Professional Development Assignment

 

EDLE 618: Supervision and Evaluation of Instruction

 

Pamela R. Hudson Bailey

 

George Mason University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making Connections Between Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction:

Professional Development Proposal

 

1a. Purpose of Training:

Teachers will have the opportunity to recognize their teaching style strengths/weaknesses, look at varied questioning levels, develop assessments, and investigate vertical alignment with respect to the course you are teaching. Making connections in the content and exploring how to differentiate, the how to’s, will be discussed.

 

1b. Target Audience: High School teachers of SOL assessed courses

 

2. Participants Needs:

          See attached form, “Professional Development Needs”.

 

3. Training Goals and Objectives:

The trainer will use various methodologies illustrating differentiation in the deliver and facilitation of the course concepts. The focus of the professional development is on developing units of instruction that contain multiple concepts, make connections between concepts and students lives, and acknowledge previous and future learning and knowledge.

 

4. Instructional Content:

Teachers will:

·         Analyze their learning style and discover their multiple intelligences acknowledging how it affects their teaching style and relationships with their students.

·         Learn to write varied level questions.

·         Review types of lesson plans for investigative lessons and direct instruction.

·         Discuss classroom management techniques that aid and support student-centered learning and teaching.

·         Learn the “How to’s” of providing differentiation within their classrooms.

·         Discuss the role of technology in meeting the needs of all students and its’ correct usage.

 

5 and 6. Instructional Activities and Training Design:

·         Be split into groups according to courses, schools, and interests at varying times during the professional development.

Day 1

·         Develop a list of group acceptable actions.

·         Teachers will assess their own learning style and multiple intelligences strengths and weaknesses.

·         Types of lesson plans and when each is applicable. 

·         Teachers will be grouped by learning styles/multiple intelligences to discuss types of lesson plans and the role of “gearing up and gearing down” each lesson to fit all student needs.

·         Switch to subject area groupings and repeat discussion. Similarities and differences in discussions in groupings will be discussed as a whole group.

·         Develop a continuum of concepts beginning with middle school through Algebra II in subject area groups.

·         Analyze the first and second quarter data to determine weak areas in the curriculum and their teaching in subject area groups.

·         Teachers will get into groups of 2/3, be assigned either 1st or 2nd quarter, then determine a unit of study that involves multiples concepts, relates to students lives, and provides differentiation to meet all student’s needs.

·         Need to have subject area groups split between the two quarters and insure that the chosen units are not the same or contain like concepts (unless making connections).

·         Teachers will turn in a card with their name and learning style weaknesses at the end of the day. 

·         Reading assignment from text.

Day 2

·         Session on varied levels of questioning.  Teachers will write questions for each of the levels that might be used within their chosen unit or on the benchmark assessment.

·         Classroom management techniques to promote differentiation. Writing chart paper placed around the room. One for each of the learning styles, subject areas, and/or multiple intelligences. Brainstorming session as each teacher goes to the charts that are applicable. Come back together to discuss results.

·         Teachers will be given an explanation of the requirements and expectations of the chosen unit.   

·         Go over reading assignment. Assign reading for last session.

·         Technology lesson emphasizing correct usage in the mathematics classroom.

·         Get back into unit groups. Discuss technology per subject area and chosen units.

·         Work on units.

Day 3

·         As teachers enter the session for the day they will be given a card guiding them to a center. Technology (ex: SmartView, graphing calculator, and TI-InterActive!) will be highlighted in one or more centers, a manipulative center and a vocabulary center.

·         Centers will be chosen based on weak learning styles and/or subject area of chosen unit.

·         Go over reading assignment. Assign reading for the first follow-up session.

·         Work on units.

·         Wrap up the session discussing methods they have experienced involving differentiation, technology usage, levels of questioning, and making connections. Future expectations discussed: complete the unit per given requirements and expectations, teach one of the lessons during the quarter, write a reflection of the presentation, and report back to the group. An assessment piece, without student name, should be included in the reflection and brought back to the follow-up. Interactive internet computer session will be on SCORE with each teacher responding a minimum of three times. This may be done while writing units.

Follow-Up #1

·        Go over reading assignment. Assign reading for the last follow-up session.

·        Teachers assigned a first quarter unit will present a summary of their units as a group and then each teacher will discuss the lesson they presented, their reflection, and assessment piece.  

·        Depending on the number presenting will determine whether a model lesson will be presented that will illustrate differentiation, making connections, and technology.

Follow-Up #2

·        Go over last reading assignment.

·        Teachers assigned a second quarter unit will present a summary of their units as a group and then each teacher will discuss the lesson they presented, their reflection, and assessment piece.  

·        Depending on the number presenting will determine whether a model lesson will be presented that will illustrate differentiation, making connections, and technology.

