March 2, 2018   Vol. 5

Professional learning for curriculum leaders

Connecting standards to students' future success

Join us for this opportunity to discover your role in advancing Future Ready Iowa. This one-day event is to set the stage for future work aimed at connecting careers and civic life to instruction of the Iowa Academic Standards. It is designed for curriculum leaders including members of statewide leadership teams, administrators, curriculum directors, teacher leaders, and teachers. Future Ready Learning is on June 13 at the FFA Center on the DMACC Ankeny Campus from 9:00-3:30. To register, click here. 

For more information, contact Erika Cook at erika.cook@iowa.gov or (515) 240-3103 or Rita Martens at rita.martens@iowa.gov or (515) 281-3145. 

Ensuring alignment to the standards

EdReports supports textbook selection and use

Finding high quality K-12 instructional mathematics materials was the focus of a recent mathematics network webinar. The session featured EdReports.org staff in describing how the educator-led, evidence-based reviews of K-12 instructional materials in mathematics and English/language arts can be used to assist administrators and teachers in making textbook adoptions or adapting materials already purchased to align to the Iowa Core mathematics and English/language arts standards. 

Tim Truitt, mathematics specialist for EdReports.org, reviewed the process EdReports.org follows to collaborate with teachers and other content experts to generate reports that show the texts’ alignment to the standards and instructional shifts. These reviews are shared with publishers and posted on the EdReports.org website.

“Instructional materials matter,” Truitt said. “There is strong evidence that the choice of instructional materials has large effects on students learning – effects that rival in size those that are associated with differences in teacher effectiveness.”

EdReports.org is an independent nonprofit committed to teachers having access to high quality, aligned instructional materials to support their classrooms. Reviews currently available focus on mathematics and English/language arts textbooks, but the organizations is working to include reviews of science textbooks by the spring.

In addition to providing the reviews, the website also features information on step-by-step processes for textbook adoption and for adjusting previously purchased materials to align to the standards.

This webinar was offered to the Iowa Administrator Mathematics Network, which provides a forum for curriculum directors, principals, and superintendents supporting to the Iowa Core mathematics standards in instruction, assessment, and professional development. To join, click this link.

For more information, contact April Pforts for mathematics at april.pforts@iowa.gov or (515) 314-6243 or Destiny Eldridge Eldridge for literacy at destiny.eldridge@iowa.gov or (515) 822-2554. 

Networks supporting Iowa Core implementation

The Iowa Department of Education strives to offer educators timely access to resources and tools to support standards implementation through our websites and through on-line communities and newsletters.

Quality teachers recognized

Outstanding Iowa teachers acknowledged at luncheon

A number of Iowa teachers were recognized at the Outstanding Iowa Teacher Recognition Luncheon that was held at the State Historical Building on January 26. Ryan Wise, director of the Iowa Department of Education, delivered welcoming comments, praising these teachers and referencing the Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) system. “In Iowa, the nature of the teaching profession has changed for the better. Nearly 10,000 teachers hold formal, compensated leadership roles,” he said. He went on to describe some of the quality learning experiences he has observed through his visits of schools across Iowa on a weekly basis. “These school visits give me a front-row seat to excellent teaching in classrooms,” he said.

Applications are being accepted for the 2019 Iowa Teacher of the Year. The deadline to nominate is April 27. For more information, contact Isbelia Arzola at isbelia.arzola@iowa.gov or (515) 326-5962. Now is also the time to nominate and encourage exceptional K-6 teachers to apply for the 2017-18 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Nominations are accepted until April 1 and applications are due May 1. Contact April Pforts at april.pforts@iowa.gov or (515) 314-6243 or Kris Kilibarda at kris.kilibarda@iowa.gov or (515) 322-7620 for more information. Teachers can apply or be nominated for the State History Teacher Award at https://www.gilderlehrman.org/content/national-history-teacher-year.  The deadline is March 31. Contact Stefanie Wager at stefanie.wager@iowa.gov or (515) 725-7842.

Those recognized are pictured above. First row, left to right: Jeremiah Cooper, Teacher of the Year finalist from Waukee High School; Heather Anderson, Teacher of the Year finalist from Grant Ragan Elementary School in Waukee; Maria Granadillo, Presidential Award finalist from McKinley Middle School in Cedar Rapids; and Keith Kersten, Iowa Teacher of the Year finalist from Logan Magnolia High School in Logan.

