Kentucky Teacher

The 10th annual KET Multimedia Professional Development Days will be held July 9-10.

The seminar includes two days of in-depth presentations by Kentucky educators and KET staff on multimedia production and related topics and is open to all Kentucky public, private, and home school teachers.

Register for and attend either July 9, July 10, or both days of the event (both days’ session titles are the same) on the event registration page. More information about the event and workshops is available on the project web page.

The Frazier History Museum will host the professional development session, “Echoes and Reflections: Holocaust Education for 21^st Century Classrooms,” on Saturday, April 13, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Teachers will be trained on how to teach the Holocaust education program, “Echoes and Reflections,” and receive course materials ready for use in the classroom.

After the workshop, teachers may explore the museum’s permanent galleries, which cover more than 1,000 years of history, as well as the temporary exhibitions, “Spirits of the Passage: The Story of the Transatlantic Slave Trade” and “Behind Enemy Lines: Evasion and Escape Aids during WWII.”

Spaces are limited and pre-registration is required. For more details, click here.

The Kentucky Center, in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), has announced  the 2013 Institute for ECE & Arts Integration.

The Institute is for Kentucky public school teachers of ECE (Exceptional Child Education) and Arts & Humanities in grades 3-8 and consists of three components:

• a six-hour Professional Development workshop on March 2 at Hardin County Schools Performing Arts Center
• a two-day artist residency in school during the spring of 2013
• a summit meeting on August 17 for sharing of lesson plans and student work

This program is designed for teacher teams comprised of an ECE teacher and an arts teacher from the same school. Ten teams will be selected. The deadline to apply is February 11, 2013. For an application form please go to http://www.kentuckycenter.org/content/downloads/ECE-Arts-Integration2013.pdf. If additional information is needed, please contact Stacy Ridgway at sridgway@kentuckycenter.org.

The Living Arts and Science Center of Lexington will host professional development programs for K-8 teachers in Kentucky. 

LASC workshops are based on Kentucky core concepts and are scheduled for Jan. 29 and 31.

All workshop participants will receive a unit of study complete with lesson plans and a hands-on classroom activity kit. Call the Living Arts and Science Center to register for this free professional development opportunity. For more information, contact Katherine Bullock, kbullock@lasclex.org, at (859) 252-5222.

History teacher Bobby Cantrell watches a PD 360 video in his classroom at Johnson Central High School (Johnson County). Cantrell said the questioning strategies videos have been very helpful and recommends first-year teachers, like himself, watch the classroom management videos. Photo by Amy Wallot, Nov. 16, 2012

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

Videotapes or DVDs and schoolwide gatherings were once the norm when it came to providing teachers with professional development (PD), said Donetta Trimble, the professional development coordinator for the Kentucky Educational Development Cooperation (KEDC).

That is until five years ago when the eastern Kentucky educational cooperative decided to purchase PD 360, an online professional development tool that allowed teachers to access learning based on their individual needs and interests and on their own time.

They never looked back.

“It’s just amazing. You get so much out of it and at your own schedule, too,” Trimble said.

Now PD 360 is available free of charge to all Kentucky public school educators through the Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS). Read the full story

Kentucky and 21 other states will share $24 million in grant money from the U.S. Department of Education to improve personnel training systems to help children with disabilities.

In the first year of the five-year grant, Kentucky will receive $1,137,671 from the State Personnel Development Grants Program, authorized by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The program provides funds to assist states in reforming and improving their systems for personnel preparation and professional development in early intervention, education and transition services in order to improve results for children with disabilities. The funding period runs from October 2012 to September 2017.

Under the program, states must partner with at least one higher education institution to implement the terms of the grant. States must also partner with at least one local education agency and either a Parent Training and Information Center or a Community Parent Resource Center. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will partner with the University of Kentucky Read the full story

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

Krista Chatham reviews a worksheet with her 4th-grade class about how to compare numbers at Cartmell Elementary School (Carroll County). Photo by Amy Wallot, Aug. 21, 2012

Like many adults, Tim Sears, elementary mathematics consultant for the Kentucky Department of Education, was taught the phrase “Don’t ask why, just invert and multiply,” when he was a student learning about dividing fractions.

But according to the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for mathematics, students now must ask why. They also must learn how dividing fractions connects to other content areas and real world applications.

“We were taught procedural rules like that,” Sears said. “The standards now say build more conceptual learning through visual models, drawings and developing fraction number sense. We’re trying to connect fractions to kids’ everyday life and other content areas, especially science.”

Fractions has been a hot topic with state mathematics teachers this summer according to Sears, who facilitated several leadership network meetings prior to the start of the 2012-13 school year, and Seth Hunter, mathematics specialist with the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC) and president of the Kentucky Council of Teachers of Mathematics (KCTM). Read the full story

StageLab will host a hands-on workshop that focuses on directing a school musical. The workshop is Sept. 29 in Louisville.

Topics covered include: collaboration between director and musical director; conducting the audition; balancing book scenes, music and dance rehearsals; acting the song; staging crowd scenes; staging combat to music; character development in words, song and movement; and resources for selecting and designing a show.

Six hours of professional development credit are available.

For registration form and more information, contact stagelab@insightbb.com or (502) 741-8392.

The Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition (KCFC) and the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project have partnered to provide two area teacher workshops. These workshops will provide energy professional development opportunities for classroom teachers and engaging and exciting energy curriculum for students in today’s classrooms.

The workshops are scheduled for Sept. 18 at the Hampton Inn in Pikeville and Sept. 20 at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center in Bowling Green.

Participants will receive free use of a NEED Science of Energy Rental Kit designed to teach the concepts of force, motion, light, sound, heat, electricity, magnetism and energy transformations through hands-on activities.

There is no cost to attend the workshop, and breakfast and lunch are provided. Reimbursements for substitutes are available.

Register online by Sept. 12:                                    

September 18 Workshop: www.regonline.com/needkcfcpikeville

September 20 Workshop: www.regonline.com/needkcfcbowlinggreen

Confirmation will be sent via e-mail after registration is completed; spam filters should be set to accept messages from regonline@regonline.com. Directions will be sent with registration confirmation.

For more information, contact Wendi Moss at (800) 875-5029.

The National Science Teachers Association’s (NSTA’s) fall area conference on science education will take place in Louisville Oct. 18-20.

During the conference professional development experts will work with science educators interested in new learning, better teaching, fresh content and strategies that build student performance. Participants will be able to take advantage of nearly 400 session choices for teachers in every grade band and discipline.

The Picture-Perfect Science Pre-conference Workshop will be held Oct. 18 and will instruct teachers on how to integrate science and reading through children’s trade books in this popular STEM-focused opportunity.

Visit www.nsta.org/conferences/2012lou for more information and to register.