SamTastic Weekly Tip: 2/5/24 - Hello! Happy first week of February.

Hello!  Happy first week of February.

I’ll bet you are in the GREEN this morning and looking forward to a day filled with work designed to improve teacher practice and student learning.  These planned instructional events are the sweetest part of the day for most SAM teams.  It feels good and you can see the results.

I enjoyed the keynote presentations at the conference in Fort Lauderdale.  Each was filled with ideas SAM teams can use.  Kim Marshall’s keynote, Making Student Achievement Central to Teacher Supervision and Evaluation, provided seven ways leaders can have a positive impact on teacher practice.  The first, seeing instruction and conversing with teachers, face-to-face, is the most popular way SAM leaders spend their time.  Take a look at the remaining seven; number 4, Coaching teachers on the “retrieval effect”, caught my attention. 

 “Retrieval practice is a valuable teaching strategy that involves recalling information from memory to strengthen learning and improve long-term retention. By incorporating this approach into instruction, educators can effectively enhance students' understanding and retention of course material across various subjects and grade levels”. Summary, Perplexity AI Search

Simple?  Yes.  Teachers who use this basic teaching practice get better results.  They understand that that creating a long-term memory is a process, not a single step. 

Early in my teaching career I was asked to lead an effort to redesign my district’s elementary math curriculum using a spiral design.  This made sense to me.  It aligned with how I was taught to teach. 

“A spiral curriculum is a teaching approach where key concepts are introduced and then revisited multiple times, with each encounter deepening the complexity of the content. This method is attributed to Jerome Bruner and is grounded in cognitive science and brain-based learning."  Summary, Perplexity AI Search

All seven of Kim’s suggestions require the same thing:  Intentionality.  What will you do today?  How will you follow up on your good work tomorrow?  Can you connect your time data to improved practice? 

A few resources:

1. HD Video of Kim Marshall’s keynote will be released later this month.

2. Washington University in St. Louis, Using Retrieval Practice to Increase Student learning:  https://bit.ly/3HN63n6

3. Pooja Agarwal, Powerful Teaching:   https://www.retrievalpractice.org/

4. The Main Idea, PD idea on book Powerful Teaching:  https://bit.ly/4brv6cE

Music Video: I Am a SAM  https://bit.ly/48OCjCm

Executive Summary: SAM team Success:   https://bit.ly/3rIWkZT

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 1/31/24 - Hello, again, from Fort Lauderdale, site of the 17th Annual National SAM Conference.

Hello, again, from Fort Lauderdale, site of the 17th Annual National SAM Conference.

The conference was a wonderful experience for the 600+ SAM team members.  The four keynote presentations and four selected breakout sessions will be available on HD video at the end of February…along with a hilarious conference musical parody by the remarkable John Antonetti.

The NSIP Board met the day before the conference and seated the first practicing SAM to the Board, Jennifer Stapleton.  Board President Bert Hendee shared:

Jennifer is a SAM for two district level administrators in Springfield, IL.  Jennifer has been a SAM for four different administrators during her 10+ years of involvement with SAMs.  Her voice and experience will be a welcome and critical one on the board. 

The board of directors meets four times annually, two times a year, in person and two times, virtually. At each meeting we have updates from each member of the board and the executive director.  Our vision, mission, bylaws, policies and procedures are reviewed at each meeting as well.  An annual board self-evaluation is completed as well as a performance review for the executive director.  We are all educators and are passionate about this work.

We serve to help strengthen the organization and support you in the important work you do each and every day.  If you have questions please feel free to reach out to any board member at any time.  Our contact information is on the NSIP website.

Jennifer Stapelton joins Bert Hendee, Paul Katnik, Dave Sechler, Nathan Roberts and Shawna Fagbuyi on the Board. Carol Lensing and Debbie Daniels participate as retired, emeritus members.

Plan to budget now for next year’s national conference, Miami Beach, Florida, January 15-19, 2025, MLK Day Weekend.  $2,895 covers all costs except airfare.  This is also a good time to be sure your funding for SAM service for 2024-25 is in place.

Great news!  NSIP welcomes new SAM teams in South Carolina next month.  South Carolina will be our third new SAM state this school year.  You’ll find a complete list of the 22 states with SAM teams, below.  Please share your experience with SAMs with colleagues in your district, state and across the US.

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 1/22/24 - Plan to watch keynote sessions, in person or on HD video.

Hello from Fort Lauderdale, site of the 17th Annual National SAM Conference.

Today’s Tip is: Plan to watch keynote sessions, in person or on HD video.

600+ SAM team members will arrive in Fort Lauderdale this week for amazing keynote presentations and inspiring breakout sessions. If you are attending in person, please travel safely.  We have an amazing set of experiences in store designed to celebrate your work and push your thinking on how to best help teachers and students.

Can’t attend in person this year?  No worries.  We’ll have eight hours of professionally edited and produced video of each keynote and four select breakouts you can access in March. 

Plan to budget now for next year’s national conference, Miami Beach, Florida, January 15-19, 2025, MLK Day Weekend.  $2,895 covers all costs except airfare.

The first keynote presentation will be delivered by author Dan Thurmon.  Dan is a remarkable and entertaining presenter.  When his first book was released, Off Balance on Purpose, I was impressed and invited him to present at our 8th annual conference.  I loved his theme that being off balance is necessary to learn something new.  I also liked his positive approach to working with people.   

His newest book, Positive Chaos, is a guide for every leader who wants to maximize the opportunities change in a chaotic world offers.  Progress often depends on the leader’s ability to allow change to spark creativity and innovation.  Here’s an Amazon review of Dan’s book:

Using illuminating findings from a first-of-its-kind study, 2022 State of Chaos in the Workplace, Thurmon reveals the current impact of chaos experienced by the workforce and shares effective strategies and leadership attributes for succeeding in chaotic times. From discovering how credibility stems from vulnerability, to why being honest about what you don’t yet know can empower others to feel more confident and capable of contributing, you will learn how to improve yourself while becoming a better leader.

Conference attendees will get to see Dan, and his daughter, Maggie, this week in Fort Lauderdale.  They will also receive a copy of his book.  Not attending this year?  No worries.  You will have the opportunity to see his presentation on HD video in March…and receive a copy of his book, too.  Why?  Because the work you do as a SAM team member every day deserves appreciation and recognition. 

PS:  You can see Dan’s 2015 presentation at the 8th Annual National SAM Conference here:

https://bit.ly/3vKqz4W

Music Video: I Am a SAM  https://bit.ly/48OCjCm

Executive Summary: SAM team Success:   https://bit.ly/3rIWkZT