 |
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
“A
New Year with New Opportunities”
...Sherri Houghton, SDCO President I am amazed at how quickly
2006 flew by. I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday filled with
family and friends. I want to encourage each of you to continue this
year to help NSDC reach its goal of
“all teachers in all schools experiencing high-quality professional learning
as part of their daily work.” Welcome to our 2006
SDCO Winter Newsletter. We are fortunate to have the time and talents
of our Editor Larry Pfrogner (lpfrog@ashland.edu).
You can expect to see in each of our quarterly newsletters quality contributions
from educators across the state about current topics. We always welcome
contributions to our newsletter from members and encourage you to contact
Larry if you would like to ‘show off” best practices occurring in your
district. Don’t be afraid to brag!
Read on for Sherri’s preview of SDCO 2007. Top
Teachers Honored by
Click
here to meet the Top Teachers…USA TODAY
Killion
Coaching Conference…only a few seats left (maybe)!
This article is provided with permission of the
National Staff Development Council, www.nsdc.org,
2006. All rights reserved. Taking Adult Learning
To Task …Rita Glavan, SDCO Secretary
Read on for more about “taking adult learning to task.”
I learned this at Mary
Lou McNutt’s workshop on Assessment. It works best with classes that
meet over time where participants have a week or more between sessions
to implement a strategy in their classroom. At the end of the day
(or before the final session) give participants an index card and ask
them to list the 3 most important things they learned during the day
or class. Then select the 2 things (of these 3) that they would share
with a colleague, and finally the 1 thing they would actually implement
in their classroom. Have participants do
a think-pair-share activity, where they think about their choices, pair
up with a partner and discuss. Last, they develop an action plan based
on the one thing they want to implement. Upon returning to the next
class session, each participant will share the results of their action
plan and bring examples of student work. OASCD + SDCO = WOW!...Dr. Teresa Dempsey, Curriculum Coordinator, Gahanna-Jefferson City
So why is an ASCD related-item being printed in a NSDC
affiliate newsletter? I believe
this to be vital to SDCO/NSDC because of one of the six ASCD legislative
items focusing on professional development: Increase
support and flexibility for comprehensive professional development. With this being the
case, wouldn’t it make sense for NSDC and ASCD affiliate members to
unite?
Read on for the conclusion to Sherri’s review.
Losing
weight often seems an overwhelming task; especially if the number you'd
like to see on that scale is many pounds away. But don't be discouraged!
The latest research on obesity shows that taking off just ten pounds
can be enough to lower your blood pressure, improve your blood-sugar
control, and reduce your blood fats, as well as possibly spare you from
sleep apnea, varicose veins, and osteoarthritis. So what's the best
way to lighten your load a little? Take our quiz and find out.
http://healthresources.caremark.com/topic/weightlossquiz SDCO Showcase Article
Professional
Development…Instructional Coaching
Their work supports and encourages the use
of instructional coaching, a promising new professional development
practice in which teacher leaders serve as coaches to facilitate and
guide content-focused professional learning for a school’s teachers.
The Staff Development Council of Ohio is
honored to share with you, as our 2006/07 Showcase Article, The Annenberg
Institute for School reform publication Instructional Coaching:
Professional Development Strategies That Improve Instruction The entire publication is being presented
to you in four parts:
Please note that this is Part
2. The link begins with the concluding paragraphs of Part 1, with Part
2 beginning at the bottom of the page.
Extension links from the above introductory articles…
“A New
Year With New Opportunities” ...Sherri
Houghton, SDCO President
Hopefully some of you
attended the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) Annual Conference
in If you have not attended
one of NSDC’s Summer Conferences I encourage you to join us in I also hope that you
will consider submitting a proposal to present at next December’s NSDC
Annual Conference in In closing, I want to
thank each of you for all that you do for students. We are so fortunate
in
The first learning task is simple and direct. It would be informative for any professional
development group. Participant review the list of twelve principles
individually circle the three most important. Participants then work
in triads to share and discuss. The second activity builds on the discussion and insights gained. Participants
consider the zones of learning as a catalyst for self evaluation, reflection
and growth. Looking at the zones,
participants think of a typical work day and record activities, responsibilities
and relationships. They then consider what was placed in the Risk Zone
for this is the area of opportunity for continuous growth. Finally, individuals create a personal goal for continuous growth.
Principles of Adult Learning From Jane Vella Directions: Circle
the three (3) most important principles that you need as an adult learner
to do your best work with colleagues.
1.
Needs Assessment: participation
of the learners in naming what is to be learned. Listening to learners’
wants and needs helps shape a program that has immediate usefulness
to adults.
2.
Safety in the environment and the process. We create a context
for learning by ensuring that the environment is nonjudgmental. Allowing
small groups to find their voices.
