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Featured Product
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An exciting new tool is available for Learning-Focused Classrooms. The Giant Student Learning Map (7' x 4') and its sibling the Classroom Student Learning Map (4' x 3') are available for pre-order. They are made of a heavy duty "Thermoplast" sub-strate with a "dry-erase" surface and metal grommets for easy hanging.
Both of these items are available for pre-order by calling 866-955-3276. The Giant Student Learning Map is $295.00 and the Large Student Learning Map is $185.00.
The delivery estimate for these items is 2 - 4 weeks after the order is placed.
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The Learning-Focused Connections Newsletter is a weekly link to exemplary practice and ideas that will help you as an educator to increase achievement in your classroom and school. Some weeks there will be a mix of articles in the mailer, other weeks we will follow a theme. If there are questions you want answered, or strategies you want to know more about please let us know. We are all working with the same goal in mind, continuous improvement in student achievement.
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Article Suggestions
Are there subjects you would like to see written about in Learning-Focused Connections? Email us at info@learningfocused.com with your suggestion. Please place "newsletter article request" in the subject line.
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Media Center Uses Graphic Organizers to teach Reading Comprehension!
by Barbara McSwain
It works! Jane Surrency recently exclaimed to a Learning-Focused Instructional Specialist. Surrency is a Media Specialist at Lake Region High School in Polk County. She is using graphic organizers, suggested by Learning-Focused, to enhance Florida Teens Read book club meetings. Florida Teens Read book club meetings are sponsored by the Lake Region High School Media Center.
Recently the club read Crossing the Wire, which is a story
about a young boy who illegally crosses the border into the U.S. so he can earn enough money to send back to his family in Mexico. His
family's corn crop has failed due to drought and they no longer have a
way to earn a living. The students listed the events that led to the boy's decision to cross the border and the events that occurred afterwards. The students were immediately able to understand "cause and effect" with the aide of the graphic organizer.
Learning-Focused has the mantra "adapt don't adopt!" "We have customized the graphic organizers to reflect the themes of the books we are reading" stated Surrency. Students at Lake Region are concentrating on comprehension skills across content areas. Many of the teachers have participated in Learning-Focused Day 1-4 training. Others recently attended the Learning-Focused Vocabulary Workshop. All teachers will be trained in Day 1-4 and Vocabulary by the conclusion of FY 09.
Lake Region has participated in the Learning-Focused Alliance package. Joel McGuire, principal, has attended all the Learning-Focused Trainings and has been instrumental in the success of the implementation process.
Teachers have observed an increase in student engagement when students use graphic organizers for guided reading, note taking and study tools. Teachers have also used Learning-Focused Unit/lesson design, previewing strategies with vocabulary, collaborative pairs and distributed summarizing in every lesson.
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The School-Based Learning-Focused Coach
by Debbie Cargill
The days of "one size fits all" professional development are gone. The No Child Left Behind Act states that professional development activities must be high-quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused, not one-day or short-term workshops or conferences. Implementation is the most important piece of the professional development puzzle. How does a school ensure that theory, knowledge, and skills translate into change in instructional practices?
Learning-Focused coaches can provide the support and encouragement needed to bridge that gap. In the 1980s, Joyce and Showers (1988) reported that on-site coaching resulted in the highest level of implementation after significant professional development. In this day of continuous improvement and constant change, schools must focus on ways to get the most from their professional development dollars. Providing for school-based coaches can be a way to bring about the classroom change and movement needed to increase student achievement.
Researchers and evaluators have found that in exemplary schools there are two conditions present - high accountability and high support. High accountability means that not only are there clear expectations for the implementation of exemplary practices, but also consistent monitoring. In other words, teachers know what is expected and administrators check for implementation. Administrators make classroom visits a priority with a clear focus on exemplary practices. High support means that while expectations are high, support for implementation is also a top priority.
The Learning-Focused coach can provide that support by assisting teachers with implementation through planning, collaborative relationships, and reflection. The coach's focus is on moving the teacher to more efficient and effective instructional decision making. This collaborative effort may include demonstration/modeling lessons, co-teaching, individual/team planning, conferencing with individuals or teams, collecting and analyzing data, reviewing student work, and presenting to small groups and faculty. Most importantly, the coach can help in sustaining ongoing learning-focused conversations about exemplary practices. According to Anne Propst, Assistant Principal, "School-based coaching is a must for teams of administrators and coaches who truly wish to create a Learning-Focused school. It clearly defines the interactive roles and common language necessary to implement and sustain exemplary practices within a community of educators whose level of experience and subject matter may be extremely varied."
Professional development alone will not bring about the change needed in schools. When the school culture becomes a culture of learning for all - students and adults - the opportunities for improvement will increase. An ongoing dialogue about exemplary schools and practices will move teachers in their thinking and change instructional practices in the classroom.
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"If I teach Reading in Math Class, will the Reading Teachers teach Math in Reading Class?"
by Laurian Phillips
Not
only have I heard this comment from countless numbers of math teachers, but I
myself felt that same way at one time.
