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| SDCO Spring Professional Newsletter |
No.
3, March 2007
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SDCO January Conference A Resounding Success, but wait, there’s more!!!
...Sherri Houghton, SDCO President Hope
you were one of the nearly 200
I also want to take
this opportunity to encourage you to go to the Ohio
Educators Standards Board Web site and familiarize yourself with
the new Ohio Standards for Teachers, Principals, and Professional Development.
The Staff Development Council of Ohio (SDCO) has partnered with the
Ohio Department of Education through our Executive Board members serving
on the new Ohio Professional Development Team (OPDT). The OPDT is charged
with developing strategies and tools to create awareness of the new
PD Standards and to support the integration and application of the new
PD Standards. The
Conference attendees
moved to their breakout sessions to the quick pace of Dolly Parton’s
“Nine to Five” upon departure from the morning key note addresses. The
Governor’s “Books to Birth Initiative” endorsed by Dolly Parton, anchored
us back together at lunch to the tune, “
Through an agreement
with ASCD, graduate credit can now be earned by completing an ASCD online course!
The Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) is
one of the most reputable professional organizations in the field of
education. Their online professional development is just
one component of a comprehensive collection of instructional support
resources available to all educators. Check the AU/PDS website
at www.ashland.edu/pds and click on “Online
Workshops for Credit.” Look for ASCD in the list of titles. These offerings
are designed to be completed independently by the student. However,
This
article is provided with permission of the National Staff Development
Council, www.nsdc.org, 2006. All
rights reserved.
Here’s
a fun analogy that can help make a point to your participants about
how we sometimes in education go about solving a problem. It’s probably
true in other professions too, but the story always strikes a personal
note with teachers and administrators. Your usually don’t even need
to explain any of it. Your audience will ALWAYs get it. The question
then becomes…will they keep it in mind the next time there’s problem
solving in their district, building, or classroom? It’s called the “Horse
Story.” Common advice from knowledgeable horse
trianers includes the adage, “If the horse you’re riding dies, get off.”
Seems simple enough, yet in the education business we don’t always follow
that advice. Instead, we choose from an array of other alternatives
which include…
Gaming, Cognition, and Education …Dr. Scott McLeod Educators and parents are quick to disparage video games
- they’re a ‘waste of time,’ they’re ‘too violent,’ or they lead to
repetitive stress injuries (nintendinitis).
And yet, even non-gamers like myself can recognize that there’s
something going on when a kid who can’t sit still in class for five
minutes can be mentally locked in for hours at home playing
video games.
Read on for
more about learning principles that are present in most video games.
Utilizing Single Gender Classes in the Eighth Grade Language
Arts Classroom…. Tyrone Olverson, Cynthia Holko, and Jessica
Nye As students prepare
for the end of the year, so do teachers.
We are busy averaging grades, completing final reports and finalizing
other end of the year activities. But
in the Spring of 2006, I shared with my assistant principals at
Blink: the Power of Thinking without Thinking …book
review by Larry Pfrogner,
How do we make decisions--good and bad--and why are some people so
much better at it than others? That’s the question Malcolm Gladwell
asks and answers in the follow-up to his huge bestseller, The Tipping
Point. Malcolm Gladwell is a former business and science writer at the
Washington Post. He is currently a staff writer for The New Yorker.
Utilizing case studies as diverse as speed dating, pop music, and the
shooting of Amadou Diallo, Gladwell reveals that what we think of as
decisions made in the blink of an eye are much more complicated than
assumed.
Read on for more of the review.
Do You Know How to
Walk Your Way to Fitness? | Caremark Health Resources
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:
Extension links
from the above introductory articles…
“Staging Noteworthy
Performances” Highlights…
ANECDOTES from SESSIONS
ATTENDED: Rick Stiggins’ session, Leading PD in Classroom
Assessment Participants received,
Classroom Assessment for Student Learning by Stiggins, Arter,
and Chappuis (the CASL book) including a DVD showing video segments
illustrating the ideas and practices presented in the book and a CD
containing activities that facilitate individual or group learning.
