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 Personalized Professional Learning

A Job-Embedded Pathway for Elevating Teacher Voice

Allison Rodman
 Table of Contents

ASCD Member Book

Dedication
Introduction
Part I. Voice
1. Establishing a Vision for Growth
Part II. Co-Creation
2. Building a Personalized Professional Learning Model
3. Sharing Professional Learning Offerings
Part III. Social Construction
4. Designing Personalized Professional Learning Experiences
5. Facilitating Personalized Professional Learning Experiences
Part IV. Self-Discovery
6. Valuing Professional Learning
7. Expanding the Vision for Growth
Acknowledgments
Appendix A. Tools for Taking Action
Appendix B. A Personalized Professional Learning Model
References
Study Guide
Related ASCD Resources
About the Author

Copyright

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© ASCD 2019
 ASCD Member Book

....................

Many ASCD members received this book as a member benefit upon its initial
release.
Learn more at www.ascd.org/memberbooks
 Dedication

....................

Don't downgrade your dream just to fit your reality.

Upgrade your conviction to match your destiny.
—Stuart Scott
This book is for my husband, Doug, the one who keeps all the pieces together
so I can continue to upgrade my dreams (in whatever form they may take),
and my children—Cameron, Aislinn, and Lola. Without them, this book would
have been completed much sooner, but it would have been devoid of voices
that need to be heard.
I also dedicate this book to every leader who has wanted to do more with
their professional learning design but needed some guidance, a nudge, or
maybe even a shove to make it happen. The map is in your hands …
adventure awaits!
 Introduction

....................
 Sit and Get… Very Little

Fresh chalk and dry-erase markers, unsharpened pencils, clean desks—these

things bring joy to most teachers and are synonymous with the start of a new
school year. Unfortunately, something else that is synonymous with this time
of year is "sit-and-get," one-size-fits-all professional development. Teachers
who take care to strategically plan the most effective teams and learning
approaches for their students shuffle into auditorium rows for seminars and
workshops that don't relate to their own experiences, interests, or growth
needs. Although most teacher evaluation systems measure teachers' ability to
differentiate lessons for the varied instructional levels and learning preferences
of their students, this approach is rarely used in the professional learning
opportunities available to teachers.
Teachers, rightfully so, have begun to speak out against this unilateral
system and form their own professional learning networks (PLNs) via Twitter
and Voxer chats, edcamps, massive open online courses (MOOCs), blogs, and
podcasts. Such networks not only connect teachers with like-role peers beyond
their school but also provide on-demand professional learning in a variety of
different formats. As PLNs continue to grow, so does an unprecedented wealth
of text, video, and planning resources. However, while these experiences may
help individual educators who have the drive and commitment to seek them
out, they do little to foster a community of professional inquiry within a school
or district.
Aware that staff members are looking beyond traditional professional
development (PD) to meet their needs, school and district leaders play catch-
up, but their efforts are too often hampered by old, ineffective models. They
replace sit-and-get sessions on formative assessment with sit-and-get sessions
on technology integration. They misread interest in personalized professional
learning with a need for apps and Web 2.0 tools. They present different
flavors of the same insufficient offerings. The result is that teachers who file
into the auditorium rows for each year's required professional learning file out
again no closer to getting what they really need: strategic and sustainable
guidance to help them grow and increase their effectiveness. It is no wonder
that many teachers engage much more deeply with their PLN than they do
with school-based initiatives.
 The State of Professional Learning

