Kirjahaku

I believe that there is always another way. When the odds are stacked against you and your back is against the wall. That is never the time to give up. That's the time to dig deep and prove to everyone how awesome you are! Enjoy, take care and stay awesome!Thank you.

The results are in, observations are not improving teaching and learning. Pertinently, the Gates Foundation’s recently completed, seven year, $200 million effort to improve student outcomes through enhancing the teacher evaluation process failed to achieve substantive improvement. The reason is, observations as currently designed, serve as an obstacle to teacher risk-taking. Teachers play it safe because: 1) they fear negative evaluations when their pedagogy is rated, and 2) they lack faith in being supported by supervisors because a trusting relationship between them and their observer has not been sufficiently built.There is a path though to using observations to dramatically improve teaching and learning, Trust Based Observations, a schema changing evaluation model that understands people perform at their best when they feel safe and supported. It begins with twelve, 20 minute observations per week followed by collegial conversations driven by reflective questions, sharing observed teaching strengths, and the building of safe, trusting relationships with teachers. Add the elimination of rating pedagogical skills, replace it with rating mindset, and teachers trust. Finally, have empowered teachers lead small professional development communities connected to good practice and teachers fully embrace risk-taking and innovation, leading to remarkable teaching transformations and improved student learning.

The results are in, observations are not improving teaching and learning. Pertinently, the Gates Foundation’s recently completed, seven year, $200 million effort to improve student outcomes through enhancing the teacher evaluation process failed to achieve substantive improvement. The reason is, observations as currently designed, serve as an obstacle to teacher risk-taking. Teachers play it safe because: 1) they fear negative evaluations when their pedagogy is rated, and 2) they lack faith in being supported by supervisors because a trusting relationship between them and their observer has not been sufficiently built.There is a path though to using observations to dramatically improve teaching and learning, Trust Based Observations, a schema changing evaluation model that understands people perform at their best when they feel safe and supported. It begins with twelve, 20 minute observations per week followed by collegial conversations driven by reflective questions, sharing observed teaching strengths, and the building of safe, trusting relationships with teachers. Add the elimination of rating pedagogical skills, replace it with rating mindset, and teachers trust. Finally, have empowered teachers lead small professional development communities connected to good practice and teachers fully embrace risk-taking and innovation, leading to remarkable teaching transformations and improved student learning.

The fourth installment in one poet's journey of healing, Coming Home grapples with questions of identity and roots, the seeds of who we are, and how much control we have over who we're becoming. It questions whether home is only a place where we sleep and eat, someplace we come back to every night, or is something we take with us each day when we walk out that door. If we find peace within ourselves, what's to stop us from cultivating it everywhere else?Craig Randall is a poet, author, and teacher who lives in Corvallis, OR with his wife, children, two cats and dog. A passionate advocate for mental health, his body of work is a byproduct of his own battles with anxiety and depression and has served as a vehicle for empathy, healing, and connection. His works include two novels, The Doom that Came to Astoria and The Dreams in the Pearl House, of The Northwest Trilogy, and three collections of poetry, To Chase the Sun and Among the Wildflower, and Rain Songs. A fourth volume of poetry Coming Home will release Winter 2025, and the third and final volume of The Northwest Trilogy will release in 2025.

The fourth installment in one poet's journey of healing, Coming Home grapples with questions of identity and roots, the seeds of who we are, and how much control we have over who we're becoming. It questions whether home is only a place where we sleep and eat, someplace we come back to every night, or is something we take with us each day when we walk out that door. If we find peace within ourselves, what's to stop us from cultivating it everywhere else?Craig Randall is a poet, author, and teacher who lives in Corvallis, OR with his wife, children, two cats and dog. A passionate advocate for mental health, his body of work is a byproduct of his own battles with anxiety and depression and has served as a vehicle for empathy, healing, and connection. His works include two novels, The Doom that Came to Astoria and The Dreams in the Pearl House, of The Northwest Trilogy, and three collections of poetry, To Chase the Sun and Among the Wildflower, and Rain Songs. A fourth volume of poetry Coming Home will release Winter 2025, and the third and final volume of The Northwest Trilogy will release in 2025.

This is the third installment in one poet's healing journey. With hope found and constructive thought patterns forming, Rain Songs grapples with continuing to find hope amidst a global pandemic, social unrest, and massive cultural divides. Can one still find peace, even when the surrounding world has been upended?"Hope drinks deep." - Craig Randall