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2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Fall 2008
Total number of college credits earned through ESA 5 professional development activities
EWinter 2009
Contents:Interactive Classrooms 1 District Spotlight: McIntosh 2
Brain-Based Learning 3
Senator Jack Reed receives award 4 Steven Covey “The Leader in Me” 4
SD Counts Update 5 Interactive White Boards 6 ESA 5 Coming Attractions 7 Northwest Area Reads 7
ESA 5 Opportunities and Contacts 8
ESA Co-Directors: Joe Lenz [email protected] Erik Person [email protected]
ESA Education Specialists: Penny Adams Education Specialist [email protected] Erin Dale Northwest Area Reads Coach [email protected] Cris Owens Education Specialist [email protected] Marilyn Schlekeway New Teacher Mentor [email protected] Holly Schumacher Teacher Mentor/Dakota Character [email protected]
South Dakota Counts Math Specialist: Tracy Mittleider [email protected]
Data Analysis/ “Data Retreats” School Improvement Assistance Curriculum Mapping Tech Paths Instructional Strategies 6+1 Writing Instruction Brain-Based Teaching Whole Faculty Study Groups Improving Assessment Administrative Support eMetric Data System Step Up to Writing Writing to Win Comprehensive PD Planning Achievement Series Northwest Area Reads** New Teacher Mentoring** DIBELS
(**at a cost to the participating schools)
ESA REGION 5 CONTACTS
ESA 5 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
South Dakota Education Service Agencywww.sdesa.k12.sd.us/esa5
S A 5 NEWS
8 www.sdesa.k12.sd.us/esa5
Number of college credits earned through ESA 5 professional development
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2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2008-09 Fall 2008
Total number of teachers and administrators served by ESA 5
Total number of teachers and administra-tors served by ESA 5
Interactive Classrooms Engage the Brain
Marilyn Schlekeway attended Dr. Marcia Tate’s daylong work-shop, “Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strat-egies That Engage the Brain,” at the NSDC held in Washington, DC, December 6-10. Dr. Tate’s
interactive, lively workshop mod-eled the twenty strategies that will
work in any classroom to engage students and assure long-term memory. She explained why some traditional methods of classroom instruction such as worksheets are not effective in affecting students’ interest and learning.
“If you’re not modeling what you are teaching, you are teach-ing something else,” was one of the mottoes Dr. Tate used to encour-age teaching methods that assure student participation. Using such strategies as music, storytelling, mnemonic devices, kinesthetic ac-tivity, humor, writing, metaphors, and student collaboration, the pre-senter modeled what a brain-friendly classroom would look like.
Dr. Tate reminded the participants that we need to hear something at least three times before we remember it. Using several differ-ent modalities to present content will increase retention. She told her audience of educators, “We get frustrated with students be-cause they are not engaged or motivated. If they are not learn-ing the way we are teaching, we must change the way we teach.”
According to the presenter, there are three rea-sons why all teachers need these twenty strategies:to increase achievement for ALL students, to reduce behavior problemsand to make teaching and learning FUN.Marilyn Schlekeway is planning to share these twen-ty strategies at an ESA 5 workshop this summer.
Dr. Marcia Tate with Marilyn
ESA 5 News
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Spotlight on McIntosh
staff. Schaffan goes on to say, “We feel we have one of the absolute best teaching staffs in the state of South Dakota. We continu-ally make AYP, have received the distinction of being chosen a distinguished South Dakota school district, and our students are success-ful when they further their education.” Initiatives that the district participates in in-clude AIMSWEB, RTI Tracking, Safe and Civil Schools, NEO Individual Computing, School-wide K-12 Title program, and a five-year After School Grant, which services K-12 students. McIntosh looks to ESA 5 for profes-sional development, resources, SD Counts, Northwest Area Reads, and teacher mentoring. Depending on the future of the Isabel District, McIntosh may be looking at incorporat-ing new students from that district. The chal-lenges and goals of the future are to keep viable education programs and consistent achieve-ment of AYP. With approximately one computer for every two students and a continuous cycle of five-year textbook rotation, the district is assuring that the students are ready to meet 21st century challenges. McIntosh continues to look for more accomplishments in the future.
McIntosh Social Studies teacher Rebecca Beuckens assistsherstudents.
