachers are beginning to share that knowledge with home school parents. “We are a parent partner program and part of that is curriculum. They are my unpaid staff members and they are deserving of professional development as well,” says Clements. That comes in the form of regular consultation meetings and twice-yearly formal in-service workshops where technology integration and lesson design are hot topics.

T2T tipping point

While Clements “had a blast” participating in T2T, the program has given him much to consider and has influenced his long-term planning. He’s included T2T as a substantial component of his five-year vision for River Home Link. “We had two people attend the cohort and the DLC has been great about bringing trainers to the school. If we have the option of more training in T2T, I would bring in a parent and another teacher, doubling our internal team from two to four; that would provide a possible tipping point for moving the learning forward at a faster pace.”

Cohorts begin anew every August

Interested in our upcoming Eastern or Western Washington T2T cohorts? Learn more.

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