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WEIGHTED GRADING IN THE MIDDLE GRADES
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev008.shtml
Seventh grade social studies teacher Max Fischer shares his approach to
grading, which takes into account all elements of his students'
performance. It's a weighted system that Fischer believes truly reflects
the needs of his students -- and it has the support of parents too. At
Education World's "Voice of Experience" pages.
MIDDLEWEB GENDER EQUITY PROJECT!
http://k12s.phast.umass.edu/~bivey/middleweb.html
During the summer, a group of MiddleWeb Listserv members explored a gender
equity curriculum. List member Bill Ivey has prepared a special page reporting
on the results. Using the principles of Understanding by Design, group
members created an essential question
to guide our work, generated enduring understandings which would serve
as goals of various units and unit components, designed a
preliminary assessment tool, and outlined ideas for units. It's a work
in progress - join in!
BEYOND SURVIVAL-BASED TEACHING (PDF File)
http://www.emcf.org/pdf/student_paradoxofstateschoolreform.pdf
It's one thing to "understand standards." It's quite another
to understand how to help students develop to the point where they can
perform at standard. In this essay, middle grades reform advocate Hayes
Mizell underscores a fundamental flaw in most state-level
school reform efforts. States assume that if they tell educators what
to do, educators have the skills and knowledge to do it. If they fail
to comply, state leaders tend to attribute this failure to stubborn resistance,
not a lack of capacity. But Mizell notes that most
teachers and administrators do not know how to help all their students
perform at significantly higher levels. In many cases, their
pre-service education did not prepare them for the realities of today's
high-pressure classroom. These educators have operated in a
model of "classroom survival," framed by the expectation that
some students would do well, many would get by, and some would fail.
Mizell explores how states must improve and increase professional development
if they expect to realize the goals of high-stakes
accountability. (Small PDF file)
THINK OUTSIDE THE CLOCK
http://www.nsdc.org/library/tools/tools8-02rich.html
The latest issue of "Tools for Schools," the useful newsletter
from the National Staff Development Council, includes a cover story
(online) about schools that are finding the time for staff development.
There's also a resource list. The print version offers
vignettes from a dozen schools using time-saving strategies. Subscribe!
BENEFITS OF FAMILY-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS
The National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE) is
a coalition of major education, community, public service, and advocacy
organizations working to create meaningful family-school partnerships
in every school in America. As a result of these partnerships students
do better in school and in life, parents become empowered, teacher morale
improves, schools get better, and communities grow stronger. Click below
to learn more about NCPIE's comprehensive framework for family involvement.
http://www.ncpie.org/DevelopingPartnerships/
CASE STUDIES OF HOW URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS IMPROVE STUDENT
ACHIEVEMENT
A new report from the Council of the Great City Schools takes on the difficult
task of determining which urban school districts are improving and who
is making the most progress. As a result they have identified three common
preconditions for improving academic performance; instructional coherence;
data-driven decision making; and a shared vision for improvement. Another
important characteristic shared by a majority of successful urban school
districts is the ongoing partnership of a local education fund and an
engaged community.
http://www.cgcs.org/reports/Foundations.html
EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION OF STUDENTS AT RISK OF FAILURE
Despite a decade of research on students at risk of failure, some educators
have not altered their classrooms and teaching practice and so continue
to encounter difficulties in teaching those students most at risk of failure.
This study, combined with the supporting literature on learning among
at-risk students, brings hope for finding more ways to motivate at risk
students. Responses show that students feel more motivated to learn, receive
better grades, and accept more responsibility for their work in the lab
environment. Educators will continue to wrestle with the challenges of
teaching students who learn differently. Cooperative learning, authentic
tasks and assessments, and the meaningful use of available technology
are powerful tools. If educators work to implement these instructional
strategies in the regular classroom, then schools will come closer to
retaining this group of underrepresented youth and serve them more strongly.
http://www.principals.org/news/bltn_realkids0902.html
MIDDLE SCHOOL READING RUBRICS
The four rubrics on this page were developed by a middle school teacher
and recommended by a participant at MiddleWeb's Reading
Workshop listserv. They cover Global Understanding, Developing Interpretations,
Personal Response, and Critical Stance.
