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Volume 15, Number 12 The Source
| June 19, 2015
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Getting Ready for the Summer Institute? Here Are a Few Tips to Make Your Learning Experience the Best!
Tip 1: Plan ahead!
 Go to the Iowa ASCD Website. In the upper right-hand corner you will find the "Welcome to the Iowa ASCD Summer Institute." Click on it and you will get access to agendas for Days 1 and 2.- "Open Here" will take you to the sessions with their presenters, descriptions, room numbers, times, and presentation materials.
- On the welcome page you will also find a tool called "Planning Tool for Participants." You may use it to plan your two days - and even include alternate presentations.
- You may also find a set of descriptions of all the presentations, listed alphabetically by presenter. Along with that are biographies of all the national presenters.
- Presentations - both from the national level and across the state of Iowa the presenters will be addressing ways that you and your team can ensure learning for each and all. We will be building our expertise around these strands in . . .
- Creating conditions for learning - a culture for achievement (CC)
- Implementing the Iowa Core - optimizing learning for all students (CIA)
- Assuring effective teaching - recognizing instructional knowledge and skill as the most powerful instruments to enhance student learning (ET)
- Grading for learning - reporting students' progress on learning goals (SBG)
- Empowering students to develop mastery of academic content - implementing competency-based education (CBE)
Note that the descriptions indicate the strand(s) the the presentation emphasizes. Follow a strand or get a broad perspective of the 5 strands that aim for highly effective schools.
Tip 2: Come Early to Network (and Eat!)
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A continental breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided each day. If you have any special dietary needs, please contact Kym Stein at kstein@aea267.k12.ia.us.
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Registration, Continental Breakfast, Mini Book Store, and Networking start at 7:30 on Monday and 7:00 on Tuesday.
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And on Tuesday we have a special early meeting for curriculum leads from 7:00 - 8:00 in Room 318. We are developing our mentoring of curriculum leads and are sharing our vision and initial steps and want your take on your needs and contributions to make it what every curriculum lead needs. We have a research-based foundation and now need to build the program to meet your needs.
- And be sure to get a "selfie" with our special Iowa ASCD Picture Frame!
Tip 3: Come to Learn!
- Dress: Dress for learning - and be sure to "come in layers" as we are in an air-conditioned building where the temperature may vary from room to room.
- "Gone Green": Please bring your tablet, computer, phone - whatever works for you - as we have "gone green" and all presentations and handouts will be available on line at iowaascd.org.
- Bookstore: We will have a mini-bookstore with books authored by the presenters as well as others they reference. You may pay with cash, check, credit card, or purchase order.
- Earn License Renewal Credit: You may earn one license renewal credit for $25 for full participation and completion of tasks for this conference through Heartland AEA 11. Jason Ellingson (jellingson@collins-maxwell.k12.ia.us) is the instructor of record and may be contacted with questions. Registrations for this opportunity is available at https://prodev.aeapdonline.org/4DCGI/YYYYYYYYYYYYYYSRCH; The Heartland Activity # is SI019999991601.
Tip 4: Have Fun! You are with friends and colleagues who want the best for Iowa Kids!
