Iowa ASCD just received notice from ASCD that we have been awarded a $2500.00 ASCD Influence Grant to conduct regional advocacy training sessions and meetings with Iowa legislators. 

The ASCD selection committee commended Iowa ASCD for continuing our work to prepare Iowa ASCD members to become effective advocates and provide them with opportunities to meet with their elected officials.  "We are pleased to support your ongoing efforts to increase the affiliate's influence on state and local decision making."

We remind our members that there will be a 2014 Advocacy Workshop in Des Moines on February 12.  We sincerely hope you choose to join us in the morning to learn more about advocacy,  strategies for influencing your legislators, and then a trip "to the hill" in the afternoon to talk with the House Education Committee and visit with your legislators.

 

Learn how to:

• increase student motivation in literacy
• help K-8 students meet the Iowa Core literacy standards
• organize reading and writing around real purposes for kids

 

                              

Time: 9:00-3:30

 

s $120 for members and $165 for non-members.  All participants receive the book, Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in K-8 Classrooms.   

 

 

You can read the first chapter of her book. It will convince you this is a MUST learning opportunity for you to impact your students and their learning.   

 

Opportunities for registering include the following: 

• Register on line at the Iowa ASCD events website.
• Mail a check/purchase order with date/name of conference and names of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith, Drake University School of Education, 3206 University, Des Moines, IA  50311.
• E-mail a purchase order with name/date of conference and names of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at bridget.arrasmith@drake.edu. 
• FAX purchase order with name/date of conference and names of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at 515.271.2233.     

 

 

"The Five Whys" strategy is designed to help us "dig deeper" for causes - getting us to the root causes. After identifying a problem statement, ask yourself "why" several times. While five is not a sacred number, it does encourage us to go beyond the obvious symptoms and reach the underlying root cause(s). You will want to verify your "root cause(s)" with evidence whenever possible.

 

When Should We Use the 5 Whys?

• When we are unsure of what specifically caused a situation to be as it is.
• When we want a systematic way to lead a leadership group to understand the real reason why a problem is occurring or has occurred.  

Steps of "The Five Whys"

1. Identify a perceived problem, situation, or topic that is to be studied or looked at closely.
2. Ask "why?" this condition exists.
3. Each time the question "Why?" is answered, ask "Why?" of that statement.
4. Continue asking "Why?" until you feel comfortable you have determined the root cause.      
5. Seek to verify your "root cause" with evidence.

What is the perceived problem/ situation/ topic to be looked at closely?

 

We have lost the kingdom.

 

Why? Why was the kingdom lost?

We didn't fight for it!

 

Why? Why didn't we fight for it?

Because we had no horsemen to lead the battle!

 

Why? Why didn't we have any horsemen to lead the battle?

Because there were no horses!

 

Why?

 

Because they all needed new shoes? 

 

Why? Why were there no new shoes?

Because the nails had not yet arrived!

 

We lost the kingdom due to lack of nails!!  

 ***************************************************************

 

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

 

• Advancing Competency-Based Pathways to College and Career Readiness (July, 2013)
• Are Personalized Learning Environments the Next Wave of K-12 Education Reform? (August, 2013)
• Strengthening High School Learning and Teaching in New Hampshire's Competency-Based System (January, 2013)
• Rethink the Carnegie Unit 
• Web-Based Resources for Personalized Learning Experiences (CCSSO)
• The Art and Science of Designing Competencies (July, 2012)
• Diploma Plus Competencies  
• Necessary for Success (February, 2013)
• Aligning Competencies to Rigorous Standards for Off-Track Youth (December, 2012)
• An Emerging Role for Competency Education (April, 2013)
• Making Mastery Work (November, 2012)
• Cracking the Credit Hour (September, 2012)   

 

 

On Sept. 17, the National Council for the Social Studies released the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards. The C3 Framework is the result of a three-year  effort led by more than twenty states in cooperation with 15 social studies content organizations. Its purpose is to provide guidance to states in upgrading their state social studies standards, and to assist local school districts, schools, teachers and curriculum writers to strengthen social studies programs. Learn more.

"Working Together:  Making Connections within Science and Mathematics" is the theme of this year's joint conference at the Scheman Center on the ISU campus in Ames. 

Mark your calendars now for this opportunity to learn from national presenters, including keynote speaker Zalman Usiskis, Director of the University of Chicago School of Mathematics Project, who will also be addressing the new  and pre-service teachers at the pre-conference the evening of October 22, 6:00 - 9:00 P.M. at the Sheman Center.

You may register at http://www.iowamath.org/conference/.

Align your teaching strategies to The Core and reinvigorate your practices with this cutting-edge webinar!  Dr. Marzano, author of Using Common Core Standards to Enhance Classroom Instruction & Assessment, Vocabulary for the Common Core, and The Art and Science of Teaching, will review the instructional shifts necessitated by the Common Core and explain how the Art and Science of Teaching framework can be adapted to facilitate those shifts.

 

Learn which elements of the framework should be used more frequently, how to provide more rigor and depth within each of the 41 elements, how to directly teacher and foster mental skills and processes from The Core, and how to plan more thoughtfully.

 

Plan for approximately 45 minutes of pertinent information and 15 minutes for questions and answers.

 

Register now!