Iowa ASCD Members Elect Becky Martin of Cedar Rapids as President for 2015-2015.
Becky Martin, the Professional Development Facilitator for the Cedar Rapids Community School District, has been elected President-Elect by the members of Iowa ASCD. She directs professional development for the district also working in the areas of school improvement and continuous improvement. She is instrumental in the planning and implementation of the Professional Learning Community initiative for the Cedar Rapids district, focusing curriculum, assessment and instruction.
Her background includes design, delivery, and management of professional development programs. She is a certified data coach for
Decision-Making for Results through the Reeves Learning and Leadership Center. She works collaboratively with local area education agency staff to coordinate professional development and school improvement opportunities.
 Becky has delivered presentations at local, state and national conferences and organizations, including Iowa ASCD events, including but not limited to National School Board Association, ASCD, and NQEC and has authored articles in leading education publications. She is recognized nationally as the K-12 Quality Tools Chair for the American Society for Quality Education Division (ASQ) and is a certified ASQ ImpaQT trainer. In addition, Becky serves as a consultant assisting schools in their continuous improvement and organizational change efforts. Becky received her Bachelor's Degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout; Masters Degree from Iowa State University. She has worked sixteen years in her current capacity with thirty-nine years' experience in education.
Becky has served on the Iowa ASCD Board of Directors the past two years, representing Members at Large. She has also co-chaired the grade-level conference for Grades 4 and 5 and serves on the advisory for the Curriculum Leadership Academy. Becky shares, "One of the strengths and goals of Iowa ASCD is to be responsive to the needs of its members and to provide a resource of current information for professionals in education. High quality events, webinars, resources, tweets, the monthly newsletter and website are evidence of this priority. It is my privilege to serve as president-elect for this outstanding organization.
"I believe that quality leadership provides a clear vision and more importantly provides opportunities and support for others to impact the teaching and learning process. Just as collaborative learning improves student achievement so does collaboration impact quality teaching. "I believe that my experiences and belief that Iowa educators are top in the nation will allow be to an asset in leading ASCD Iowa ." We welcome Becky Martin to her new position as President-Elect, which becomes official on July 1, 2014. Congratulations, Becky! |
Iowa ASCD Member Shares "How I Became Involved in Advocacy of the Iowa Core
Marcia Tweeten, Iowa ASCD member and School Improvement and SINA Consultant for AEA 267, shares below the importance of advocacy for the Iowa Core in the following Story.
A few years ago, I participated in the Iowa ASCD's advocacy-on-the-hill day. The focus of that day was to learn how to advocate making an impact. After developing my elevator pitch on an issue of interest to me, I advocated for it on-the-hill with my representative. Up until that moment, I had never been actively involved in trying to educate my legislators to make a difference...until this year.
I have heard many non-educators in my community talk negatively  about the Iowa Core. What they were saying and what I knew about it were not in sync. I wondered what I could do and I knew that I needed to find a way to have my voice heard. So this year I took a different approach. I attended my party's precinct caucus.
I knew that this was the time when I could write a plank that I wanted my party to endorse. Although planks have to be approved by majority vote, if my plank was not approved, it would still be a way for me to educate those in my community. I wrote a plank that indicated we need to support the rigor of the Iowa Core. The next step was to be a delegate to our county convention, knowing that it would be another opportunity to impact fellow delegates. Each precinct gets to elect a certain number of people as delegates to the county convention, and I was selected.
My plank, along with all of the others that were written, were compiled and taken to the county convention. Planks can be written around any area like - Education, Healthcare, Energy, Taxes, Immigration - whatever you want to write. I was able to view all of the planks that were compiled from each precinct caucus. My platform, along with three others in the Education section, received the most discussion of any other topic at the convention...and my plank was the only one that was advocating IN SUPPORT OF the Iowa Core.
I was prepared as I took the talking points that Iowa ASCD had provided in one of the additions of THE SOURCE. I am grateful to the Iowa ASCD Board for providing the research. Although the delegates in my county did not vote in favor of the plank that I wrote, losing by only 8 votes was much closer than I had expected it to be from the discussion of my fellow delegates on the planks.