School districts expend massive amounts of financial resources and human

capital on teacher professional learning, yet most of these experiences have
been found to have minimal effect—on both teacher performance and student
achievement.
A study by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2014) reported that
$18 billion is spent annually on professional development, and a
typical teacher spends 68 hours each year—more than a week—on
professional learning activities typically directed by districts. When
self-guided professional learning and courses are included, the annual
total comes to 89 hours. (p. 5)
TNTP conducted a study with an even larger sample size; the districts
they studied "spend an average of nearly $18,000 per teacher [or 6–9%
of their budget], per year on development efforts" (2015, p. 2).
Additionally, TNTP's surveys of more than 10,000 teachers indicate that
teachers spend more than 150 hours (19 days or 10% of their school
year) on professional learning.
Despite this investment, only 29 percent of teachers are highly
satisfied with their current professional development offerings (Gates
Foundation, 2014), and only about 40 percent of teachers reported that
the professional development they received was a good use of their time
(TNTP, 2015). Further, "most teachers do not appear to improve
substantially from year to year—even though many have not mastered
critical skills" (TNTP, 2015, p. 2). As the TNTP study noted, "An outsized
investment in teacher improvement is not necessarily unwise or
unmerited. The problem is our indifference to its impact—that all this help
doesn't appear to be helping all that much" (p. 10). Despite efforts in
both studies to identify the most effective forms of professional learning,
no statistically significant trends emerged. What the research does
support is what educators have known to be true for more than 50 years:
Adult learning is a highly personalized experience.
 Shifting from Pedagogy to Andragogy

The concept of andragogy (or adult learning) is not new. It dates to the
19th century, when Alexander Kapp, a German high school teacher,
developed the term to distinguish between learning that happens through
the teacher and learning that occurs through self-reflection and life
experience (1833). The term lay dormant for almost a century until
another German, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, recognized the need to
approach student and adult learning differently. He wrote,
True "education," for any age… is much more than mere
"schooling." Adult education, in particular, is oriented toward
solving community problems as a step toward a better future.
This requires a curriculum that prepares the student to see,
understand and deal with problems at hand. (Trans. 1992)

It is believed that the concept of andragogik, or andragogy, was first

introduced to the United States by Eduard C. Lindeman, who may have
encountered it during his travels in Germany. However, the term appears
only twice in Lindeman's writing and does not appear at all in his seminal
work, The Meaning of Adult Education (1926). The term andragogy
reemerged in the 1960s in the work of British author J. A. Simpson and
American educator Malcolm S. Knowles. In 1980, Knowles highlighted the
limits of pedagogy when working with adult learners:
The problem is that education is not yet perceived as a lifelong
process, so that we are still taught in our youth only what we
ought to know then and not how to keep finding out. One
mission of the adult educator, then, can be stated positively as
helping individuals to develop the attitude that learning is a
lifelong process and to acquire the skills of self-directed learning.
(p. 28)

Adult learning continues to be a topic of research almost 50 years later,

and researchers still emphasize the importance of self-directedness or
"agency" as a key component of the adult learning process (Calvert,
2016). We know this kind of personalization is critical. So why is there so
little of it in teachers' professional learning?
 The Purpose of Teacher Evaluation

In recent years, efforts to connect teacher performance to students'

standardized test scores have transformed teacher evaluation into a
measurement tool rather than a growth platform. Evaluation scores trump
meaningful dialogue about strengths and growth opportunities. The
reason most adults enter into a learning process is to create change, yet
the nature of most evaluation systems is a summative endpoint rather
than a diagnostic outline for change-focused action.
Even more disheartening, very few districts or schools utilize
evaluation data (or even student achievement data) when planning their
professional learning offerings. Instead, they follow a "plug-and-play"
model where x days are filled with y topics based on availability, budget,
and—sometimes—teacher interest. In contrast to student learning,
professional learning is often planned "in the moment" or "on the fly," and
it is far down the list of administrative priorities.
In his training and development handbook (1996), Knowles
recommended that leaders consider the following assumptions when
designing adult learning experiences:

Adults have a need to know why they should learn something.

Adults have a deep need to be self-directing.
Adults have a greater volume and different quality of experience than
youth.
Adults become ready to learn when they experience in their life
situation a need to know or be able to do in order to perform more
effectively and satisfyingly.
Adults enter into a learning experience with a task-centered (or
problem-centered or life-centered) orientation to learning.
Adults are motivated to learn by both extrinsic and intrinsic
motivators. (pp. 255–257)

Today's teachers continue to plod through one-shot sessions with

little action planning, follow-up, or connection to their overall professional
growth, even though effective professional development abides by very
different principles:

