PI Teachers Study at Teachers College at Columbia University

Principal Autumm Jeter, Reading Coach Kelly McGough, and teachers, Amy Kuhn, Marianna Waits, Allie Aldrich, Jana Feild, Dee Dee Brasher, and Carrie Almon, have studied at the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York for the last four days.  They have focused on developing the curriculum and methods necessary to help students reach the rigorous standards for content area literacy embedded in the Common Core.

Discussions and demonstrations included how to ramp up the level of rigor and engagement in the content areas. The participants learned about small group work, collaborative inquiry and multi-media centers, which allow students to research in the company of others.

The teachers worked to develop a repertoire of skills for helping students think and read nonfiction texts analytically, including reading for central ideas, synthesizing, and comparing and contrasting. They studied methods for involving whole classes in close reading of grade-level complex texts and nonfiction read-alouds.

Participants also learned concrete methods to support and hone students’ note-taking skills, including observing, sketching, sorting and categorizing notes. The institute focused on nonfiction content and reading with an emphasis in grades 3-8 on quick content area essays. The teachers learned about ways to help students write fluently across the curriculum, using writing as a tool for analytical thinking.

Additionally, the group learned about using performance assessments to track students’ progress in some of the higher-level comprehension skills inherent in the CCRS. As a culminating activity, the teachers developed action plans aimed at revising curriculum in social studies and language arts.

Kelly McGough and Lucy Calkins

Allie Aldrich and Lucy Calkins