ESA Advisory Meeting Mobridge Pizza Ranch 10:00 – 12:00 CT January 21•
Admin Academy: Day 2 Mobridge Pizza Ranch 1:00 – 3:00 CT January 21•
Teacher Academy: Part 2 Mobridge Pizza Ranch 9:00 - 3:30 CT February 18•
NWAS Science Fair Timber Lake 8:00 - 3:30 MT March 16•
NWAS Math in CTE Isabel 8:00- 3:00 MT March 26-27•
NWAS Academic •Olympics Harding County 8:00 - 4:00 MT April 1
ESA Advisory Meeting Mobridge Pizza Ranch 10:00 – 12:00 CT April 15•
Admin Academy: Day 3 Mobridge Pizza Ranch 1:00 – 3:00 CT April 15•
NWAS Spelling Contest Isabel 9:15 - 12:15 MT April 29•
ESA 5 Coming Attractions
Northwest Area Reads will now offer on-site consultation classes for groups of teachers in a district for the 2009-2010 school year. Districts enrolled in the on-site consultation classes will receive three two-hour classes per semester. At these classes, Erin Dale, Northwest Area Reads literacy coach will present and model research based lessons aligned to the district’s reading needs. These classes are less time intensive than the requirements for the Year I and Year II classes. Northwest Area Reads Year I and Year II classes will still be offered for the 2009-2010 school year. Please contact Erin Dale, [email protected], for more information and watch for a brochure and applications coming out in March on the ESA 5 website: www.sdesa.k12.sd.us/esa5.
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INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS
ENGAGE LEARNERS
Interactive whiteboards are fantas-tic teaching and learning tools to use in anyclassroom. This collaborative interactive tech-nology is gaining popularity all across ESA Region 5. Some of the whiteboard brand names are Promethean ActiveBoard, SMART Board, eBeam, Mimo, and Webster. “Interactive whiteboards are used in many schools as replacements for traditional whiteboards or flipcharts. They provide ways to show students anything which can be presented on a computer’s desktop (educational software, web sites, and other). In addition, interactive whiteboards allow teachers to record their instruction and post the ma-terial for review by students at a later time. This can be a very effective instructional strategy for students who benefit from repetition and for review for examinations. Brief instructional blocks can be recorded for review by students – they will see the exact presentation that occurred in the classroom with the teacher’s audio input. This can trans-form learning and instruction.” (Wikipedia 8/07) Most interactive whiteboards connect to computers via USB cables and require LCD pro-jectors in order to project the computer image onto the screen. However, as with all technol-ogy, the equipment is changing fast. Some expen-sive models communicate wirelessly using Blu-etooth technology and have built-in projectors.
Ideas for using whiteboards in the class-room included multimedia projects which can be presented without touching a computer keyboard, and video clips, alone or embedded into multime-
www.fsdb.k12.f l .us / rmc/ tutor ia ls /whi teboards .html
Mobridge Teachers: Dustin Jahraus, Jamie Weisbeck, and Amber Lenz concen-trate on learning how to use active stu-dio software with their Promethean Boards.
Brain-based? Brain-Compatible?
Brain Friendly?
Written by Cris Owens Attending the National Staff Development
Council conference in Washington DC this past De-cember was a tremendous opportunity for profes-sional growth for our ESA 5 staff.
One session I attended was led by Martha Kaufeldt, popular trainer, keynote speaker, and au-thor of the best-selling book Begin with the Brain: Orchestrating the Learner-Centered Classroom . Her presentation focused on “ Keeping The Brain In Mind” when teaching. The content of her ses-sion focused on the article adapted from The Lan-guage of Learning: A Guide to Education Terms, by J.L. McBrien & R.S. Brandt, 1997, Alexandria, VA: Asso-ciation for Supervision and Curriculum Development. In the following paragraph the au-thors suggest a number of strategies for implementing brain-based learning.
Martha Kaufeldt focused on three key elements during her presentation:
Stress can minimize the brain’s capabilities.1. Threat/stress is a reflex response. •Physiological responses mini-•mizes the brain’s ability to learn.Anticipatory stress can be reduced with •clear agendas, procedures, and fun.
Multi-sensory experiences in en-2. riched environments build brains.
We have 100,000,000 neu-•rons in our brains.Do real things with learners; kids often •do not get these real life experiences.Dendrites, which connect learn-•ing, grow throughout life.
“ Use It or Lose It.” Actively pro-3. cess new information to store memory.
Experiences must be restimulated or •they slough off – learners need to pro-cess information several times to learn it.Reteaching may be necessary.•Use differentiated instruction – take into •consideration multiple intelligences.
I left this learning experience excited and motivated to try some new strategies in my own teaching. Those of us who teach children or adults must continue to become informed about the brain research we have available and use it to enhance our teaching and learning experiences.