The duration of professional development must be significant and

ongoing to allow time for teachers to learn a new strategy and
grapple with the implementation problem.
There must be support for a teacher during the implementation
stages that addresses the specific challenges of changing classroom
practice.
Teachers' initial exposure to a concept should not be passive, but
rather engage them through varied approaches so they can
participate actively in making sense of a new practice.
Modeling is a highly effective way to introduce a new concept and
help teachers understand a new practice.
The content presented to teachers shouldn't be generic, but instead
grounded in the teacher's discipline (for middle or high school
teachers) or grade level (for elementary school teachers).
(Gulamhussein, 2013, pp. 3–4)

In this list, we see a case against what often passes for district- and
school-based professional learning initiatives, but also why it is essential
that we not give up on them. A teacher may engage in a PLN for an
extended period and have access to effective modeling, but most PLNs
don't offer coaching through varied approaches or sustained support
through the implementation phase. Onsite school or district professional
learning remains an integral component of teacher development and,
ultimately, student achievement. Scott Gaiber, program director for the
Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders, emphasizes the value of this
collaboration:
Teachers and school leaders who participate in strong
professional learning communities composed of shared learning
experiences and meaningful, authentic relationships between
members are inspired and more prepared to take on what can
sometimes feel like daunting challenges in our work. The feeling
of isolation that many educators feel is not only broken down,
but a powerful network of colleagues to rely on for
 encouragement and resources results in increased commitment
and effectiveness.

In other words, there is value in district- and school-based professional

learning beyond content sharing. Educators can also provide one another
with social and emotional support as they collaborate to troubleshoot
implementation challenges and amplify strong practices.
 A Model for Change

While volumes of research on andragogy provide school and district

leaders with guidance on how adults learn best, this guidance doesn't
include the components of effective professional learning: what it should
and should not look like, or how to design such a model within a school or
district, particularly one that aims to personalize the learning process. The
resources available tout theory with little direction on implications for
practice. Because of this, school leaders' design of professional learning
offerings frequently comes up short. They continue to throw ideas (or
initiatives) at the wall of teacher development, hoping some will stick.
Most often, any growth that results is limited, short-lived, or isolated to
select subsets of learners. Teachers and leaders continue the dance of
change from one year to the next with minimal effect on student
achievement or teacher performance.
This book aims to fill this gap. It is, at its core, a manual for school
and district leaders (I use the term leaders to refer to both) who are tired
of the status quo and committed to designing a personalized professional
learning model that meets the needs of all teachers. It provides a
roadmap—a step-by-step guide for diagnosis, planning, execution,
evaluation, and refinement. In Students at the Center: Personalized
Learning with Habits of Mind, Bena Kallick and Allison Zmuda (2017)
outlined four defining attributes of personalized learning: voice, co-
creation, social construction, and self-discovery. Here, I propose that
these same attributes can guide instructional leaders' efforts to develop
meaningful and personalized learning experiences for their own staff
members (see Figure A).

Figure A. A Roadmap for Personalized Professional Learning

 Part I: Voice looks at how leaders can establish and clarify a vision
for staff-wide growth that elevates staff members' ideas, recognizes their
agency, and engages them as learners in both "the what" and "the how"
of learning (Chapter 1).
Part II: Co-Creation guides leaders through building a personalized
professional learning model (Chapter 2) and exploring the most effective
ways to share professional learning offerings (Chapter 3). This work
involves collaborating with teachers to clarify how growth will be
measured, define the measurement tools, and co-create an action plan to
achieve the desired results.
Part III: Social Construction focuses on the design (Chapter 4)
and facilitation (Chapter 5) of professional learning experiences and
prompts leaders to explore the most effective ways to support teachers'
growth as individual learners and as a PLN.
Part IV: Self-Discovery examines how learning valuation is distinct
from evaluation (Chapter 6) and how leaders can expand their vision to
support future growth (Chapter 7).
Finally, the Appendixes offer a set of downloadable tools, referenced
throughout the book, that leaders can use to support the design of truly
effective, personalized professional learning and gain a fuller
understanding of what personalized professional learning looks like.
Personalized professional learning empowers teachers to take an
active role in their growth and honors both their voice and choice. This
approach means an end to "sit and get"; teachers' needs inform the
learning approach, content, and product. Our teachers are worthy of this
change, and our students deserve the benefits. Effective professional
learning must be focused, sustained, job-embedded, and personalized.
Otherwise, it is simply a hope… not a practice.
 Part I: Voice

....................

