Inspiring Innovation
QACPS Department of Instructional Services: Vol 1 Ed 8
Inspiring Innovators are Shining Bright at KIE and MES!!
Conference Update: We have 117 sessions ready to stretch your mind on June 17th! Be on the lookout for the conference website reveal in early June. Remember registration is first-come-first served, so sign-up when it goes live!
Joy Gardner: Inspiring our Youngest Learners with Technology!
From the pictures above, it is clear to see how the whiteboard is transformed into an interactive learning experience for all Ms. Gardner's students, but that is not all she integrates seamlessly. As Mrs. Stricker shared, "Joy uses technology to inspire topics of discussion, helps with brain breaks, uses it for instruction and reinforcement, and demonstrates the overall enjoyment and use of technology as both a tool and for pleasure. I am inspired by her, not only as her co-teacher for special education, but how she uses her technology in her classroom to differentiate her instruction and as a universally designed tool to engage all our students."
"Technology has a major role in my classroom each and every day," said Ms. Gardner. "I use technology to enhance new skills and to engage and motivate my students to learn. Technology in our classroom will lead my students to 21st century skills, such as collaboration, problem solving, and complex thinking. It is a pleasure to witness the joy of learning with my students." Get ready for these techy students coming up through the ranks of QACPS!
Flipping Out for Ms. Ray's Approach to 5th Grade Math
As Ms. Ray shared, "Flipping my math instruction has allowed me to better meet the needs of my students. My advanced students are able to stretch their skills through engaging enrichment activities and my higher need students can get more focused small group instruction. This has revolutionized the way I think about teaching and resulted in a classroom environment that is decidedly more student-led. My students have developed a strong sense of intrinsic motivation to succeed because they are uncovering new knowledge on their own."
Ms. Ray was nominated by TWO of her fellow 5th grade teachers, Mrs. Burak and Mrs. Crook. Mrs. Crook described, "Melinda Ray [as] a second year teacher who took our school by storm and blew it away. This year she began teaching a flipped classroom for math. She makes her own video tutorials for each evenings homework and then utilizes Pearson's online quizzes. The next morning she looks at the quiz scores and forms her instructional groups for the day. I was so impressed with her success in implementing a flipped classroom that mid-year I switched over too. It has been a great success. By flipping the classroom I'm able to form my needs group and give them quality small group instruction while my practice group gets another mini-lesson and then time to perfect the skill they are working on. In addition, my above average group is able to practice the skill for a brief time and then extend the skill by doing enrichment work, performance tasks or even taking the skill to the next grade level." Mrs. Burak echoed the impact of a flipped classroom model and the innovative techniques Ms. Ray has brought to MES. If you want to learn more about Flipped Classrooms, make sure you register for Ms. Ray's session, "Flipping Out for Elementary Math" for the 17th!
For more information, contact:
Queen Anne's County Public Schools
Email: christina.schindler@qacps.org
Website: http://www.qacps.org
Location: Queen Annes County Board-Edu, Chesterfield Avenue, Centreville, MD, United States
Twitter: @cschindlerQAC