• Online:  https://iowaascd.org/index.php/events/event-registration/ 
• Mail/Email/FAX:  Bridget Arrasmith, Room 123, School of Education, Drake University, 3206 University, Des Moines, Iowa 50311; Phone: 515.271.1872; Fax: 515.271.2233; Email:bridget.arrasmith@drake.edu (She will need your name, district, e-mail address; non-members must also provide check/purchase order.)

In the summer and fall of 2011, the Central Community School District (DeWitt) Administrative Team was really struggling with the sense of urgency in education we understand, feel, and witness everyday.  And, the staff was coming off of a three-year professional development that had mediocre response from teachers. The administrative team had a strong desire to do something very different for teacher learning - to push the envelope knowing "what we'd done for years simply wasn't working and wasn't good enough for kids anymore."  They knew they wanted to reinvent professional learning in their district. "There were so many indicators and variables really pushing us to make a change. As a result, year one of "Open-Ended" Professional Learning was born."

In the 2011-2012 school year, teachers were able to work in groups, developing their own professional learning on a topic they were passionate about, with a few non-negotiable stipulations.  The teams spent about 20 hours together working to accomplish their team goals. In fact, the district theme for the entire year was, "When was the last time you tried something for the first time?" "We capitalized on that theme every time we could to get teachers out of their comfort zone and open to something different or out of the ordinary." Each "Learning Team" created SMART goals for student learning and undertook something that "was a little bit too hard" (one of the non-negotiables).  Central Community Schools also went 1:1 that year in grades 4th-12th, so there were all sorts of options and variety that the staff undertook relative to instruction and instruction with technology integration.  At the conclusion of each of the two cycles of learning that year, the groups created a "Showcase" for their colleagues, demonstrating the data/student achievement, and learning gains.  Here are some of the responses the district received from teachers at the end of the year:

• For once we are actually using something we created in PD in our classrooms.
• It helped us know when to differentiate because we looked at our data relative to the Iowa Core common assessment; we created, developed, and implemented instructional strategies accordingly.
• The practical and immediate application of our learning was awesome!
• For once, we loved PD!
• It was good to learn something we actually needed/wanted to learn something about to make our classroom better and me better!

And while the district recognizes the professional development experience isn't about "making teachers happy," for the first time, the administrative team saw teachers reigniting their passion to be in the classroom, excited about their own learning, wondering how they could push themselves to the next level, and challenging one another to collect meaningful data.  Truly a powerful experience to view the showcases from the teachers at the end of the year!

Were there some bumps? Certainly - but "we believe for the 2012-2013 school year we've removed some of the glitches.  We are embarking on the "Open-Ended PD" this year using an ad-hoc model created from our surveys, research, and the data team process." They allow for freedom of choice, yet have strongly tied the work to student data, collaboration, and effective instruction. The administrators, AEA personnel, and interns serve as coaches for the groups, allowing for a more personal connection with the work, forcing coaches to be intimately familiar with not only the content of the work being done, but allows for the flyers to fly. "What's even more gratifying about our model is we know for certain we are meeting the Professional Development expectations as outlined in the Iowa Code: student achievement data and analysis, theory, classroom demonstration and practice, observation and reflection, teacher collaboration and study of implementation and integration of technology - a feat we haven't always accomplished in the past."

Central Community School's model certainly will continue to be developed, and "while we certainly cannot say we've 'arrived,' we continue to create structures to support this work, including data collection tools that address content, instruction, and assessment in addition to targeted 21st Century Skills. The most exciting element of the work and our action research is the fact that we do anticipate an increase in student achievement and a change in practice in the classroom - relative to what our kids need now for their futures."

For more information, please contact Amy Wichman, Director of Innovation and Instruction, Central Community School District. 

The Grade 4 and Grade 5 Practitioner Conferences of Iowa ASCD will be available in April in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  The focus is on "Impacting Student Learning with the Iowa Core and Characteristics of Effective Instruction." 

Dates:  April 25 - Grade 4 and April 26 - Grade 5

Please apply to share your expertise in one of the conference strands.

• Teaching for Understanding - Curriculum Strand: What do all students need to learn, know and be able to do? How do we in our building/grade level connect our teaching with the students' learning expectations identified in "the core"?   Share what's happening in the classroom to achieve the Iowa Core.
• Assessment for Learning - Assessment Strand: How do we know that students have learned? How are formative assessments being used to diagnose students' progress in learning, determine areas of strength and plan for differentiated instruction? How do we adjust our instruction based on the results of the formative assessments? Tell your story!
• Teaching for Learner Differences - Instruction Strand: How do we plan and deliver instruction so that we meet the needs of all learners in our classroom? How do we respond if students struggle or don't learn and how do we respond when students have already learned? Share your experiences, success stories and lessons learned!

WE need YOU to tell your story, share your strategies, ideas and success stories!  Explain your ideas for integrating the Iowa Core in the classroom. Share your strategies for using formative assessment to inform instruction. Is your classroom environment focused on differentiated instruction? Share your examples and classroom management processes!

Apply as a single teacher or as a teacher team! 

Click here to access proposal form and more details!  See upper right-hand corner of the Iowa ASCD web page. 

Proposals due December 19, 2012. Complete and return the proposal form soon!  We all want to learn from each other. 

Access ASCD's archieved webinars here.

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http://twitter.com/#!/IowaASCD  

Iowa ASCD is the source for developing instructional leadership and translating research into daily practice. Serving more than 850 educators - teachers, principals, superintendents, directors of curriculum, technology specialists, college professors, AEA staff - Iowa ASCD strives to develop the collaborative capacity to impact the learning of each and every student in Iowa.