Over the last few week, I was fortunate to stop into some of the open houses across the district. There was one takeaway that resonated and that was how happy the parents were leaving each of the open houses. This is important because family engagement is associated with higher achievement for all of our students. When schools and families work together to support learning, children are more successful. As we move to reimagine our classrooms and schools, parents and community members play an important role in this process. Here are a few suggestions of how to move engagement from traditional school activities to more active engagement for change. Parenting: Instead of traditional activities of discussing children's interests, setting expectations or supervising homework, parents/guardians can be encouraged to engage children's curiosity and passions, modeling 21st century skills such as collaboration and citizenship. Communicating: Instead of traditional activities of only sending out school notices like newsletters, letters home, or calendar updates, reach out to parents to engage in book studies, and twitter chats, or use social media to gain engage parents in conversations. Supporting school: Instead of traditional activities where parents volunteer, fund-raise, or attend parent-teacher conferences, what if you engaged parents, so they can contribute their expertise on a project, or become an authentic audience for student work, or participate in student-led conferences. (Adapted from Suzie Boss, All Together Now, p. 99). The Challenge: Consider new ways to engage parents as partners and participants in reimagining learning. Questions to think about: How might we design a better way for families, educators, and community partners to support student learning--together? How family friendly is your school? How family friendly is your classroom? What are the barriers that keep parents and other family members from engaging in their children's schools? Here is a great article with one strategy you could use: Pick up the Phone
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Reimagining 2017-2018 Each week a weekly question or thought will be shared out through the MURSD curriculum weekly update. Here is a link to this week's entry called: Engaging Parents Book studies The Behavior Code book study launched this week and Most Likely To Succeed book study begins the first week of October. If you are interested in either, please let Maureen know as soon as possible. What are our beliefs about learning? Will Richardson challenged us to examine our own beliefs about learning. As a result, many of us have started looking at our beliefs about learning through faculty meetings, discussions, and sharing out in blogs. Here is a sampling of some of our thoughts. We'd love to hear from all of you, so if you have written about your beliefs about learning, please forward them along. My Beliefs about Learning Nipmuc: Beliefs about Learning What I Believe about Learning The Nest of Inquiry A Bit O' the Blog This Week from Twitter Here are a few articles that were shared out on Twitter that you might find interesting or inspiring. What it's like to teach and lead in 2017 5 Amazing Ways to Collaborate with Another Class How to Make Every Grade More like Kindergarten District Marshmallow Challenge Sept 29 We will be running a district-wide a MakerEd Marshmallow Challenge on the afternoon of Friday, September 29th during your last block of the day. The purpose of the Marshmallow challenge is for students to collaborate around a fun design challenge and reflect on the their process to apply to later projects. It's a great team-building activity. For those unfamiliar with Marshmallow Challenges Teams of 3-4 students are challenged to build the tallest possible free-standing spaghetti tower that supports a marshmallow on the top in 18 minutes. Students will share their end products and reflections on the process via Flipgrid. The process should take about 60 minutes to complete and debrief. To sign up your class, please click here. Directions and materials will be provided by me next week. MCAS 2017 Released Information If you are looking for more specific information about the Spring MCAS 2017 tests, here is a link to more resources: MCAS Released 2017 Questions and Student Work
Please note that this course may be canceled if there are fewer than 20 participants. Course meetings will take place in the Presentation Room at Medway Middle School except if noted otherwise. Saturday 10/14 8:30-3:30 Thursday 10/26 4:00-7:00 Thursday 11/2 4:00-7:00 Thursday 11/16 4:00-7:00* (different location TBD) Thursday 11/30 4:00-7:00 Saturday 12/9 8:30-3:30 A full commitment to the dates and times above is required. Graduate credits are available for a small cost. Please contact Sandy Grube at [email protected] to register. Thank you!
Teachers have 2 options when they register for the course:
To register, please fill out the following form and return it to French River Education Center. SEI Course Registration Form Bridgewater State University is offering a NEW & EXCITING Profesional Development Program for Math Teachers!
