Leadership Experiences

● Resource Provider: I have introduced colleagues to the following online resources:

Hypothesis (annotating online texts), Padlet (digital “walls” for display of student work
and “gallery walks”), PollEverywhere (tool to collect and interpret student data in real
time), word cloud generators (gathers and interprets student feedback visually and
dynamically in expanding “word clouds”), QR code generators (for distributing texts and
increasing student responsibility for learning), and relevant features of G Suite products
such as a line numbering extension for Chrome (resolving an ongoing issue of adding line
numbers to texts by hand), and a breakout rooms extension for Google Meet (used when
school was meeting online; school policy does not allow using Zoom for security
reasons).
● Mentor: Within my department (English) there are five new teachers this year, and I find
myself advising and mentoring them daily on school protocol and policies, best practices,
classroom management, teaching strategies, and appropriate materials and technologies. I
also share a classroom with an experienced teacher who is twenty years younger than I,
and on occasion I find myself in a quasi-mentoring role with him.
● Learning Facilitator: Since I began FOTIP, I have been sharing what I learn from
coursework and materials, as well as ideas from mentor conversations. For example, last
semester my mentor suggested incorporating word clouds to make a lesson more student
centered and engaging; after doing so, I was solicited by colleagues for links to the
resources I used for the lesson so that they could also incorporate word clouds.
● Learner: I am a compulsive reader (average over 100 books a year), and make a point of
staying informed about current events and issues, particularly those related to education
and diversity and inclusion. I regularly share relevant articles and sites with colleagues.