Common Core Confusion

Many schools have been left scrambling to roll out Common Core to teachers in the past couple of years. Many systems used a train the trainer model to do so. Though we are educators, not every teacher is a teacher trainer. In turn, training of the Common Core model was not always delivered with fidelity. I have been asked time and time again what is the best training available for Common Core? How do we pull off understanding and transferring such an enormous transition from our state objectives to this new model?

These questions have been at the forefront of reflection for me this first semester of school. In Ron Clark's book The End of Molasses Classes, he says "Figure out a solution. Find a way to create success. Make it happen. If you are taking the time to make …

Upcoming Webinars

The Alliance for Excellent Education
Invites You to Attend a Webinar on

Digital Strategies for Increasing
Access and Opportunity in Rural Schools

Thursday, October 25, 2012
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (ET)

Panelists
Alison Dwier-Selden, Principal, Walton Middle School (Charlottesville, Virginia)
Scott McLeod, PhD, Director of Innovation, Prairie Lakes AEA 8 (Pocahontas, Iowa)
Pamela Moran, EdD, Superintendent, Albemarle County Public Schools (Charlottesville, Virginia)
Terri Schwartzbeck, Senior Policy Associate, Alliance for Excellent Education
Chip Slaven, Senior Advocacy Associate, Alliance for Excellent Education

Rural youth continue to be less likely than their urban counterparts to reach their educational goals, and evidence indicates that they continue to be disadvantaged in terms of school resources to prepare them for college and a career. Some of the most promising efforts around improving rural education are taking place in schools where …

Suggested Legislation For Personalized and Digital Learning

The Alliance for Excellent Education
has announced a Webinar on the

Working Draft of Suggested Legislation for Personalized and Digital Learning and the Opening of a Public Comment Period

Monday, July 30, 2012
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., ET

 

Please join the Alliance for Excellent Education on Monday, July 30 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET for a live webinar to discuss and seek feedback on a working draft of suggested legislation for personalized and digital learning that is currently being developed by the Alliance.

Over the past several years, the Alliance has been developing digital learning policy that supports the effective use of technology as a way to drive higher student achievement. More states are taking policy actions to implement innovative types of student-centered learning and seeking guidance in the legislative drafting process. This working draft of suggested …

Systems Thinking In Education

The Waters Foundation recently held the second annual Camp Snowball in Tucson, Arizona. The camp is designed to build capacity in teachers and students for systems thinking and sustainability education locally, nationally and throughout the world.

Marv Adams, Chief Operating Officer at TDAmeritrade, and Darcy Winslow, former Global General Manager and VP, Women’s Footware, Apparel and Equipment, Nike joined Peter Senge in speaking and a public forum discussing connections between education and business as teachers help foster growth of 21st Century future ready graduates.

“The purpose of Camp Snowball is to provide opportunities for communities and schools to learn how to enable their students to think deeply and critically and to achieve academically in order to become responsible, thoughtful citizens of the interdependent world that they will inherit.” Check out www.campsnowball.org to learn more. Next year, the camp will be …

Teaching In A Learning-Centered Digitally Empowered Environment

The Alliance for Excellent Education has announced a WEBINAR on

The Role of Teaching in a Learner-Centered,
 Digitally-Empowered Environment

Thursday, July 26, 2012
 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., ET

 

Panelists
Ken Halla, Social Studies Teacher and Department Chair, Hayfield Secondary School (Fairfax, VA)
Patrick Ledesma, Director of Educator Engagement, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Terri Duggan Schwartzbeck, Senior Policy Associate, Alliance for Excellent Education

 As schools continue to work to meet learning demands required of today, it is increasingly important that they shift to a learner-centered instructional model driven by high-quality digital learning and the effective use of technology that provides a more personalized, rigorous, and collaborative learning environment for each student. Teachers must be empowered to take on new professional roles required through job-embedded and meaningful professional learning opportunities, including enhanced teacher training, collaboration and mentoring opportunities, …

Walkie Talkies as a Digital Learning Tool

The great thing about WALKIE TALKIES is the ability to use them as a communication device. Speaking and listening skills are indeed part of COMMON CORE English Language Arts instruction. They are also an important objective for our English Language Learners. This game allows studenst to use a technology medium at recess while practicing those standards. A teacher friend recently shared with me her idea to use Walkie Talkies with some of her elementary students as a communications device. She found a game on www.ehow.com titled:

Zombies

In this game, which works best with large groups and lots of playing space, all but one player has a walkie-talkie set to the same frequency. The player without the walkie-talkie is designated as the “zombie,” required to “bite” (tag) the “humans” to transform them into zombies. The humans are allowed to use …