“Brain-based learning involves using ap-proaches to schooling that rely on recent brain research to support and develop improved teaching strategies. Researchers theorize that the human brain is constantly search-ing for meaning and seeking patterns and connections. Authentic learning situations increase the brain’s ability to make connec-tions and retain new information. Teaching strategies that enhance brain-based learning include manipulatives, active learning, field trips, guest speakers, and real life projects that allow students to use many learning styles and multiple intelligences. An inter-disciplinary curriculum or integrated learn-ing also reinforces brain-based leaning, be-cause the brain can better make connections when material is presented in an integrated way, rather than as isolated bits of informa-tion. A relaxed, nonthreatening environ-ment that removes students’ fear of failure is considered best for brain-based learning.
Research also documents brain plasticity, which is the notion that the brain grows and adapts in response to external stimuli.”
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Leadership is com-municating people’s worth and potential so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves. -Dr. Stehpen R. Covey in keynote address given during the NSDC Conference, December 9, 2008.
Stephen Covey, the author of the book,
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has developed a program for schools, which helps to develop the potential leadership ability of all students by introducing them to the 7 habits and their related character traits. He saw the need for such a program after reviewing these top quali-ties that employers look for in an employee:
Communication skills• Honesty and integrity• Teamwork• Interpersonal skills• Self-motivation and iniative• Strong work ethic• Analytic skills• Technology skills•
Dr. Covey believes that educators must break away from the old way of doing things and move to a new paradigm (map) which will be more effective in meeting the real challenges of teaching in today’s technological world. Entitled The Leader in Me, the program aims to develop students who have the skills and self-confidence to succeed as leaders in the 21st century. It is based on these Four Imperatives of Great Leaders:
Inspiring Trust• Clarity of Purpose• Unleashing Talent• Alignment of Systems•
In Raleigh, North Carolina, the A.B. Combs Elementary School, a magnet school in leader-ship, has experienced great success with Cov-ey’s program. Teachers train students in the 7 habits by integrating them into all subject areas and making them a critical part of the school culture. Beginning in pre-school, students are introduced to these principles embodied in the 7 habits, maintaining the authentic language used for each:
Habit 1: Be Proactive® • You’re in o
Charge
Habit 2: Begin With the End in o
Mind® • Have a Plan
Habit 3: Put First Things First® • o
Work First, Then Play
Habit 4: Think Win-Win® • Every-o
one Can Win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, o
Then to Be Understood® • Listen Before You Talk
Habit 6: Synergize® • Together Is o
Better
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw® • Bal-o
ance Feels Best
More information on The Leader in Me pro-gram can be obtained on the Franklin Covey website – www.theleaderinmebook.org
SD Counts is wrapping up the last of the three-year grant in the participating school districts. SD Counts is a program designed with the idea of letting the students explore
more strategies in solving problems. The teacher is trained to be the questioner in leading students in the right direction. There is possibly another 3-year grant available with the following options:
Option 1: Primary focus on new participating school districts New districts, schools, teacher leaders, math special-ists and principals will take the SD Counts 1 training provided by Black Hills State University (CAMSE). Minimal support will be given to continuing teacher leaders in continuing schools. Summer institutes for continuing teacher leaders and specialists will be de-termined by the grantee. Data analysis should support the need for new participants. A plan for supporting continuing teacher leaders will need to be outlined.
Option 2: Balanced focus between new and continu-ing participating school districts New districts, schools, teacher leaders and princi-pals will take the SD Counts 1 training provided by CAMSE. A plan for meeting the professional de-velopment needs of the continuing schools, teach-er leaders, math specialists and principals needs to be outlined. It should include the Institute of Higher Education (IHE) that will provide the ser-vices. This plan must include a summer institute, re-gional course work, and follow up school activities.
Option 3: Primary focus on continuing participating school districts New districts, schools, teacher leaders and princi-pals will take the SD Counts 1 training provided by CAMSE. A plan for extensive professional devel-opment, including content and pedagogy, for con-tinuing schools, teacher leaders, math specialists and principals needs to be outlined. It should also include the IHE that will be providing the servic-es. This plan must include a summer institute, re-gional course work, and follow up school activities.
These options are available to all schools. For more in-formation contact Tracy Mittleider at 605-845-3695
Just For Fun Find this hidden chicken in our newsletter. The first person to email Joe Lenz with the answer will win a prize! Email Joe at: [email protected]
Fall Winner: Michelle Becker Faith School District
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island was chosen Policy Maker of the Year at the 40th Annual NSDC Confer-ence in Washington, D.C.Senator Reed is the author of the School Improvement
Through Teacher Quality Act, which pro-motes professional learning communities and job-embedded professional develop-ment during the school day. “Forty percent to ninety per-cent of test scores can be affected by teacher qual-ity. Our coun-try spends 7.3 billion dol-lars per year in replacing t e a c h e r s . ” -Senator Jack Reed Senator Reed introduced well- known keynote speaker Steven Covey at the NSDC Conference in Washington D.C.