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Matt Townsley: "Peter Miller: Building a Districtwide PLC Vision through Repeated Story"
Iowa ASCD member Matt Townsley is the Director of Instruction and Technology in Solon and is also an ASCD Emerging  Leader. He recently had published "Peter Miller: Building a Districtwide PLC Vision through Repeated Story" in the Washington ASCD Spring Journal, Curriculum in Context. Townsley shares in the article the journey of PLCs in the Solon Community School District, beginning with "the professional learning community maiden voyage during the 2007-2008 school year." Each year the educators of Solon read the Peter Miller chapter, "A Tale of Excellence," in Revisiting Professional Learning Communities at Work. The chapter shares the fable of a middle school social studies teacher, Peter Miller, who transitions from teaching in an autonomous school to one that values collaboration through a professional learning community model. As a result, Solon teachers and principals recognized the need to stop thinking about students as "my kids" and instead view them as "all our kids." They work collaboratively, for example, to create frequent, high-quality, common formative assessments to help students acquire the intended knowledge and skills. Even the "singletons" - those teachers who do not have others teaching the same subject - work with colleagues outside their teaching area to co-create assessments and participate in scoring student work samples. The original "didactic dozen" who comprised the original leadership team on PLCs have recently created a 3-year action plan to assure a collaborative learning culture. One of those changes was the repurposing of seminar time, which is now structured and focuses on instruction with students who need the extra time to achieve the intended learning. Want to stretch your PLCs' work and success, check out the entire article here. |
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Dr. Robert Marzano Headlines the Iowa ASCD Summer Institute on June 22-23 - Ensuring Learning for Each and All: Building Our Expertise
Make plans now for you and your team to attend the Iowa ASCD Summer Institute on June 22-23 at the Iowa Events Center. Dr. Bob Marzano is the headline speaker and will also provide several breakout sessions. 
In addition to Marzano, other national speakers include Jim Rickabaugh, Rose Colby, Tim Westerberg, Ron Mirr, Sandra Alberti, Bobb Darnall, Consuelo Castillo Kickbush, and Grace Dearborn as well as state-wide presenters.
Presenters will be addressing ways that you and your team can ensure learning for each and all by:
- Creating conditions for learning - a culture for achievement
- Implementing the Iowa Core - optimizing learning for all students
- Assuring effective teaching - recognizing instructional knowledge and skill as the most powerful instruments to enhance student learning
- Grading for learning - reporting students' progress on learning goals
- Empowering students to develop mastery of academic content - implementing competency-based education
The regular fee in June will be $295 for members and $340 for non-members. Purchase orders with a list of the names and email addresses may be sent to Bridget Arrasmith, Iowa ASCD, Drake University, Room 123, School of Education, Drake University, 3206 University, Des Moines, IA 50311 or FAXED to Attention of Bridget Arrasmith at 515.271.2233.
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Iowa ASCD Summer Institute: A Few More Highlights
Iowa ASCD is hosting the Summer Institute on June 22-23 - "Ensuring Learning for Each and All: Building Our Expertise." There will be high-powered presentations from both national and state presenters, including the keynote by Dr. Bob Marzano. Here are just a few of the 70 presentations. These are those provided by the Iowa Department of Education and support the second strand, Impl: - Dr. Brad Buck - Closing Keynote - "Initiatives and Priorities" (Day 2 - 2:30 - 3:45 P.M.)
- Sandra Dop - "Getting Started with Competency-Based Education: District Self-Assessment and Action Planning" (Day 1 - 10:15 - 11:30 A.M.) and Writing Competencies: The Work behind the Competencies" (Day 1 - 1:15 - 2:30 P.M.)
- Rhonda Ketels and Sandy Nelson - "Iowa Core: Building a Strong Foundation of Literacy Skills" (Day 2 - 9:45 - 11:00
 A.M.) - Kris Kilibarda, representing the Iowa Department of Education and Director of the Jacobson Institute for Innovation in Education (STEM) - "Sorting through the Issues: Iowa Core Science" (Day 1 - 10:15 - 11:30 A.M.)
- Jobi Lawrence - "The New English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards - Connecting Language and Content" (Day 1 - 10:15 - 11:30 A.M.)
- Brad Niebling - "C4K and the Iowa Core" (Day 2 - 8:15 - 9:30 A.M.)
- Judith Spitzli and Sandi Ubben (AEA 267) - "Implementing Iowa Core Mathematics Standards in K-8 Classrooms" (Day 2 - 1:00 - 2:15 P.M.)
- Stefanie Wager - "It's Not about Dates and Dead People: Implementing the Iowa Core and Best Practices in Social Studies" (Day 1 - 1:15 - 2:30 P.M.)