Engage in Math consists of four 90 minute workshops offered at BSU Attleboro and on the main BSU campus in Bridgewater. The program registration fee is ONLY $100! Please share this information with the math teachers in your school district! This program was created by BSU's Center for the Advancement of STEM Education (CASE) to engage math teachers in grades 1-12 in non-standard mathematical problem solving. Please see the flyer below for more info. Workshop Series: Supporting Non-Standard Problem Solving in Mathematics in Grades 1-12 bridgewater state university Center for the advancement of STEM education (CASE) Facilitated by dr. Polina sabinin Workshop Series Description This professional development workshop series is designed to engage mathematics teachers in grades 1-12 (and their students) in non-standard mathematical problem solving. Non-standard problems require us to step away from rigid procedures, problem types, key terms, and other tricks. Instead, to make sense of these problems (let alone to solve them) we must open our minds, think creatively, take risks, use our problem-solving strategies, and make new connections about mathematics that we know. In this process, we deepen our understanding and discover new mathematics. Workshop participants will: •join a professional learning community •engage in problem solving •analyze mathematical teaching practices •learn about sources of excellent non-standard problems •be provided with a grade-specific packet of problems from Math Kangaroo Olympiad that they can use in their classes. Engage in Teaching Mathematics Mathematical Teaching Practices were published inPrinciples to Actions (2014). These workshops will model and provide time to explicitly analyze these practices: 1. Establish mathematics goals to focus learning. 2. Implement tasks that promote reasoning and problem solving. 3. Use and connect mathematical representations. 4. Facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse. 5. Pose purposeful questions. 6. Build procedural fluency from conceptual understanding. 7. Support productive struggle in learning mathematics. 8. Elicit and use evidence of student thinking. . Program Details The Engage in Math program consists of four workshops. All workshops will run from 4:30 pm until 6:00 pm. Separate programs will be offered at BSU’s main campus in Bridgewater and at BSU Attleboro. Workshop dates vary with location. Location: Bridgewater State University Main Campus, 24 Park Avenue, Bridgewater MA Dates: •October 30, •November 27, •January 29, and •April 2. Location: Bridgewater State University Attleboro Campus, 11 Field Road, Attleboro MA Dates: •November 1, •November 29, •January 31, and •April 4. *Program registration fee: $100 per teacher. Certificates of Completion for 6 clock hours will be provided. There will be an opportunity to earn an additional 4 clock hours. For more information and to register, visit http://microsites.bridgew.edu/case/prek-12-teachers Center for the Advancement of STEM Education (CASE) The mission of CASE is to promote and increase interest and literacy in science and mathematics among preK-12 students, pre-service and in-service teachers, and members of the regional community. CASE programs directly impact more than 20,000 preK-12 students, teachers and community members each year. For more information on CASE programs for teachers, students and the community, please visit http://microsites.bridgew.edu/case Contact us: Maura Whittemore Center for the Advancement of STEM Education (CASE) Bridgewater State University Phone: (508) 531-2575 Email: [email protected] We've heard it 1,000 times in our classes over the years, the age-old question, "Why do we need to learn this?" Chris Lehmann, author of Building School 2.0 advises educators to seriously consider this question. "Students deserve an honest answer about what's worth knowing and why." He goes on to write, "If we create our learning spaces as places where every student has the right to ask, 'Why do I need to know this?'--where that is the first, most exciting question of every day--we can create vibrant, powerfully relevant classes that engage and empower everyone in them." The Challenge As you consider your lesson planning, pause and imagine you are going to be asked the question, "Why do we need to know this?" Take your lesson and reimagine and redesign it so your students will be able to walk away identifying why they need to learn the concepts and skills. Questions to Think About Will the concepts students will be learning important for future real-life applications? Or are these concepts that we are teaching "just in case they need it someday?" Can you on your own articulate why the concepts are important to learn or how we would use them in real life? If asked, can your students explain why they are learning what they are learning? Have you looked at the enduring understandings and essential questions in your unit to help to make this connection for students?
