The Power of Sharing

This spring I had the privilege of attending a Balanced Leadership training in our district. During the opening activities all the participants shared the number of years we had been teaching and then the facilitator added them up.  The total number of years of educational experience in our relatively small group was pretty astounding.  The facilitator pointed out that one of the goals of Balanced Leadership was to tap into the combined skills and expertise that reside within an organization. This illustration really stuck with me and I couldn’t help but think of it during our 1st ever district Unconference this past week.  

I got the idea for an Unconference from attending professional development opportunities such as Educon and Edcamp which use this format.  For me the interactive, participant centered, and teacher led format worked really well for personal learning.  I liked having conversations with other participants and I felt empowered when I decided to lead a session on the day of the first unconference I attended.  By introducing this format within our district, my hope was that others would reap the same benefits that I had.  

 To be honest I was a little nervous the night before the Unconference; I kept thinking that it wouldn’t really work out too well if no one signed up to lead conferences.  But my trepidation was unfounded as we had 19 teachers sign up to lead sessions!  Some staff members had prepared artifacts to share but many session leaders decided to create a session that very morning.  To me this was strong evidence of teachers' interest in sharing what works with other professionals. 

As the sessions ran, I wandered from room to room and saw all kinds of great learning going on.  In some rooms teachers were taking turns sharing artifacts while in other rooms teachers were engaged in great conversations about instruction, students, technology, and learning.  We had a 15 minute break between sessions so that participants could carry on side conversations beyond those that occurred in the session.  I overheard a lot of great sharing and personally filled up a page on my iPhone with great ideas I got from other teachers.  

After the Unconference ,Eric and I received a great deal of positive feedback about the format (and a few suggestions for tweaks). Here are a few comments from the feedback form:

"I would love more time with k-12 and even my own building to share ideas in this type of forum.  I learned a lot and I have lots of tools to use in the next year.”

“It is always really useful to brainstorm with others and share ideas.  That process alone enhances the knowledge of the teacher and therefore provides a broader range of tools or tricks of the trade to impart to students outside of one's particular practice area.”

“I like listening to other teachers. We have a lot of experts here!”

“This was one of the BEST PD's I've attended.  I really liked how I could choose what I was interested in and what was going to benefit me the most.  Some thoughts:  have the individual  sessions be shorter and have the overall time longer.  I would have liked to have participated in several more of the sessions (not just two).  You offered a nice variety of session topics, and the unconference  format was a fantastic way to learn. “

“This was a cool way for all of us to share and learn from each other. I liked the informal setting where everyone felt like they could contribute to each session. I felt like I really got something useful out of it. I can't say that about every in-service offering I have gone to…”

“This was a cool way for all of us to share and learn from each other. I liked the informal setting where everyone felt like they could contribute to each session. I felt like I really got something useful out of it. I can't say that about every in-service offering I have gone to…”

As I reflect back on the Unconference here are some questions that I am left with: How can we facilitate more sharing of knowledge and expertise within our organization? Can technology play a role in facilitating this sharing? If teachers are this positive about sharing what they know, what implication might the Unconference format hold for student learning?  

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Unconference.   Your ideas, enthusiasm, and passion for learning are truly inspiring!