Register now! This is THE conference for all of us - higher ed, superintendents, teachers, principals, central office, AEA staff, DE staff, teacher leaders, building and district teams, TLC teams. Early-bird price (until June 1) is $250 for Iowa ASCD members and $295 for nonmembers, who will receive a complimentary membership in Iowa ASCD. Check out the flyer that was sent earlier this spring as well as published on our Iowa ASCD website in lower left-hand corner. You can also access the full agenda and description on the upper right-hand corner. Join us as we all develop our expertise! |
Grading and Group Work by Susan M Brookhart
One of 30 Books Available to YOU in the 24/7 Digital Online Books from Iowa ASCD and Reviewed by Sandy Merritt
A special thank you to Iowa ASCD Member Sandy Merritt who shared this review.
Grading and Group Work by Susan M Brookhart
This book addresses the struggle teachers have with group work - how to assess and give grades. Should I give individual grades or group grades? How do I grade individual students on group projects? Should grades be given to the group? What about the students who don't pull their share of the work? Being able to work collaboratively in a group is an important skill and is part of the 21st century skills that students must master. Collaboration and communication are indeed important, so how can group learning be graded effectively?
Group grades are not suggested by the author. She states that grades are supposed to reflect what the individual has learned regarding a specific learning standard. Cooperative learning requires individual accountability that cannot be achieved with group grading. Brookhart believes that "giving group grades deprives students of individual, actionable feedback on their work or on their understanding of the content. In effect, group grades stop the action in a student's learning trajectory . . . . Group grades can also mean that some students in a group feel unwarranted pressure to compensate for fellow group members who either won't or can't do good work." She lists two general categories for assessing group learning-cooperative learning and group work.
"True cooperative learning follows the principles of positive interdependence and individual accountability so that students' learning is affected by both their own and others' work (Johnson & Johnson, 2009). For example, teachers can design cooperative learning activities that assign each member of a group distinct learning objectives or criteria for success. The social learning goal may be the same for all group members-say, working productively around a particular topic-but some students may be working on basic concepts while others extend their understanding of more sophisticated concepts. Again, the ultimate assessment of learning is individual."
"Unlike cooperative learning, which is an instructional strategy, general group work is often intended to serve as both an instructional strategy and an assessment strategy. In the interest of assessing authentic work, teachers often devise a combination of instructional activities and complex performance assessments and then assign them to a group under the umbrella term group project. This is where group grades become tempting. Don't give in to that temptation! You don't have to give up your group projects; you just need to figure out how to ascertain what individual group members have learned from doing the projects."
Teachers must be able to separate learning and process skills from learning standards when grading. Learning and process skills can be assessed both individually and as part of a group. Mastery of learning standards must be graded individually. Process skills can be assessed through multiple ways: 1) student reflection - students reflect on their contribution to the work, 2) rubrics - students rate their impact on the group work and may get feedback from others in the same group. It must be noted that this is a strategy, not a peer evaluation, 3) peer evaluation - should be used in conjunction with other assessments/teacher observations, 4) student reflection on learning - "Student reflection on learning should differ from student reflection on group process in two ways. First, you should lend more focus to the reflection by providing a clear-cut prompt that cues students to describe specific insights or understandings they gained or particular skills they developed by doing the project. A general answer to the question "What did I learn?" that can be answered many ways (e.g., "I learned that the tides are very important") is not sufficient. Responses must be something that can be graded." A prompt is suggested and should ask students to make a judgment (examples are provided), 5) oral questioning - use questions that ask students to explain and reflect. It will take more than a couple questions to judge their level of understanding, 6) multi-step design - grading that uses multiple formative and summative assessments (examples are provided), 7) having students write their own questions - students have to be taught how to write good thinking questions (examples are given), and 8) post-project test - administer a test after the project is completed (examples are given). The project must include higher order thinking and an interactive discussion.
This book answers the opening questions and provides explanation and examples of how to effectively grade group work.
