Lydia Dobyns

In June I posted “Taking a Classroom Leap of Faith: Teacher Embraces New Roles.” Writing about the notion that summer “vacation” for teachers is often a time they immerse themselves in new approaches to teaching and learning, I spotlighted Jennifer Isbell, a teacher from Central Coast New Tech High, who was using her summer to collaborate as she prepared to be a founding teacher at this new public high school, which opened its doors last week. Blog comments focused on Project-Based Learning (PBL). Today’s blog is to explore new approaches to teaching by recounting Jennifer’s summer experiences at the New Tech Network New School Training (NST). When Jennifer was asked to reflect on this intense week of training, her first response was that New Tech staff “practiced what they preached.” She talked about participating in countless other trainings and “wished” that the New Tech training — which focused on pillars necessary to support systemic change — had come first. “Learning how to build school culture and how to implement a successful PBL project in the classroom is critical,” she explained.