Five+Additional+Questions+and+Resources+Assignment

Key Themes that emerged from Dr. White’s Presentation centered about creating a Collaborative Culture within schools to improve/enhance student learning. He cited Teacher Effectiveness as the KEY and henceforth, teaching practices must be addressed openly, publicly, and often! My favorite quote from Dr. White was that “teachers should be noisy, nosy, and travel in packs.” Wow- that reminded me so much of my students! My follow up question to Dr. White regards on how to structure intentional and purposeful staff meeting and/or school improvement team meetings that will address teacher effectiveness. One website that he offered in the course of the seminar was [|www.edtrust.org] which hosts an interesting article citing Teacher Effectiveness to positive teaching conditions as teachers perform better when they feel that have a positive working environment.
 * Connie Beson-Steger**
 * 3 Credit Course Assignment**
 * Five Summaries, Questions, and Web Resources**
 * 1. Dr. White- Breaking Through the Barriers of Poverty and Lack of Resources **


 * 2. Great Expectations- What’s Working in our Schools Today. ** Hosted by Tim Marciniak, Margy Dewey, and John Sandford, Principals of local schools that are actively practicing Great Expecations. I facilitated this session as I am a certified Great Expectations Instructor and my principal, Tim Marciniak, was a guest speaker. G.E. is built upon six basic tenets including High Expectations, All Children Can Learn, Creating a Climate of Mutual Respect, Teacher Attitude and Responsibility, Building Self-Esteem, and Teacher Knowledge. There are 17 Teaching Practices that accompany these six tenets including celebrating the success of all students, teaching proper classroom procedures, teaching greeters/concierges to answer the phone, door, and introduce guests, as well as taking risks in the classroom to mention a few. G.E. has been a life force in my failing high school allowing us to reach AYP for the first time in 7 years. A great website to learn more about GE is [|www.geok.org] GE was founded in Oklahoma (a state that Sir Ken Robinson quoted as wanting to be known as the innovative state) and every public school elementary teacher is trained in Great Expectations! It’s transformed my classroom, my students, and my teaching in phenomenal way! My only question is…how to market GE to the Great Lakes Bay Region more effectively and to accomplish this I am working on creating a mini GE Video using my classroom and some student, teacher, and administrator feedback!


 * 3. Dr. Cathy Hamilton- Barriers of the Child of Poverty ** . Dr. Hamilton addressed the issues of language, literacy, and poverty. Some key themes that emerged from her presentation included the many registers of language that we have including our dominant register and the more formal registers. It was fascinating to learn that “a 3 year old child raised in a middle class home will hear more vocabulary on any given day than a welfare mother.” She also informed us of the top four reasons that middle class families enter poverty; loss of job, divorce, death of a parent, and illness. I have learned at conferences that 1 in 4 of my students will be living in poverty and that breaks my heart because poverty doesn’t often have a face so I do not know which of my students is hungry and homeless and which student is taking care of a sick parent at home. Thus, after listening to Dr. Hamilton, I believe that relationship building with my students is even more crucial than ever and one way to detect my students living in poverty is by listening to their daily register. Finally, we incorporate a great deal of enriched vocabulary and by doing this, I am helping teach formal and consultive registers to all my students- including those who have never heard this language spoken at home. One question I have for Dr. Hamilton regards the Effective Lesson Design graphic organizer that she included in her power point handout which suggests offering cues, questions, and graphics as non linguistic representations. I haven’t really thought about how many linguistic vs. nonlinguistic cues I use daily when introducing new material/content in my classroom but I will be very conscious of this in the future. This is a great website to read more about how to teach to students in poverty: []


