11. We felt like rock stars!

8. Presenting together is awesome

This we believe (NMSA, 2010).

Leaders demonstrate courage and collaboration. Courageous & Collaborative Leaders

In the fall, my colleagues and I decided to submit proposals to the North Carolina Association of Middle Level Education. We are in a middle school that is in their second year as a middle school. We are part of a school system that learned how to use Paideia Seminars. It is our first year as a one-to-one school. And while some teachers may not think their experiences are enough to share, we are here to say, 'Get out there and share your ideas!'

We gave two types of presentations, and both were well received. The first was a demonstration presentation on Paideia Seminar. We talked about it, then ran one. We interjected ideas throughout the session. All components were shared. We were pleased. At dinner, a teacher came up to us and said, 'Your session was so helpful. Thank you for sharing it with us!'

Our second session referenced our experience as first year one-to-one teachers. We prefaced the session by saying, 'We are not experts. We welcome your insight, and we are sharing what has worked for us.' We broke the session into parts: what works, what our challenges are, and what resources we have had success with. We were open and honest that we don't have all the answers but we are working together to figure it out. At the end of the session, we were pleased. A teacher came up to us and said, 'I wanted to jump for joy! Thank you for sharing this.'

I must say we felt like rock stars! Okay, maybe not rock stars, but we realized how valuable teachers sharing with teachers is. We want to encourage others to share their ideas. Part of our experience is that we are now closer as colleagues. We are not afraid to try something and we believe we can support one another in the future! (Look for us! 😊)
Advice

1. Choose something you do well and are interested in.
2. When creating a presentation, keep in mind that teachers and administrators want something they can use tomorrow.
3. Throughout your presentation or before the presentation allow people to share their experiences or what they are doing.
4. Once you present a topic, consider presenting it again the following year, or at a different conference (We are thinking we will present at the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics.)
5. Include teachers' views. Include evidence of student work.