Iowa ASCD Banner
Volume 12, Number 21                             The Source
December 7, 2012
Register Now for Part 2: Personalized Learning for Students in 1:1 Learning Environments 
(Intended Audience: Teachers, Administrators; Novice Level)

Technology provides educators with a means for personalizing learning for students at a new level. Students can now be connected to information and learning opportunities that go beyond the school walls on a daily basis. Develop a rationale for 1:1 learning environments and begin to consider possibilities for creating this environment at your school.

Presenter: Jill Janes, Iowa Middle School Teacher and Doctoral Student at the University of Kentucky
Date:  Thursday, December 13, 2012; 4:00 - 5:00 P.M.
Cost: 
Free for Iowa ASCD Members; $40 for non-members
  • Onlinehttps://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.)
School on the Move:  East Union Secondary 

The East Union secondary teachers are working to improve instruction in the classrooms that will improve student achievement.

 

With the implementation of the 4X4 block schedule, an 85-minute planning time has been created for East Union staff to plan for instruction and collaboration with their peers. At the middle school, this allows for the teachers of the core subject areas (i.e., English, math, social studies, science, special education) to meet the last block of the day for planning and collaboration. The planning and collaboration groups are a little more diverse at the high school level due to the schedule. For example, a collaboration team might have a math teacher, a science teacher, a music teacher and a PE teacher.    

 

When the block schedule was first implemented, planning and collaboration took place every day during the 85-minute block. Teachers would do individual planning for 40 minutes and group collaboration would take place for the other 40 minutes. This time for collaboration was deemed effective. The time was short and did not allow teachers to go into a topic very deeply. Teachers and administrators discussed the procedure and decided that a change needed to be made.

 

At the start of this school year the structure of the planning and collaboration time was changed. Teachers now plan on Mondays and Wednesdays and collaborate on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fridays are rotated every other week between planning and collaboration. The collaboration on Fridays is reserved for teachers to discuss their curriculum maps and focus on the Iowa Core.   This schedule allows for planning and collaboration for a full 85 minutes, something that teachers felt they needed, not only to plan for instruction in their classrooms, but also to give collaboration more emphasis and meaning.

 

The administration recognized that the longer collaboration time needed to be more structured to assure consistency.   A book study was addressed by collaboration groups:  The Practice of Authentic PLCs, A Guide to Effective Teacher Teams written by Daniel R. Venables. As a result, the secondary staff has set norms for each of their collaboration groups and follows different protocols during their collaboration days. The protocols are used to create a structure where teachers could honestly and safely look at each others' work. Each collaboration group has a facilitator that ensures the protocol is followed. When the school year began, the emphasis in collaboration was on how the protocols would be used and learning more about the process. Once the process was established and each group was comfortable, the groups began the work of looking at student and teacher work. This is the strategy to improve student achievement.

 

According To David Allen and Joseph P. McDonald, authors of the Tuning Protocol, the protocols that our teachers are using in collaboration are:

  • For teachers to engage one another in candid and in-depth discourse about what they are doing or what results their students have produced requires mechanisms that preserve the integrity of honest feedback while protecting the safety of the teacher presenting his/her work. Those mechanisms are protocols.
  • A general discussion of a teacher's work by colleagues often found that well-intentioned and valid criticism (if offered at all) was often met with a degree of defensiveness on the part of the presenting teacher. As a result, valid points of question or concern were soon overcrowded by the discomfort of the critiquing teachers offering the feedback and by the inability of the presenting teacher to separate his/her work from his/her ego.
  • The team of teachers involved in this process becomes more closely knit having been through the experience. Everyone in the group becomes to some extent a better teacher.

High School Principal, Mark Weis, attends nearly all of the collaboration groups; he shares, "I have to say that our staff has accepted the process and is working to improve themselves and their teaching from the feedback they receive from their peers." This process is another strategy to increase the achievement of students at East Union. This is not a strategy that is directly implemented in the classroom with students, but the learning that is happening in the collaboration groups will improve student achievement.

 

You may contact Mark Weis, East Union Secondary Principal, for more information. 

Iowa ASCD Call for Presenters: Attention Grade 4 and Grade 5 Teacher(s) - Come Share Your Stories on Teaching for Learning!

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. 

Registration for Conferences opens in January - Look for updates in The Source!   

 

Vision for the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) 
Framework for Inquiry in Social Studies State Standards

ccsso The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) recently released guidance for states to use in enhancing their standards for rigor in civics, economics, geography, and history in K-12 schools.

