News and Media
Peck Faculty Share Know-How, Lessons Learned at Virtual Unconference
Peck faculty and staff have traditionally participated in a professional development day in mid-April. But this year, on April 13, things looked a little bit different.
Chris Weaver, director of curriculum and professional development, originally planned a day of workshops led by outside presenters on a variety of topics, including mentorship for associate teachers and best practices for parent communications. But, given the current restrictions in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Weaver had to pivot. So, he planned an “unconference” for faculty to help each other with tips and tricks for Peck’s new distance learning program.
“The philosophy behind unconferences is that you have all of the smarts, know-how, creativity, and expertise already in the community and so usually that’s a more fruitful place to mine than bringing in an expert,” Weaver said. “In this new landscape of distance learning, that proved to be very true.”
Faculty proposed sessions they either felt they had the expertise to run or topics they needed help with. They then received a robust menu of options to choose from during three different time blocks. They were encouraged to attend as many of the sessions (all run as Zoom video-conference meetings) as they could.
The 13 sessions included software topics such as “Advanced Zoom Features,” “iMovie and Video Tips,” and “Google Drive Organization;” support topics such as “How Are You Feeling?” and “How Are the Kids Feeling?;” and other advanced topics such as “Managing Workflow,” “More Engaging Live Sessions,” and “What’s Possible with Google Classroom.”
“Our sessions provided some just-in-time training on topics teachers identified ahead of time,” said Jennifer Garvey, Lower School technology, innovation and design integrator. “Teachers could move in and out of sessions easily and were able to share their own successes and learn from each other. Overall, we got a lot out of a short amount of time.”
Weaver said while there is a temptation to give teachers a much-needed day off, he felt a half-day unconference would be worthwhile. Weaver intentionally delayed crafting a menu of offerings until as close to April 13 as possible so the topics could be “of the moment.”
“If we’re offering stuff that’s relevant and useful, we actually feel we’re saving people time and making their jobs easier in the long run,” he said. “People have learned an enormous amount in the last two to three weeks. It’s good for faculty to share that with each other.”
THE PECK SCHOOL
247 South Street | Morristown, NJ 07960973-539-8660
Northern New Jersey's timeless and transformative co-ed independent elementary and middle school education for grades K-8.
The Peck School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.