Prepared for the Learning Leadership PLC of N EWTON C OUNTY S CHOOLS by Dan Mulligan, Ed. D., flexiblecreativity.com July 2015 Essential Vocabulary Essential Skills Essential Knowledge LEARNING TARGET “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” ~Dr. Suess

Resources to share…

Newton County Schools Vision The Newton County School System envisions students, who through a rigorous and relevant education, will be able to think critically in order to produce, perform, create, and communicate their knowledge competitively to a hyper-connected, global audience.

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Components of a Focused Learning Program Learning Differentiated based on the needs of the student Student Focused Assessing 4 Learning Program Rigor With Nurturing (STEAM) EngagingSpiraling Teaching for Mastery Reteach & Reassess as necessary (CLT-driven*) Identifies the nonnegotiable vocabulary necessary to decode the content Curriculum Targeting the Essential Knowledge and Essential Skills Staff Development Ongoing to include feedback on success of implementation Assessment Driven by Essential Knowledge and Essential Skills VariedDiagnostic Modeling Data Driven Ongoing Provides College & Career Ready Skills Pacing reflects Data Analysis & Georgia Blueprints page 4

Find a new friend in the room (a mix of specialties is the best). Introduce yourself and share what you will be ‘doing’. Find 2 comfortable seats and relax. *Please bring your handout and a pen(cil)! Find a new friend in the room (a mix of specialties is the best). Introduce yourself and share what you will be ‘doing’. Find 2 comfortable seats and relax. *Please bring your handout and a pen(cil)!

Work collaboratively (e.g., construct viable arguments, critique, agree) to identify key words that capture the essential indicators of quality learning with fidelity. Indicators of quality learning Page 7 Indicator Alert: Did the students unpack the standard? Can students explain what they are learning and why they are engaged in their current task? How does it fit?

1. Create an Environment for Learning – –Helping students know what is expected of them, providing students with opportunities for regular feedback on progress, assuring students they are capable of learning content and skills 2. Helping Students Develop Understanding – –Integrating prior knowledge with new knowledge – –Procedural knowledge: constructing a model of the steps required of the process and practicing its variations; using the process or skill fluently or without any conscious thought 3. Helping Students Extend and Apply Knowledge – –Moving beyond ‘right answer’ learning to an expanded understanding and use of concepts and skills in real-world contexts. McREL, 2012 Framework for Instructional Planning McREL, 2012 page 6

Indicator Alert: Is each student experiencing research based learning strategies?

A. C REATING AN E NVIRONMENT FOR L EARNING A. C REATING AN E NVIRONMENT FOR L EARNING ADDITIONAL SAMPLE RESOURCES pages

Commitment If you don’t make a total commitment to whatever you’re doing, then you start looking to bail out the first time the boat starts leaking. It’s tough enough getting that boat to shore with everybody rowing, let alone when a guy stands up and starts putting his life jacket on. Lou Holtz

WHY ACADEMIC VOCABULARY? aka Why Build Background Knowledge? Briefly share what you know about: photosynthesis Tell a chain story about the process of photosynthesis… …without using words that begin with: P, L, T

Research on Imagery as Elaboration 6 37 percentile pts. higher than… …students who kept repeating definitions percentile pts. higher than… …students who were using the terms in a sentence. Students who used imagery to learn vocabulary, on average, performed # of studies

50 POINTS50 POINTS50 POINTS 100 POINTS 200 POINTS Principal Organizing Theme: Things someone would say… Student TeacherSuperintendent Parent Cafeteria Worker EDUCATIONAL STAKEHOLDER EDITION EDUCATIONAL STAKEHOLDER EDITION page 23

50 POINTS50 POINTS50 POINTS 100 POINTS 200 POINTS Science Experiment Hypothesis Energy Electron DissolveAtmosphere

50 POINTS50 POINTS50 POINTS 100 POINTS 200 POINTS Data Driven Organizing Theme: Essential Elements of an Inclusive Learning Program Vertical Articulation Staff Development Essential Vocabulary Rigor with Nurturing Formative Assessment Indicator Alert: Is the learning environment dynamically vocabulary rich?

Kinds of Evidence – Continuum of Evidence Informal Check for Understanding

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by Maribeth Boelts and Noah Z. Jones

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Indicator Alert: Are there any ‘banished’ students? Is participation safe?

Instructional Strategies that Facilitate Successful Inclusion Must … Supply students with STRUCTURE and ORGANIZATION Encourage student COMMUNICATION and COLLABORATION Provide students with VISUAL and HANDS-ON learning experiences B. H ELPING S TUDENTS D EVELOP U NDERSTANDING  Integrating prior knowledge with new knowledge  Procedural knowledge: constructing a model of the steps required of the process and practicing its variations; using the process or skill fluently or without any conscious thought

R ESEARCH - BASED S TRATEGY : S UMMARIZING AND N OTE - TAKING pages

R ESEARCH - BASED S TRATEGY : S UMMARIZING AND N OTE - TAKING page 12

My Notebook Rubric

“A positive attitude may not solve all of your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth it.” “A positive attitude may not solve all of your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth it.” - Maya Angelou

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The Newton County School System envisions students, who through a rigorous and relevant education, will be able to think critically in order to produce, perform, create, and communicate their knowledge competitively to a hyper- connected, global audience. Pages Helping Students Extend and Apply Knowledge Pages

Helping Students Extend and Apply Knowledge Additional Resources

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Thank you for your commitment to children! "It's your attitude, not just your aptitude that determines your ultimate altitude." -- Zig Ziglar Dan