Lifelong Learners
Florence High School
PCN & Learning Targets
Jennifer Colvard-Davis, Kerry Donaldson, and Jennifer Butler attended the Powerful Conversations Network (PCN) meeting in Gardendale on October 23. This year, PCN is focusing on student-engaged assessment; the entire day was focused on learning targets, which is the first step in helping students take ownership of their learning. This meeting included Teachers, Assistant Principals, and Instructional Partners in grades 5-12 from North Alabama. PCN consists of 195 schools from the entire state of Alabama.
The text for PCN this year is Leaders of Their Own Learning and there is a copy in the teacher workroom.
How to Create a Learning Target
Teacher Exchange
Ashley Bowling, Tony Cox, Lynne Hice, Brittney Hitt, Rachael Nelson, Anna Perry, Krista Vick, & Jennifer Butler participated in instructional rounds at Lawrence County High School. The FHS team was able to see some of the strategies teachers are using there and also talk to administrators about the modified block schedule. Lawrence County also visited FHS that day and left valuable information. The LCHS team praised FHS for the efficient use of technology by both teachers and students, high expectations set by teachers, and the "awesome" use of the media center. They left FHS with questions such as how can student to student questioning be more effective and how student centered learning targets be consistently displayed. It was a great day of learning and feedback.
Project-Based Learning at Winterboro High School
Elisha Moore, Beth Smitherman, and Leigh Anna Trimble visited Winterboro High School in October to take a look at the success they have had with a 1:1 initiative and with project-based learning. The FHS team said they were impressed by the small group instruction they saw, the student-ownership of learning, and the culture that everyone in the building is a stakeholder in the students' education.
Focus on Fine Arts at Ensworth School
Recently, Jerry Foster, Becky Rockhill, Sheree Woods, Patrick Malone, Micha Stevens, John Jackson, Daniel Jamieson, Lynne Hice, and Jennifer Butler visited Ensworth School in Nashville. Ensworth places a great emphasis on Fine Arts and its integration across the curriculum. A few classes that Ensworth offers include Rock Band, Weight Training for Dancers, Dance for Athletes, and Music Video Dance, just to name a few. Core classes all include a harkness table to encourage discussion similar to the Socratic method. The FHS team toured facilities, observed classes, and discussed their unique schedule.