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Thanks to everyone who participated in the January 18th Professional Development Day~

Feedback Survey Results
  
Overall Comments
 
 
 1.
As delicious as the meal was, it was not helpful for those of us who are trying to lose weight. A salad/soup option would have been nice. Maybe a keynote speaker is not necessary, or perhaps someone from our own system could take that role and keep it to 30 minutes. (Motivational speakers are better, in my opinion.)
 Tue, 1/29/08 11:25 AM 
 
 2.
Many of my colleagues indicate a desire for professional development opportunities that are conceptualized, planned, implemented, and evaluated by teachers for teachers. I wonder what that would look like...
 Fri, 1/25/08 11:22 AM 
 
 3.
It was wonderful to have the professional development on a Friday backed up to this holiday weekend. The activities to build community were a nice touch also. It would be great to have speakers who were more practical and hands on in their application and part of the wider educational community and organization. We deserve more and give so much.
 Tue, 1/22/08 2:40 PM 
 
 4.
I thought it was a very productive day, the morning speaker was O.K, but I thought the use of our local resources was much more interesting. The bingo was a fun way to talk to new people, thanks!!
 Tue, 1/22/08 2:17 PM 
 
 5.
January 18th is a tough day, as our quarter closed the day before. All teachers had to complete their report cards over the three day weekend since we were not in school on Friday. Most teachers do many hours of PD and would appreciate a teacher work day instead-- or, at least not a PD day on the day after the 2nd quarter closes. There was a great energy about the day--the college theme was fun and bingo was a great ice breaker. The spirit of the day and new organization (technology, especially) enhanced it. I wanted more that was specific to the subjects and age I teach and more than the intro to differentiation that Thoms provided. Thanks for all of your hard work and imagination to create Friday's agenda--and thanks for your openess to accepting feed-back.
 Tue, 1/22/08 12:04 PM 
 
 6.
As one teacher said, "We need to take this one little step at a time. We get an overview of things, but never really get to practice the skills with others as we learn them." I think they want small pieces presented more in depth, but I could be wrong. One of the discussion groups could have been longer. But overall, with all the details, I think you did an excellent job!! I think if we did some different classes such as" Differentiating 5-8 LA by Content Only" and had the course during the year, once each month for half day, it would provide teachers with support they need to implement the changes we would like to see. There is an idea for scheduling that we talked about years ago but never tried to implement that may provide a way to do this once a month for different groups. I discussed it with Deb Hammett years ago, but it just wasn't the right time to try it, so we shelved it. That's what she is interested in discussing.
 Tue, 1/22/08 11:00 AM 
 
 7.
I believe that the time spent organizing the PD day was outstanding. Not only what occurred here at the high school, but there were so many other locations that had to be planned for. While I was left disappointed with the quality of the speaker, I feel like the Thought Talks were a strong point (each of my sessions could've easily went for 45 minutes, possibly an hour). In retrospect, I would continue these discussions after lunch, possibly breaking down into individual departments. I'm just not sure how teachers will now try to use Differentiated Instruction during the second half of the year. *Is this something that we can follow up with on our final PD day in March?
 Tue, 1/22/08 10:36 AM 
 
 8.
Food was scrumptuous. Thank you! The idea of gifts / raffles was fun. The fact that there were up to 5 different learning situations was important to me - variety, change, moving around after sitting for a while. I think it is a challenging job to provide meaningful professional development with such a large range of interests, disciplines, and levels of teaching. While differentiated instruction is important, I don't think many examples were given of real-life situations, or stellar examples of it (at least not in the workshops / discussion groups I signed up for - maybe because they were more introductory). The DI workshops I attended were more of a summarization exercise from the chapters, rather than expanding my understanding and practice of this strategy. I wish I had been asked to bring along examples, or prepare some questions on the topic - in order to find inspiration and the wisdom from the discussion leaders on how to continue with DI. Hopefully there will be a way to again meet with teachers from our discipline, from grade level groups to discuss meaningful practices and strategies. A survey would be helpful for the next year's planning? And thank you for using online surveys, email attachments, - encourages the staff to use the tech pieces that are available and out there. Expanding their repertoire! :) Between talks (with an intermission break), have things happening in the cafeteria / hallway? Blood pressure check, teachers sharing their work, healthy snacks, live music by a teacher or two, teacher slide shows? Some activities to gather us, slightly entertain us, and send us happily to the next workshop? I did notice that you were able to visit workshops, to get a pulse of the activities and discussions. And that you added positive comments to the situation. Thank you for reading these comments, Laurie.
 Tue, 1/22/08 9:56 AM 
 