3.
Sound relationships
among learners. We can nurture each other’s thinking power by affirmation
of the person. Other people are in relationships with us – it is up
to us to determine what kind of relationship it is.
4.
Sequence of content and reinforcement: Using a design that goes from simple to complex and builds in time
for reinforcing new learning.
5.
Praxis: action with reflection or learning by doing. Each learner
re-creates the content through participation.
6.
Respect for
learners as decision makers: ensuring
that learners are subjects of their own learning by making their
own decisions. Don’t ever do for the learner what the learner can
do for themself.
7.
Ideas, feelings
and actions: cognitive,
affective, and psychomotor aspects of learning.
8.
Immediacy of the learning: to see the immediate usefulness of new
learning. Learners deciding on the significance and application of the
new skill.
9.
Clear roles
and role development: reinforcement
of the human equity among learners. Moving adults to learn together
in dialogue.
10.
Teamwork: the process and design must include ALL learners.
We live in a participatory universe. Learning is enhanced by peers.
11.
Engagement of the learners in what they are doing. Open questions
invite both thinking and dialogue. Product is dependent on process.
Learning demands energy. 12. Accountability: learners are accountable to their colleagues, themselves and to agreed upon ways of working together. The design of learning events must be accountable to the learners. Zones of Safety, Risk and Danger: Constructing
Your Zone Map Comfort Zone:
is usually a place where we feel at ease, with no tension, have a good
grip on the topic and know how to navigate occasional rough spots with
ease. Risk Zone:
is the most fertile place for learning. It is where most people are
willing to take some risks, not know everything, or sometimes not know
anything at all but clearly know they want to learn and will take the
risks necessary to do so. Danger Zone:
is generally not a good idea to work from (yours or anyone else’s!).
That area is so full of defenses, fears, red-lights, desire for escape
etc, that it requires too much energy and time to accomplish anything
from that Zone.
Think about your typical work day, identify your activities,
responsibilities, relationships and then place them on your map in the
appropriate zone. What have you
placed in your risk zone (opportunities for continuous growth)?
Co-Teaching is part
of an overall continuum of services that we must provide to our
students. For many of our special needs students, participating in the
regular classroom in a co-teaching setting is a very powerful, successful,
and least restrictive strategy. However, we will still need to have
resource rooms and pullout programs for some of our youngsters. Co-Teaching
is part of having a “seamless system of intervention for our students,”
which includes the regular classroom, intervention tutors, Title I,
and special education services. Dr. Friend’s two days
in North Ridgeville on December 6-7 involved building visits and interviews
of our new co-teaching teams, along with providing a one day condensed
version of her August workshop to staff members who were either unable
to attend the August training or who have just become interested in
Co-Teaching. As of December 7th, we will have over 65 staff
members who have participated in Dr. Friend’s staff development sessions.
During her February, 2007 visits to North Ridgeville Dr. Friend
will spend her time observing co-taught classrooms and conducting detailed
conversations and problem solving sessions with teachers involved in
the Co-Teaching project. Listed below are a few
excerpts from Dr. Friend’s August presentation which should give you
a better idea of what Co-Teaching is all about. Workshop Overview: The
No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA-2004) have brought
increased pressure for educators. School reformers have set higher standards
and teachers are responsible for ensuring that students meet them. Students
with disabilities and other special needs generally are expected to
achieve the same success as other learners, and so there is an increased
emphasis on educating them in general education settings. And all educators
are finding that an increasing number of students come to school with
any of a variety of problems that make them learners at-risk.
Among the many ideas and options for meeting these diverse yet
somehow related challenges, co-teaching is currently receiving widespread
attention. The
purpose of Co-teaching is a service delivery system in which:
·
Two (or more) educators or other professionally
certified staff
·
Sharing instructional responsibility
·
For a single group of students
·
Primarily in a single classroom or workspace
·
To teach required curriculum
·
With mutual ownership, pooled resources,
and joint accountability
·
Although each individual's level of participation
may vary. Six Models of Co-Teaching:
·
One Teach, One Observe: One of the advantages in co-teaching is that more detailed
observation of students engaged in the learning process can occur. With
this approach, for example, co-teachers can decide in advance what types
of specific observational information to gather during instruction and
can agree on a system for gathering the data. Afterward, the teachers
should analyze the information together.
·
Station Teaching: In this co-teaching approach,
teachers divide content and students. Each teacher then teaches the
content to one group and subsequently repeats the instruction for the
other group. If appropriate, a third "station" could give
students an opportunity to work independently.
·
Parallel Teaching: On occasion, students' learning
would be greatly facilitated if they just had more supervision by the
teacher or more opportunity to respond. In parallel teaching, the teachers
are both teaching the same information, but they divide the class group
and do so simultaneously.