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And remember this book is available to all Iowa ASCD members via the 30 titles available 24/7 for 2015. In addition, these are the other books available 24/7 during 2015 to all Iowa ASCD members that will increase your effectiveness as a leader of learning. (If you have forgotten your password to these resources, please contact Lou Howell at LouHowell@mediacombb.net.)  |
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K-6 Literacy Expert Lester Laminack: How Can We Teach Character
Lester Laminack, presenter at the Iowa ASCD Fall Institute on September 22, answers this question he is often asked: How can educators teach character? It is my view that character is something we demonstrate and develop over time. There are lessons we can teach, books we can share, conversations we can host, but none of it will matter if we are not living exemplars of what we say and ask our students to live out. Children, even the youngest of our students, recognize the disconnect between our words and our actions. In short, integrity is not something we can fake. Our actions and behaviors are the more effective teacher in matters of character. Children learn from our behaviors what a promise means. They learn from our actions and our reactions what it means to be kind and truthful and honorable. They learn from our consistent ways of being what it means to be trustworthy, considerate, empathetic and caring. Our ways of being are, in my view the most powerful instruction we can devise when it comes to developing character.  Developing character is an incremental process, one that takes time, consistency, modeling and conversation. I believe our task begins with living what we expect. We model civil conversations in which all participants listen and respond, initiate and scaffold. We behave with our colleagues in ways we would expect our students to behave for I do not believe we can lead the development of anything in others that is not a basic component of our own belief and behavior. In my work I am encouraging teachers across the country to drop the traditional list of rules; the "you can't..." statements and the "if you do..." threats we find posted on the first day of school. I'm suggesting that in place of those lists we focus on a guiding principle such as this: "In all things be kind and truthful; cause no intentional harm." This statement focuses on what we expect, what we hold as common behavior in a civil society. It doesn't suggest the behaviors we want to avoid. It doesn't imply a punitive system to coerce the behaviors desired by authority. Character is not compliance out of fear, it is a manifestation of core beliefs. Character is how we live every day in every circumstance. The task, then, is to help students develop deeply held beliefs about the value of human dignity, respect for oneself and for others.
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Fall Institute Features Lester Laminack! Writers ARE Readers: Using Reading Structures and Strategies to Nurture More Powerful Writers - September 22
Struggling to meet all the literacy demands of the Iowa Core K-6? Not sure if your students are always applying their new skills in their independent reading? Asking yourself, "What about writing?" Join us to learn with Lester Laminack how we can use what we know about reading to develop powerful writers.
About this Workshop: To be a good writer you must first be able to read deeply and understand author's intent. In this workshop, Lester Laminack will show you that the key to successful writing is harnessing the power of close reading. You will learn how your students can transfer what they know about reading structures and strategies into practices that will hone their writing skills and help them become more focused writers. A more focused writer is also a successful reader. Reading and writing are natural reciprocal relationships that you can use tomorrow in your classroom.
About This Author: Lester Laminack consults with schools all around the country. He is Professor Emeritus at Western Carolina University, where he has won both the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching  Award, and the Botner Superior Teaching Award. Lester is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of English. He's the author of several notable books, including The Writing Teacher's Troubleshooting Guide, Bullying Hurts (both with Reba Wadsworth) and Kid-Tested Writing Lessons for Grades 3-6, with Leslie Bauman and Harvey "Smokey" Daniels.
Overview and Learning Objectives:
Writers approach a text with an eye for more than "what's the story here?" Writers look for structure and craft, intention and execution, voice, tone and mood. Writers notice bias and hyperbole, and honesty in content. Writers ARE readers.
Reading and writing are mutually supportive processes, though much of our instruction misses the bonus of that relationship. Efficient readers can be shown how to flip their insights about structure and strategies into more powerful writing. Learning to write using your reader knowledge has important implications for growing more informed and efficient writers and allowing students to grow as both readers and writers.
Across this day we will:
- Explore our accepted reader knowledge and dig in to the flip side of those insights in the work of a writer.
- Tap into a set of selected texts and examine the role of close reading in the development of a focused writer.
- Write a bit ourselves and play with structures and craft.
- Develop a list of text resources and practice using them DURING the workshop.
- Examine some of the typical plateaus/developmental pauses faced by a developing writer and think through the source of those plateaus and ways to nudge them forward.