Second row, right to left: Susan Jordan, Teacher of the Year finalist from Morningside Elementary School in Sioux City; Rachel Giesmann, Presidential Award finalist in Mathematics from Mediapolis High School; and Rebecca Helland, State history Teacher of the Year awardee from Jefferson Intermediate School in Pella. 

Third row, left to right: Mike Todd, Presidential Award finalist from Ames High School; Aileen Sullivan, Iowa Teacher of the Year awardee from Ames High School, Chelsea Bissen, Iowa Teacher of the Year finalist from Carroll High School; and Mike Wedge, Presidential Award finalist from Sibley-Ocheyedan High School in Sibley.

Top row, left to right: Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg, Governor Kim Reynolds, and Education Department Director Ryan Wise.

Connections matter

Workshop supports building student resiliency

School leaders who want to help their staffs use an evidence-based model to build resiliency behaviors among students will be interested in hosting a Connections Matter Workshop. Connections Matter is an initiative led by Prevent Child Abuse Iowa designed to engage community members in building caring relationships to promote better physical and mental health and increase school success.

According to Liz Cox, executive director of Prevent Child Abuse Iowa, the day-long workshops are being offered to schools. Presenters will engage teachers and support staff in conversations about what resiliency looks like in a classroom and how students can learn resiliency behaviors like asking for help, providing empathy to one another, and calming themselves.

Studies show that by the time children enter preschool, one in four will have experienced a traumatic event impacting their readiness to learn, Cox said. “Our research shows that 25 percent of students live in toxic environments in which they have experienced one or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs),” she said. An ACE is a traumatic event that can dramatically upset a child’s sense of safety and wellbeing. Studies showed that strongly negative experiences can derail a child’s development, and lead to physical, mental, financial, and social challenges throughout a lifetime.

To schedule a workshop or receive free resources to support educators, contact Liz Cox at lcox@pcaiowa.org or (515) 244-2200, ext. 6. 

Content, pedagogy, and assessment

Teacher leaders impact schools with support of best practice

To build teacher capacity, teacher leaders need strong pedagogical knowledge, including knowledge about effective planning, assessment, and instructional strategies.

Data and Evidence: A key component of the work is to support teachers and leadership teams in developing a wide range of assessment tools and strategies and an assessment schedule to gather quantitative and qualitative data over time. Teacher leaders support teachers in the use of this data in order to measure student learning and to inform instruction. 

Purposeful Instruction: Teacher leaders may also help teachers to differentiate their classroom practices using evidence based instructional strategies that ensure instruction is student focused. They may provide feedback, support planning,  and demonstrate instructional strategies as needed. Teacher leaders may also support teachers in the use of technology to support instruction.

School Improvement: Teacher leaders may work with leadership teams in the interpretation of school-wide assessment data to determine if learning targets have been met. They help to identify the professional learning that will promote the implementation of evidence based practices to match student learning needs.

Source: State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development).  (March 2010) Coaching teachers in effective instruction.  Melbourne, AU: Student Learning Division Office for Government School Education.

For more information, contact Lora Rasey at lora.rasey@iowa.gov or (515) 419-2088.

Coaching cycles required for all teachers Maquoketa sharpens focus on standards through coaching cycles Job-embedded professional learning through coaching cycles is how the Maquoketa Community School District maintains its Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) focus on content, pedagogy, and assessment. Professional Growth and Student Learning Facilitator Jane Schmidt said the district has focused on implementing Diane Sweeney’s model of Student Centered Coaching. According to Schmidt, the model focuses goals for coaching on student learning. “I can’t speak highly enough of the Sweeney model,” said Schmidt. “It has been perfect for helping individual job embedded learning become standards-driven.” She also credits the model with helping teachers become more reflective about their teaching. Teachers at Maquoketa CSD are part of professional learning communities called Collaborative Teaching Teams (CTTs), which meet weekly and provide the forum for teacher professional development, Schmidt said. Each teacher works with an instructional coach through a coaching cycle that is aligned to the professional learning of the CTTs. The cycle usually runs the length of an instructional unit and begins with the teacher and coach determining a standards-based goal for student learning. In addition, the teacher and coach identify standards that will be addressed, establish baseline data, and develop a plan for instructional practices and evaluating student learning. Jennifer Nabb, district director of TLC, credits much of the success of the district’s effort to the support given by Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency. “It’s been a great process because of the supports we’ve gotten from our AEA. They are helping us ensure that our coaching is being delivered in an effective way,” she said. In addition to supporting the coaches, AEA consultants have also supported teachers in writing standards-aligned units.