A promotional ETS DVD was also given to each attendee. The goals of
the session emphasized the importance of ensuring assessment methods
match learning targets, the importance of student feedback, along with
effective us of collaborative learning teams. Visit www.ets.org to request your free copy of the DVD, “New Mission,
New Beliefs: Assessment for Learning” by Rick Stiggins. They have scheduled
some winter webinars on assessment that you can register for on their
website.
Heidi Hayes Jacobs’ session “Using Curriculum
Mapping” Heidi engaged the audience
with her analogy of going to a doctor to get a prescription. Luckily,
doctors do not just hand out penicillin for every symptom. Nor should
we educators hand out curriculum, units and lessons that do not meet
the needs of learners. She continuously emphasized that curriculum mapping
is NEVER done. If your district is doing curriculum work they ought
to be doing this with cross grade level teams instead of what traditionally
has been done, through grade level teams. Heidi has gone international
with her mapping and is looking for schools to network with who would
be willing to share their maps via her website. Click HERE to visit the Curriculum Designers’
website for some valuable and interesting information on Curriculum
Mapping. I selected the Culturally
Responsive Practices conference track. Each session provided me with
resources and information to bring back to our region. They included:
1)
Exploring Culture
and Diversity
2)
Closing the
Achievement Gap: A Growing Need for Cultural Responsiveness
3)
Against All
Odds: Leading Schools to Success and Teaching the Underachieving Children
of Poverty
4)
Joining Hands
and Hearts: Promoting Cultural Understanding The most touching of
these was the third session presented by Robert Barr, Senior Analyist
for the Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies at
The audience was then
showered with hope and proven strategies that make a difference including
what classroom instruction should look like and what professional development
should look like. This was followed by compelling conclusions and a
statement that still resonates in my head. “What at-risk children want
at school more than anything else…a caring relationship with an adult.”
Can we all say with assurance that every child has a caring adult to
support them? Resources The
Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies 206-426-4343 Dr.
Robert Barr rbarr@boisestate.edu William
Parrett, wparret@boisestate.edu Corwin
Press Saving
Our Students, Saving Our Schools 50
Proven Strategies for Revitalizing At-Risk Students and by
Robert D. Barr, William H. Parrett As I left the Opryland
Hotel the morning of December 6th with luggage at the 70 lb limit (from
books I bought in the exhibit hall). I was recharged, and motivated
to share the information I had learned with my colleagues, school improvement
team members and with the Office of Field Relations Director. I am grateful
for the work that went into planning such a grand event and to the NSD
organization that practices high standards for professional development.
Try This at Your Next Professional Development
Event…Larry Pfrogner,
Common advice from knowledgeable horse trianers includes the adage, “If the
horse you’re riding dies, get off.” Seems simple enough, yet in the
education business we don’t always follow that advice. Instead, we choose
from an array of other alternatives which include…
On the opening day of
school, both single gender classes immediately noticed the organization
of the classes. Both groups listened
to the rationale I shared with them of my interest in studying the effects
of single gender classes on eighth Language Arts students. My message
to them included such statements as to “encourage individual talent,
urge peer collaboration, boost self-esteem, reduce distractions and
improve general academic performance.” All of the students were told
to share my rationale and inspirations with their parents and to encourage
their parents to call me if there were any questions or concerns. I
received no communication from any parent of the students assigned to
the single gender classes. A goal for all of my
students this year was to read and discuss literature with well-rounded
male and female characters. After
the stories were read, they were given an assignment to compare and
contrast the main characters. The stories used were “ Raymond’s Run” by Toni
Cade Bambara, “Broken Chain” by Gary Soto, “Barbara Frietchie”
by John Greenleaf Whittier, and “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter
Dean Myers. It was interesting
to listen to both the single gender classes and the mixed gender classes
compare and contrast the main characters in the stories. First, the
female single gender class was divided into two groups. One group surmised
that “the achievements of the main characters were based on individual
goals and personalities and not on their race or sex.” The conversation
among the students in this group was focused. They stayed on topic,
completed the assignment and one student reported their findings. I
found the second group to be equally focused and able to summarize their
discussion. Next, the same assignment (to compare and contrast the main
characters in the four stories) was given to a mixed gender class. The
findings were really much different. The students were divided into
two groups. In one group, several
of the members argued about where the group was to meet. After a location
was chosen, they conversed about the characters for a few minutes and
then lost focus. The other group was just as unfocused. I have found
dividing students in small groups to be a more worthwhile tool in working
with single gender classes than mixed gender classes. The single gender
classes seem to be more intent on completing the assignments and less
inclined to meandering off subject. At the end of the first
semester, I had a chance to openly ask the students in the single gender
classes what they liked or disliked about their Language Arts class. A comment from a male student was “I feel comfortable,
like I don’t feel anyone will make fun of me if I get the wrong answer.”
