CHALK TALK

IN THIS ISSUE

Educator Evaluation

Ready, Set, Teach!

Achievement Compacts

OEIB Community Meetings

Middle Level Education Conference

Equity Rally

Our Voices, Our Schools 









Teacher Survey

 

If you are a teacher, please take this short survey so we can gauge your opinions on a number of key issues related to the teaching profession.

 


Understanding Value-Added Models


New materials to help you better understand VAM

 

A Statistical Method for Measuring Student Growth

 

FAQ

 


Community Calendar


We have created a public calendar as a helpful resource to help you remember the important education events happening around Oregon. 

 

If you have events that you would like us to add to the calendar, please send them to Michelle.

 

 

ChalkBloggers Highlights

 

Check out some of the blog posts from this month.  

  

  

 Meaningful Family Engagement

 Eliz Roser

 

We, as a community of educators, need to start thinking about family engagement as a philosophy of practice. It needs to be a lens through which we do our work rather than event that we put on.

Todd Jones

 

 How do students come to recognize that education is relevant to their lives? There are numerous ways to answer that question, but one answer is to provide students with alternate education pathways so they can pursue their aspirations. 

 

 

The proof is in the thinking

Sandy Ludeman

 

Let's assume that the purpose of requiring "proof" that colleges of education graduates can improve student learning is to actually improve student learning for complex and meaningful tasks. If that assumption is true (and I, for one, support that purpose), then the way we measure both student and candidate learning also needs to be complex and meaningful. 

 

 

In Search of a Better Value-Added Measure

Ron Smith

 

A better VAM would be one that relies primarily on the analysis of cognitive ability to correct group growth averages. None of the complexities associated with the other proxies are needed, and the resulting comparisons would be much stronger. 

  

  

Does a diverse student body matter? 

Abby Block

 

 In a way, I believe that that is the overall intended outcome: being comfortable and motivated to participate in a heterogeneous and multifaceted society.  Right?

  

 

Teacher Evaluations: What We've Learned from NCLB

T.J. Chandler

 

Like the discussions 10-15 years ago about students "falling behind" and "dropping out," policy-makers realize that there is a problem with teacher effectiveness and attrition.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 2012

Happy New Year!

 

 

Although Chalkboard's mission is focused on K-12 students, we also want to help learners of all ages become informed about important education issues in Oregon and add their voices to the conversation. This past month we held our first Virtual Brown Bag - a chance for Citizens' Corps members to learn about a topic from a number of perspectives. We focused this first webinar on educator evaluation. Take a listen to the recording and let us know if you have ideas for a topic.  


evaluationEducator Evaluation: How it Drives Student Achievement

On Wednesday, January 11, Chalkboard Project held its first virtual brown bag as a part of a series of webinars that will focus on relevant news about education issues in Oregon. It featured talks from local, state and national policy experts and educators.

 

If you were unable to attend the webinar, you can listen to a recording, and download the powerpoint.

 

Our time was cut short during the Q & A section of our presentation, but we would still like to hear your questions so that our experts can help to provide you with answers. Please post questions, comments and concerns in the "comments" section on ChalkBloggers.
 
Stay tuned for details about our second webinar, which will be held in February. 

readyReady, Set, Teach!

With the start of a new year has come the restart of Chalkboard's blog, Ready, Set, Teach.  Written for teachers, by teachers, the blog has a brand new team of contributors that are excited to share their teaching experiences with all of you. Our new bloggers are in the process of completing the Master of Arts in Teaching program at Concordia University, and will be sharing the ins and outs of student teaching in Portland Public Schools. 

 

The team: Joshua Tabshy, Kristie Stevens, Jamie Kimmes, Emily Hensley, Stephanie Taylor and Aika Krecek 

 

In January, Emily Hensley shared her experience working and reworking a unit on relief printmaking until it was a success, and Joshua Tabshy used Rock, Paper, Scissors to teach his high school freshmen about communism, socialism and capitalism. 