"Vision for the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for inquiry in Social Studies Standards," an 8-page document available on Iowa ASCD's website, recognizes that the soon-to-be-released College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework will ultimately focus on the disciplinary and multidisciplinary concepts and practices that make up the process of investigation, analysis, and explanation which will be informative to states interested in upgrading their social studies standards. It will include descriptions of the structure and tools of the disciplines (civics, economics, geography, and history) as well as the habits of mind common in those disciplines. The C3 Framework will also include an inquiry arc - a set of interlocking and mutually supportive ideas that frame the ways students learn social studies content. This framing and background for standards development to be covered in C3 all point to the states' collective interest in students using the disciplines of civics, economics, geography, and history as they develop questions and plan investigations; apply disciplinary concepts and tools; gather, evaluate, and use evidence; and work collaboratively and communicate their conclusions.

The C3 Framework will focus primarily on inquiry and concepts, and will guide - not prescribe - the content necessary for a rigorous social studies program. CCSSO recognizes the critical importance of content to the disciplines within social studies and supports individual state leadership in selecting the appropriate and relevant content.

Like the common core state standards, the C3 Framework will be based on evidence and will aim at college and career readiness. As a core area in the K-12 curriculum, social studies prepares students for college and career including the disciplinary practices and literacies that are needed for college-level work in social studies academic courses and the critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative skills needed for the workplace.

The C3 Framework also adds a third essential component to college and career readiness - civic life. Learning to be actively and responsibly engaged in civic life requires knowledge and experience; children learn to be citizens by working individually and together as citizens. An essential element of social studies education, therefore, is experiential - practicing the arts and habits of civic life collaboratively.

The forthcoming framework, to be released in 2013, will be a significant resource for all states to consider in their local processes for upgrading state social studies standards, rather than set standards for states to adopt. This document, Vision for the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Inquiry in Social Studies State Standards, is designed to give states and other interested parties an understanding of how the C3 Framework is being developed and designed.

Check out the entire story where they outline the four dimensions of the new framework:  1) Developing Questions and Planning Investigations, 2) Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools, 3) Gathering, Evaluating, and Using Evidence, and 4) Working Collaboratively and Using Conclusions.

 

One-Day Workshop with ASCD's David Griffith:  Learn to Advocate with Impact

With the election behind us, it might seem to be a very good time to relax and enjoy a time free of political ads.  In fact, the opposite is true.  It is time to become involved in the legislation that will impact public education.  Please join us in Des Moines with ASCD's David Griffith and learn how to advocate politically and impact student learning in Iowa.  We look forward to your participation! 

Workshop: February 6 (8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.)

Networking Social: February 5 (5:30 - 7:30 P.M.)

Register today for a special workshop just for you - Advocating on the Hill with Your Stories! The Iowa ASCD Board and the first 50 registrants for this professional opportunity on February 6 will learn how to leverage change with legislators. ASCD Director of Public Policy, David Griffith, will be leading our preparation for quality conversations with legislators!
capitol Registration is $50 for members of Iowa ASCD and $90 for non-members. Upon registration you will receive access to tools for advocacy and influence, including talking points for major issues (e.g., competency-based instruction, readers by third grade, kindergarten readiness, instructional time,teacher and principal evaluation), sample letter and telephone script for contacting your legislators, and a rubric to evaluate your skills in advocacy. Iowa ASCD will also provide you with contact information about your legislators so that you may schedule visits "on the hill" as part of this opportunity.
A block of rooms has been reserved for February 5th at the Renaissance Des Moines Savery Hotel [(515) 244-2151]. Be sure to ask for the Iowa ASCD block of rooms.   
Agenda

 

February 5, 2013  -  5:30 - 7:30 P.M.

 

Informal reception at the Renaissance Des Moines Savery Hotel, 401 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa.  Talk with ASCD Director of Public Policy David Griffith and network with your colleagues around advocacy and influence.  Hors d'oeuvres and cash bar.

