FCInsights – TESTING FCI SITE

People forget facts. But they remember stories

August 1, 2024 No Comments

So says Joseph Campbell, the writer and intellectual who believed that stories have incredible power: to reveal universal truths, unite us across generations and time periods, and influence behavior. And I’d argue the same holds true in our work guiding professional learning for our teachers: we can leverage the art of storytelling to unleash impressive growth and development. This core idea launches the third and final installment of our mini-series on the keys to facilitating effective adult learning. In part I, we uncovered a general framework, “learn from the exemplar,” that leaders can leverage in their workshops to increasingly push think ratio on their teachers; part II shared techniques leaders can use to build trust and rapport; in part III, we’ll outline ways storytelling can bring continuity and coherence to each development session. Because storytelling, it turns out, doesn’t just impact listener enjoyment. Psychologist Jerome Bruner’s research has been widely cited for demonstrating that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if shared as part of a story. Unsurprisingly, there has been ample research on the power of storytelling in early education (Glonek & King, 2014), but it also extends to older grades and even to the world

Summer Programming

May 22, 2024 No Comments

Welcome back for our second installment of FCInsights – one that hits during an important moment of celebration, reflection, and recharge as we wind down the school year. The best school leaders, though, don’t just view the upcoming weeks as a period of close out, but as a time of gear up, invigorated by the ripe possibilities of the year ahead. As such, we’re pondering the question these school leaders are likely asking themselves at this very moment: How can I maximize the summer for myself and my team to best prepare us to advance our school next year?One piece of this puzzle lies in maximizing a structure you’re almost certainly already leveraging with your teams: summer professional development. Last year, FCI hosted powerful summer workshops with two preeminent development teams that earned a net promoter score of 9.8 on average. Beyond that impressive number, though, are the reflections of our participants: “Many teachers would like to improve their students’ experiences but don’t know how to start. This workshop built my confidence with best practices because we actually practiced the strategies.” “The past two days have created a paradigm shift for me…I’d strongly recommend this training to a colleague because

Learn from the Exemplar

May 8, 2024 No Comments

Hello from the Florida Charter Institute, and for those of you we haven’t yet met, welcome to our blog, FCInsights! Here at the Florida Charter Institute, our mission is to serve as Florida’s premier hub for charter excellence and insight by providing research-based best practices, resources, and support. This blog will be one avenue for centering the conversation around leading great schools, supplementing our current workshop and working group offerings, as well as our supports for authorizing and school operations.One of the most exciting research projects we’re embarking on at FCI is a study into the world of higher education teaching programs to uncover what moves the needle in setting future teachers up for success when they come to lead classrooms and students of their own. At Miami Dade College, the new “Teach UP” program brings nationally recognized teacher training to aspiring teachers, and we’ve been excited to study this work up close.At a recent Teach UP session, I had the pleasure of observing two masterful educators and facilitators, Paul Powell and Jesse Corburn, guiding a room of future educators through techniques to ensure student engagement. As participants dove into their final practice round of the day, demonstrable skills they

Subscribe to FCI's Newsletter