I have been working with the Strategic Instruction Model™
(SIM™) since 2004. I worked for
Botetourt County School System during this time, and we were one of the initial
sites chosen for the Content Literacy Continuum™(CLC™). As a chosen CLC site, we implemented the 5
levels of CLC school-wide and within these levels we utilized SIM Learning
Strategies and Content Enhancement Routines.
During this time of implementation, I witnessed student gains that both
CLC and SIM provided, and I decided to become a professional developer for
the Learning Strategies Curriculum. I received
my certification, and I then transferred to work for the Virginia Department of
Education T/TAC at Virginia Tech. T/TAC at Virginia Tech allowed me to continue
to work with SIM in multiple school divisions in Regions 6 and 7 of
Virginia. It is here where I have
continued to grow with SIM, and I decided to become dually certified and
obtained my certification in Content Enhancement Routines. My position with the Virginia Department of
Education T/TAC at Virginia Tech for the past 8 years is Coordinator/SIM Professional
Developer. Part of my responsibilities
here are to maintain and utilize my SIM certification in both Learning
Strategies Curriculum and Content Enhancement Routines, which in return has
provided me the opportunity to understand and implement the Strategic
Instruction Model school-wide.
Since working at T/TAC, I have been proficient in multiple professional developments for educators on how to utilize all components of SIM™. A copy of the professional development I have helped lead in both Learning Strategies Curriculum and Content Enhancement Routines with other colleagues is in the Excel file linked at the bottom of this document. Additionally, we have had long-term commitments with most sites, where we were available for shoulder to shoulder coaching with what they received professional development in. In addition to coaching teachers, we utilized teacher leadership teams and met with them to help with sustainability once our commitment had been completed. Sometimes coaching visits were canceled due to holidays, snow days, and/or testing days. We made every attempt to reschedule, but not possible at all sites. A sample copy of coaching dates for a middle school has been provided in an Excel format.
I have been mentoring Erinn Green who is currently working for the Virginia Department of Education T/TAC @ Virginia Commonwealth University. She is finishing up her apprentice year, and she is currently loading her documentation into the badging system to become a certified professional developer in Content Enhancement Routines. I have included documents and a picture of my mentorship with her within the link provided below. I have also worked with multiple apprentices to help with year 2 of apprenticeship in both Content Enhancement Routines and Learning Strategies Curriculum. I provided them presentations they could use and tweak to make their own, offered and provided feedback with documents used during professional development, as well as assisted them with answering their required questions for their portfolio.
In addition to, I have worked with colleagues in my office to utilize Possible Selves within our office and within some of our sites. We used this within our office to help us work as a team with all of the different SIM™ sites we were overseeing. A copy of the tree picture we developed as colleagues is listed below. It was the beginning to our monthly meetings that we called SIM Meeting of the Minds. We are all certified professional developers, and it helped to brainstorm and expand any obstacles or ideas we were discussing with each of the sites we were providing coaching too. We then proceeded to use this idea and expanded Possible Selves to our sites and called them Possible Schools.
Links to documents mentioned in paragraphs 2, 3 & 4: https://drive.google.com/a/vt.edu/folderview?id=0B4lEgx9hs7rHSjQ3VmdueXBFTTg&usp=sharing
Readiness Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-HLX6QMPR/
End of Year 1 Teacher Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-THYHSMPR/
End of Year 2 Teacher Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-69VBRMPR/
Since working at T/TAC, I have been proficient in multiple professional developments for educators on how to utilize all components of SIM™. A copy of the professional development I have helped lead in both Learning Strategies Curriculum and Content Enhancement Routines with other colleagues is in the Excel file linked at the bottom of this document. Additionally, we have had long-term commitments with most sites, where we were available for shoulder to shoulder coaching with what they received professional development in. In addition to coaching teachers, we utilized teacher leadership teams and met with them to help with sustainability once our commitment had been completed. Sometimes coaching visits were canceled due to holidays, snow days, and/or testing days. We made every attempt to reschedule, but not possible at all sites. A sample copy of coaching dates for a middle school has been provided in an Excel format.
I have been mentoring Erinn Green who is currently working for the Virginia Department of Education T/TAC @ Virginia Commonwealth University. She is finishing up her apprentice year, and she is currently loading her documentation into the badging system to become a certified professional developer in Content Enhancement Routines. I have included documents and a picture of my mentorship with her within the link provided below. I have also worked with multiple apprentices to help with year 2 of apprenticeship in both Content Enhancement Routines and Learning Strategies Curriculum. I provided them presentations they could use and tweak to make their own, offered and provided feedback with documents used during professional development, as well as assisted them with answering their required questions for their portfolio.
In addition to, I have worked with colleagues in my office to utilize Possible Selves within our office and within some of our sites. We used this within our office to help us work as a team with all of the different SIM™ sites we were overseeing. A copy of the tree picture we developed as colleagues is listed below. It was the beginning to our monthly meetings that we called SIM Meeting of the Minds. We are all certified professional developers, and it helped to brainstorm and expand any obstacles or ideas we were discussing with each of the sites we were providing coaching too. We then proceeded to use this idea and expanded Possible Selves to our sites and called them Possible Schools.
Links to documents mentioned in paragraphs 2, 3 & 4: https://drive.google.com/a/vt.edu/folderview?id=0B4lEgx9hs7rHSjQ3VmdueXBFTTg&usp=sharing
Readiness Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-HLX6QMPR/
End of Year 1 Teacher Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-THYHSMPR/
End of Year 2 Teacher Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-69VBRMPR/