Another comment from a male student was “I don’t feel like I
need to clown around like I do in some of my other classes.”
A comment from a female student was “when I answer a question
I really don’t feel like everyone is looking at me.” A second comment
from a female student was “we are free to be ourselves; I like the people
I am paired up with.” The students seemed forthright in giving me positive
comments about being assigned to a single gender class. When asked what the students didn’t like, they
looked at each other and no hands went up in the air. One of the ways I like
to recognize my students’ achievements is with a “Top Ten Language Arts
Students” list. I developed this several years ago to allow my students
to see how they compare academically to students in my other classes.
After I calculate the grades of all of my students, I list them from
one to ten and put their first and last name on the list which is posted
on the chalkboard in the front of the room. At the end of the first
grading period, three students from the single gender classes made the
“Top Ten Language Arts” list. At the end of the second grading period,
six students or twice as many students made the “Top Ten Language Arts”
list. I am looking forward
to working with all of my students in the second semester. However,
I am especially interested in observing and documenting the findings
of those students chosen to be a part of my educational project for
the 2006-2007 school year. Student Teacher Observations Growing up in the classroom,
I have only had the experience of mixed gender classrooms. A mixed gender
classroom is a classroom that consists of male and female students.
I feel that I have had a great education and would not change anything
about it. However, recently I was on the other side of the classroom.
I am a senior Integrated Language Arts student for a college in While student teaching
for a junior high school in In the all male classroom,
I feel that the male students expressed themselves more and received
more from their learning. There were no females in the room, except
for the cooperating teacher and myself. They did not have to “show off”
or try to catch the attention of any other females. This gave most of
their attention to learning. There were times that their attention went
to other places such as drawing, talking, etc. But, the majority of
their learning was focused on what was being taught and the responses
of their classmates. They wanted to know the details about everything.
Their curiosity was inspiring. The males in my male
only class gave in-depth and thought provoking responses. There were
times when so much emotion was behind their words that I was at a loss.
During my teaching, they participated in a play unit.
The play was the class’s choice and they were responsible for
acting out their scenes of the play. The play they chose had a single
female part. None of the males complained about having to play a woman.
When the idea of costuming was brought up, the students decided that
they would wear dresses and wigs to indicate that it was a woman speaking.
They also altered their voice to how they felt the female character
would sound. It was amazing to watch the students think through how
they feel a woman would be portrayed in this play. They did not seem
to be uncomfortable with playing another gender at all. The females in my female
only class had much the same response to the play as the all male class.
They were upbeat and excited about doing the play. They had no problem
or complaints about playing another gender. They also altered their
voices to be lower in tone and tried to use the same kind of posture
a male would have used for certain scenes. They did not seem to be uncomfortable
at all with the other gender role. In my mixed gender classrooms,
they also did a play unit. They were responsible for choosing their
play as well. In the plays chosen, there were a few female parts and
also a few male parts. The male students in these classrooms protested
loudly about having to play female parts. They did not feel they should
have to play a female part when there were females in the room capable
of playing the part. The female students protested just as loud about
playing the part of a male. They did not feel comfortable playing the
other gender at all. When costuming was brought
up, the students in my mixed gender classes did not want to dress up.