 9.
The day exceeded my expectations. It was well organized and run. I felt like I was treated like a true professional and not merely an old student. Lunch was great and it was good to see administrators being educational leaders. Lunch was fantastic - and the college theme (and grand prize) was fun. Both of these things more than made up for a poor key note speaker.
 Tue, 1/22/08 8:36 AM 
 
 10.
Thank you Laurie A+
 Tue, 1/22/08 8:22 AM 
 
 11.
Laurie Halt did an excellent job organizing and preparing me for this workshop. Laurie has a game for every occassion. They are always fun, welcoming, ice breakers that elevate everyone's spirits! (I plan to modify a couple for classroom use.)I enjoyed the workshops. I would like to receive a PDP certificate. I am so pleased that the Professional Development Day is held on a weekday and no longer Saturday. This worked out especially well where it was a long weekend. I am very pleased with the entire day as a whole!
 Tue, 1/22/08 8:08 AM 
 
 12.
Seems picky but the lunch had very little for those of us who eat from the salad bars every day. Perhaps that could be included for the next lunch.
 Tue, 1/22/08 8:07 AM 
 
 13.
Overall the day was a great disappointment. I thought the keynote was adequate, at best. The AM workshops while interesting were too short to get beyond basic information/ideas and relay any new or novel ideas. It was much more discussion among colleagues.
 Tue, 1/22/08 7:42 AM 
 
 14.
I was in the Category 1 workshop for ELL/SEI. The presenter was very good for the information she was required to cover. My only complaint is that I'd already learned all this information last year when I took the course that Marcy Klapper gave. However, we're apparently only being given credit for Category 2, so we have to do Category 1 all over again. Seems like an inefficient use of time....
 Mon, 1/21/08 8:35 PM 
 
 15.
Job well done - It was thought out and very oganized. I liked being able to get up and move around frequently. The Raffles were a bonus! What a great addition!
 Mon, 1/21/08 5:41 PM 
 
 16.
great positive energy to the day - small enough of a group to create connections and fun with raffles, BINGO and prizes - organization was incrediable- love how Laurie made contact with everyone.
 Mon, 1/21/08 4:00 PM 
 
 17.
Well done Laurie!
 Mon, 1/21/08 3:47 PM 
 
 18.
I felt as though the though talks were very short. The theme of the day (college)was a lot of fun and very engaging. In all honesty, I did not feel as though I gained any further help with differentiating throughout this day. I feel as though I would have gotten more out of sitting down with my lesson plans and preparedness from the readings and worked on differentiating in my own classroom.
 Mon, 1/21/08 3:41 PM 
 
 19.
The theme was clever and added interest to the day. The day was very well planned with plenty of information communicated about topics and schedule ahead of time. Speaker did not add new ideas,a nd time would have been better spent with colleagues.
 Mon, 1/21/08 2:04 PM 
 
 20.
The day was extremely well organized and the topic of differentiation is so important. It was unfortunate that the keynote was not too dynamic. I learned some things but wish that the sessions were longer particularly the grading one. The opening bingo game was very effective as I got to say hello to a lot more people than I normally would. The prizes were great and brought an element of fun to the day. Of course, this time of the year I am dieting and found it difficult to eat much of the lunch. Wish there could have been a salad offered or something a little less caloric.
 Mon, 1/21/08 1:55 PM 
 
 21.
Getting together with colleagues is always a positive experience. Hearing trends, perspectives, and new information from off-island professionals is always enlightening. Thank you for putting the day together for us.
 Mon, 1/21/08 1:17 PM 
 
 22.
The day flew by. Lots of fabulous collaboration and opportunity for staff to grow together. The ONLY weak spot was the guest speaker. This was a valuable use of our time. It justified the name "professional development". Thanks.
 Mon, 1/21/08 12:00 PM 
 
 23.
The theme was fun. I personally liked the "ice breakers" (BINGO and "Just Like Me") led by island educators. I really enjoyed meeting with island principals. We have terrific speakers within our district. The day flowed very easily and people in my groups seemed positve about the day.
 Mon, 1/21/08 11:50 AM 
 
