KCS Curriculum and Instruction
Teaching and Learning News for Spring 2017
A Note From Dr. Burgess
At a recent conference Dr. Chance Lewis posed the question "As a result of your students having you, how should their lives be different, just because they had you?" The answer to this question is really what our profession is all about. As we prepare for the end of the year we must work to stay focused on inspiring our students so we can make the most of our opportunity to make students' lives different, to make them better. They need us to be at our best every moment. We must rely on the foundation we have built in the positive relationships we have developed within our schools and community, the KCS curriculum documents, the Character and Career Readiness skills and our work to be the place where performance meets potential in every classroom. You must also rely on the instinct that led you to answer your calling to be a teacher. When I think back about the students who have come back to visit me, or those who have reached out to connect with me after graduation I realize that these are often the students who have taught me the most. They are the students that taught me the most because I know about their experiences and what inspires them. These students taught me to raise my expectations of them, and of other students, and of myself. As you know, the students who teach you the most aren't always the easiest to teach. It takes the patience, support and guidance of our peers and principals to enable us to make students' lives different, better.
I encourage you to seek out opportunities to get helpful feedback from school leaders, peers and students so we can continue to improve our practice. The student survey results will be available soon. A positive school and classroom culture, sense of belonging and having high expectations are all closely related to student growth. Giving teachers and principals timely, relevant and actionable information about these and other survey domains allows for reflection, collaboration and increased impact on students. Survey results are not examined or analyzed at the district level, but rather teachers and school leadership teams are encouraged to use the results to guide conversations and improve instruction for students. This spring KCS will administer staff surveys to provide similar feedback to school and district leaders so we can improve the environment that enables you, as teachers, to have the most positive impact on our students.
When we focus on making our students' lives different as a result of our teaching we must also concentrate on the content of our teaching and the instructional strategies we use to impart the content. It is not enough to care for our students, provide a safe place for them and know what motivates them. This must come first, and then we must use the relationship as a springboard to facilitate learning of content. As James Comer said, "No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship."
Worth Noting
Don't forget to register in TimeKeeper for the PD sessions you have attended. Some registration windows have closed, so reach out with any questions.
Also, evaluations from past PD are still waiting in TimeKeeper for some of you. Plan to take a few minutes this week to see what's waiting for you and fill it out. The presenters deserve your feedback, and you deserve your CEU credit! Every certified staff member MUST have record of attending high quality PD this school year, and this is how we keep track of that.
Math teachers, check out this resource shared by Laura Baker, our elementary math coach: Numberless Word Problems. This page is a collection of resources to help you learn about numberless word problems and help you start using them in your classroom. These problems are designed to allow students the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the underlying structure of word problems.
We were overwhelmed (in a good way) with the interest you had in observing other teachers' classrooms! We are beginning to schedule those peer observations, and if we do it right, by the end of the year we will have over 100 staff members who got the opportunity to do at least one classroom/school visit. Some of those are group visits, such as our magnet school teams visiting other districts and our math teams visiting neighboring counties. We look forward to sharing the results of the project and our plan to offer some next year!
The deadline for the What is a Wonder? Writing and Art Contests is sneaking up on us. Please review (and keep promoting!) these opportunities for students to show creativity and for us to celebrate our community. Here is the link to the writing contest details, and here is the art contest information.
How is Your Curriculum Like a Honda Civic?
The Honda Civic has been around since the 1970's. The current Civic is in the 10th generation, with each new generation bringing significant changes in the structure and design. Within these generations, there have been 76 different models of the Civic, each one with something different about the design, look, or details and variations to meet a variety of needs and preferences. However, at the core, it is still a Honda Civic. It still serves the same function, and it just continues to get better and better to meet consumer demand and adjust as new tools, materials, processes, and ideas become available. It needs to. The Honda Civic designers must continue to gather data, reflect, and adjust their design to meet the changing demands of their buyers.
Our curriculum documents are similar. They still serve the same function as they always have (to provide a road map, clarity on student outcomes, and resources for you), but they have had to keep adjusting over time to meet the needs of our ever-changing students, regularly changing standards, and new resources and ideas. If you tend to roll your eyes when you hear we are going to use a new curriculum document template, or change pacing, or add/delete resources, or you have the thought, "Didn't we already do this? Aren't we done?" then I ask that you consider this analogy and use it to see curriculum revision as on ongoing, necessary process to make sure we are designing the most relevant, engaging, and effective learning that is possible with our current resources for our current students.
We want you to constantly give us feedback on the KCS curriculum, and regularly reflect with your teams on what is working and what is needed. We need your help to continue tweaking the curriculum documents so that all students in all classrooms have access to the best ideas. On the KCS Curriculum Resources page, you will find the "Unit Reflection/Feedback Form." Please continue to use this tool individually, or in teams, to be part of our evolving curriculum design.
KCS Spotlight on Teaching and Learning
Meeting Social and Emotional Needs
Donna Gerdes was selected from school counselors across the state as a presenter at the Collaborative Conference of Student Achievement regarding her work with the Kindergarten Entry Assessment. Donna has spearheaded Shady Brook's efforts to implement social emotional interventions (through the MTSS framework) and uses the construct progressions from the KEA to progress monitor those interventions. Her focus this year has been engagement in self selected activities, following directions, and emotional literacy. She is also working to embed emotion regulation and perseverance in assigned activities to her intervention framework for the 2017-18 school year. Teachers and administrators in attendance were very impressed with her work and are eager to take her intervention system back to their respective districts. Shout out to Assistant Principal Josh Sain who presented as well!
Instructing the Whole Child
Lauren Roberts from Shady Brook is another highlight for KCS. Lauren is a Southwest Region Classroom Teacher Representative for the KEA Advisory Committee. She has been working diligently over the past few weeks with conducting mini PD sessions for the Shady Brook Staff regarding the KEA and the overall K-3 Formative Assessment Process. She has been amazing with addressing the "whole child" and how it can be addressed through instruction in Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade and 3rd grade. Her work will definitely make instruction, curriculum, and environment even better at Shady Brook.
Making Space for Creativity
Number Talks in High School
Hunter Moody, new to ALB, has implemented a daily number talk by having students roll large dice to obtain two numbers. He then asks students to use those four numbers to find equations equal to 1-10. Students can use all operations, but they must use all four numbers rolled only once. Students are talking about order of operations and discussing solutions.
Moving Students Forward
Pamela DeGraffenreid, who works with freshman students in an inclusion setting, collects daily and weekly formative data to provide her students with the most relevant differentiated instruction in math. Mrs. DeGraffenreid is watching many of her students acquire skills and concepts and celebrates these accomplishments with her students. She isn't focused on grades but on student learning.
Authentic Work for Real Audiences
Specific Feedback to Students and Parents
Modeling Resilience
AIG Update
Sara Newell, KCS AIG Coordinator
First, thank you to all of the staff members who responded to the AIG needs survey in the previous newsletter. The first five respondents (Katie Winchell, Bernard Waugh, Caroline Fongemy, Kelly Fainter, and Amy Irvin) will receive a Sweet Frog gift card! ALL responses were heard and taken into consideration. Changes to the AIG program are being made next year based on your suggestions. Some of these changes include:
- an increase in talent development and teacher support
- identification pathways that focus on nurturing potential
- a Canvas resource site where you will be able to access ideas for specific content, differentiation, and management in your classrooms
- independent projects for students to provide enrichment once students have met classroom expectations/standards of learning
- intentional enrichment support in science and social studies
Check out the AIG information for KCS in this Brochure Link!