The males did not want to distinguish the female characters they were
playing and the female students did not want to dress like the male
characters. They seemed very uncomfortable. I tried to explain that
they were only acting as another gender.
Everyone could see that they were male or female. They were just
playing a part in a play. They still objected. They did not project
their lines like the other classes and did not actually act out the
parts. Their postures were slumped, their voices were very low, and
their speech was very fast. They were not comfortable with the other
gender parts at all. The audience laughed when the males and females
played the other gender parts. They did not seem as accepting of the
characters as the male and female classes. In the every day classroom,
my single gender classes seemed to get an over all better learning experience.
The males expressed themselves in a way that I had never heard a male
student express himself. They gave feelings and personal experiences.
It was as though they felt that they could relax and be themselves.
In a mixed gender classroom, there is sometimes a struggle to find the
alpha male. The alpha male is the male student who “runs” the classroom
and seems to be on top. In the all male classroom, it did not seem to
happen like this. The students connected with each other and worked
together. I had students offering one on one help to each other. They
took turns listening and did not compete for talking time or attention.
They did not really talk while being instructed. They listened and wanted to learn. When writing
their personal narratives, they were open and secure in their words.
They did not hide their emotions and their personal lives. They shared
openly with their classmates. The all female class
was very similar to this. The ladies felt that they could relax. They
raised their hands and wanted to speak when something caught their attention.
They wanted to help each other and they wanted to learn about what was
being taught. There usually was not much side chatter during class time.
They listened to what was being taught and really wanted further instruction.
They wanted more information than what was being presented.
The female students also opened themselves up to the classmates.
They were not afraid of showing emotions and were not afraid of putting
themselves out there. The mix gender classes
were quite the opposite of the other two classes. The students were
hesitant to raise their hands. They did not offer an answer or comment
until prompted with further statements. I usually ask questions and
then give the students time to think before answering. If no one answers
after a certain period of time, I give hints as to what I am looking
for or what I am talking about. These students did not offer answers
until after the hints or further information was released. They voiced
the concern about feeling wrong or silly in front of the others. Both
genders seemed to be unsure about their answers and they did not want
to express themselves. Most of the students were not willing to write
or talk about anything emotional. They did not want to expose their
feelings or emotions to their classmates. They seemed very closed to
one another. In the mix gender classes,
there was a lot of gender tension as well. Some of the females were
trying to get the male students attention by distracting them from the
classroom lesson. The girls would giggle and chat to each other. The
males would knock the females’ papers off their desks. It was a constant
battle to keep their attention off each other and on the lesson.
The male students seemed
to always be competing with each other. They wanted to be the first
one done or they wanted to be the one called upon. They struggled amongst
each other to try to find the alpha male or the stronger male in the
classroom. They also put the weaker males to the side. They did not
want to work with the male students who did not talk a lot in class.
They wanted to be with the stronger males. In the all male class, this
did not happen.
Blink: The Power of Thinking
Without Thinking …book review by Larry Pfrogner,
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How
do we make decisions--good and bad--and why are some people so much
better at it than others? That’s the question Malcolm Gladwell asks
and answers in the follow-up to his huge bestseller, The Tipping Point.
Malcolm Gladwell is a former business and science writer at the Washington
Post. He is currently a staff writer for The New Yorker. Utilizing
case studies as diverse as speed dating, pop music, and the shooting
of Amadou Diallo, Gladwell reveals that what we think of as decisions
made in the blink of an eye are much more complicated than assumed.
Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology, he shows how
the difference between good decision-making and bad has nothing to
do with how much information we can process quickly, but on the few
particular details on which we focus. Leaping boldly from example
to example, displaying all of the brilliance that made The Tipping
Point a classic, Gladwell reveals how we can become better decision
makers--in our homes, our offices, and in everyday life. The result
is a book that is surprising and transforming. Never again will you
think about thinking the same way.