 * 4. Sir Ken Robinson- Let the Learning Revolution Begin ** ! I have viewed some of Sir Ken’s Pictoral Graphic Organizers in the past and I was very excited to hear him speak in person! In fact, that’s one the main reasons I attended the academy this year! His fast graphics truly speak to the face that a learning revolution needs to be happening in more than just the high tech nouveau high schools of the rich and famous! We need a revolution in our school and to rethink the way that we teach what we teach! His brief talk focused on the three principles of education that we currently adhere to; conformity, compliance, and linearity. However, the three principles that he believes that we need to focus on include creativity, diversity, and organic development. I agree completely. He also stated that effective teaching is like an Art Form. He believes that we need to move from a more linear curriculum to one that includes more physical education, humanities, art, and music. He spoke a great deal about allowing students to use their imagination and/or be creative and the need to foster (not stifle) these efforts in our classrooms. “To be creative- you must DO SOMETHING. Creativity is putting imagination to work” I think we’ve been so consumed with teaching content and benchmarks that we forget to all students the options to create to demonstrate their understanding of a new topic/concept. One question I have for Sir Ken is…what is the LEGO prize for international achievement. Here is the wesbsite that answers that! Who knows- maybe one of my students will win a Lego Award someday too! []


 * 5. Dr. Skilling- Closing the Global Achievement Gap ** . Dr. Skilling is the Superintendent of Oxford Community Schools and a Global Scholar and International Visionary. The key theme that he presented was that scarcity of resources does not limit a school district to subpar standards…on the contrary innovation requires both vision and risk taking as there is never enough money to meet the capacity of demand. Dr. Skilling reminded me of my dad’s favorite saying, “economic hardship builds character.” Dr Skilling compared risk taking to failure as “it’s not failure unless you give up” which he clearly hasn’t. He is a very confident leader and has truly transformed his school district into a very successful community. Some of the changes that he’s implemented including a 12 year foreign language program with 3 international school planted in China and Costa Rica. He has teacher exchanges in which international teachers come to Oxford to teach with their families and Michigan teachers relocate overseas to instruct in their partner schools. He removed the pay-to-play costs and created a new policy of free admission for all students who want to attend a sporting event, theatrical performance, band concert, etc…which is truly revolutionary in today’s economy of 1massive school budget cuts. He plans his opening school day to be full of excitement, and high energy- which is also refreshing to hear! My most memorable moment was when Dr. Skilling redefined the word recession throughout history. As a history teacher, I teach about the Great Panics, the Great Depression, and the many recessions since…however, Dr Skilling suggested that we need to recalibrate to the notion that this is the new global world and this is the new global economy and move forward today- don’t waste time waiting for the economics to change! He also stressed the need for business partnerships and the many benefits of business association when going abroad. One question I have for him regards the start up of international partner schools- so I visited his website at Oxford Community Schools. [] It’s very impressive and exciting to see what global educational projects are happening around us!

As a high school teacher this session was very interesting as we try to prepare our students with the necessary skills to be successful in the working world around us. Some of the key themes that emerged were that students need to be taught positive communication skills (formal register to use in the work place), problem solving skills including creative problem solving, and emotional intelligence- especially when it comes to working with groups of people. Some surprising comments were that students need basic keyboarding skills (for fast typing ability while listening to customers on the phone), caring behaviors, and empathy, creativity, and personal initiative. We do career pathways and some career cruising in high school classes but we do not teach JobFit which all three companies require alongside an application. In my high school classroom, we focus a great deal on formal communication skills and interview training as I partner with the coop advisor and perform mock interviews with the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. All three businesses said they’d like to see more school-to-business partnerships and I intend to pursue a relationship between both the Morley Company (as my friend is the HR director and guest speaker) and Dow Kokam. Many of my students already are engaged with hands on career training through the Bay Arena Career Center which places many students at McLaren Regional Medical Center throughout the school day. Dr. Skilling stressed the need of business partnerships I education and this was a fabulous follow up session to hear the opinions and viewpoints of business leaders in the surrounding area. I asked many questions in this session and one website that I intend to introduce to my high school students in JOBFIT. []
 * 5. Strengthening the School-to-WorkPlace Connection Ellen Talbot (McLaren Bay Region), Jill Gushow (Morely Companies), & Bill Monneypenny (Dow Kokam) **

Dr. White was critical of standardized tests that he charged with “testing to prove rather than testing to improve.” Resource: __www.edtrust.org/dc/publication/the-value-of-value-added-data__ This report shows how value-added data—which tracks growth in student learning—affects student achievement and teacher impact.
 * Eric Albright**
 * 3 Credit Course Assignment**
 * Five Additional Questions and Resources**
 * 1. Presentation:** Dr. Michael White:
 * Question:** What types of tests and data being used properly (according to Dr. White) to improve student learning?