Participants will receive a copy of:
 Writers ARE Readers: Use Reading Structures and Strategies to Nurture More Powerful Writers
Participants are asked to bring a favorite Read Aloud they use in their classroom: narrative, poetry, informational, opinion or persuasive for use during the workshop.
Who Should Attend: Classroom teachers of Grades K-6, administrators, curriculum coordinators, literacy specialists/coaches
Fee: Early bird special - Before September 10 the fee is $150 for Iowa ASCD members and $195 for nonmembers. After September 10, the fee is $195 for Iowa ASCD members and $240 for nonmembers. Participants may register on line at http://iowaascd.org/index.php/events/event-registration/ or contact Bridget Arrasmith with purchase order with list of participants and their e-mail addresses: 123 Drake University School of Education, 3206 University, Des Moines, IA 503011; bridget.arrasmith@drake.edu; or FAX 515.271.2233.
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Check It Out!
Check out the following:-
Schools will be required to develop summer reading programs for struggling third-graders by 2017: A survey commissioned by the Iowa Reading Research Center and conducted by Iowa's regent universities shows a lack of consistency statewide in optional summer reading programs for children offered by school districts and community organizations. The findings underscore a need for uniform standards for summer reading programs as all schools work to put them in place for struggling third-grade students as part of a legislative requirement that takes effect in 2017.
- Trouble Finding Teachers? Spanish? French? Other courses? Relax! T he Iowa Department of Education's Iowa Learning Online (ILO) has got you covered. ILO has full offer-and-teach capacity. If you can't find an educator to teach a subject you need or want, your students can take it online. ILO offers 45 rigorous courses each semester, all taught by Iowa certified teachers.
 And there is no cost for the courses to you or your district.
Sign up today by contacting Cale Roe at cale.roe@iowa.gov. Your students deserve choices within your curriculum. And you deserve to take one worry off your to-do list. - Middle School Students and On-Line Learning: Middle school administrators are discovering that Iowa Learning Online (ILO) courses can be an asset for their advanced students. Though ILO courses are designed for high school students receiving high school credit, middle school enrollments are allowed at the discretion of the local school district.
- Summer Conference Spotlights Standards Implementation: Registration is under way for a two-day conference June 22-23 in Des Moines focusing on high-impact learning for students, ranging from standards-based grading to effectively putting Iowa's statewide academic standards into practice.
- Are you expecting new curriculum leads in your district next year? If so, be sure to contact us as we want to honor and support them at a breakfast at the Summer Institute as well as learn how we can support them in your district. Contact Lou Howell with names when available.
- Be sure to check out TeachIowa.Gov if looking for a job in education or seeking candidates for positions in your district.
- Registration is under way for a two-day literacy summit sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education July 29-30 in Des Moines.
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Get Iowa ASCD App
Iowa ASCD works every day to be the source for educational leadership in the state of Iowa. With over 1500 members and 2000 Twitter followers, we work to make a strong, positive impact on the learning of all students in Iowa. Join us in this network of passionate  professionals through our new mobile app. It shows events from 20+ educational organizations, allows you to view our website content, has content from our conferences and allows you to receive action alerts - such as when to contact legislators on an important bill. The app is downloadable from Apple iTunes, Google Play or the Windows Store. |
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Article Headline
Include articles on topics of interest to your readers, relevant news and events. If you find an interesting article on the Web, you can easily ask the author's permission to summarize the article and link to it from your newsletter. Drive traffic to your website by entering teaser text for the article with a link to your website for readers to view the full text.
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Webinars for Your Learning
Iowa 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!
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Title: Implications and Applications of the Latest Brain Research for Learners and Teachers
- Presenter: Francia Bailey and Ken Pransky
- Provider: ASCD
- Date: July 16, 2015 at 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 1500 educators - teachers, principals, superintendents, directors of curriculum, technology specialists, teacher leaders, college professors, AEA staff, pre-service students - Iowa ASCD strives to develop the collaborative capacity to impact the learning of each and every student in Iowa. |
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gives your school more curriculum options