The Poplar Bluff School District hosted its 11th annual PB Connect, featuring 140 professional development breakout sessions led by 85 presenters for faculty and staff to choose from.
The internal workshop kicked off with a keynote address from George Couros, a Florida-based education leader and author, best known for his work "The Innovator's Mindset," published around a decade ago.
“How do we help our kids find pathways to success that are meaningful to them,” was the central question Couros posed to more than 600 in attendance on Tuesday, Jan. 20, in the Poplar Bluff High School gymnasium.
Couros challenged the audience to continue striving for innovation despite the alarming rate of change, reminding them that change has always been the constant in education. "Change is also an opportunity to do something amazing,” he pointed out.
“If you’re doing new stuff just because it’s new, but it doesn’t work for kids, you shouldn’t be doing it,” Couros advised, later adding: "Technology will never replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational."
PB Connect began as Tech Camp during the 2014/15 school year under the one-to-one laptop initiative and expanded district-wide within a couple of years, ultimately opening to classified staff, covering a broader spectrum of topics vetted by building ambassadors.
In addition to staff members sharing best practices, guest presenters included content specialists from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, school partners from FCC Behavioral Health touching on social-emotional learning, and MOREnet officials discussing artificial intelligence.
“It’s not just how to use AI, but when it's appropriate in the school setting, since people are still a little uncertain," noted instructional coach Gretchen Pendley, who co-organized the event for the second time with colleague Pam Davis.
Following the conference, the duo shared that Junior High teacher Christopher Pense used the knowledge he gained from an AI session to create a weather game for classrooms in the Science Department to track data. Pense opened the database to neighboring districts and he has reportedly already had students from other states using it.
“I’m proud that Poplar Bluff finds this day important, especially for educators to be able to start using right away in January so they don’t fall into the third quarter slump,” Davis said.
A total of 135 door prizes were given out to attendees including classroom and office supplies, plus gift cards to local businesses. Numerous community partners helped make the event possible, including returning top sponsors Acrisure and FCC Behavioral Health, along with Kraft Miles & Tatum, Switcher Residential Care, and more.
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Cutline: Before staff members break off into workshop sessions during PB Connect last month at PBHS, keynote speaker George Couros shares his story.