Teacher input must be valued, trusted, and utilized. This cannot

be a token invitation to the conversation but must be meaningful
and linked to decision-making opportunities. It is essential that
teacher voice is not only heard but is an integral driving force as
education policy evolves.

Quaglia & Lande,

Teacher Voice: Amplifying Success

One of the first lessons teachers learn in their certification courses is how
to find (and use) their "teacher voice." Yet, once they are in the
classroom, too often this voice becomes muted, overshadowed by
education policies, programs, and processes constructed by individuals
who will never be called upon to implement them. Unfortunately, this is
also the case in professional learning. Teachers shuffle through a series of
mandated workshops and seat requirements to maintain their
certification, irrespective of their actual developmental needs and interests
as learners.
Part I explores how leaders can honor teacher voice by collaboratively
establishing a vision for growth—inviting learners to share in "the what"
and "the how" of learning early in the process. Chapter 1 delves into what
it means to build a culture primed for learning: identifying school goals
and growth opportunities and balancing and aligning these goals with
individual teacher needs and interests. In such a culture, teacher voice is
not just heard; it's a driving force for personalized professional learning.
Chapter 1
Establishing a Vision for Growth

....................
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 Locking Window Sash

An excellent lock for window sash is to use two small, but strong,
hinges one fastened on each side of the top sash close to the upper
edge of the lower sash. This allows one wing of each hinge to swing
freely which permits it to be swung over the upper edge of the lower
sash, locking both securely. In placing the hinges in this position,
they are out of sight and not in the way.
 THE SHOTGUN
AND HOW TO USE IT
By Stillman Taylor
PART II—The Choke and Pattern of a Gun

H aving picked out a gun that “fits the man,” the matter of choke and
pattern should be considered. For trap shooting and for wild
fowling, the full-choke gun may be considered a necessity, since it
will throw the charge of shot within a relatively small circle; in other
words, make a denser pattern. Chokeboring is accomplished by
constricting the barrel at the muzzle from ¹⁄₂₅ to ¹⁄₅₀ in., the amount of
taper depending on the size of the bore and gauge. The narrowing of
the muzzle forces the charge of shot together and prevents the
pellets from scattering over a wide area. Guns are bored with varying
degrees of choke, from the full to the plain cylinder, and the
manufacturers compare them by recording the number of pellets
which any given choke will shoot in a 30-in. circle at 30 yd., or any
other range selected as the maximum distance. This gives the
pattern from which we find that the full choke produces 70 per cent,
the half choke 60 per cent, the quarter choke 50 per cent, and the
cylinder 30 per cent.
For trap shooting and wild fowling the expert considers it essential
that his 12-gauge should be capable of throwing not less than 300
pellets; hence he selects a full-choked gun with a pattern of 300 or
better. As a full-choked 16-gauge will pattern about 275, it may be
used for ducks with good success. For a general-purpose gun, a
pattern from 250 to 275 will prove quite satisfactory for ducks and
upland game, and this may be had by picking out a half-choked 12-
gauge, or selecting a full-choked 16-gauge. The 20-gauge gives a
pattern of about 245 shot, and thus scatters its charge over too large
a circle to prove effective on wild fowl, although it is very effective on
upland game, which is flushed not over 35 yd. from the shooter. A
gun patterning from 225 to 250 may be considered the ideal upland
gun, and this may be had by choosing a quarter-choked 12-gauge, a
half-choked 16-gauge, or a full-choked 20-gauge gun. These are
known as “open-choked” guns, are the most effective at short
ranges, up to 35 yd., and cannot be depended upon to kill clean
when used at longer ranges.