These rubrics are located at the Stephen Decatur Middle School (formerly
Berlin MS) website. Their rubrics are located on a page at the Maryland
Department of Education website. Please visit: http://www.mdk12.org/practices/support_success/mspap/tips/reading/paulis/sample_rubric.html
THE PEDAGOGY OF POVERTY VERSUS GOOD TEACHING
An observer of urban classrooms can find examples of almost every form
of pedagogy, and even the use of problem-solving units common in progressive
education. In spite of this broad range of options, however, there are
at least 14 more core functions of basic teaching that can be found in
most classrooms. They constitute the pedagogy of poverty -- not merely
what teachers do and what youngsters expect but, for different reasons,
what parents, the community, and the general public assume teaching to
be. Unfortunately, the pedagogy of poverty does not work. Youngsters achieve
neither minimum levels of life skills nor what they are
capable of learning. The classroom atmosphere created by constant teacher
direction and student compliance seethes with passive resentment that
sometimes bubbles up into overt resistance. Graduates who lack basic skills
may be unemployable and represent a personal and societal tragedy. However,
graduates who possess basic skills but are partially informed, unable
to think, and incapable of making moral choices are downright dangerous.
http://www.enc.org/topics/equity/articles/document.shtm?input=ACQ-111376-1376
MAKING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN HOME AND SCHOOL
At Susan B. Anthony Elementary School, 69 percent of the students are
immigrants from countries in Southeast Asia, including Laos, Thailand,
and Vietnam. Roughly 20 percent of the students are African American,
and 12 percent are Hispanic. All live in poverty, with 100 percent of
the students receiving free or reduced-priced lunches. Faced with a high
suspension rate and a majority of students performing below grade level,
staff and teachers from the school launched a home visit program. Since
the program began, student achievement has soared, suspensions have been
almost eliminated, and parents are respected partners, not outsiders at
the school. The model has been so successful that today teachers from
every school in the Sacramento City Unified School District are participating
in the voluntary, paid program.
http://www.glef.org/
U.S. CONSTITUTION: TEACH CHILDREN THE BAD WITH THE GOOD
The United States will be remembered as one of the most democratic and
free nations in the world and it has a fundamentally "great"
Constitution, say most Americans, but nine out of ten also believe America
should be a land where children are taught both the good and the bad about
their history. So finds a far-reaching and comprehensive national study
conducted by Public Agenda for the National Constitution Center that was
released today to mark Constitution Day and the 215th anniversary of the
signing of the Constitution. The study, "Knowing It by Heart,"
finds that while most Americans admit that they do not have detailed knowledge
about the Constitution and Bill of Rights, they seem to have absorbed
its core values of protecting the rights of all citizens. The study also
finds that
the public is concerned when they think everyone isn't so equal. Sixty-five
percent say citizens who are rich or powerful have more rights and freedoms
than others.
http://www.publicagenda.org/specials/constitution/constitution.htm
TEACHER PERFORMANCE MOST IMPORTANT PREDICTOR OF ACHIEVEMENT
A new Carnegie Challenge Paper, "Teaching as a Clinical Profession:
A New Challenge for Education," summarizes the challenges facing
the teaching profession and offers a conceptual answer -- treat teaching
as a modern clinical profession. Too often, according to the paper, school
reformers have put the cart before the horse by launching school reforms
without teaching reforms, as if reducing class sizes or raising student
standards were self-fulfilling improvements. They are not. Studies confirm
that the quality of teaching is the single most important factor influencing
student achievement. (PDF)
http://www.carnegie.org
DO STUDENTS CARE ABOUT LEARNING?
Students care about learning when their teachers invite them to learn,
writes Carol Ann Tomlinson. Teachers extend students invitations to learning
when they strive to meet students' need for affirmation, contribution,
purpose, power, and challenge in the classroom. Students feel affirmed
when they believe that they are accepted and safe in the classroom and
that their teacher and peers care about them. They think of themselves
as classroom contributors when they believe that they make a difference
and bring unique talents and abilities to the group. When students sense
that academic content is significant, meaningful, and relevant, learning
is purposeful. Students feel powerful when they make choices about their
own learning. They are challenged when teachers hold high expectations
for them. Excellent teachers infuse both the learning environment and
their instruction with invitation to make academic content engaging for
students. Do students care about learning? The answer is, of course, that
"it depends."
http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/edlead/0209/tomlinson.html
GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION
"Teaching Tolerance"
The Southern Poverty Law Center provides Teaching Tolerance grants of
up to $2,000 to K-12 classroom teachers for implementing tolerance projects
n schools and communities. Proposals from other educators such as community
organizations and churches will be considered on the basis of direct student
impact. Application deadline: ongoing.