Dr. Hamilton gave brain research to encourage decision making in non-emotional or instinctive stages. This website features lessons and stages appropriate for various grade levels to develop appropriate critical thinking skills.
 * 2. Presentation:** Dr. Cathy Hamilton: Brain Research
 * Question:** What strategies specifically address critical thinking and decision making skills?
 * Resource:** __[|www.criticalthinking.org]__

Dr. Hamilton highlighted the development of word acquisition and its connection to socioeconomic status. The goal of "Reading Like a Historian," a high school curriculum designed at Stanford, is to improve literacy skills, foster a love of learning and of history, and increase critical thinking and reading comprehension.
 * 3. Presentation:** Dr. Cathy Hamilton: Literacy
 * Question:** What are daily vocabulary lessons/strategies that can be used in a high school social studies classroom setting?
 * Resource:** []

One idea that // Gov // **. ** // Snyder // outlined was the **"** // Any Time // **, ** // Any Place // , Any Way, Any Pace" public school learning model. ** Question: ** In what ways may this philosophy manifest itself in public schools? ** Resource: ** __[|www.gpeanow.org/documents/Analysis%20of%20Gov%202011%20props%20re%20education.pdf]__ This outline and discussion serves as a brief analysis of Governor Snyder’s philosophy having implications on school of choice, “funding follows student”, accountability, testing out, alternative assessments, etc.
 * 4. Presentation:** Linda Forward

** 5. Presentation: ** Horacio Sanchez Reducing stress levels of students (particularly those with temperament issues) was a key component to Dr. Sanchez’s brain research presentation. ** Question: ** What are additional practical ideas to reduce stress levels of students that still impose academic rigor and intellectual growth? ** Resource: **__ [|www.resiliencyinc.com/documents] __ This article from Resiliency Inc. provides strategies for implementing brain-based instruction.

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 * By: Brian Campbell**
 * Email: asccampbell@bacschools.org**
 * Five Summaries, Questions, and Web Resources**

//Techniques, data, and practical examples of how music, video, kinesthetics, and repetition can be used to engage the brain more fully and effectively are explored and discussed.// Q: Are there are specific brain-based techniques or strategies that can most effectively be applied to specific subject areas or grade levels? A: [] (Article that addresses brain-based education with an emphasis on math) [|http://www.corwin.com/books/Book236801#tabview=google] (Google preview of a Marcia Tate book that addresses brain-based strategies in a social studies classroom)
 * Horacio Sanchez, Brain-Based Instruction**

//He discussed rethinking and reimagining education simply and effectively, and addressed students, teachers, administrators, and environmental factors all while focusing on what is truly important, student growth.// Q: How can I build the most effective pre-assessments, and what are the pitfalls that I should be prepared to guard against? A: [] (A document that gives an overview of Dr. White’s assessment philosophy and program.
 * Dr. Mike White, Breaking Through Barriers of Poverty and Lack of Resources: Continuing the Conversation Informally with Mike White**

//She discussed the implementation of a flipped classroom approach that took place at Clintondale High School, and the successes and challenges the school has seen as a result of the change.// Q: What sort of instruction is best delivered through flipping, and what type of instruction does not work as well when flipped? A: [] (A three-part review of the ins and outs of successfully implementing a flipped classroom model)
 * Meloney Cargill, Using a Flipped Classroom Approach: A Game Changer**

//She taught and explained her approach to teaching literacy that improves fluency and comprehension for all readers at all reading levels.// Q: Why does it seem to good to be true? …is it? A: [] (An extensive research project and paper that studies the effectiveness of EBLI)
 * Nora Chahbazi, Literacy Instruction that Works: EBLI, Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction**

//He discussed his own experiences of getting into Harvard and making a living as a nationally syndicated baseball writer while making connections our students and helping them identify and achieve their greatest potential.// Q: How can teachers inspire and motivate gifted learners to push themselves beyond expectations and toward maximizing their considerable talents. A: [] (An ASCD article that addresses a few strategies for inspiring gifted students)
 * John Paul Morosi, Preparing Out Students for the Competitive World**

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