Coaches' Corner
Newsletter Volume 2
This Issue:
Kagan Update
Cool Tools
Purposeful Practice
EC Strategy Spotlight
Teacher Spotlight- Mrs. Staples!!!
PLT Update
Kagan Update From the Principal's Desk
In 2015, The Hechinger Report published a story titled, “New report reveals that teacher professional development is costly and ineffective.” This story shared data which showed only 30% of teachers improved their teaching after participating in professional development activities. This data point is probably not surprising to you, and neither is it to most administrators. The article also noted the reason most teachers do not improve their teaching is because key components are not in place after they engage in professional development.
The components which must be present are as follows:
- Continuing support for teachers
- Professional development relevant to content and grade level
- Modeling of the new concept for teachers to observe in practice
- On-going coaching
For these reasons, I am extremely excited about the implementation of Kagan into our school, and firmly believe teaching will be improved because have the key components in place. In just three days I saw a school-wide commitment to team and class building, implementation of Kagan structures, and intentional grouping of students. Although we have a long ways to go, a great start is critical to our long term efforts.
Some areas of improvement regardless of what type of structure you are trying to embed in your lessons are:
- Think PIES first
- Remember use some type of selector tool when calling on students to answer questions
-Mr. Colvin
Purposeful Practice: Formative Assessment
"Providing students with feedback on written work can, at times, feel like a burden. Dozens (perhaps even hundreds) of papers clutter your desk, and commenting on each is nearly impossible.
Still, we know, both from our experiences and from research, that feedback is essential. John Hattie, Professor of Education and Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, Australia, believes that feedback must be timely, relevant, and action-oriented. The good news, according to Hattie, is that 'students want feedback just for them, just in time, and just helping nudge forward.' To that end, he encourages us to 'worry more about how students are receiving your feedback . . . than increasing how much you give.'"
Don't be that teacher. Know Your Students' Accommodations.
What are accommodations?
Accommodations are alterations in the way tasks are presented that allow children with learning disabilities to complete the same assignments as other students. Accommodations do not alter the content of assignments, give students an unfair advantage or in the case of assessments, change what a test measures. They do make it possible for students with LD to show what they know without being impeded by their disability.
Follow the link below for accommodation strategies.
Website: http://www.ldonline.org/article/Accommodations_for_Students_with_LD?theme=print