February 6, 2013 8:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. 
Iowa Historical Building, 600 East Locust            
Continental breakfast and Working Lunch
Professional Learning with David Griffith
February 6, 2013, 1:00 - 3:00 P.M.             
Visits "on the hill" (Capitol - East 12th and Grand)
February 6, 2013, 3:00 - 4:00 P.M.             
Informal (and optional) meeting at the Capitol for interested participants to debrief their visits with legislators and share possible next steps for Iowa ASCD and our members around advocacy and influence.
To register - Contact Bridget Arrasmith with name(s) of registrant(s), district and mailing address, e-mail address(es), phone number as well as check or purchase order. She can be reached at the following address: 
  • Iowa ASCD, Drake University, School of Education, Room 123, 3206 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA  50311  
  • Phone: 515.271.1872
  • FAX: 515.271.2233
  • E-mail: Bridget.Arrasmith@drake.edu

 

You may register online as well with a credit card at the following URL on the Iowa ASCD website: https://iowaascd.org/index.php/events/event-registration/ 

 

Register Now! Limited Space!

 

The participants will receive $50 coupon toward attendance at an upcoming conference in 2013!
Webinars for Your Learning 

Iowa ASCD seeks to keep you informed abut webinars for your learning and the learning of those with whom you work.  Check out the following as you prepare for a great start of the 2012-2013 school year.  Many of these support the work in your collaborative time and definitely help with implementation of The Core!
  • Title:  Ask Dr. Judy:  The Essential Neuroscience of Learning  
      • Presenter:  Dr. Judy 
      • Provider:  ASCD
      • Date:  December 11, 2012, 2:00 - 3:00 P.M. CST
      • Register Free
  • Title:  Using Formative Assessment to Meet the Demands of the CCSS, Part One: Linking Assessment with Content and Quality Instruction  
      • Presenter:  Nancy Frey 
      • Provider:  ASCD
      • Date:  December 12, 2012, 2:00 - 3:00 P.M. CST
      • Register Free
  • Title:  Using Formative Assessment to Meet the Demands of the CCSS, Part Two: Linking Feedback to Action to Make Formative Assessment Informative  
      • Presenter:  Doug Fisher  
      • Provider:  ASCD
      • Date:  January 9, 2013, 2:00 - 3:00 P.M. CST
      • Register Free
  • Title:  Improving Student Learning One Teacher at a Time:  Updating a Lesson Plan  
      • Presenter:  Jane E. Pollock 
      • Provider:  ASCD
      • Date:  January 22, 2013, 2:00 - 3:00 P.M. CST
      • Register Free

Access ASCD's archieved webinars here.

 

You Ought to Know That . . . 
  • Epals is a free resource that allows educators to easily find other classrooms interested in collaborations. They also partner with educational institutions like the Smithsonian and National Geographic to build relationships between adults with expertise and students.
  • EdWeek has provided a summary of the latest research in reading and its relationship to the Core. 
  • There are four great videos for teachers of English - The Art of the Metaphor, Writing Felonies, Five Elements of a Short Story, Onomatopoeia  
  • The Interactive Educational and Resource Network (iEARN-USA) connects youth around the world to one another to promote cultural understanding and learning. The site allows educators to design projects that fit curriculum requirements and focus on building a global community.
  • The  Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) connects classrooms through videoconferencing. Educators can list the kind of interaction they'd like on the website and teachers elsewhere can pick a project they are interested in pursuing.  
  • Teachers new to the profession may join Iowa ASCD for only $15.  This is a great way for your organization to mentor their learning and practices. 
  • Iowa ASCD really appreciates your membership.  Let us know how we can best serve you!  
Success at the Core - A Must for Your Review!
Success at the Core has been made possible through the generous support of philanthropist Paul G. Allen and the
.
It's all about how teams and teachers transforming instruction.


Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Pilot Information for Districts and Schools

This communication provides you with information about the Smarter Balanced Pilot Test that will be administered this spring to students in grades 3-11. The Pilot will be a computer-based administration in the content areas of English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics. Items are aligned to the Common Core State Standards and will include selected response, constructed response, and performance tasks.

The Smarter Balanced Pilot Test entails two approaches (or components) in its implementation.
1) "Volunteer" component that is open to all schools in Smarter Balanced states and will ensure that all schools have the opportunity to experience the basic functionality of the system
2) "Scientific" component that targets a representative sample of schools and yields critical data about the items developed to date as well as about how the system is functioning

Participation and Expectations Volunteering Schools (Released Test Items available during the second half of the Pilot Test window): All schools are encouraged to volunteer to participate in the Smarter Balanced Pilot Test. All schools that volunteer will receive an opportunity to administer a version of the assessment. Schools are invited to indicate their interest in volunteering for the Pilot by registering via an online survey located at:  
Scientifically Selected Schools (two-week window between February 20 to May 10, 2013):
Schools (approximately 10% in each state) will be selected to participate in this Pilot based on predetermined demographic criteria, to ensure that the Pilot items are administered to a representative sample of students. Selected schools will be contacted by the American Institutes for Research's (AIR) recruiting partner, Data Recognition Corporation (DRC), or by a designated state representative, between late November 2012 and January 2013 to be invited to participate in the scientific component of the Pilot Test.