SCORE

·         The one hour SCORE session may be completed by chosen unit groups as they progress through their writing.

 

7. Evaluation Forms:

·         Exit slips at the end of each day’s session and each follow up.

·         Sample of an exit slip is attached.

 

 

8. Follow-Up Activities:

·         Create a unit of study based on a first or second quarter weakness that are student-centered, relevant to the students’ lives, makes connections, and uses technology.

·         Present one of the lessons created within the chosen unit during the assigned first/second quarter and report back during the follow up sessions.

·         Follow up reports are to include a reflection about how the lesson progressed, a sample of an assessment completed by a student (name omitted), discussion of what the assessment is telling the teacher and the subsequent remediation, connections between concepts that the teacher and students made during the lesson, any changes, additions or deletions.

·         15 hours during the summer, 1 hour on SCORE for the groups to finalize the unit, and 2 – 2 hour follow up sessions.

·         Readings from the text.

The written unit should include (Presented during Day 2):

·         an overview of the unit,

·         a list of standards addressed in the unit, 

·         key concepts and/or generalizations to be used to focus the teacher and student,

·         what students will be expected to know, understand, and be able to do as a result of the unit, (showing) connections between concepts on the curriculum maps and previous course concepts,

·         key instructional strategies,

·         supporting materials and equipment,

 

·         unit overview chart (3 columns) includes 1) lesson sequence and the expected time allotment, 2) whole class activities, and 3) differentiated components to meet the needs of all students,

 

·         unit description (lesson sequence and description, how they plan to gear up or gear down each lesson, formative and summative assessments), and teacher commentary (thoughts about the component and higher order questions).  Differentiated components should be “starred” and all supporting documents and assessment included at the end of the unit.

 

·         Reflection (this is to be turned in separately after a lesson has been taught.)

 

Description posted on My Learning Plan for Spotsylvania County Teachers:

This course is open to all high school mathematics teachers. Teachers will have the opportunity to recognize their teaching style strengths/weaknesses, look at varied questioning levels, develop assessments, and investigate vertical alignment with respect to the course you are teaching. Making connections in the content and exploring how to differentiate, the how to’s, will be discussed. Two follow up sessions will take place during the school year and one online SCORE discussion.

Process used to determine professional development needs in Spotsylvania County:

Spotsylvania County Schools require teachers to attend 20 hours of professional development on the division level each year along with 18 hours of site based professional development. It is a huge undertaking to decide the needs of teachers county-wide. Professional development is attempting to gather data as to the usefulness and success of the division wide professional development courses. Thus a process has been implemented this year that guides how we go through making these decisions. I have the freedom to determine what is offered but need to submit a proposal, along with data to support the need for the course, to the professional development department. A committee then approves, disapproves, or amends our suggestions. After we are approved, I write a proposal along with a course description that will be placed on My Learning Plan for the teachers to view and sign up.

In order to make the best informed decision possible I decided to go out to the teachers and administrators. Students in our county take quarterly benchmark assessments. After the assessment is given and the data gathered, I visit each of the secondary schools to discuss concerns regarding the assessment, the curriculum for the past and current quarter and how to use the data to remediate students as an intervention to the end of course state assessments. After the second quarter benchmark assessment I also used this time to determine professional development needs. The questions on the survey (attached) are those that are asked of teachers and the administrator overseeing mathematics in each secondary level building. I summarized the needs and requests for each school and then by county. These needs, requests, are then correlated with data collected from the benchmarks and Standards of Learning end of course assessment data. Administrator concerns are heavily weighted in our decision of what will be presented. The data and course request was submitted resulting in the development of the attached proposal and course description.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Professional Development Needs

Circle your level of need for each of the following categories.

Key:   1 – neither needed nor necessary

          2 – Very little need 

          3 - A need but not of the utmost importance.

          4 - Would like more information and training. Important.

          5 - Would like more information and training. Most Important

Topic

1

2

3

4

5

How to use technology

1

2

3

4

5

Implementation of technology in lessons

1

2

3

4

5

Basics of collaboration with peers

1

2

3

4

5

Vocabulary in my content

1

2

3

4

5

Methods of differentiation

1

2

3

4

5

How to implement differentiation methodologies into my daily lessons

1

2

3

4

5

Writing varied levels of questions

1

2

3

4

5

Making connections between the concepts and to real-life situations

1

2

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4

5

Vertical aligning curriculum

1

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5

Problem based teaching and learning

1

2

3

4

5

How to use data to guide differentiation to meet student needs on a daily basis

1

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5

How to use benchmark data to guide differentiation to meet student needs for remediation

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5

      Slip

1.                 Today’s activities that are useful to you as a

        classroom teacher.             

 

 

 

 

2.                                   Concepts:

 

 

 

3.               What pieces to the puzzle have been put   

        together or need more guidance?