Where do the platforms go that were voted upon by the delegates at the county convention? Each county sends their platform to be compiled for the district convention and voted upon by the delegates. From there, the district platform is sent to the state convention.
In addition, I have contacted my two legislators. I spoke with my Representative at the county convention and will be meeting with him soon. I have contacted my Senator and will be setting up a time to meet with him, too. I want to be able to share what the Iowa Core is and how it benefits the students that we serve. I feel very strongly that the Iowa Core is asking us to do the right work!
Should you feel so moved to speak with your legislators, you can find their contact information at the link below.
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find
A phone call, an email, or a visit in person allows your voice to be heard. If not you, then who?
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Register Now for Competency-Based Education Conference
The Iowa Department of Education and Iowa ASCD are collaborating on the second annual Competency-Based Education Conference: Define! Design! Deliver! on June 23-24 at the Iowa Events Center.
Come learn how students can learn and demonstrate competencies which will endure throughout time. CBE provides a strong framework for teachers and administrators to understand the Iowa Core and ensure students are college, career, and citizenship ready.
Among the featured speakers are Rose Colby, author of Off the Clock and Tom Vander Ark, author of Getting Smart. Several Iowans will be joining the conversation and sharing their expertise, including the pilot schools of the CBE initiative.
Mark your calendars now! $250 for Iowa ASCD members and $295 for non-members of Iowa ASCD.
Register now!
- Mail a check/purchase order with date/name of conference and names/e-mail addresses 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/e-mails of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at bridget.arrasmith@drake.edu.
- FAX purchase order with name/date of conference and names/e-mails of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at 515.271.2233.
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Progress and Proficiency: Redesigning Grading for Competency Education
Progress and Proficiency: Redesigning Grading for Competency Education was published in January, 2014, to help education leaders think through how to design grading policies that communicate  academic performance to students and parents. As more schools and districts begin to develop competency-based pathways that allow students to progress based on demonstrated mastery of content knowledge and skills rather than just time spent in a classroom, it is imperative that they rethink their grading systems around competency. Key points shared by Chris Sturgis in this document by iNACOL and Competency Works for your consideration include the following:
- Grant Wiggins suggests the following criteria for redesigning grading practices in your district:
- Honest feedback about one's standing
- Fair to each student and other students
- Transparent and without mystery
- Credible to clients and constituencies
- Valid assessment against key long-term learning goals
- Useful (actionable) and user-friendly information about performance and how to improve
- Pedagogically wise - it sends the right message and gets the incentives right for learners
- The six elements of competency-based grading include these:
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Embrace explicit learning progression or standards so that everyone will have a shared vision of what students should learn.
- Develop a clear understanding of levels of knowledge so that students and teachers share an understanding of what proficiency means. Examples used are Blooms Taxonomy (Original), Revised Bloom's Taxonomy, and Webb's Depth of Knowledge, and New Taxonomy on Educational Objectives by Marzano and Kendall.
- Competency-based schools and districts need to ask: What does proficiency look like? Kim Carter explains: "Schools need to be clear and transparent about the level of performance that meets the bar. We need to have a shared understanding for awarding credits based on competency."
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Ensure transparency so that educators, students, and parents all understand where students are on their learning progression.
- Students can play several roles in understanding the expected learning progression, grading or scoring their evidence of learning, and tracking their progress.
- According to Robert Marzano in his paper "The Art and Science of "Teaching/When Students Track Their Progress, schools can anticipate better engagement and higher achievement from students if systems are designed so that students can track their own progress.
- Create a school-wide or district-wide standards-based grading policy.
- Standards-based grading requires a school-wide commitment.
- A system of scoring must describe performance and progress.
- The traditional technique of averaging is a big no-no in competency-based schools. It can mask gaps as well as creative disincentives for students to work hard on challenging new material.
- In competency-based schools, academic progress and lifelong learning competencies - often referred to as habits of mind, college and career readiness skills or higher-order skills - are assessed and reported separately.
