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Annual ISN Meeting Update
The annual ISN meeting has been rescheduled for November 29-30 due to conflict with the release of NCLB scores. If you have questions, please contact Judy Littleton.
SAM Project: Principles of Learning #2
Over the past two weeks, ISN shared information about the School Administration Manager (SAM) Project’s instructional coaching program that is focused on building and supporting teacher efficacy based on the Rutherford Learning Group Principles of Learning. Principle of Learning #2 states that learning-centered teachers plan activities that are congruent to the learning goal (target).
In classrooms, congruency refers to an activity that matches the learning goal (target). The key phrase in providing effective instruction is congruent, not correlated. A sign of high-performance teaching is being able to identify imposters. For example, if the learning goal (target) in a classroom is for students to know the reason that governments are formed, a congruent activity with this learning goal (target) would be for students to create a plan of government to address the basic needs of citizens who would move into a new town that has never existed (e.g., to establish order, provide security, accomplish common goals). However, an activity that would not be congruent would be for students to draw a picture of their community, including the government buildings. This activity would not enrich students’ understanding of the learning goal (target). When designing lessons, teachers need to stay focused on the congruent activities to ensure all students achieve the learning goal (target).
Adolescent Literacy
According to the ACT report, Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals about College Readiness in Reading, students are not ready for the types of reading they must do in a two- or four-year institution or a trade or technical school. Students must be prepared to read the types of texts that will be demanded of them in college, technical school or in the workplace. As students move into secondary school, their purposes for reading and the texts they read change. Secondary schools must be prepared to provide high-quality and effective instruction to meet the needs of adolescent learners. Current initiatives and strategies that address the needs of readers in grades 4-12 in Kentucky that support adolescent literacy will be shared in the weeks to come. To learn more about the Adolescent Literacy Coaching Project, visit the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development’s Web site.
CTE Aims to Make Math “Real,”
Career and Technical Education offers electives courses that use math in a technical world and real-world applications in order to help more students improve math achievement. Initial training was designed to provide professional development for math teachers in contextual teaching and provide materials and activities they could use in their classrooms during the school year. Teachers attending the workshops leave with a better understanding of the diverse learning styles of students and how the math curriculum relates to students’ real lives and future career goals.
For more information about workshops, conferences or courses contact Charma.Linville@education.ky.us or Carole.frakes@education.ky.us. Information about applied math workshops at the T3 Conference in Lexington on October 19 & 20 can be obtained at the following: http://staff.fcps.net/bperry/t3conf2007/.
IDEA Festival
Please join the Kentucky Department of Education, in conjunction with the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation and the 2008 IDEA Festival, as we welcome the president and executive director from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Presenters will focus on the Mathematics Focal Points and the Science Anchors projects. The presentation will take place at the Louisville International Convention Center on Thursday, September 13, from 9:30 a.m. EDT until noon. Please register no later than September 10 at this Web site: Idea Festival.
e-Learning Kentucky Online PD
Fall Registration is open and a course catalog is available. For more information, contact Anne Robbins at (502) 564-4772 or e-mail her.
Quotable Quotes
“To say that you have taught when students haven’t learned is to say you have sold when no one has bought.”
Madeline Hunter, educator |