·
Alternative Teaching: In most class
groups, occasions arise in which several students need specialized attention.
In alternative teaching, one teacher takes responsibility for the large
group while the other works with a smaller group.
·
Teaming: In teaming, both teachers are delivering the
same instruction at the same time. Some teachers refer to this as having
“one brain in two bodies.” Others call it “tag team teaching.” Most
co-teachers consider this approach the most complex but satisfying way
to co-teach, but it is the approach that is most dependent on teachers’
styles.
·
One Teach, One Assist:
One person would keep
primary responsibility for teaching while the other professional circulated
through the room providing unobtrusive assistance to students as needed. Source:
Co-teaching: Concepts, Practices, and Logistics – Dr. Marilyn Friend
– August, 2006 Our Co-Teaching teams
in the North Ridgeville City Schools will be participating in follow-up
activities with Dr. Friend throughout the year to continue their learning
along with addressing instructional, collaboration, and planning issues.
We are very proud of our staff for their participation in the Co-Teaching
project and applaud their commitment to taking a risk on behalf of our
students! For further information,
please contact Craig Phillips at 440.353.1111 or at cphill@leeca.org. Dr. Marilyn Friend’s website
can be located at www.marilynfriend.com. OASCD + SDCO = WOW!...Dr. Teresa Dempsey, Curriculum Coordinator, Many SDCO/NSDC members
like myself, are also members of OhioASCD/ASCD. I have maintained membership
in these organizations because they are highly respected professional
organizations in education. I believe their causes to be complementary
to each other and especially to my work in curriculum and professional
development. Both of these great
organizations are known to be credible educational research and professional
development providers. Of late however, ASCD has added another dimension
to its scope of work; they have been diligently working to educate members
on becoming more confident advocates for national and state policy in
education. It makes sense. Otherwise, do we as educators really have
a right to complain about educational policy if we haven’t even tried
to become involved? In this day-and-age, we have to be more in-tune than ever to
what is happening “on The Hill” - it has great implications for our
practices impacting student achievement. Having our head-in-the-sand
does us, and our students, a great disservice. Educators are often “accused”
of being one of the most uninformed career fields. Maybe it’s because
we just don’t know how we can make a difference?
So why is an ASCD related-item
being printed in a NSDC affiliate newsletter? I believe this to be vital to SDCO/NSDC because
one of the six ASCD legislative items focusing on professional development: Increase
support and flexibility for comprehensive professional development. With this being the
case, wouldn’t it make sense for NSDC and ASCD affiliate members to
unite? I whole-heartedly believe we need to support each other in this
fundamental cause that both organizations hold dear to the core of their
very being. If you are interested in learning more about the basics
of advocacy (how your voice can be heard) go to www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/newsandissues/ascdadvocacyguide.pdf to obtain a free copy
of How
to Become an Effective Advocate. Or if you are interested in learning more
about ASCD’s position on professional development as a legislative agenda
item, go to www.ascd.org/legislativeagenda Other related legislative
items include:
Hal Portner is an experienced
consultant and presenter. He is a former public school teacher and worked
closely with school districts to develop and implement professional
development programs. He has
also written Mentoring New Teachers, Training Mentors Is
Not Enough, Everything This recent publication
is an excellent choice for any new staff developer, especially the school
based staff developers, who are often teachers without presentation
experience. It is written about a teacher who is asked by her principal
to present a workshop for her staff. Chapter One helps readers assess
their potential as a presenter and includes some excellent tools to
help accomplish this. One of the valuable parts of this book is that
reflection is integrated into the writing, emphasizing the importance
of this skill for staff developers. Research information about Adult
Learning is presented in chapter two. A variety of theories about adult
learning are summarized, with enough detail to serve as a review for
readers who may have studied this before, or to serve as a starting
point for those who aren’t familiar with adult learning styles characteristics. Mr. Portner then walks
the reader through the steps of designing a presentation and presenting
the workshop. Both of these chapters are designed with questions for
the new presenters to answer as they go through this process. Other tools, including check lists and practical
suggestions, make this a very useable guide. The last chapter on growing
as a presenter would be applicable for experienced as well as new staff
developers. It contains, among other things, information on what presenters
need to know when they are freelancing, including a reminder about paying
income tax, which is often an unpleasant surprise to new consultants. The last part of the
book contains resources that are very useable. It includes everything
from how to begin a presentation, to seating suggestions, to evaluations.
This should help new staff developers by alleviating concerns on having
to design many of these from scratch. The Bibliography and References
are an excellence resource for locating more help for learning how to
provide quality professional learning. Workshops That Really Work - The ABC’s of Designing and Delivering Sensational
Presentations by Hal Portner,
Corwin Press |