Shooting with Both Eyes Open

To handle the weapon well is the desire of every sportsman, and

this knack is not difficult to attain, providing the novice will make a
good beginning. First of all, it is necessary to hold the gun correctly,
and while the forward hand may grip the fore end at any convenient
point, a well extended arm gives a better control of the gun when
aiming, by giving free play to all the muscles of the arm; hence the
gun should be held in a manner natural to the shooter, rather than in
imitation of the style of another.
The old manner of aiming the shotgun by closing one eye and
sighting along the rib is fast becoming obsolete, for better shooting
may be done by keeping both eyes open. Doctor Carter was the first
great exponent of binocular shooting, and while but few men can
hope to approach this famous gunner’s skill, every one can learn to
handle a shotgun more quickly and with greater accuracy by
following his common-sense method. It may appear a bit strange at
first to disregard the sights and keep both eyes open, and aim the
gun by merely pointing it in the desired direction, but to sight along
the rib and attempt to see the bead on the muzzle end can only
make a slow and poky shot. This old-fashioned method may be good
enough for making patterns on a stationary target, but it is not much
of a success for wing shooting. For fine rifle shooting the left eye is
invariably closed for target work, but for snap-shooting both eyes are
kept open, the sights are disregarded, and the aim is taken by
pointing the gun at the object to be hit. Of course, there are many
good gunners who shoot with one eye closed, but the novice who is
anxious to become a good wing shot should make it a point to
practice with both eyes open. Vision is always clearer, and the
objects more accurately judged with both eyes open than with one,
and when this is done, and one eye controls the line of aim, the
shooter is not so likely to make mistakes in estimating the distances
and the rapidity of the flight of his game. In shooting, the right eye
naturally governs the right shoulder, and vice versa, and this is so
because habit has trained the eye to do this. To find which is the
master eye, hold a pencil out at arm’s length and point it at some
small distant object with both eyes open, then close the left eye, and
if the pencil still points to the object, the right eye controls the vision,
and is the master eye. Should the closing of the left eye alter the
aim, the right eye must be trained by practice until it becomes the
master eye, or else the gun must be shot from the left shoulder,
which is many times more difficult. The modern way of mastering
wing shooting is to point the gun where both eyes are looking, and
after a little practice this may be done quickly, and the charge thrown
more accurately at the object than by closing one eye, or sighting
along the barrel in the old manner.

The Knack of Hitting a Flying Target

When shooting at clay targets, or at a flying bird, allowance must

be made for the swiftness of flight and the distance from the shooter
to the game, or in other words, the shooter must calculate the speed
of the flying target and allow the probable time it will take for the shot
to reach its mark. To make a quick snap shot at the flying target, the
gun may be directly thrown at the mark and discharged as quickly as
possible, or the gun may cover the mark and be quickly swung
ahead and the charge sent at the point where the swiftly moving bird
will be found when the shot gets there. Snap-shooting is only
possible when the birds are flying straight away or quartering, and as
the shooter fires point-blank at the rapidly moving bird, the shot must
be delivered so rapidly that only a very quick and responsive trigger
and a fast man back of it can hope to score even a fair percentage of
hits. A more certain way of aiming a snap shot is to throw up the
barrel below the bird, then rapidly swing it to the proper elevation
ahead of the moving target, and throw the shot at the point where
the line of the aim and the flight of the bird intersect. For shots at
quail, woodcock, and partridge in the brush, the quick snap shot
often must be taken, regardless of the chances of missing, for to
delay even a second will lose the bird. When a bird rises near the
shooter, no allowance of lead or elevation are required, and the
charge is thrown directly at the bird.
The rapid swing, however, is the most accurate manner of using
the shotgun, at all angles and at any distance within the killing zone
of the weapon. To make this shot, the gun must be thrown up behind
the bird and then rapidly swung ahead of it, throwing the charge
without checking the swing of the arm. In this style of snap-shooting,
the elevation of the gun must be identical with the flight of the bird,
inasmuch as the gun follows it, and if the gun is swung about three
times as fast as the bird is traveling, plenty of allowance for the time
necessary to press the trigger and deliver the shot at the determined
point will be made.
To swing deliberately and cover the bird with the sight, then shove
the gun ahead to give the proper lead, is all right for duck shooting
where the game is usually seen approaching and thus remains
within range for a longer time. But this deliberate style of handling
the gun is far too slow for the uplands, and since the rapid swing is
the only accurate manner of cutting down the fast bird, and usually
useful for wild fowling, the novice should confine his practice to this
practical style of wing shooting.
 Stationary-Target Practice

