Focus on Focus Groups: New Opportunities to Take

Let's take some time to talk about opportunities that everyone can benefit from: Focus Groups! 
Since April of last year, I've had a wealth of opportunities to participate in different focus groups. Most of these were from Scholastic, however, I recently joined a new focus group with CEC (Council for Exceptional Children). 
It was during this focus group that I expanded my scope even further to realize the power of these types of meetings. Whether formal or informal, a focus group can be very beneficial. As teachers, it's vital to maintain a steady rhythm of learning and networking. 
In my experience with Scholastic focus groups, our main discussion points were on various aspects of Scholastic; book clubs, flyers, placing orders etc. But the true melody of these groups were the moments when someone would speak from the heart and strike a chord in the rest of the group, and the conversation would develop from there. Those are the moments that I appreciated the most, and wanted to contribute to. 
The CEC focus group was the first time I networked with others in the organization, and (as I suspected) I am now hooked. One of my main suggestions for CEC was to hold events like that one to have teachers get together to have purposeful discussions and learn from one another. Not quite the edCamp model, focus groups are more compact yet allow time for support, resource exchanges, and networking. 
These are exactly the types of professional development that is needed to move us forward in the right direction in education, and it's a promising way of keeping teachers connected, while expanding their PLN (professional learning network) at the same time. 
I know that I am personally going to keep looking for more scheduled focus groups, and (hey why not?) look to start my own this summer. Social media is a powerful tool to gain an audience that is as enthusiastic as I am with continuing my professional growth. 

Here are my final thoughts on focus groups: Keep looking for opportunities to participate in a focus group. Keep an open mind, even if there is a specific topic to be discussed, Keep your resources caddy y nearby to pull out what you need to share with others, and be willing to receive resources as well. Keep the knowledge flowing; the more we learn, the more we grow, and the better we shape our craft to help our students be the best they can be!

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