Kentucky Teacher

The University of Kentucky and the Partnership Institute for Math and Science Education Reform (PIMSER) are hosting the third annual Meeting the Challenge Conference July 22-24 in Lexington. This year’s theme is Standards, Differentiation and Assessment.

Experts will offer their perspective on understanding the curricular implications of the Next Generation Science Standards; advancing the implementation of the Common Core Standards for Mathematics; integrating assessment and standards-based grading; and leadership skills for supporting the changing classroom.

Local practitioners including classroom teachers and leaders will present a variety of curricular, instructional and leadership strategies that have been effectively applied in schools and classrooms.

This conference is geared toward administrators, classroom teachers, curriculum coaches, district leadership team members and higher education STEM faculty.

Those interested can go to http://www.uky.edu/p12mathsciencefor a link to the conference website with complete information and registration.

Discounts are available for groups of five or more. Early Bird registration ends May 31.

By Susan Riddell
susan.riddell@education.ky.gov

Library media specialist Terri Kirk talks with a group of stidents about their favorite books at Reidland High School (McCracken County).
Photo by Amy Wallot, Dec. 11, 2012

Terri Kirk, library media specialist at Reidland High School (McCracken County), feels that most readers simply don’t honor the phrase, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” anymore.

“I know we shouldn’t (judge), but we do,” she said. “The books that are available to students need to be pretty. They need to be up to date.”

Kirk suggests schools repurchase library books – even the classics – to keep more timely versions available for students. Modernized covers will better catch the eyes of students who otherwise might not give a John Keats or Louisa May Alcott read a try, Kirk said.

In fact, there are several ways both library media specialists and teachers can motivate reluctant readers, according to Kirk and Cindy Parker, literacy coordinator for Kentucky Department of Education’s Office of Next Generation Learners.

A love of reading naturally fosters literacy’s role as the key component to academic success, Parker said. Additionally, two different but very important purposes for reading are to gather information and share experiences vicariously.

“Students who don’t read as much as their peers lack background knowledge and an understanding of the world around them,” she said. “This relates to a key reading strategy – making inferences or coming to a logical conclusion by connecting background knowledge with what is seen, heard or read.” Read the full story

The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) offers many field trips designed to support and enhance Common Core English/ language arts standards and 21st-century skills.

All programs encourage students to think critically, develop creative points of view and communicate their ideas. Through these programs, students will analyze primary source documents and artifacts while using evidence to support their interpretation.

Museum educator led programs

• Visual thinking strategies - Students will analyze and interpret primary source artworks, photographs and artifacts using visual thinking strategies, an open-ended discussion format that fosters critical thinking and communication skills.
• National History Day - Students will learn how to access and analyze primary source documents and begin developing the skills necessary to create a project for National History Day. Read the full story

Road Maps to Common Core Success, an Education Week Leadership Forum, will be held in Indianapolis on March 11, 2013, and in White Plains, N.Y. on March 21, 2013.

At this day-long event, participants will hear from state and district leaders, education experts and other colleagues on their Common Core implementations, and discover and share new ideas on curricula, teacher training and assessment.

See the full agendas for Indianapolis and White Plains.

Save $150 by registering before Jan. 9.

Click here to register.

As schools across the country move toward implementing the Common Core State Standards, a number of national organizations, including the Council of the Great City Schools and the National Parent Teacher Association, have been producing written materials and creating video and audio segments — in multiple languages — designed to explain the standards to parents in clear, jargon-free terms.

A webinar being held Nov. 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. ET will describe common challenges that districts face in discussing the common core with parents. It also will explain how school systems can address parents’ fears and misgivings about the standards.

Guests include:

• Denise Walston, director of mathematics, Council of the Great City Schools, Washington, D.C.
• Gina Kilday, K-6 mathematics coach, Exeter-West Greenwich Regional school district, R.I.

This webinar will be moderated by Sean Cavanagh, assistant editor for Education Week.

All Education Week webinars are archived and accessible “on demand” for up to six months after the original live-streaming date.

Kentucky State University’s School of Education has been awarded a grant from the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development (CCLD) to offer high-quality professional development opportunities that focus on the literacy development of students in grades 6-12. More specifically, the grant activities will provide information, resources and instructional strategies related to the teaching and assessment of literacy (Common Core Standards for English/language arts) when working with diverse students.

Grant participants will be expected to:

• complete four to five online course modules
• attend two online webinars
• attend a two-week summer academy (hybrid model consisting online and face-to-face training) in July 2012
• complete an individual literacy project with a diverse student in his/her classroom
• participate in a “fair share” with other CCLD grant participants across the state Read the full story

In a special video edition of Commissioner’s Comments, Education Commissioner Terry Holliday thanks Kentucky teachers for all their hard work this school year, including their efforts to close achievement gaps and incorporate the new Common Core State Standards into thier lessons. He also offers a few words about the upcoming K-PREP tests, and urges Kentuckians to express their thanks to teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Day on May 8.

(Note: Video plays in IE9 and Firefox. It also will play in Chrome using the following plug-in:  http://www.interoperabilitybridges.com/wmp-extension-for-chrome).

Kimberly Shearer

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the 300s section of my school library. As part of my practicum experience for my Rank I in library science, my supervising librarians gave me an assignment to update some of the career titles in our library.

As I went through the many outdated career books from the 1990s this past week, I realized how many careers have come into existence since I was in high school. I also realized what a strange predicament today’s educators are in. We are preparing our students for 21^st-century careers, but many of these careers don’t even exist yet. How do we make sure we are providing our students with the skill sets they will need, when their future career opportunities are unknown? And how do we navigate our instruction at a time when test scores are being used as the primary gauge for effective learning and instruction? It is an overwhelming situation. Teachers want our students to be college- and career-ready, but we are forced to assess students in ways that do not align with 21^st-century skill sets.

Kentucky’s adoption and implementation of the Common Core Standards is certainly the first step in preparing our students for the 21^st century. The Common Core Standards emphasize critical thinking, collaboration, information literacy and a host of other important, transferable skill sets that will empower Kentucky students to be successful in both college and today’s global workforce. The Common Core Standards also empower teachers to be innovative in their instruction, as we are now tackling Read the full story

Registration is now open for the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Create2012: Creativity in Education Institute, July 15-18, in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Create2012 will focus on aligning classroom instruction with 21st-century learning skills, which encompass creativity, imagination, problem-solving and critical thinking to support literacy in all subjects.

Sessions will be offered for K-12 classroom teachers, arts specialists, teaching artists, special education and resource teachers, principals and superintendents.

By learning how to integrate the arts into all content areas, teachers will be trained to design, deliver and assess core content in a way that engages students as active participants in their own learning.

Principals and school administrators will understand the importance of creativity to learning and utilize the arts as a way of establishing and/or enhancing professional learning communities among faculty.

There will be more than 100 sessions offered on topics such as the Common Core and the Arts, Using Art in the Special Education Classroom, Brain-Compatible Learning Through Storytelling and much more.

To register, go to https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/?eventid=1049902.

More information is available on the Create website at http://www.tn.gov/arts/create2012_guide.htmll.