November+5,+2010


 * Week 11: Teacher Inquiry: Developing as a Healthy Education Professional **

 PLC Group Name: The Inquisitors  PLC Meeting Location: In Person- Farish Hall  PLC Meeting Time: 3 hours

 Teachers wear so many hats: counselor, parent, referee, etc. You nurture others all day long, and sometimes, you’re all out of nurturing ability by the time it comes to taking care of yourself!
 *  Hour 1 **
 *  ENGAGE **

 We’ve talked about being a better teacher by inquiring into your own practice. Today we are going to talk about teacher well-being. As an anticipatory set for today’s lesson, please begin read the following article. (As with all readings, it is intended to prompt discussion, not intended to be the only authority on the topic.)  Teacher Wellness: []

 [Note to PLC Leaders: Post to your Group space a second reading, resource, or website for your team to explore in order to broaden or deeper member understanding of the concept of teacher well-being.]
 *  EXPLORE **

1. Why is teacher wellness important?  It increases the productivity in the classroom as well as to keep up the energy that teaching requires on a daily basis.  2. What is your wellness plan and how do you plan to put it into action?  Eating a well balanced breakfast is the most important meal that not everyone gets on a daily basis. A well maintained scheduled that includes the proper amount of sleep and exercise everyday needs to be part of your daily routine and will make it easier to put your plan into action if it is part of a schedule. Maintaining a life outside of school and keeping it outside of the schoolyard is essential to be more productive in the classroom. 3. What are the four components of self-responsibility and why are they important to incorporate them into our daily lives as teachers? Nutritional Awareness- Getting enough nutrients from healthy foods and vitamins is vital to build your immune system and to maintain your energy level throughout the day. Stress Management- Maintaining a healthy stress level is important to remain sane in this career and to have a good demeanor toward our students. Environmental Sensitivity- Your environment affects your personal wellness so maintaining a healthy planet is important. Another way to incorporate this into our daily lives as teachers is to not bring our personal lives into our classrooms or schools. Physical Fitness- Exercise will help us maintain our natural energy levels throughout the day without crashing half way through the day. This will also set a good example for our students and is also a good idea to try to incorporate physical activities into our daily lessons.

 [Note to PLC Leaders: You will lead the group in responding to the reading and other resources. Here is where you will post to your group space at least 3 open-ended discussion questions. Each PLC member should have an opportunity to share his or her understanding of the content.]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Hour 2 **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> EXPLAIN **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] [] []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [PLC leaders: Here is where you will present a brief activity for the group to test its collective understanding and to push it into new directions. I’m suggesting something like this as a starting point. . . <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Your own well-being—how well you manage the work-life balancing act—impacts the climate in your classroom and even your students’ performance. What else could it impact? Could decades of promised education reform be inadvertently thwarted by teachers’ wellness? Or, is this just a bunch of overinflated nonsense? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Suggested topics:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> ELABORATE **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How can teachers get and keep a healthy perspective?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How can humor be used?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How can you interview your potential jobs to understand they kind of work environment and culture that is at that school, and how that would fit with your own personal needs for success?

- We can use surveys or questionnaires to determine our stress levels and to visit our doctors on a regular basis to help maintain our stress levels. Each member will create a survey or questionnaire to help us figure out our stress level.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1. As a group, reflect on what you have learned today about becoming a healthy educator and maintaining work-life balance. What will it take to keep YOU a healthy, happy professional educator? (Note: what works for your friend in the next classroom may not work for you!). [Note for PLC Leaders: you might have members discuss what is important to them.] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> • Engaging in personal hobbies? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> • Remaining involved in your church? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> • Planning time to see friends? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> • Getting up at 5:30 to run every morning? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> • Continued professional development on areas that spark your curiosity? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> • Making a commitment to getting work done at work and not bringing it home? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What choices will you make? Where will you draw boundaries? How can you beat the odds of 1/3 of teachers leaving the field by the 5-years point?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Hour 3 **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> EVALUATE **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 2. As a group, draft a brief statement (approx 1-2 paragraphs) of what you learned or new understandings you came to during this discussion. What did you agree with/about, and what did you not agree with/about? How do you KNOW you learned and grew?!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Individually, it is time to register to present at the QUEST Teacher Research Symposium. Registration is simple, and REQUIRED! Just go to this link and enter your name, email, and general presentation topic (your wondering!): []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 4. Individually, please send your “PLC Check” as an email to Dr. Pierson and Caroline: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> --What/Who worked well in today’s PLC meeting? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> --What/Who didn’t work so well in today’s PLC meeting?