Communications & PD Update
March & April 2017
PD Spotlight
5D Training w/ Justin Dickerson: Learned how different areas are infused with each other, how you cannot see certain areas without the other and how someone and how to give feedback that creates discussion and could lead to other areas being covered that might have not been seen during the observation.
NGSX w/ Jayna Vineyard:
Productive talk can be beneficial in the classroom and ends up leading to a deeper understanding of the subject at hand. It lets students and their ideas be the focal point in the classroom, instead of the teacher.
Elements of productive talk in a classroom:
Students listen to one another
Students go public, explaining their ideas
Students connect their ideas to others’
Students participate (actively and equitably)
Students question and clarify ideas
Students revise their thinking
Four Goals of Productive Discussions:
Help individual students express clearly their thinking
Help students listen carefully to one another
Help students deepen their reasoning Help students think with others Teacher Role
Help guide the discussion in a productive manner
Set up norms and rules for productive discussions
Ask students to repeat other students thoughts in order to ensure universal understanding
Ask students to explain why they agree or disagree with another student’s standpoint
Models
Models help students visualize their understanding and natural phenomena
Models can be modified with additional exposure, experimentation, or information
Making models public help foster solidification of a stance, students would have to be able to explain their model and have
ELA Leadership Meeting w/ Beth Bush:
Rita Pearsons - TED Talk Every Kid needs a Champion- . Funding for project based learning - Place Based Learning "Discovering Place" program through UM outreach. Leyla Sanker, Community Outreach Coordinator at University Outreach, UM-Flint: (810) 424-5477. Lsanker@umflint.edu http://blogs.umflint.edu/glsi/
GFEC Math Leadership w/ Liz Endicott:
- Able to observe a teacher in Kearsley Community Schools in an Algebra I class. Nice to see where students from other districts are compared to our own. Observed a problem solving lesson. Good for us to use at the end of the factoring quadratics unit. - Other schools struggle with transient students just like we do. Had a long talk about how to get those students in Intervention right away.
5D Training w/ Pam Kelbel: The math department has done a great job at aligning the standards but needs to work on integrating the math practices into our plans
The different sub-dimensions can be grouped to enhance each other so that an IDP can be more cohesive.Elementary Math Leadership w/ Stephanie Owens: Last month was the last Math Leadership meeting for the year. One of the biggest take aways for me the the following website: http://achievethecore.org/category/774/mathematics-focus-by-grade-level. This is a great website for teachers that shows a mathematics focus by grade level. Rather than racing to cover topics in a mile-wide, inch-deep curriculum, the Standards require us to significantly narrow and deepen the way time and energy is spent in the math classroom. This site breaks down all of the standards by grade level and shows where the majority of time spent teaching should be. There are also some great resources such as lessons and assessments given by grade level.
5D with Deb McCollum: When scoring observations for the final evaluation, it is beneficial to look at it from a holistic approach as well as the guidelines for summative scoring. Also, the guiding questions, of "what does the preponderance of evidence indicate?" and "Is there sustained growth over time"? should help determine a teacher's effectiveness and growth.
Kindergarten Awarded Kiwanis Grant
Congratulations to the kindergartners for receiving new STEM materials thanks to the Kiwanis grant.
MACUL Update
Also, the MACUL grant is due on May 15th. If you have any amazing, innovative ideas to use technology to enhance instruction, you can complete the grant OR let me know about it and we can work together to complete the grant!
English Learners Presentation
Middle School Awarded Literacy Mini-Grant
Personalized Learning Conference 5.3.17
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