Professional Development Fun with PIRATE "Hooks"

PIRATE "Hooks" 

If there's any part of the book Teach Like A Pirate that you can read and start something new tomorrow, it's the PIRATE Hooks!  Author, Dave Burgess, created "hooks" as a strategy to "draw students into your content" in an engaging way.  
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Teaching Success= Attitude + Willingness to Engage!

Sketchnote by @jmattmiller #ditchbook

As an Instructional coach,  teachers are my students, so the idea works the same.  You also have to think about the adult learner when you provide training for teachers.  Hooks are a great way to make learning engaging and model strategies for teachers to use immediately in their classrooms.  It's a win-win! ​
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PIRATE Hooks to Use for Professional Development 

The Kinesthetic Hook - Good for the Brain! 

Some of questions to ask when planning to use this hook...

• How can I incorporate movement into this lesson?
• Can we throw something, roll something, or catch something, get up, or act something out?  
• Can we turn the room into a giant opinion meter and have teachers move to one side or the other based on the statement?
• Can we use a game that incorporates movement and action to enhance the session?

Most importantly: We should ask, "How can I guarantee that every teacher (instead of student) is up and out of their seat at least once during the training (instead of lesson)?"   
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Ideas: 

• Movement - Station Rotation, Gallery Walk 
• Throwing/Rolling/Catching:  QBall Throw-able Microphone, QR Dice,  Beach Ball toss 
• Acting : Tableau strategy , Improv "Yes And..." 

• Moving base on a statement or question: "Four Corners", Barometer ​

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The Picasso Hook - Long Live the Arts

Questions to ask yourself...

• How can I incorporate art into this session?
• What can my participants/teachers draw or make that would help them understand and retain this information? 
• Can I create an art-based option that participants/teachers could choose instead of another task? 

Ideas: 

• Amazing Race- Arts Integration 
• Crayola Lesson Plan resources * I like the Martin Luther King Milestones idea for creating timelines, which can be helpful when planning units of study together. 
• Vision Boards *this link is meant for students, but the idea can be used for back to school for teachers as well. 
• Sketchnotes *This is one of my favorite tips to show teachers to help them understand and retain information during training, then it can be used in the classroom with their students. Just like the Sketchnote above for Teach Like A Pirate hooks, it's a great way to create a visual that will stick with you and make it easy to go back to when you need it. Here are some of my digital and paper Sketchnotes. 

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Hooks to use in all your PD sessions! 

The Mozart Hook

Questions to ask...

• How can I use music to aid my presentation?
• What would be the perfect song or type of music to create the right mood and proper atmosphere?
• How can I use music during the session? 

Ideas: 

• YouTube Playlists *You don't have the show the video to use the music! Embed the video to start automatically, then cover the video with an image. 
• Music to create movement/rotation during PD Sessions
• Embed music into your presentations

The Board Message Hook

Questions to ask...

• What can I write on my board or have projected that will immediately  spark curiosity and interest teachers/participants enter the room? 
• Can I have an intriguing image projected that will eventually tie into my content?
• Can I just put a QR code on the board or screen and see what happens? ​ ​

Ideas: 

• ClassroomScreen * A great FREE tool to use during your sessions or in the classroom for notes to the group, a timer, a clock, an exit ticket, and more. 
• Unsplash has amazing photos that could be used to spark curiosity or to tie into your content during the session. 

The Teaser Hook

Questions to ask...

• How can I spark interest in the session by promoting it ahead of time?
• What can I do to create a positive expectancy in advance? 

Ideas: 

• AdobeSpark (web-page, graphic, or video) 
• Canva *create visuals for your session
• Google Drawings/Slides
• Screencastify *create a GIF or short soundless video to peak interest. 
• Flipgrid *ask a question to get an idea of where your participants are before your session. 
• Wakelet *use to add resources during your session as well. 

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The Techno Whiz Hook *My Favorite! 

Questions to ask...

• How can I tap into the technological prowess of my teachers/participants? 
• How can I take advantage of the fact that most phones now have a camera, video, and internet capability?
• How can I leverage the power of social media to empower my teachers/participants to engage in their learning beyond the standard workday? 
• How can technology help to connect my teachers/participants to people from all over the world and help them gain a global perspective and ideas? 

Ideas: 

• QR codes for scanning during sessions
• Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using a session or school hashtag
• Wakelet "Who to follow list"  *If you are already using Wakelet to share resources during you session, make sure to add profiles to your collection so teachers can follow other educators that can help them continue their learning. 
• Use the PearDeck for Google Slides during part of your session to keep everyone on the same page (and to demonstrate how teachers can use this strategy in class).
• EdPuzzle to create self-paced learning options.  

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Engagement is Key! 

Dave Burgess ends this chapter with a great quote to summarize WHY hooks are beneficial to all! I changed the focus to teachers instead of student for the purpose of Teach Like A Pirate PD Hooks.  Original quote, "Students will do amazing things if you can design a class and environment that is positive and empowering.  Rising up to and overcoming challenges, building lifetime relationships, and forging positive connections to school won't directly result in better test scores  It will result in better people. Isn't that what we're really trying to accomplish? "
Teach Like A Pirate, pg. 138 
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Teachers will do amazing things if you can design a learning environment that is positive and empowering.  Rising up to and overcoming challenges, building lifetime relationships, and forging positive connection in our schools won't directly result in better student test scores. It will result in better people.
Isn't that what we're really trying to accomplish?