Professional Learning Video Series · Inspired to Learn: Kansas Stories
Video 1: Why Professional Learning Matters ● Video 2: What Is Professional Learning?
Video 3: HOW 1 - Learning and Leading Together ● Video 4: How 2 - Better Together
● Video 5: How 3 - Learning Leaders
Professional Learning Video Series · Inspired to Learn: Kansas Stories
Video 1: Why Professional Learning Matters
Video 2: What Is Professional Learning?
Video 3: HOW 1 - Learning and Leading Together
Video 4: How 2 - Better Together
Video 5: How 3 - Learning Leaders
A Message from the LFKS Executive Director
After a year and more of COVID altering teaching and learning for students and educators, LFKS is seeking to help schools start the upcoming school year using lessons learned during the pandemic as we reopen…..differently!
The past several years LFKS has worked hard in support of Kansas educators. It was a joy to receive the Learning Forward Foundation Affiliate Grant in 2015 that allowed us to visit many Kansas schools and create a video series around the WHY, WHAT and HOW of effective professional learning (that included the Standards of Professional Learning). Inspired to Learn: Kansas Stories (videos and accompanying resource guides) were/are free for all educators and schools to use to help them better understand and implement effective professional learning, learning communities and collective efficacy in Kansas. Also during this time we created other Facilitation Guides that contained protocols, ideas, and strategies to facilitate professional learning. While these resources were well received and still being used by many Kansas educators, school needs are changing and LFKS plans to meet these changing needs.
LFKS is creating new ways to support educators using online formats in conjunction with our in-person Institutes and Conferences. These virtual sessions will allow us to reach more Kansas leaders. Do keep reading our newsletters, emails, tweets and posts for our 2021-2022 learning sessions!!
It is always a BOTH/AND, not either/or.
Happy Learning and Leading!
#bettertogether
Yes, the JOY is in the journey!
...read more
Series Premiere! Inspired to Learn: Kansas Stories
By Vicki Bechard, LFKS Secretary and Dayna Richardson, LFKS Executive Director
Learning Forward Kansas is proud to announce that the complete professional learning series: Inspired to Learn: Kansas Stories is available on the LFKS website for immediate use by all Kansas educators. This free, five video resource is accompanied by a facilitation guide for each video to create the most beneficial experience for users seeking to achieve effective professional learning in their school or district. Facilitation guides offer resources and strategies to enhance the video experience, modeling collaborative ...read more
Professional Learning in the News
Celebrating Our Public Schools
Public Schools Week is February 24-28, 2020! This is a great opportunity to showcase all we do to support Kansas kids! The national Learning First Alliance (LFA) organization, which includes Learning Forward, has organized many celebrations for the week. It's a week for school board members, educators, and parents across the U.S. to highlight the importance of public education in their communities and with lawmakers. Nine out of 10 students in the United States - and Kansas - attend public schools.
How might your district/organization celebrate? ...read more
Connections in Kansas
News Release from KLFA
•April 8, 2021•
The Kansas Learning First Alliance (KLFA) held the final meeting of the academic year on April 8, 2021 at 4:00PM via Zoom. Laurie Curtis, KLFA Chair, welcomed attendees in support of strong public education in our state.
Members shared how their organization or community promoted Public Schools Week February 22-26. Many organizations utilized the social media tools provided by the Learning First Alliance….
Read MoreAnnouncements
Learning Forward Kansas (LFKS) wants to convey our thanks and heartfelt appreciation to you for your leadership and hard work this spring as you reshaped the learning for our Kansas kids during this pandemic.
Connections with Learning Forward
Learning Forward Annual Conference
•December 7-11, 2019•
Marie Henderson and I represented our Learning Forward Kansas team at the National Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. This year marked Learning Forward’s 50th birthday, and we celebrated with Learning Forward folks from across the United States and around the world. The Sunday evening birthday party was electric and energetic.
Difficult as it was to select from so many sessions to attend, Marie Henderson and I both landed in a personalized professional development session focused on awarding badges to educators. During this work session, the participants shared the work their respective school districts were doing.
Filled with educators from the classroom to the district office, the participants appeared hungry for ideas and learning. During the sharing session, Marie shared the work she and Kyle Carlin were doing with learning badges to support teachers on their professional learning journey. Their badging system was by far the most advanced. Several educators asked Marie for more information on FLEX, the program she is pioneering for her school district’s professional learning.
Many of the participants from larger schools lamented about the difficulty in changing the professional learning status quo.
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Article by Judy Beedles-Miller,
Assistant Superintendent,
Dodge City USD 443
Have you ever tried scheduling a book study? Selecting and providing a book is easy; finding a time for everyone to meet is difficult.
~New! KESA Facilitation Guide PDF
Learning Forward Kansas has developed a Facilitation Guide to promote dialogue that increases understanding of KESA and the rubrics.
This resource is full of strategies (also known as protocols) to organize and facilitate professional learning discussions with educators and stakeholders that lead to success for all.
Article by Vicki Bechard,
LFKS Secretary,
Dayna Richardson, Executive Director
LFKS releases Video #4 – Learning Designs and #5 – Learning Leaders as part of their grant award from Learning Forward.