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Offer timely feedback and meaningful reassessments so that students can continue to progress and stay on track.
- One of the fundamental things you look for in a grading policy is the elimination of Ds and Fs. You simply can't give credit for less than a minimum level of proficiency. There is no reason to report it other than as Not Yet Proficient. (Rose Colby, Presenter at the Iowa CBE Conference: Define! Design! Deliver!)
- Feedback focuses on attributes of the student's work rather than attributes of the student as a learner
- Feedback is descriptive of that work, revealing to the student how to do better the next time, rather than judgmental
- Feedback is clearly understood by the intended user, leading to specific inferences as to what is needed
- Feedback is sufficiently detailed to be helpful yet not so comprehensive as to overwhelm
- Feedback arrives in time to inform the learning, versus too late
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Provide adequate information infrastructure to support students, teachers, and school-wide continuous improvement.
- in standards-based grading, teachers organize their grade books around measurement topics rather than assignments and assessments. Instead of distributing points across tests, projects, homework, and behavior, grade books - or perhaps they should be referred to as "progress books" and they are designed around what students are expected to learn with information on how students are progressing under each one, based on evidence of learning or assessments
Discussion questions around standards-based grading: - How is the learning progression communicated?
- In what way is proficiency or the depth of knowledge communicated?
- How do students and parents know where a student is on their learning progression?
- What are the core elements of the standards-based grading policy and what are the implications for school operations?
- What elements of the grading policy ensure timely feedback and meaningful reassessments so that students can continue to progress and stay on track?
- What type of information inf
More resources on competency-based grading can be found on the Competency-Based Pathways Wiki. |
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Fall Institute Features Dr. Nell Duke on September 19
Mark your calendars now for a great day on September 19 with Dr. Nell Duke at Olmsted on the Drake University Campus.  "K-3 Literacy: Implementing the Core"
Learn how to: - increase student motivation in literacy
- help K-3 students demonstrate the Iowa Core literacy standards
- organize reading and writing around real purposes for kids, including project-based learning
Time: 9:00 A.M. - 3:30 P.M. Mark your calendars now! September 19, 2014! Register for the Conference on the Iowa ASCD web site. The fee is  $125 for members and $170 for non-members.
All participants will receive the book which is being published in August, Inside Information: Developing Powerful Readers and Writers of Informational Text through Project-Based Instruction. 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 and e-mail addresses 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 and e-mail addresses of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at bridget.arrasmith@drake.edu.
- FAX purchase order with name/date of conference and names and e-mail addresses of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at 515.271.2233.
"Nell Duke - a favorite of the State Wide Reading Team!! She shares both practical information on best practices and the  literacy research behind them. You'll come away from the institute with real-world solutions and a deeper understanding of what's needed to bring the Iowa Core standards in reading, writing, and language to life in K-3 your classrooms." Rita Martens, Iowa Department of Education |
Ask the Expert: Nell Duke - Effective Vocabulary Strategies for Expository Text
When asked about effective vocabulary strategies for expository text, Dr. Nell Duke of Michigan State University and featured speaker at the Fall Institute on September 19, shared the following:
"That is a great question because vocabulary in expository texts tends to be different from vocabulary in other forms of text, such as fictional narrative. There is likely to be a high density of words in expository texts that are uncommon in everyday speech and unfamiliar to students, but on the bright side, important terms are likely to be repeated many times, and the text is likely to provide  clues to word meaning, such as explanations, glosses (e.g., "herbivores, or animals that only eat plants") and graphics. So, when teaching vocabulary in expository texts, we should teach not only words but also how to use context clues to ascertain word meaning. When teaching words directly, we should provide taxonomic information (e.g., "obsidian is a type of rock"), teach words in meaningful clusters, and use techniques that relate new words to known words, such as the concept wheel and semantic mapping.
