On April 2, we welcomed the ATC family back to our last All Corps of the 2021-22 school year! This PD focused on helping our fellows to finish the year strong academically, find joy in the small wins, and show appreciation for themselves and each other.
Archive for tag: Teacher Development
01.032022March 2, 2022
Why We Teach Our Teachers to Meditate
John Hall, ATC’s director of partnerships, has been a long-time believer in and utilizer of mindfulness meditation, but over the past two years this practice has turned into an everyday commitment that fuels his well-being as both a person and professional. He earned his certification as a Koru mindfulness facilitator in 2020 and since then has offered a series of free classes for ATC teachers and other educators from ATC’s partner schools. As he prepares to begin a new course for ATC fellows on March 9, John took a moment to reflect on his journey with mindfulness and the impact that mindfulness meditation can have on students and educators alike.
01.032022March 1, 2022
Fellows Grapple With Vulnerability at 3rd All Corps PD
The Arkansas Teacher Corps came together on Saturday, February 12 for the third All Corps event of the 2021-22 school year, a day of professional development focused on our core value of brave vulnerability. This year has been really difficult in schools with constant changes due to COVID and we wanted to give fellows time to process that the year was not what they expected.
15.022022February 15, 2022
Fellows Report Feeling More Connected to ATC
This past fall we administered our semi-annual culture survey and saw growth in responses for ALL questions compared to the same time last year. Our largest growth occurred for the question “I feel connected to the ATC family”, a priority for our team this year as we have structured our PD days around connectedness and worked on creating more-connected coaching cohorts and content groups.
15.022022February 15, 2022
TESS Data Suggests Focus on Discussion, Assessments
The ATC Teacher Development Team completed the remainder of fall TESS evaluations in January and has now set a direction for PD and coaching this spring--one centered on discussion techniques and formative assessments with an emphasis on teachers' emotional resilience.
14.122021March 1, 2022
Students of ATC Fellows Report Higher Engagement
A recent survey of students taught by Arkansas Teacher Corps fellows found that students' self-reported class engagement has increased since September 2019, the last time the survey was administered. However, students also indicated a decrease in grit, or the ability to persevere in order to achieve a goal. These results suggest that students may be excited by the return to in-person learning but may struggle to stay on task.
09.122021December 13, 2021
Fall Workshops Focused on CFUs, Teacher Wellness
Once a month, our fellows meet with their coach in regional cohorts for small-group professional development workshops focused on teaching skills and emotional resilience. For the 2021-22 school year, these sessions have focused on formative assessment and teacher mindfulness specifically.
09.122021December 9, 2021
Peer Learning Takes Spotlight at Second All Corps PD
On November 6th, we welcomed our fellows to our second All Corps professional development event of the 2021-22 school year. Grounded in our core value of continual learning, the day featured ATC alumni facilitating content-specific sessions and allowed current fellows the opportunity to facilitate skill-based sessions for their peers.
29.092021September 29, 2021
Self-Care, Community Critical for Virtual Institute
Planning and executing a virtual summer institute for novice teachers is no easy task. While maintaining some critical elements of years past, Summer Institute 2021 had a more intentional focus on self-care and community building.
28.092021September 29, 2021
Fellows Build Skills, Community at First All-Corps PD
On Saturday, September 18 we convened all fellows of the Arkansas Teacher Corps for the first time of the 2021-2022 school year. The All-Corps event was 5 hours of professional development focused on building a collective experience for our fellows who have been virtual since February 2020.