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/expand/gra/guide
"IBM's Reinventing Education Program"
IBM announced a $15 million grant program designed to drive higher-quality
training for U.S. public school teachers -- elevating their preparation
to the rigorous standards in other professional fields. The announcement
brings IBM's investment in its global Reinventing Education initiative
-- currently serving 65,000 teachers and six million students -- to $70
million. The Reinventing Education teacher training initiative creates
a first-of-a-kind national collaborative among the participating teacher
education schools with the common goal of driving up the academic quality
of teacher preparation courses. The grants will bring innovative technologies
into schools of education, and build new, permanent bridges between teacher
education programs and the schools they serve.
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ibmgives/grant/education/programs/reinventing/
"Handspring Foundation"
The Handspring Foundation focuses on supporting non-profit organizations
or international equivalents that help at-risk children and youth. The
Foundation makes cash grants from $1,000 to $25,000 for projects that
focus on preK-12 education or other issues directly related to at-risk
children and youth. Application deadline: November 1, 2002.
http://www.handspring.com/company/foundation/about.jhtml
"2003 NSTA Science Teacher Awards"
Due to overwhelming interest, the National Science Teachers Association
(NSTA), the nation's largest science teacher organization, is extending
the deadline for its 2003 science teacher awards. The deadline for entries
is now Tuesday, October 15, 2002. NSTA offers a host of awards that recognize
and honor the nation's top science educators for their dedication to and
passion for the profession and for their innovative classroom programs.
In addition to recognition, the popular awards give science teachers the
opportunity to secure resources for classroom equipment and materials
or attend an NSTA convention. Just a few of the awards include the NSTA
Distinguished Informal Science Education Award. This award recognizes
an NSTA Member who is not a classroom teacher, and
who has contributed to informal science education, the DCAT "Making
a Difference" Award, for middle level teachers; and the NSTA Robert
H. Carleton Award, the highest honor an NSTA member can receive, this
award recognizes science educators for their lifelong contributions to
and leadership in science education.
http://www.nsta.org/222/&class_level=Middle&program_type=teacher%20awards
"ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award"
The ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award candidate is an
education professional, 40 years of age or younger who demonstrates exemplary
ommitment and exceptional contribution to the profession. Their creative
and innovative accomplishments within the classroom, school, district,
state, or region has had a significant impact on student performance and
achievement over time and provides an ongoing model of excellence in encouraging
all learners to succeed. Their body of work consistently proves their
leadership among their colleagues. The recipient of the ASCD Outstanding
Young Educator Award will be profiled in Educational Leadership, will
receive a check in the amount of $10,000, and will be honored during a
general session at the ASCD Annual Conference and Exhibit Show in San
Francisco, California. Nomination deadline: December 16, 2002.
http://www.ascd.org/oyea.html
"Team America Rocketry Challenge"
The Team America Rocketry Challenge is the first national model rocket
competition for U.S. high school and junior high school students. Teams
are challenged to design, build, and launch a model rocket carrying two
raw eggs to exactly 1,500 feet, while returning both eggs to the earth
unscrambled. The contest is limited to a total of 500 U.S. high school
teams. A grand prize pool of $59,000 in cash and savings bonds will be
shared by the top five teams. In addition, three of the top ten teams
are eligible to win $2,500 grants, including travel expenses, to launch
an advanced rocket with NASA. Each of the top 25 teams' schools will be
invited to send one teacher on an all expenses paid trip to attend an
advanced NASA rocketry workshop with NASA scientists and engineers, and
tour research and development facilities at NASA Marshall Space Flight
Center. Application deadline: November 15, 2002.
http://www.rocketcontest.org/
"Classroom Connect's Internet Educator of the Year
Award"
Classroom Connect has announced the 4th annual Internet Educator of the
Year Award. The 2003 Internet Educator of the Year will be an educator
who embraces Internet resources and technologies, and successfully integrates
them into the classroom. He or she is a teacher first, demonstrating and
sharing a love of learning and using the Internet as a tool for learning
with those around them -- both students and faculty and is an inspiration
to everyone who has or is struggling with combining the professional act
of teaching with the realities of a completely wired future.
Nomination deadline: October 31, 2002. http://proflearn.classroom.com/ProfDev/ieoty.asp
From the desk of. . .
Barbara Moore, Associate Director
SREB's Making Middle Grades Work
592 Tenth Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30318-5790
404/ 879-5596
404/ 872-1477 fax
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