Scientifically selected schools will be offered specific in-depth test administration training in the form of webinars and training modules and will be assigned a specific two-week window within the test window to test their students. Helpdesk support will be available to schools participating in the scientific sample starting January 2, 2013.

Administration Time: 
For scheduling purposes, schools should plan for approximately three hours of testing, per grade per content area. Testing times will vary depending on the subject area, grade, and type of module provided. Scientifically selected schools will be requested to administer the Pilot Test in no more than two grades. Only one content area (ELA or mathematics) will be administered for each grade within a school. The Release Test Items will be available for the other grades and content areas.

Technical Requirements for Participation
The online test delivery system will work on a variety of hardware/operating system configurations. Computers used for the Pilot assessment administration must meet certain minimum requirements to function effectively. Most current systems will work, with the caveat that faster processors and more hard drive space will improve performance. Detailed information on minimum specifications for Smarter Balanced systems will be made available to all Smarter Balanced states on December 4, 2012.

Accommodations and Testing Features:
Some of the most common online accommodations and testing features will be available for the Pilot. The accommodations on the Pilot assessment will not be representative of the full array of accommodations and testing features that will ultimately be available.

Important Dates:
  • Interested schools volunteer to participate via the online survey - November 2012 - January 2013
  • Scientifically selected schools contacted to confirm their participation in the Pilot - Late November, 2012 - January, 2013
  • Online training test is available mid-January, 2013
  • Smarter Balanced Pilot Test Window - February 20 - May 10, 2013 
If you have any questions, please contact AIR at smarterbalancedpilot@air.org.
Iowa ASCD - Twitter!

Stay current with learning! Follow Iowa ASCD on Twitter!   

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.

 

Be Sure to Check Out . . .
Free Webinar for Iowa ASCD Members
School on the Move: East Union
Grade 4 and 5: Call for Presenters!
Social Studies Framework
ASCD Advocacy Workshop
Webinars
You Ought to Know
Success at the Core
Smarter Balance
Iowa ASCD Twitter!
Iowa ASCD Contacts
Iowa ASCD Opportunities

Quick Links:

 

Iowa ASCD  

 

Iowa ASCD Twitter

 


Iowa ASCD Contacts

 

President

Jason Ellingson 

   

Past-President

Leslie Moore

 

President-Elect

Allan Eckelman 

 

Membership Information

Bridget Arrasmith

 

Secretary

Marcia Tweeten 

 

Treasurer

Lou Howell 

 

Members-at-Large

Julie Grotewold 

Ottie Maxey 

Becky Martin 

Kevin Vidergar 

 

DE Liaison

Tina Ross 

 

Higher Education

Jan Beatty-Westerman 

Elaine Smith-Bright 

 

Advocacy and Influence 

Pam Armstrong-Vogel 

Susan Pecinovsky 

 

Curriculum Leadership Academy

Sue Wood 

 

Fall Institute

Kelly Adams 

 

Summer Institutes and Grade-Level Conferences

Kym Stein 

 

Planning Chair 

Cindy Swanson 

 

Technology

Chris Welch  

 

Membership Relations and E-Learning

Amy Wichman 

 

Executive Director

Lou Howell  

 

  • February 5-6, 2013
    • "Advocating for Students and Their Learning"
    • Presenter: ASCD Director of Public Policy David Griffith
    • February 5: 5:30 - 7:30 P.M., Savory Hotel
    • February 6: 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M., Historical Building and the Capitol
    • Focus: training on advocacy "on the hill" as well as update on national and state agendas and tips for influencing your legislators  
  • April 10 - 11, 2013
    • Iowa ASCD Leadership Academy
    • 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. daily
    • Hilton Garden Inn, Urbandale/Johnston
    • $250 for members; $295 for non-members
    • Focus: strategies and best practices around Iowa Core and RTI for curriculum leads
  • April 25 and 26, 2013
    • Grade-Level Conferences - Grades 4 and 5
    • Presenters: "for teachers and by teachers"
    • 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. each day
    • AEA 267 Conference Center in Cedar Falls
    • $90 for members; $150 for non-members
    • Focus: best practices to implement Iowa Core

     

  • Check out  Iowa ASCD's web site  

  • Get The Source the first and third Friday of each month.