DuFour PLC Model What Is a "Professional Learning Community"? To create a professional learning community, focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively, and hold yourself accountable for results. Richard DuFour The idea of improving schools by developing professional learning communities is currently in vogue. People use this term to describe every imaginable combination of individuals with an interest in education—a grade-level teaching team, a school committee, a high school department, an entire school district, a state department of education, a national professional organization, and so on. The professional learning community model has now reached a critical juncture, one well known to those who have witnessed the fate of other well-intentioned school reform efforts. The movement to develop professional learning communities can avoid this cycle, but only if educators reflect critically on the concept's merits. Public Schools of North Carolina Videos
360 Degrees of Reflection Teacher Effectiveness | Feature 360 Degrees of Reflection Some cutting-edge technologies are trying to take teacher evaluation to the next level. By John K. Classroom observation is--at best--an inexact science, historically plagued by the limitations of the human being doing the observation: There's only so much that eyes can see, ears can pick up, or pens can record in a given moment. Pioneers in "systematic" classroom observation, like Tom Good and Jere Brophy, tried to address these limitations by creating "objective" instruments that would enable administrators to easily and quickly record observable, measurable, instructional data--such as how frequently a teacher checks understanding--and that would limit reliance on human judgment or inference. Unquestionably, such systematic approaches have made classroom observation a much more useful and impartial method for understanding teachers' strengths and weaknesses.
The Standards Building on the best of existing state standards, the Common Core State Standards provide clear and consistent learning goals to help prepare students for college, career, and life. The standards clearly demonstrate what students are expected to learn at each grade level, so that every parent and teacher can understand and support their learning. The standards are: Research and evidence basedClear, understandable, and consistentAligned with college and career expectationsBased on rigorous content and the application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skillsBuilt upon the strengths and lessons of current state standardsInformed by other top-performing countries to prepare all students for success in our global economy and society According to the best available evidence, the mastery of each standard is essential for success in college, career, and life in today’s global economy. For grades K-8, grade-by-grade standards exist in English language arts/literacy and mathematics.
Twitter for Teachers: Discover #hashtag PD! When I first joined Twitter about a year ago, I signed on to follow my teenage daughters (stalker mom extraordinaire). Among their group of friends, they frequently used hashtags (#) at the end of their tweets such as #justsayin or #awkward to express their feelings at the time. Some of them are quite amusing! After I began using Twitter for professional reasons to help build my PLN (Personal Learning Network), I saw hashtags being used by people at conferences: #NAIS, #ISTE11, etc. By “marking” tweets in this way, people could send a message to fellow tweeps who were at the conference or had an interest in the goings-on. Here’s how it works: With a free tool like TweetDeck (my choice) or Hootsuite, Twitter users can create a search column for #ISTE11 and the software will filter all tweets carrying that hashtag into that column for review. Months later, I have an #ahamoment Live hashtag meet-ups in your specialty area But wait, there’s more! Have difficulty following a twitter chat?
TV eLearning Exclusive shows to explore creative possibilities in authoring and publishing eLearning content To view this content, you need the latest version of the Flash Player. Adobe TV uses the Open Source Media Framework (OSMF) to deliver a superior video experience. Please upgrade your Flash Player to version 10.2 to benefit from this technology. Gain unprecedented creative control with new expressive features and visual performance improvements in Adobe Flash Player 10.2. Flash Player is a cross-platform browser plug-in that delivers breakthrough Web experiences to over 99% of Internet users. Featured Episode What is new in Adobe Captivate 7? Show: New in Adobe Captivate 7 Adobe Captivate 6 Created over a year ago [x] Episodes Actors in Various Gestures to Liven Up Content Tell your eLearning story more effectively using human characters. Professional Themes for Consistent Look and Feel Spend less time and effort to liven up your courses. Smart Learning Interactions mLearning Content Using HTML5
LEP.gov - Limited English Proficiency (LEP): A federal Interagency Website A Teacher's Guide to Building a Professional Learning Network (PLN) The Children's Dental Centre » Blog Archive » Meet the Paediatric Dentist Dr. Shonna Masse Dr. Shonna Masse is a certified specialist in paediatric dentistry. She treats children from teething to teens, and children with special needs. She is privileged to be on staff at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Teaching Tips Year-round teaching tips Activities for NewcomersWhen brand new English language learners first enter your school, it can be overwhelming for the teachers responsible for their instruction. It's hard to know what to do first. Here are some activity-based tips to get you started. Includes classroom resource picks. August 1, 2011 #ELLCHATAt the August 1st #ELLCHAT, we discussed free and inexpensive resources for teachers of English language learners. August 15th #ELLCHAT Resources on Parent EngagementOn August 15th #ELLCHAT discussed how to increase parent engagement in our schools. August 8th Twitter Resources on Co-TeachingThanks to Karen Nemeth for leading the August 8th #ELLCHAT on strategies for co-teaching and collaborating. Bloom's taxonomy and English language learnersYour English language learners should be developing thinking skills as they acquire English. Collaborative Teaching: Are Two Teachers Better Than One? Comprehensible Input and OutputHow do newcomers learn English? What!
ProfessionalGrowth - Teacher Portfolio Individual • Collaborative Definition: The Teacher Portfolio option is a process involving the collection of best practices in an identified area. The portfolio documents evidence of teacher competencies and guides long-term professional development. It is a reflective tool to demonstrate professional growth over time. Purpose To allow teachers the opportunity to reflect and gather data to support the professional goal, assess teaching strengths, and identify areas which may need improvement. Image from:
Mind's Wonderings: Education and Technology