Study Finds Teachers a Key Source of Common Core Curricula

A report released Thursday by the Center on Education Policy provides one of the first early glimpses of how districts are solving one of the most difficult problems of putting the Common Core State Standards into practice. Overwhelmingly, they're creating their curricula locally.

More than two-thirds of districts reported that their teachers are designing common-core curricula, and half said that the district is creating it.

Elena Balint, the manager of the American Federation of Teachers' ShareMyLesson, an online storehouse of instructional resources created and uploaded by teachers, said she wasn't surprised to see teachers heavily involved in creating common-core curriculum in their districts. 

"Teachers are really engaged. They do this of their own volition, because they believe in sharing their expertise and because they want to be better teachers," she said. "Teachers trust teachers. It's their area of expertise to create materials and lesson plans that work for their classrooms."

To read the full article, click below.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2014/10/teachers_a_key_source_of_common_core_curricula.html 

Alabama National Board Certified Teacher Network Conference

The Alabama National Board Certified Teacher Network Conference will be held on Saturday, January 24, at Spain Park High School. This conference is open to all educators, per-service teachers, and administrators.  It is for new, mid-career and veteran teachers.  It is for teachers who are NBCT’s and for teachers who will never aspire to be NBCT’s.  The conference program will be finalized this weekend,  and more information, including a list of all the breakout sessions, is forthcoming.

This year’s conference will feature Mark Hoog, author of the Growing Field series,  as the keynote speaker, and Dr. Bice will be the lunch speaker. (Lunch and snacks are provided with registration.)

Registration information can be found at: alnbctnetwork.blogspot.com.
Twitter: @alnbcnetwork
Facebook: Alabama NBCT Network

Flex Day Clarification

Trussville City Schools understands the need to differentiate professional development for teachers.  After developing a plan that has been approved by their principal, teachers may complete that professional learning any day of their choice or any time of their choice outside of school hours.  (Many teachers completed their professional learning this past summer when school was not in session or through an online class in the evenings.)  That’s why they are called “Flex” or Flexible days.  These are two days when teachers are paid to study, learn, and grow as a professional.  To earn credit for the two flex days, teachers must complete 12 hours of professional development outside of the school day.  

Please adhere to the following process:

1. Write a proposal explaining your intended learning.
2. Submit the proposal to your principal for approval.  
3. If approved, the principal sends the signed proposal form to Theresa Ray in C&I.  
4. The  proposed professional development is given an STIPD course number.  The teacher is informed of this STIPD course number. (Some PD may already have an STIPD course number.  Teachers should include this STIPD course number on their proposal form.)
5. The teacher signs up in STIPD for the course.
6. After completion of the professional development, the teacher completes a summary form and returns the form to Theresa Ray.  (If the professional learning was an online course or an outside workshop, a certificate of completion with hours completed should be included with the summary form.)
7. Theresa Ray will approve the professional development in STIPD.

For accounting purposes, the following dates have been deemed as flex days for the 2014-2015 school year:

• February 16, 2015
• May 22, 2015

Teachers who have completed the above process for at least 6 hours of professional development should request February 16 as a professional day.  Those teachers will not be expected to attend school on February 16 because they have spent time on a previous date outside of school hours on their professional development.  

Teachers who have NOT completed the above process should NOT request professional leave for February 16.  They will need to attend school that day and work on professional learning provided by the principal OR they will need to request personal leave for February 16.  

Teachers will be prompted at a later date to request professional leave for May 22.  No one should request professional leave for May 22 at this time.  

Click here for proposal form and summary form.  

For questions, contact Beth Bruno.

Genius Hour

Could you use this in your classroom?  I bet you could.  Take 2 minutes to watch this video about Genius Hour.  Share your thoughts with your colleagues.  Students will thank you.

http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol9/919-video.aspx

Teacher spends two days as a student and is shocked at what she learns!

Jamye Waites sent a link to an interesting article that we should all read.  

