Y2proposal


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**Westtown** **School** Proposal for ADVIS Powerful Learning Practice—continuing development; expanding the resource with additional members
 * 2010-2011**
 * Professional Development Grant Application**

Lower School: Anny Ewing Nichole Sacco Middle School: Lisa Cromley Megan Rose Upper School: Karen Gallagher Oscar Sosa Fellow: Margaret Haviland
 * Year One PLP Westtown Team (2009-2010): **

Enroll a new Year 1 Cohort with the goal of increasing the percentage of core faculty in each division in leadership capactity in new approaches to learning
 * Proposal:** Year One PLP Cohort (listed above) continue for Year 2

Year 2 PLP Cohort---$4,550 for 7 members ($650 per team member) Year 1 PLP Cohort--$5,000 for 6 member team (encourage a 7th member to apply as a Fellow, at no cost) consider adding 1 or 2 additional Year 1 to extend the reach in a teaching faculty as large as Westtown's
 * Projected Cost**:

2 Full Day Conferences 5 Webinars Regular Meetings with team on campus (Face to Face, twice per term) Subscription to ADVIS PLP Ning---Forums, Teaching Discussions, Web 2.0 application Discussions to support classroom work, leadership opportunities for faculty to generate ideas and support enhanced approaches to learning
 * Included benefits:**

The 2009-2010 Year 1 PLP Westtown Team proposes to continue the work we have begun through the ADVIS Professional Development Program, seeking to become a Year 2 ADVIS PLP Team. This year we have begun to scratch the surface, envisioning new ways to help our students and faculty collaborate and communicate effectively through our individual exploration of single, small-scale projects. Since the end of September, we have had the benefit of connecting with national leaders in the field of dynamic, evolving learning practices through 2 full-day conferences, 4 Webinars, and regular participation in a regional collaborative professional development site, the ADVIS PLP Ning. Westtown's Team has grown individually and collectively through this year-long experience.

Our individual growth has already made its way into our classrooms, as we try out new approaches to collaboration in classroom projects. Our connections with each other as colleagues have been deeper, more dynamic, and have created among us a lively discussion about new approaches to our classrooms and have generated new ways to communicate among faculty teams with the support of Web 2.0 tools. On campus, we have worked hard to bridge the challenges of different schedules as well as developmental differences among our students to become a team of teachers, not limited by our affiliations with a specific division on campus. This in itself has been a profound change for us.

Finally, our connections with the professional development community outside Westtown School have stretched each of us to engage and learn beyond the walls of Westtown, to a broader learning community, starting with, but not limited to, Delaware Valley schools. We have immersed ourselves in this professional development group with a sense of openness, eager to try new pedagogical approaches.

At its very core, the PLP experience has allowed us to enjoy the dynamic world of learning, just as our students do. Risk-taking, self-directed learning, creative problem solvingall these have been at the heart of this year's Team experience. We have just begun to scratch the surface; we are eager to continue our development as a Year Two team. Beyond our individual classrooms, we look forward to broadening the reach of our learning to share with other colleagues.

We hope that we are granted an opportunity to continue into the second year of this three year program as a team. We also hope that Westtown can consider enrolling a new Year 1 PLP Team.