Staff from 14 school districts, Tech Valley High School and Questar III met at Columbia HS on Nov. 6 for a Regional PD Day.
Questar III coordinated a Regional Professional Learning Day for 14 school districts, Tech Valley High School and the BOCES on November 6 at two sites (Columbia High School and Hudson High School).
The daylong event included two keynote speakers – Dr. Stephen Birchak and Kevin Honeycutt. Attendees had the option of attending two different morning workshops (Sessions A and B) or attending a longer workshop from 9:45-11:15 a.m. (Session A/B). Following lunch, attendees had the option to select one workshop during Session C.
Keynote speakers
- 97 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Dr. Stephen Birchak’s “The Happiness Code” presentation was engaging, and 96 percent agreed or strongly agreed it was relevant.
- 96 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Kevin Honeycutt’s “Trends, Tools, & Tactics for 21st Century Learning” presentation was engaging, and 94 percent agreed or strongly agreed it was relevant.
Session A
- 90 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their workshop session was engaging. 91 percent of respondents also agreed or strongly agreed that it was relevant, and the workshop objectives were achieved.
Session B
- 73 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their workshop session was engaging. 80 percent said it was relevant and 77 percent said the workshop objectives were achieved.
Session A/B
- 92 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their session was engaging and the workshop objectives were achieved. 93 percent said the workshop was relevant to their work.
Session C
- 93 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their session was engaging and that the workshop objectives were achieved. 94 percent said the workshop was relevant.
Teachers participate in one of several workshop sessions
Respondents also noted the following areas of strengths as part of their written comments: the scanning of badges, lunch offered onsite, teacher-led workshops, School Resource Officer (SRO) roundtable discussion and the overall content of the day.
Attendees noted some areas for growth. This included improving the registration and check-in process, offering more sessions, offering more diverse sessions and addressing concerns related to parking and traffic flow.