Reimagining 2017-2018 Each week a weekly question or thought will be shared out through the MURSD curriculum weekly update. Here is a link to this week's entry called: Why do we need to learn this? Primary Source Our district is a member of Primary Source, which is an organization whose mission is to advance global and cultural education in schools through professional development support to educators. As members, we have a few spots to send our educators to school-year workshops and summer workshops. We also are provided with additional opportunities such as special events and webinars. The list of Primary Source courses for 2017-2018 is attached. If you are interested in attending a course, please send me an e-mail at [email protected] with the information about which course/workshop you are interested in and the reason why it would be beneficial for your classroom work. The deadline is September 27th. Professional Learning Workshop-Request for Proposals We are planning on continuing our conversations and learning in professional practice pathways, as well as other aspects of our district action plans in social-emotional learning, inclusion, co-teaching, RTI, and curriculum. We are seeking people who would be interested in leading workshops in these areas for this fall. If you might be interested, please check out and complete the following proposal form by September 27. MURSD Mentor Training: Mentor training will take place on Thursday, October 19th. If you are interested in being trained as a mentor for future mentoring opportunities, please e-mail [email protected]. This Week on Twitter: Ten Reasons Why I have Flipgrid Fever What Questions are Learners Asking (great graphic to check out) 50 Tips and Tricks to Facilitate a More Inclusive Classroom If you are not on Twitter and need assistance in getting started, please reach out to Dave Quinn or to me to get started. #MURSDLeads Dr. Tony Wagner, co-author of Most Likely to Succeed will be joining us in a conversation about his book this coming Tuesday, September 19th from 5-5:30pm. Upcoming PD Opportunities Literacy: The Central Mass Reading Council is so excited to bring Jennifer Serravallo to the area through a Skype presentation in Grafton on October 18, 2017. Following Jennifer’s Skype session there will be a follow-up segment presented by two literacy specialists on how to motivate, empower, and engage all types of readers. This will be a wonderful evening centered around Jennifer’s bestselling book, The Reading Strategies Book. Information can be found here. Science: Elementary Science and Engineering Technology (ELE 653PD) 3 credits This course introduces teachers at the elementary level to the newly drafted revisions of the Massachusetts Science, Technology, and Engineering standards along with the instructional tools and strategies required to effectively advance learner achievement specific to the new performance expectations. The course includes both early childhood and elementary science practices and content designed to strengthen scientific literacy among learners as they explore and use key knowledge specific to earth, life, physical and engineering sciences. The course is offered in a hybrid format that features both online learning and interactive, face-to-face instruction. The online learning modules (4) will be 9/18/16 to 10/13/16 (Asynchronous). Seated classes will meet in North Attleborough: 10/17, 10/24, 11/7, 11/14. 11/21, Tuesdays (3:45-4:45pm). Reach out to Liz Bonin, at [email protected] asap to indicate interest. SEL Summit Here is a link to a SEL Summit being held in October. This course introduces teachers at the elementary level to the newly drafted revisions of the Massachusetts Science, Technology, and Engineering standards along with the instructional tools and strategies required to effectively advance learner achievement specific to the new performance expectations. The course includes both early childhood and elementary science practices and content designed to strengthen scientific literacy among learners as they explore and use key knowledge specific to earth, life, physical and engineering sciences. The course is offered in a hybrid format that features both online learning and interactive, face-to-face instruction. The online learning modules (4) will be 9/18/16 to 10/13/16 (Asynchronous). Seated classes will meet in North Attleborough: 10/17, 10/24, 11/7, 11/14. 11/21, Tuesdays (3:45-4:45pm). Reach out to Liz Bonin, my secretary, at [email protected] asap (by tomorrow or early next week) to indicate interest. Reimagining 2017-2018 Each week a weekly question or thought will be shared out through the MURSD curriculum weekly update. Here is a link to this week's entry entitled: Take 1 Risk This Week. MURSD Mentor Training: Mentor training will take place on Thursday, October 19th. If you are interested in being trained as a mentor for future mentoring opportunities, please e-mail [email protected]. Book Studies: Some of our fall book studies will be starting up soon. Please e-mail Maureen Cohen if you are interested in participating in a book study of The Behavior Code, Most Likely to Succeed, or Empower. From Twitter: There are amazing gems and new ideas that can be found on Twitter every day that can help us to grow our practice. Here are a few to check out that were shared this week from my PLN (Personal Learning Network), where some straight from MURSD or shared out on Twitter by MURSD teachers! 5 Ways to Promote Student Agency Student Designed Learning Cult of Pedagogy: compliments project Educational Leadership: 3 Tech Strategies to Keep Parents in Sync with School 5 Positive Hallway Conversations The Power of Relationships If you are not yet on Twitter and would like to learn more and get started, please e-mail me or Dave Quinn and we will get you started. We are definitely in it now. Students are settling in. Our routines are in place. We have worked through our "getting to know you activities." This is close to point in the road where paths appear for us in our planning. One path is the path we have usually taken. It's well-established; we've seen great successes. We know it well. The other path is a path where we try new instructional strategies out, but we are not sure yet how they will turn out. This is a path that a few have tried out and told you stories about great success, but it isn't as well-known. So as you stand at the two roads that diverge, which one will you take? As Robert Frost wrote: "I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." The Challenge In your lesson plans for this week, identify one change you will make or one learning activity you will try out that you haven't tried before. See if you can push yourself a little out of your comfort zone, as that is where you truly will continue to learn and grow as an educator. Think about these questions: How can you change one of your lesson plans this week and do something out of your comfort zone? What is an idea you have thought of trying, but have not followed through on for fear of failing? |