It is tough enough to teach all of the content that we are teaching
without having to teach something we don't even feel qualified to teach on top
of everything else.
But
I also knew that if my students didn't understand and comprehend what they read
in mathematics, they could not solve problems.
So how could I approach this and remain relatively sane?
I
began by researching the topic of reading in the content areas and specifically
reading in mathematics. One thing that
gave me more assurance was that I don't actually have to teach reading. I help students become better readers by
helping them understand the mathematics they read. Also encouraging to me was that there are
specific strategies out there to help me teach students to become better
readers in mathematics. Math is so
different from other subjects because as noted by Niemi (2003), "reading
mathematics requires different skills than other content areas. One needs to
decode and comprehend symbols and graphics. To further confuse students,
information is presented in a variety of ways: left to right, right to left
(number lines), top to bottom (tables) or diagonally (graphs). Given these
challenges, it is no wonder that many students cannot successfully read
mathematics text."
Niemi
recommends using graphic organizers such as webs, concept maps, and
compare/contrast diagrams to help students make sense of the mathematics. Vocabulary strategies should be a focus of
any math class. Learning-Focused has
many solutions and workshops to help teachers plan for vocabulary instruction.
An
anticipation guide is a great activator for a selection that is more
difficult. Questions can be created that
help identify students' prior knowledge, as well as common misconceptions and
other key points in the selection.
An
article entitled, "Making Math Make Sense" by Doug Buehl suggests having
students prepare a bookmark with tips for reading mathematics to place in their
math book. Students can refer to the bookmark when they are having trouble
reading in math.
Resources:
Barton, M.L.& Heidem, C. (2002) Teaching Reading in
Mathematics (2nd ed). Aurora,
CO: Mid-continent Research for
Education and Learning.
Barton, M.L., Heidema, C. & Jordan,
D. "Teaching Reading in Mathematics and Science". Educational Leadership.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 60(3), 24 - 28.
Buehl, Doug. "Making Math Make Sense". The Reading
Room. October 1998
Niemi, Rhonda.
"Reading in Math Class??" Kentucky Council of
Teachers of Mathematics Newsletter, April 2003.
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The Scope and Influence of Learning-Focused
by Jim Riedl
The question is often asked how many schools are using Learning-Focused? That is a difficult question to answer when you consider the wide range of services offered under the Learning-Focused banner. Up until about five years ago Learning-Focused had only several products and was providing workshops to a limited number of schools with only 4 or 5 consultants. The offerings were limited to Learning-Focused Strategies and Catching Kids Up. Besides Max Thompson and Julia Thompson, there were several consultants that conducted training only part-time as an escape from their regular, full-time employment.
All that has changed over the past five years. Learning-Focused has grown and transformed into one of the largest providers of school improvement materials and training in the United States. The list of publications now numbers over 40 and more are being developed and added as the need for them is established. The number of full-time trainers and consultants has reached eighteen and they are all constantly engaged working with schools that wish to show significant improvement in student achievement.
In 2007, Learning-Focused conducted 1450 direct contact workshop, conferencing and coaching sessions. These sessions were from the full range of current offerings that support Balanced Achievement as suggested by the USDOE in 2006 as the only way schools will bring all students to acceptable levels of performance. They fall into six categories: Leadership, Curriculum, Comprehensive Literacy, Instruction, Catching Kids Up and Assessment.
This range of workshops, conferencing and coaching sessions were provided in twenty different states. The states range from New England to Florida, the Mid-Atlantic to the West Coast and Northeast to Southwest. There are even two states that are currently implementing plans to use Learning-Focused statewide. Many states are seeing the use of Learning-Focused spread as those already using Learning-Focused have greater and greater success.
In those twenty states there were 290 school districts and 3200 individual schools that chose to work with Learning-Focused in raising student achievement and for some to achieve AYP for the first time.
The scope of Learning-Focused's impact becomes even more impressive when you realize the number of students and teachers being impacted. In 2007, those numbers reached 92,000 classrooms and 111,000 teachers. With the training and materials in place and being used the impact of Learning-Focused has increased dramatically over the past five years. In fact, the number of students being impacted reached 2.8 million in 2007.
These numbers represent a significant opportunity for Learning-Focused to work with a wide range of diverse schools, teachers and students to change the results being achieved across a major portion of the US. It is my sincere hope that these numbers help all of our current clients understand the scope of what they have chosen to be a part of. To those who have been a client or colleague in the past, thank you for being a part of what has moved Learning-Focused along this road to such inspiring growth and development.
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Past Connections Articles
Past Connections articles are available through the archive tool of this newsletter. Please click here to view these resources.
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New and Upcoming Products and Resources:
1. An English Language Arts Model Curriculum
This
is a K-12 ELA Curriculum that has a complete year of Student Learning
Maps for each grade, a complete unit for each grade (including all of
the lessons and activities) all driven by YOUR STATE STANDARDS!
2. Leadership Academies and Coaching
Over
20 sessions make up our Leadership Academies. Academies are designed
for Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, District Curriculum,
Instruction,
and Professional Development Directors, Principals, Assistant Principals, School Leadership Teams, and School Boards. |
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