Do teachers really know what students go through? To find out, one teacher followed two students for two days  and was amazed at what she found.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/24/teacher-spends-two-days-as-a-student-and-is-shocked-at-what-she-learned/

Administrator Professional Learning Team

TCS administrators met today to collaborate, share and learn together.  Team members shared each school's professional development plans, as well as information from recent Powerful Conversations Network meetings  Additionally, the group discussed classroom walkthroughs.  The collaboration of our district administrators will facilitate improved learning and student achievement as we establish common goals and focus our collective efforts on achieving those goals.

Chromebooks in the Classroom

Students in Mrs. Romano's English class are enjoying their Google Chromebooks!  They are currently researching background information related to the Great Depression and their study of To Kill a Mockingbird.

What students had to say about their Chromebooks:

"They are easy to use."
"They are good for group work."
"They help us find information faster."
" I can look up images that help me to understand what it looked like during the Great Depression."

NEWSELA

Paine Intermediate Reading Coach Kelly McGough recommends the resource NEWSELA. This is a great resource for complex text.  Teachers can adjust the reading level, and it works great with Chromebooks.  Best of all,  it is free!

https://newsela.com/ 

"Poor Kids Are Starving for Words"

According to a 2012 report by the Brookings Institution, less than half of poor children show up to school prepared with the early math and reading skills, emotional and behavioral control, and physical well-being needed to be ready to learn, and that disadvantage persists into adulthood. The report continues, “children with higher levels of school readiness at age five are generally more successful in grade school, less likely to drop out of high school, and earn more as adults, even after adjusting for differences in family background.”

Much of this disadvantage has been attributed to what researchers call the “word gap.” Higher-income parents spend nearly a half hour more per day engaged in direct, face-to-face, Goodnight Moon time with their children than low-income parents do, and by the time these children are 5 years old, the poor ones will have heard 30 million fewer words than their wealthy peers. Nearly all of my more affluent students read in their leisure time, but approximately two out of every 10 of my poor students tell me, “I don’t read” when I offer to help them pick out an independent reading book.

Click on the article to read about the discrepancies in vocabularies between middle class and poor students.
Poor Kids Are Starving for Words

Science News

I attended a CASEE (Central Alabama Science Education Exchange) meeting today with other curriculum directors in our area.  CASEE is lead by ALAHASP at UAB CORD facilitators, Beverly Radford and Joan Dawson.  Information we received:

• New Science Standards most likely will not be forthcoming until 16-17.
• Area schools are beginning to study and understand the Next Generation Science Standards and the National Research Council's Framework.  (These are NOT standards adopted by the ALSDE, but can serve as a guide to what the upcoming standards may look like.)
• The shift is to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).  Next summer, UAB will offer science workshops for teachers led by Ann Dominic, one of the area's most well-known MATH teachers!  
• The Birmingham Botanical Gardens have Discovery Field Trips for grades K-5 that focus on botany.  Middle school field trips have an emphasis on plant systems, sustainability, technology, and conservation.  They have open dates for winter and spring. 
• Cahaba Environmental Center near Montevallo will open in March 2015.  This facility includes 440 acres along the Cahaba River in Bibb and Shelby Counties with residential facilities including cabins, dining halls, and indoor classrooms,  for visiting groups.  The Cahaba River and its watershed are the thematic core of the educational program.  The initial program is being developed to meet the educational needs of 4th-6th grade students.  The program is being designed to encompass a 3 day/2 night experience.  Longer and shorter programs will also be available.  
  

The National Research Council's (NRC) Framework describes a vision of what it means to be proficient in science; it rests on a view of science as both a body of knowledge and an evidence-based, model and theory building enterprise that continually extends, refines, and revises knowledge. It presents three dimensions that will be combined to form each standard:

Dimension 1: Practices

The practices describe behaviors that scientists engage in as they investigate and build models and theories about the natural world and the key set of engineering practices that engineers use as they design and build models and systems. The NRC uses the term practices instead of a term like “skills” to emphasize that engaging in scientific investigation requires not only skill but also knowledge that is specific to each practice. Part of the NRC’s intent is to better explain and extend what is meant by “inquiry” in science and the range of cognitive, social, and physical practices that it requires.

Although engineering design is similar to scientific inquiry, there are significant differences. For example, scientific inquiry involves the formulation of a question that can be answered through investigation, while engineering design involves the formulation of a problem that can be solved through design. Strengthening the engineering aspects of the Next Generation Science Standards will clarify for students the relevance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the four STEM fields) to everyday life.

Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts

Crosscutting concepts have application across all domains of science. As such, they are a way of linking the different domains of science. They include: Patterns, similarity, and diversity; Cause and effect; Scale, proportion and quantity; Systems and system models; Energy and matter; Structure and function; Stability and change. The Framework emphasizes that these concepts need to be made explicit for students because they provide an organizational schema for interrelating knowledge from various science fields into a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world.

Dimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas

Disciplinary core ideas have the power to focus K–12 science curriculum, instruction and assessments on the most important aspects of science. To be considered core, the ideas should meet at least two of the following criteria and ideally all four:

• Have broad importance across multiple  sciences or engineering disciplines or be a key organizing concept of a single discipline; 
• Provide a key tool for understanding or investigating more complex ideas and solving problems;
• Relate to the interests and life experiences of students or be connected to societal or personal concerns that require scientific or technological knowledge;
• Be teachable and learnable over multiple grades at increasing levels of depth and sophistication.

Disciplinary ideas are grouped in four domains: the physical sciences; the life sciences; the earth and space sciences; and engineering, technology and applications of science.

Helpful Anchor Charts

While visiting HTMS today, I saw examples of helpful anchor charts hanging in classrooms throughout the school.

Strategic Teaching at HTMS

HTMS teachers use the strategic teaching strategy of providing engaging activities from start to finish.  They share their plan of action with students by writing the plan on the board each day.

District College and Career Ready Team Meets

Our Trussville City Schools District CCRS Team met on Friday to discuss the processes each school is using to implement the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards.  The team looked at data from each school to begin the process of determining strengths and needs.  The goal of this team is to create a focused district professional development plan that provides administrators and teachers the PD, resources, and information needed to implement the new standards and assessments.  Team members include:
Beth Bruno
Betsy Schmitt
Autumm Jeter
Lisa Berry
Jennifer Cardwell
Melanie Glover
Kristi Stacks
Kelly McGough
Edra Perry
Amanda Roberts
Mindy Dennis
Donna Brumlow
Lisa Lothspeich
Charlotte Booker
Tommy Abney
Joy Young
April Chamberlain
DeAngelia Dailey
Ryan Minisman
Kim Lewis
Diane Byars
Christi Williamson

National Thank a Principal Day

NAESP is calling on fellow education organizations, educators, and supporters to recognize Friday, October 17, as "Thank a Principal Day." Let your principal know that he or she is doing a great job. 

ReadWorks

Do you know about ReadWorks?  If you are looking for articles for students to read, this is an excellent resource.  You will need to create an account, but it is free.  Click  ReadWorks to go to start.

Marzano's 13 Best Practices

This article outlines Marzano’s 13 instructional strategies and behaviors proven to increase student achievement in an online learning environment. Read this practical guide, and learn 13 proven ways to help your learners succeed
Marzano-13-best-practices

Classroom Management Strategies

Click here to check out three tips for improving classroom management and watch a video of a classroom.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2014/10/02/classroom-management-3-things/

Socratic Seminars

Socratic seminars provide a platform for students to think, share, listen, and learn.
Click here to watch a video on Socratic seminars.  (You do not have to register with The Teacher Chanel to watch.)

Learning about Academic Vocabulary

Outstanding professional learning was led today by Paine Intermediate reading coach, Kelly McGough, and Paine Intermediate math coach, Lisa Lothspeich.  Their instruction was based on Robert Marzano's research in his book, Building Academic Vocabulary.  On Monday, the school will begin implementing a school wide focus on academic vocabulary.  A new word will be highlighted and taught each "A" Day.  All teachers, including administrators and specialists, will intentionally teach and use the words throughout the 8-day rotation.  These words will be displayed in the classrooms, hallways, and lunchroom.  The focus will be on Tier II words that cross all contents and are often used in academic dialogue and text. These are the words that are not necessarily used in students' conversations, but are often seen in directions or test questions.Research indicates the intentional teaching of academic vocabulary will result in higher student achievement.

To read more about teaching academic vocabulary, click here.