The first great mistake the novice is likely to make is the natural
one of supposing that he must take his gun to the field and learn how
to handle it by practicing at flying game. This is by no means the
best method, and there is scarcely a poorer way of becoming a wing
shot, because the gunner is intent upon bagging the game and
forgets to observe the many little points of gunnery, shooting high
and low, and making the hundred and one mistakes of judgment he
would not be guilty of when practicing at a stationary mark. Snap and
wing shooting is the last word in shotgun handling, requiring
quickness in throwing the gun, as well as a trained eye to calculate
the distance from and the speed of the flying target. To acquire
confidence in using the gun, begin by shooting at a fixed mark. A
good target may be made by obtaining a dozen, or two, sheets of
stout wrapping paper and painting a 4-in. circle in the center of each
sheet. Tack it up on a board fence or on a board hung on a tree,
measure off 60 ft., and try a shot. The shot will not spread very much
at this short range, and it will be an easy matter to determine the
result of your skill in holding a dead-on to the large mark. To avoid
flinching and other movements of the head and body, caused by the
recoil, begin your first practicing with a light powder-and-shot charge,
say, about 2 dr. of bulk measure, or its equivalent in smokeless, and
⁷⁄₈ oz. of No. 8 or 9 shot. There is no advantage in using a heavier
charge, and the recoil of the gun will appear much greater in
deliberate shooting at a target than is likely to be felt during the
excitement incidental to shooting in the field. A dozen shots at these
targets will enable the gunner to make a good score by deliberate
holding, and when this can be done without flinching, snap and wing
shooting may begin.
The Forward Hand may Grip the Fore End at Any Point, but a Well-Extended
Arm Gives a Better Control of the Gun

Snap and Wing Shooting

The object which the gunner should now strive for is to train the
eye, hand, and gun to work in unison, and to do this, bring the gun
quickly to the shoulder, point it to the mark, and press the trigger
without stopping the upward and even swing of the barrels. At the
first few trials some difficulty may be encountered with the pressing
of the trigger at the proper moment, but a little practice will soon tell
how to time the shots. Note the phrase, “press the trigger,” for the
trigger is not pulled by the forefinger alone, but rather pressed by
closing both hands, the forward hand on the fore end pushing and
closing, and the hand grasping the stock being drawn back and
squeezed at the same instant. This is easily done, but rather hard to
picture. After a few trials with an empty gun, the novice will see the
point, and also discover the fact that the recoil of the arm is much
lessened by this proper grip of the weapon.
Confine the first practice in snap-shooting to throwing the gun to
the shoulder, and when proficient in hitting the mark, try a snap shot
by swinging the gun from the side, right to left and also left to right.
Do not attempt to check the even swing of the gun, but rather let the
barrels swing past the mark, concentrating the mind upon pressing
the trigger the instant the line of aim covers the mark. Practice
swinging slowly, and after being able to hit the mark with the center
of the charge pretty regularly, increase the speed of the swing. In
doing this, it will be discovered that the speed of pressing the trigger
must also be increased to balance the speed of the moving barrel,
and very likely it will be found that the natural tendency is to press
the trigger a bit late. This is the common mistake which practically
every novice makes when in the field, although the error is likely to
pass unnoticed when after game.
 SWING GUN ACROSS TARGET AS
INDICATED BT ARROWS AND
SHOOT IN PASSING
SHOOT AT BOTH
TARGETS ON EACH SWING

Train the Eye, Hand, and Gun to Work in Unison, by Bringing the Gun
Quickly to the Shoulder, Pointing It at the Mark, and Pulling the Trigger
without Stopping the Motion of the Barrels

As the gunner acquires proficiency in swinging the gun from side

to side, try swinging the gun at different angles, changing the angle
of the swing with each shot, from right to left and upward, at an
oblique angle upward, and so on, until it is possible to hit the mark
with a fair certainty from a variety of angles. When trying out the
several swings, one should always begin slowly and increase the
speed of the swing as he becomes more expert, only making sure to
shoot by calculation and not by guess. The manner of acquiring
expertness sounds easy and is comparatively easy, and, as it is the
backbone of snap-shooting, improvement will be rapid if the novice is
willing to practice slowly and master each detail in turn. Do not make
the mistake of overdoing the thing at the outset by shooting too long
at a time. A box of 25 loads is ample for a day’s practice, since it is
not how much one shoots, but how well, that counts.

