RIT Brief
Volume 3, Number 6, February 2018
KEA/K-3 Formative Assessment News for the Piedmont-Triad and Northwest Regions
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Celebrating Early Adopters
Early Adopters are those individuals who are the first to embrace a new practice.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Early Learning (OEL) is partnering with several districts around the state who will serve as NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process Early Adopters. These districts will serve as a model for others, paving the way for innovation throughout the state.
The purpose of early adoption is to take what we've learned thus far and provide targeted support to select districts, helping them build the capacity to move quickly toward confident and competent use of the NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process in kindergarten through third grade. Early Adopter districts will reach full adoption and sustainable practice within 3-5 years.
We are excited to announce that the Piedmont-Triad and Northwest Regions have two school districts serving as Early Adopters of the NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process (FAP). Newton-Conover City Schools and Rockingham County Schools are now engaged in the planning stage of implementing FAP beyond kindergarten.
Both District Implementation Teams recently attended a Community of Practice meeting in Greensboro which included all other districts across the state who are Early Adopters.
Districts spent the day sharing information with each other, learning from each other, and working on plans for implementation of the NC K-3 FAP.
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MYTHBUSTERS
Fact or Myth: The usefulness of the KEA and Formative Assessment Process ends after day 60.
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FAP Spotlight On: Interpreting the Evidence
The Formative Assessment Process (FAP) is comprised of five critical components: Selecting Learning Targets, Developing Criteria for Success, Eliciting Evidence of Learning, Interpreting the Evidence, and Adapting/Responding to Learning Needs. For modules designed to define and provide examples of each critical component, click here.
Interpreting the Evidence helps teachers identify what each student CAN do in order to identify where the student needs to go next, answering the question, “What do the evidences of learning tell me about the student?”
The Practice Profile describes what teachers would be doing as they engage in the process of Interpreting the Evidence. Click here to download the Practice Profile.
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Quick Guide Close-up: Fine Motor Skills/Hand Dominance
Hand Dominance is developed as children learn to coordinate muscle groups to perform fine manipulation of objects and skilled use of tools, while moving toward fine motor skills performed automatically with a focus on content and outcome.
Researchers emphasize the importance of motor skill development and suggest that fine motor skills are a strong predictor of achievement, “attention, fine motor skills, and general knowledge are much stronger overall predictors of later math, reading, and science scores than early math and reading scores alone” (Grismmer et. al., 2010, p. 1008).
Developing Hand Dominance
CLAY WITH PLASTIC PIZZA CUTTER Promotes: strengthening, development of hand arches, grasping pattern, eye-hand coordination, bilateral coordination, integration of the two sides of the hand. Use a plastic pizza cutter to cut clay into “small worms”, pizza slices, etc.
To find out more, go to the Hand Dominance Quick Guide here.
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Spring Regional Meetings Coming Soon
Northwest Regional Meeting
Date: March 19, 2018
Time: 9:30am to 2:30pm
Location: Freedman Resource Center, 332 Greenhaven Drive NW, Lenoir, NC
Piedmont-Triad Regional Meeting
Date: March 27, 2018
Time: 9:30am to 2:30pm
Location: Goodwill Industries of Northwest NC, 2701 University Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC
Registration for these meeting is now open! Look for the bright green button on our Regional Wiki's DIT Resources Page.
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Stay Connected to the NCDPI K-3 Literacy Division
Quick Link: NC Read to Achieve LiveBinder
Contact information for Regional K-3 Literacy Consultants:
Piedmont-Triad: Rebecca Belcastro at rebecca.belcastro@dpi.nc.gov
Northwest: Mia Johnson at mia.johnson@dpi.nc.gov
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TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT
Looking for a "Help" video or "How-to" resource for using the K-3 FAP on-line platform?
Use the help icon within the K-3 Formative Assessment Process Online Platform:
Log in to the K-3 Formative Assessment Process Online Platform and you will find a help icon in the lower left hand corner with customized help tools for each page.
Whether you are working on reports or gathering evidence, you will find resources and supports such as: videos, how to guides, frequently asked questions, and a link with contact information for the help team.
To open and close the help menu, you simply click the question mark icon.
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Fact or Myth Answer: MYTH! The use of the NC K-3 FAP throughout the school year optimally informs instruction and supports student progress.