SLowDrip's Driving Question
“What professional considerations regarding self, collegiality and student outcomes are essential to build positive school culture, climate, and student success?”
Professional Development
For Educators
Courses include:
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Audio option
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Glossary
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Rubric
SLowDrip Philosophy
SLowDrip is a flexible online course that respects the learning style, pace and schedule of today's educator. Each lesson is designed to be pertinent to all who hold an educational role that influences instruction. We believe that sipping on small daily lessons gives your brain time to savor new awareness and reflect in a way that's meaningful to you. Through brief, weekly documentation of your thoughts and actions that relate to the presented lessons, you'll grow personally & professionally while earning professional development credits.
Three Courses ~ Three Themes
Each course is designed to inspire personal and professional excellence while leading you on a journey. It begins with self discovery, then moves on to collegial and eventually student - focused attention and action.
Course I - Becoming your best self personally & professionally. Self development leads to professional excellence.
Course II - Collegiality: Professional collaboration increases effectiveness.
Course III - Student-Centric: Personalized professional development positively impacts student success and school climate.
Earn Up To 50 PD Hours Per Course
There are three SLowDrip courses available.
Each course provides fifty lessons over ten weeks (one lesson per day, ten modules).
You decide how much interest and effort to invest in your learning, which impacts how many PD hours you'll earn.
Submit your thoughts & actions once per five lesson -modules.(*)
The following rubric (**)shows how your documentation may translate into how many PD hours you can earn per module (five lessons):
(Under construction)
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0 = no submission
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1= acknowledge that it has been read
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2 = submitted observation/reflection
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3 = submitted observation/reflection and action taken
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4 = add either one peer OR admin signature for rubric rating
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5 = includes peer signatures and critique for rubric rating
*Your school will determine the online forum that best suits staff needs to document your work. SLow Drip recommends considering shared forums to build collegiality & consistency.
** Above rubric is SDPD suggested PD Credit hours subject to modification at your school's discretion.
The Process
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A course contains ten weeks of lessons.
(five lessons per week)
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Daily lessons are delivered via email.
(TBD per district)
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Reflect on what you observed, thought or tried per five lessons.
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Once every five lessons submit your observations, thoughts and/or actions to earn your PD credits.
PD Rubric ~
Packages include: digital, audio, & workbook formats
COST
Contact us for school & district packages
* Per course = 10 modules, 50 lessons
Tried it? Liked it? Want to expand it across your district?
Contact us for the trilogy and district use options.
*Single Course =10 Modules (5 lessons per module) & up to 50 PD hrs.
I observed + reflected/suggested + took action 5 PD hrs.
COMMON Questions & Answers
Q: How do I get this PD course approved by my district?
A: Send our Websites link to your Administration and have them contact us.
or...Submit your school's PD Approval form along with your district's PD mandates and contact information and we will reach out to share how SDPD aligns with your mandates and National Standards.
Q: What does it mean that I will get each lesson via email and it is determined by my district?
A: Once your district has approved, the SDPD course is sent to your district so that you can receive each lesson in the format that is easiest according to the preferred platforms already in place. For example, you may receive your lessons via a shared doc, or through the school's email.
Q: Do I have to do a lesson a day?
A: No, SDPD is designed to meet the needs of the individual. Schools may require the PD to be complete within a year but the educator is free to address each lesson when it compliments their schedule.
Q: What if I am not interested in a particular week's theme enough to submit my observations, reflections or actions?
A: The amount of effort that you choose to invest is up to you. Simply refer to the rubric and decide how many PD credits you wish to earn (or sacrifice).
Q: Can you explain how to earn "up to" 50 PD hrs and how the rubric works?
A: The Rubric is designed to reflect the investment for accountability of earned PD hrs. Each module requires you to submit your response to the past 5 lessons. If you did not submit anything, you have earned 0 PD hrs. If you submit an indication that the lesson was read and pondered, you earn 1 PD hr. If you submit a reflection and/or observation you earn 2 PD hrs. Finally, if your submission indicates the above plus an action (for example: conversations with colleagues, community members, an activity with students, a shared research etc) then you 3 PD hrs for those 5 lessons. If you then acquire signatures from a peer or administrator, (The goal of acquiring signatures is to encourage professional collegiality practices and reward participation.)it indicates an acknowledgement of an additional level of professional engagement. (earning you a score of 4) By seeking further professional engagement; more signatures and a critique, you can earn 5 hours of PD credit. Since there are ten modules in the course, there is potential to earn fifty PD hrs.
Q: How can a lesson universally relate to each instructor regardless of experience or area of expertise?
A: The SLowDrip approach inspires inquiry, observation, reflection and action. Therefore, each lesson addresses each topic through an educational lens that prompts the participant to engage through their own perspective. This approach honors individual circumstance, experience and knowledge as they slowly navigate their own thought process in a non-judgmental way.
Q: How does the SLowDrip Process impact student success even if the lesson is focused on "self-care" or "collegial practices"?
A: The beauty of the three courses of SlowDrip PD is that each lesson and course builds upon one another. The trilogy is designed to help the educator become their best self both personally and professionally which leads to the second course's focus of respecting diversity in your colleagues and valuing collaboration. The final course is student centric which highlights all that course I & II have introduced if not directly, then through the positive role modeling that has been prompted within each lesson. All courses, therefore are geared towards improving student success.