 

We are always looking for new voices on Ready, Set, Teach and ChalkBloggers. If you are interested in contributing to either blog, please email Michelle


achievementAchievement Compacts
 Chalkboard is supporting Senate Bill 1581 which would create "achievement compacts" between the Oregon Education Investment Board and every school district in the state. We believe that the compacts are a means to having a more informed conversation about how well Oregon's schools are preparing every student for citizenship, college or career. Read more about our support for the achievement compacts in our talking points.

OEIBOEIB Community Forums

This January, the Oregon Education Investment Board has held community meetings across the state to discuss next steps for improving student success in our public education system. It has been an opportunity for students, educators, parents and community members to share their ideas to support student learning, from prekindergarten through to college and career readiness.

 

OEIB is proposing legislative action in February 2012 to streamline early childhood programs and create a system of accountability for student success. 

 

If you have yet to attend a meeting, it is not too late. On Monday, January 30, a meeting will be held at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, and on Tuesday, Jan 31, one at Portland Community College Rock Creek Campus in Beaverton. For more details, click here


middle39th Annual Conference for Middle Level Education

On November 8-10, 2012, the Association for Middle Level Education will host their 39th Annual Conference in Portland. The conference aims to provide a comprehensive professional development experience to educators and administrators at a very low cost. 

 

For submission, application and event information, click here.  

equityEquity in Education Rally

        


schoolsOur Voices, Our Schools
ChalkboardProjectlogoSam Leach is a third grade teacher at James John Elementary School in St. Johns. He is an extremely passionate individual, who through empathetic listening and creativity, aims to equip his students with the ability to identify and develop their strengths as they uncover new and unique pathways to learning. Mr. Leach uses his classroom blog to chronicle the work of his students and also as a resource for families to stay up to date with classroom happenings. Take a peek at his blog and follow him on twitter.
 

When did you start actively using social media and blogging as a tool for elementary education? What is your specific goal? Do you use your blog and twitter mainly to showcase student work, as a resource for parents, or as a way to keep track of your work as a teacher?

 

I started the blog on a whim one Sunday in September of 2010. My goal was to show parents what their kids were up to. It turned out everyone was interested. Not just mom and dad, but grandparents and extended family. Last May, I launched classroom Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages. These are all fed from the classroom blog, so it's extra social media outlets without being extra work. Facebook has been a great tool for connecting with parents. Twitter is great for messaging companies, foundations, para-educational groups, federal, state and local officials. It has been a beautiful way to celebrate student work / school life and broaden the narrative of public education beyond a test score.

 

How do the parents and families of your students respond to your blog? Do you get a lot of positive feedback?

 

My kids feel like rock stars (which they should, since their work has a global audience). Their families and their extended community are very proud of all the hard work they do.

 

Our families love it. I never have a bad parent encounter anymore. It's a much easier relationship when both parties know what's going on. I think they feel more like a partner in their child's education as opposed to a spectator. I have 14 of my 25 families connected with Facebook. They have been a great resource and huge encouragement for me this year.

 

From your photos, it looks like you are using the iPad as a resource in your 3rd grade classroom. How is this going? Can you tell us a little about how you use it?

 

Our school received seven iPads this year and our class has been piloting them. We have downloaded games that we use to help us with spelling, math computation and geometry. We also started to use a few games that are proving very helpful for our English Language Learners. All of these apps are self correcting and timed.

 

We also use the iPads for research. We are learning about the planets and our solar system. Last week I was able to show the kids the concept of orbit by using the an app on the iPad. We were not only able to manipulate our perspective of the solar system and the size of planets, we were also able to increase the size of the sun and show how that would effect the orbit of planets. For some reason they loved watching all of the planets burn up. This week we will be watching daily updated screen shots from one of the Mars Rovers.

 

We love to share our learning in Room 12. Anytime kids come across anything they want to show the class, we are able to plug the iPad into the projector and show the rest of the class. I think we've yet to scratch the surface on how iPads can be used in the classroom.

 

To read the full interview with Mr. Leach, visit Ready, Set, Teach