New Millennium Initiative: Virtual Community Organizer (VCO) Application

Submitted by teachingquality on Mon, 04/25/2011 - 10:27am.

The Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ) invites interested teacher leaders to apply to serve as virtual community organizers (VCOs). These positions combine policy leadership and advocacy with ongoing work in classrooms. VCOs will complete leadership activities – specifically focused on recruitment, facilitation of meetings, and online community-building – after-school and on weekends. VCOs are so called because they are leaders and facilitators of communities that primarily meet and work online. However, they do have “offline” roles in conducting face-to-face outreach for recruitment, building partnerships with local stakeholders and other purposes. This role is part of the New Millennium Initiative.

We seek the following knowledge and skills in VCOs:

Demonstrated evidence of effective K-12 teaching;
Growing knowledge of research and policy on teacher and teaching effectiveness;
Ability to collect and disseminate resources to team members;
Effectiveness in facilitating dialogue as a moderator (not just a participant), including when challenges arise in conversations (either internally or externally), demonstrated through prior or upcoming participation in VCO training offered by CTQ and in related work with your team;
Ability and commitment to fulfill moderation duties on a daily or near-daily basis, as agreed with other VCOs and CTQ staff;
Strong organization and communication (oral and written) skills;
Collaboration and leadership skills;
An open mind to new ideas and willingness to learn;
Understanding of the TeacherSolutions process that CTQ uses in virtual communities to study and discuss key policy issues, and then develop resulting products from teacher co-authors (based on prior work with NMI or other CTQ teacher teams); and
Solid knowledge of Web 2.0 tools and social media.

Please complete your application using the online form below. Small type below each box will provide more detailed instructions about how to respond to some questions.

Please note: CTQ will not share personal information with any outside organization. We will utilize this information for communications and selection purposes only.

Background Information

NMI community: *

Legal first name: *

Legal middle name (if applicable):

Legal last name: *

Preferred name of reference: *

Home street address: *

Home city: *

Home state: *

Home zip: *

Preferred email address: *

Preferred phone number: *

Position during the 2011-12 school year: *

District during the 2011-12 school year: *

Teaching Effectiveness

Describing Your Effectiveness: *

Describe your effectiveness as a teaching or school professional, and present evidence that demonstrates your level of effectiveness in promoting student learning growth. You may wish to cite awards, National Board Certification, or instructional leadership positions that you have filled. You may also submit classroom artifacts, or student test scores or other work as evidence of your effectiveness.

Teacher Leadership

Policy-related Accomplishments: *

Describe how you’ve demonstrated your abilities as a teacher leader in the policy arena at the local, state, or national levels. Of which policy-related accomplishments so far in your career are you most proud?

Other Professional Accomplishments: *

Please indicate any professional organizations, professional leadership positions, and/or networks in which you are currently involved, and your role in each (e.g., president of your local union, grade level chair, fellowship with or participation in another education leadership program).

Serving as a VCO

NMI Contributions to Date

For each option below, please reflect on your activities and involvement in the New Millennium Initiative to date, and then select the appropriate response from the drop-down menu.

Reading and responding to daily threaded conversations: *

Participating in webinars: *

Assisting in the development of a product: *

Serving as a virtual community organizer: *

(e.g., moderating discussion threads and online meetings as well as synthesizing teacher feedback)

Advocating for teacher voice in local, state or federal policy: *

Publicizing interactions within CTQ and TLN: *

(e.g. by blogging, submitting articles for publication, or in networking opportunities)

Spreading expertise to other TLN members in NMI sites other than mine, or in virtual communities other than NMI: *

(in policy, pedagogy, or networking)

Documenting what effective teaching and school reform looks like: *

(e.g. through new, traditional, and social media)

Other (please include any additional contributions below): *

VCO Skills

What special knowledge and skills do you have that would benefit others if you served as a VCO?: *

Sharing VCO Skills

In your prospective role as VCO, how might you share your knowledge and skills with others on your team?: *

Resources Needed for Role

What resources would you need from CTQ? In what ways would you like support as a VCO?: *

Short Essay Questions

(suggested length: 200 words per essay)

ESSAY #1: *

Name a current policy-related barrier to effective teaching and learning in your state or district that you would most like to change as a result of the NMI’s work. What approach would you recommend to help your colleagues learn more about the issue, and structure effective action on it? Describe the process you would utilize to generate ideas for product development or advocacy approaches from your NMI team.

ESSAY #2: *

As the New Millennium Initiative expands, we plan to add new members to each community. What steps should be taken to welcome these additions to the team? Explain the strategies you might use to build community and a strong foundation for collaborative learning and advocacy efforts.

Center for Teaching Quality

New Millennium Initiative: Virtual Community Organizer (VCO) Application

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