Snap-Shooting at Moving Targets

When the gunner has reached the point where he can hit the
stationary target by swinging his gun both fast and slow, he has
acquired better control of the weapon than many old shooters, and
he is well prepared to take up snap-shooting at flying or moving
targets. The access to a gun club where clay birds may be shot at,
will prove of much value, but this is not absolutely necessary, since
tin cans, bits of brick, and bottles, thrown in the air at unknown
angles by a companion, will afford the needed variety. Better than
this is one of the inexpensive “hand traps” which project the
regulation clay targets by means of a powerful spring worked by a
trigger. One of the large powder manufacturers makes a trap of this
kind, and a very good trap can be had for $1.50. The standard clay
targets cost about $2.50 a barrel of 500. Practice of this sort may be
made a very interesting and highly instructive sport, providing the
targets are projected from different and unexpected angles, thus
simulating the many-angled flight of the live bird.

Value of Second Barrel in Shooting

The use of the second barrel should not be overlooked in

practicing with the idea of becoming an all-around wing shot, for the
second shot is often needed to kill a cripple, or bring down a bird
which has been missed with the first shot. Two-shot practice should
begin by placing two paper targets about 20 ft. apart, then shooting
at the first one and continuing to swing the gun to cover the second
target. Practice swinging from various angles as directed for the
initial practice, increasing the speed of the swing as proficiency is
gained, and fail not to profit by the mistakes which must inevitably
occur to all who try to master the shotgun. After a reasonable
amount of practice, conducted along these lines, the gunner may
venture afield, and if his acquaintance includes an old seasoned
sportsman who will point out the mistakes made, much may be
learned regarding the knack of handling the gun, as well as relating
to the haunts and habits of our wild game birds.

Cleaning and Care of the Gun

A good shotgun is a thoroughly reliable and dependable weapon,

but as with all tools of the sportsman’s craft, the best results can only
be had when the arm is in good condition. It is gun wisdom always to
clean the weapon after a day’s shooting, and the amateur should
make it a positive rule never to put his gun away until it is cleaned.
The sooner firearms are cleaned after the firing the better, and if
cleaned before the burnt powder has had time to corrode the steel,
much future trouble is saved. In cleaning the barrels, never rest the
muzzle against the floor. If a rest is needed, use an old piece of
carpet or a bundle of rags. Clean from the breech end only, as any
slight dust, or burr, at the muzzle will greatly impair the shooting
qualities of any firearm. Never use a wire-wheel scratchbrush, as it
will scratch the polished steel; a soft brass-wire cleaner is the only
suitable implement for this work. There are several good cleaners to
be had. For removing any rust deposits, a brass brush may be used,
while for ordinary cleaning, plenty of cloth should be run through the
barrels, taking care that it touches every part of the interior. This is
easily done by rotating the cleaning rod as it is pushed through the
barrel from the breech to the muzzle. When putting the gun away,
the barrels should be stopped, at the breech and muzzle, with tightly
fitting corks, or gun ropes may be run through the barrels after
soaking them in some good oil. To prevent rusting, cover the metal,
outside as well as inside the barrels, by smearing on a little heavy
lubricating oil. Slip covers of chamois are often used to protect the
stock and barrels before putting them in the leather case, but stout
woolen covers are better, since chamois is likely to absorb more or
less moisture.
The mechanism of a gun is not exactly complicated, but the novice
had better leave well enough alone and not attempt to dismount the
locks or tinker with the mechanism. The modern steel barrel is very
hard and not easily dented, but if so injured, it is better to ship it to
the factory for repairs than to trust it to the crude methods of the
average gun repairman.
A gun should be given ordinary good care, and this is not
forthcoming if one makes a practice of opening it and letting the
barrels drop down with a bang. Snapping the triggers on an empty
barrel is likewise foolish. If one desires to practice trigger pressing,
put a couple of empty shells in the barrels.
If one owns a good-grade shotgun, the stock is probably finished
in oil and hand-rubbed to a nice, durable polish. On cheap arms the
varnish is usually employed to give an attractive finish in the store.
Of course, this varnish will scratch, and otherwise come off, and
spoil the appearance of the arm. If a good finish is wanted, do not re-
varnish the stock, but remove all the old varnish by using a little
varnish remover, and rub down with oil. For an extra-fine polish, wet
the wood to raise the grain; rub down with very fine sandpaper; wet
the wood again, and sandpaper a second or a third time; then rub
down with oil until the wood is saturated with it, and polish with a
cloth, using plenty of pressure, and the stock will be as fine in
appearance as if it had the “London oil finish” supplied with all high-
grade guns.
 Brass Machine Screws with Nuts

