Professional Learning Communities
Delivering powerful professional development!
To get you results.
Flipped Classroom
What is it?
As method of teaching where teachers are reporting increased achievement across all subject areas from math to Spanish. Flipped Classrooms allow students to take charge of their own learning. Students watch prescribed videos at home, and come to school equipped with new knowledge to perform their homework at school with their teacher.
Requiring the students to watch videos at home, process the information, and post their thoughts or questions relative to the videos on the class Edmodo website, allows the students to develop necessary critical thinking skills to compete in this global market. Students then communicate and collaborate on the class Edmodo site answering each other’s questions. The teacher is able to monitor student learning and communicate with students using interactive and relevant feedback through the site.
Participants Outcomes:
Teachers will be equipped with the tools (such as Edmodo, Google Docs and iMovie) to successfully implement a Flipped Classroom to meet the diverse needs of their students. Based on our experience this past school year; this will have a direct impact on student achievement.
STEM through Gaming
Why Gaming?
The Federation of American Scientists concluded from its 2006 Summit on Educational Games:
“The success of complex video games demonstrates that games can teach higher-order thinking skills such as strategic thinking, interpretative analysis, problem solving, plan formulation and execution, and adaptation to rapid change. These are the skills U.S. employers increasingly seek in workers and new workforce entrants. These are the skills more Americans must have to compete with lower cost knowledge workers in other nations.”
Why STEM?
In 1970, half of the people in the world who held science and engineering doctorates were Americans, but by 2010 projections show that figure will have dropped to 15 percent (U.S. Department of Education). Children ages 6-12 report a high level of interest and belief in their sciences abilities. However, by age 14, interest and self-confidence related to science drop off (U.S. Department of Education). In the report "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," the National Academy of Sciences makes a number of recommendations for how to prepare the U.S. to compete successfully in the global economy of the 21st century. Central to these recommendations is improving the STEM skills of Americans to be able to compete with other emerging economies.
Participants Outcomes:
Participating teachers will be equipped with tools to integrate gaming into the curriculum. They will have the skills and confidence to work on at minimum two different platforms to instruct students how to create games. This will in turn give students the skills needed to be successful in the global economy of the 21st century.
Apple Certification
What is it?
Intense training for 4 representatives from each TEDL schools. In addition, completion of this training allows participants to be able to train the TEDL community as a Certified Trainer.
Participants Outcomes:
Participants will become Apple Certified. The participants will in-turn provide professional development for the TEDL community as well as other Title I teachers, including TEDL workshops and the TEDL Summer Academy.
Pearson Science InterActive eTextbooks
What is it?
Pearson’s Digital InterActive Science is Pearson’s science eTextbook. Science teachers will be trained on the following 3 pathways of learning:
Reading: Interactive Science's innovative write-in student edition allows students to get all of the content, interactivity, and practice they need between the covers of a single book.
Inquiry: Middle Grade Interactive Science features a variety of hands-on and minds-on inquiry options to keep all your students engaged.
Digital: Middle Grade Interactive Science features a complete online digital course at MyScienceOnline.com where teachers can set up and manage their class and where students can interact online with active art simulations, directed virtual labs, animated art, and get extra help with myReadingWeb features.
Participants Outcomes:
Participating teachers and students will be equipped interactive textbooks. Teachers will have the skills and confidence to integrate the new textbooks into the curriculum. This will in turn give students science skills needed to be successful.