 24.
The day afforded a wide array of choices on and off the island. There was a nice sampling of topics. People seemed to be enjoying the opportunity of spending time together. There is a high value to this. This was a very well organized day. The prizes were a fun idea as was the Brain Gym activity. There was a nice energy and feeling to the day.
 Mon, 1/21/08 10:28 AM 
 
 25.
In general- sessions were too short, workshops needed to have more specifics and opportinitues to work with some of our own curriculum,units, etc; - For example- instead of being asked to read articles- that could have been combined with " bring a unit plan that presented challenges for differentiation" and used that as a sprinboard for discussion and input from colleagues. Or possibly, more "like minded" ggroups - workshop for specific contents ( math, science, etc;) I know a lot of this was preordained or "inherited" , Laurie- , you did what you could and I thank you for your hard work ! The topic is crucial in terms of further discussion.. I did love that it was NOT a Saturday and that the adminsitrators were taking part in running workshops- we were not being asked to provide our own PD by running our own workshops- liked the theme" idea and the food was quite good !
 Mon, 1/21/08 9:59 AM 
 
 26.
Thank you for trying to make the day festive. I liked the RC activities ( group activity and bingo), although I did miss out on the coffee. (If we were told to start out in the cafeteria, then we could have had coffee and more room to mingle.) The Friday time (rather than Saturday) was much appreciated. I do think it is valuable anytime when teachers are able to meet together--from different schools, and from different levels. The topic of differentiation is one that spans us all--there are many others. I would like to see a day planned around teaching ELL learners or Special Needs students (Austism). Although there have been workshops offered in the past, everyone does not get exposed to the information (UA teachers do not have the ELL training requirement--Don't they teach those students, too?) It would be great to have our community resources invited in to help teachers understand the cultural, economic and social factors that influence learners from another locale.
 Mon, 1/21/08 9:37 AM 
 
 27.
Thank you Laura for all your time, energy, and professional touch.
 Mon, 1/21/08 8:29 AM 
 
 28.
I was very upset to find that some teachers were off at an ELL class. This day was supposed to be for all teachers in the area of differentiation. Most of the teachers who have taken ELL classes have done so on their own time and not on a paid professional day. Most of us need more ELL classes and these have not been provided for us during paid professional days. I think that was poor planning and I am not alone in my opinion. Some of the teachers that were sent to the ELL class are the very ones that don't differentiate at all! They needed this more than most of us.
 Mon, 1/21/08 6:49 AM 
 
 29.
This prfessional development day set the tone for organization! It was professional in organization but maybe a little too hokey. I enjoyed the activities and the theme, but it may turn some teachers off. However, the topic of differentitation is appropriate. I hope that those teachers who did not understand differentiation before, now have tools in their repetoire to start using. It would be nice to see the next pdp day to focus more on needs in particular content areas like: Science, Math, English, History, Technology and Business, Vocational etc...
 Sun, 1/20/08 8:37 PM 
 
 30.
Please note above. Also, it would be nice to find a way for those teachers who are self starters to have some time during these days to engage in self-created activities. Corinne Kurtz, for example, has often asked me why teachers can't use these days to do (with someone's approval) their own individual prof. dev.
 Sun, 1/20/08 8:11 PM 
 
 31.
The absence of morning coffee was painful. Next time let us know so we can bring our own. Lunch was heavy but yummy!
 Sun, 1/20/08 7:18 PM 
 
 32.
I appreicated the obvious thought and effort that went into the development of the day, as well as the opportunities for teachers to participate in a variety of events, both on and off-island. (Good job differentiating!!) But I found the speaker rather uninspiring, the tought talks too brief to be useful, and the afternoon workshops also too brief to really feel like I'd learned much. One thought talk and one workshop might have allowed for more time to really "dig-in" and walk away feeling like I had some new insights and/or skills to put to use.
 Sun, 1/20/08 7:08 PM 
 
 33.
Frank Thoms did not implement the theme of the day, which was Differentiation. His presentation was totally auditory intake, if one is a visual learner he was left out in the cold. In his afternoon workshop he was asked how examining student work aligned with differentiation and he couldn't answer the question. What he said was, "I was told to do this workshop." I took the course, Differentiation of Instruction, taught by Marge Harris and Cathy MacDonald a few years ago and was hoping for some interesting dialog at the professional day but really found none.
 Sun, 1/20/08 4:21 PM 
 
 34.
I thought it was the best PD day I've ever attended. I overheard other people saying the same thing.
 Sun, 1/20/08 3:33 PM