When small brass machine screws and threaded nuts to fit them
are needed in small devices, or for experimental work, and the
necessary taps and dies are not at hand, secure some old brass
globe holders and cut out the threaded hole for the nut. The
fastening-screw arrangement on these will answer every purpose
very well. Enough metal can be left on each one to fasten it on wood,
as shown at A, or they can be cut, as shown at B, if they are to be
soldered to metal.
 Snapper-Shell Ash Tray

An odd and unusual ash tray can be made from a snapping-turtle

shell. Four brass, or wood, balls or knobs, secured with screws, as
shown, will keep it balanced. The exact points to place the supports
under the tray will have to be determined by experiment, as no two
shells are of exactly the same shape.
 A Portable Fire Screen
The fire screen illustrated can be constructed at very small
expense. In brief, the screen consists of a light metal frame
surrounding three pieces of ¹⁄₈-in. sheet asbestos. The frames
inclosing the asbestos pieces are hinged together, as shown in Fig.
1, with special hinges made to meet the requirements.
The asbestos comes in sheets 40 in. square, and this size
determines the outside dimensions of the screen. The size of the
different sections can, of course, be changed if such a change will
better suit the existing needs. By making the screen in sections it
may be folded up and thus occupy much less space, and when in
use, the sections, by placing them at an angle to each other, serve
the purpose of legs, which would be required if the screen were in
one straight piece.
The dimensions and form of the outer portions of the frame are
given in Fig. 2, and those of the inner portions, or edges, where the
hinges are attached, are given in Fig. 3. The joining edges of the
frames are made wider than the others for the reason that some of
the metal is cut away where the hinges are attached. These frames
may be made from heavy tin or galvanized iron, and it will be a
simple matter for a tinner to bend them into shape. After all these
pieces are bent, fit them together at the corners, making sure that
they clamp tightly on the asbestos sheets, as these help to hold the
frame in shape. Drill a small hole in each of the corners and provide
a small round-head rivet of proper length for each of the holes. The
vertical portions of the frame should be placed inside of the
horizontal, or end, pieces at the corners.
 Fig. 1
Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4

Fire Screen Made of Sheet Asbestos Inclosed in Thin Metal Frames Hinged
Together

Make four pieces of brass having the form and dimensions given
in Fig. 4. Two ¹⁄₈-in. holes are drilled in each of these pieces as
indicated. Slots are cut in the inner edges of the frames of such
dimensions as will accommodate these brass pieces. The location of
these slots is given in Fig. 1. Obtain eight pieces of ¹⁄₈-in. steel rod,
about 2 in. long. Place the ends of the brass pieces in the slots in the
inner frame and then put the rods through the holes in the ends of
them and solder the ends of the rods to the inside of the frames.
Make sure that there is no solder run in between the rod and piece of
brass, as this will prevent the hinge from operating freely. After the
hinges are in place, the frames are riveted together. Notches are cut
in the edges of the asbestos sheets at the location of the hinges to
allow the latter free movement. The sections of the screen may be
made very rigid by placing a number of small rivets around the inner
edges of the frame to hold it tightly against the asbestos. The
asbestos may be given a coat of bronze, or be otherwise decorated
for appearance.
 Tossing a Card at a Mark Accurately

Tossing Cards Accurately so That They will Fall into a Receptacle Set at a
Distance
 There is an interesting old game that can be played instead of
solitaire. It consists in trying to toss the greatest number of cards into
a small basket or an upturned stiff hat, set at a distance. If the cards
are held as shown at A, and tossed as at B, they may be thrown with
surprising accuracy.—Contributed by James M. Kane, Doylestown,
Pa.