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Iowa ASCD Members Elect Ottie Maxey and Diane Campbell to Serve as Directors on Iowa ASCD Board, Representing the Membership at Large
Ottie Maxey:
Ottie Maxey has been elected by the Iowa ASCD members to his second term on the Iowa ASCD Board as Director for Members-at-Large. He presently serves as the superintendent of the Ballard Community School District. His prior educational experiences include teaching in the West Des Moines and Cedar Rapids school districts as well as as being the superintendent at Postville.
Ottie is presently in the Doctoral Program at the University of Northern Iowa and earned his Masters at Drake University; he holds two bachelor of arts degrees from Coe College and the University of Northern Iowa.
Ottie has been a member of Iowa ASCD for three years and has  served on the board of directors as Director for Members-at-Large the past two years.
Ottie states, "Serving as a Director the past two years has provided a wonderful opportunity to support an organization made up of forward-thinking educational leaders throughout the state. Membership has grown over the past three years as Iowa ASCD has committed to partnering with other education organizations and thought leaders to advance teaching and learning, not only in Iowa, but nationally and internationally. During this time, Iowa ASCD has committed to advocacy and influence in the arena of educational policy that strengthens our commitment to rigorous 21st century standards for all students and innovation in our practices, such as competency-based education.
"We are at an exciting and critical time in education, and I recognize Iowa ASCD as a key partner in advancing the right work to benefit all students in Iowa. As a Director, I have an opportunity to support teachers and leaders in their work in classrooms throughout the state, and that is both humbling and rewarding. I am honored to continue servicing in this role for another term."
Diane Campbell: Diane serves as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction in the Muscatine Community School District. Prior to that she was a special education teacher in Louisa-Muscatine and Muscatine, an adjunct instructor at Iowa Wesleyan College, an educational consultant at the Mississippi Bend AEA, and an assistant principal at Muscatine High School. She earned her Masters in Education Leadership with K-12 Principal licensure at Western Illinois University and her Master and Bachelor degrees in special education at the University of Iowa. Diane has been a member of Iowa ASCD for one year and is active as a mentor of a novice director of curriculum in Iowa. She will begin her first term on the Iowa ASCD Board of Directors in July.
 Diane Campbell states, "My career path has provided me with tremendous opportunities to work with students, teachers, and administrators and to focus on teaching and learning. The interest I have in running for office with Iowa ASCD has roots that stem from these experiences. As a classroom teacher my goal was to provide students meaningful learning experiences that would help them grow as students and as human beings. As a current administrator I consistently challenge myself to stretch our system as we transform the nature of teaching and learning to meet twenty-first century demands. This necessarily entails advocacy and high-quality professional learning, both of which align with the mission of Iowa ASCD. "Energizing our system by providing sound evidence of student learning is an obligation we all share. In keeping with that obligation, I am compelled by a commitment to support, develop, and design instructional practices that benefit each and every student. As the premiere leader in providing professional learning opportunities to practicing professionals, Iowa ASCD is uniquely positioned to ensure new levels of success for professionals and students alike. I am excited to be a part of Iowa ASCD and the opportunity it will afford me to have an impact on education across the state."
Congratulations to Diane and Ottey - you are great representatives for the members of Iowa ASCD. |
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Save the Date - November 12 - 13 - When Jay McTighe Will Be Back in Iowa to Deepen Teams' Understanding and Practices of Understanding by Design.
 Join us this next fall on November 12-13 as we feature Dr. Jay McTighe with Understanding by Design in Imple menting the Iowa Core.
Please come learn and network with Dr. McTighe and other educators in Iowa.
Date: November 12-13, 2014
Location: Olmsted on the Drake Camputs i Des Moines.
Fee: $250 for members; $295 for non-members of Iowa ASCD.
Watch for registration details, which will be available soon.
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Iowa ASCD Members Select Leslie Moore of Prairie Lakes as Secretary of Iowa ASCD
Leslie Moore:
After graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in biology and secondary education, Dr. Leslie Moore began her educational career as a science instructor at Elk Horn-Kimballton High School. There she taught physics, chemistry, biology, anatomy, environmental science, and physical science.
She subsequently taught biology and physical science at Lincoln Northeast High School in Lincoln, Nebraska, and biology at Webster  City High School. After receiving her Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, she became a science and curriculum consultant at the former Northern Trails Area Education Agency in Clear Lake. After receiving her administrative endorsement, she took a position with the Webster City Community Schools as their Curriculum and Professional Development Director. In 2003, Leslie earned her doctorate in Leadership and Policy Studies from Drake University. She is currently a School Improvement Consultant for Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency where she works with districts in the areas of math and school improvement, as well as serving as the Chairperson of the PLAEA Consultants' Department.
Leslie has been a member of ASCD and Iowa ASCD for many years and looks forward to continuing that service to educators in Iowa.
Congratulations, Leslie. We are glad you will continue to lead and learn with us!
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Check It Out!
Check out the following:
- ASCD Members: Cast your ballot April 1 - May 15 for two directors for the ASCD Board of Directors. Candidates include Tony Frontier (Wisconsin), Josh Garcia (Washington), Patrick Miller (North
 Carolina), Lorraine Ringrose (Alberta, Canada), and Anne Roloff (Illinois). - Teacher Leaders: Be sure to register for Launching Teaching Leadership - June 12, 2014. The fee is $125.00 per person. Register now!
- Social Studies Teachers: The Institute for Social Studies Teachers takes place June 24-25 at the State Historical Museum of Iowa (600 E. Locust) in Des Moines. Participants can sign up to attend both days of the institute, or just one of the days. Register now!
- Contact your legislators. Be sure to use Iowa ASCD's Legislative Agenda to develop your "ask" and support for Iowa education.
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I owa ASCD seeks to keep you informed about webinars for your  learning and the learning of those with whom you work. Check out the following; many of these support the work in your collaborative time and definitely help with implementation of The Core!
- Title: Using PLCs to Further the Math Learning of Teachers and Students
- Presenter: Chris Quisley, AEA 267 Math Consultant
- Provider: AEA 267
- Date: Monday, April 21, 3:30 - 4:30 P.M.
- Register Here
- Title: Competency Works: Understanding Grading in Competency-Based Schools
- Presenter: iNACOL
- Provider: Competency Works
- Date: April 24, 2:00 - 3:00 P.M.
- Register Here
- Title: Connecting the Cultural Divide: What Do Great Teachers in the United States and China Do?
- Presenters: Leslie Grant and James Stronge
- Provider: ASCD
- Date: April 29, 2014; 2:00 P.M. CDT
- Register Here
- Title: FIT Teaching: The Tool Kit for High-Quality Teaching and Learning
- Presenters: Doug Fischer and Nancy Frey
- Provider: ASCD
- Date: June 4, 2014; 3:30 P.M.
- Register Here
- Title: Technology Integration to Meet the Needs of the Common Core
- Presenter: Andrew Miller
- Provider: ASCD
- Date: June 9, 2014; 2:00 P.M. CDT
- Register Here
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 Stay current with learning! Follow Iowa ASCD on Twitter! We would like to follow you on Twitter as well. If you are willing to share your "Twitter Handle" with us, please leave your information on this site. |
 Iowa ASCD is the source for developing instructional leadership and translating research into daily practice. Serving more than 1200 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. |
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Iowa ASCD Contacts President Allan Eckelman Past-President Jason Ellingson President-Elect Kevin Vidergar Membership and Conference Information Bridget Arrasmith Secretary Leslie Moore Treasurer (Interim) Lou Howell Members-at-Large Ottie Maxey Becky Martin Sara Oswald Amy Whittington DE Liaison Rita Martens Higher Education Jan Beatty-Westerman Elaine Smith-Bright Advocacy and Influence Pam Armstrong-Vogel Susan Pecinovsky Curriculum Leadership Academy Sue Wood Pam Zeigler Fall Institute Veta Thode 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 |
Here's What's Happening!
- April 10-11, 2014
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June 23-24, 2014
- September 19, 2014
- Fall Institute
- Nell Duke
- K-3 Reading and the Iowa Core
- Drake University
- Watch for upcoming details
- Get The Source the first and third Friday of each month.
- Join us on Twitter @IowaASCD
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