Orange County Department of Education

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Orange County Department of Education Institute
for Character Education
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What is Good Character?
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• Having good character means understanding,
• caring about, and acting upon core ethical values
• such as academic honesty, respect, civic
  mindedness,
• and responsibility.
• Character Education Partnership
• Alexandria, VA

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Elements of Character
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• Integrity
• Academic Honesty
• Honesty
• Fairness
• Trustworthiness

• Respect
• Respect for self (self-concept)
• Respect for others
• Compassion (caring and kindness)
• Self-discipline/moderation
• Courtesy

• Citizenship
• Responsibility
• Civic mindedness
• Service-learning/volunteerism
• Loyalty

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Outcomes
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• To maximize instructional time
• To improve academic achievement
• To improve school culture
• To unify the community around ethical, positive,
  behavior

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So far
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• Anaheim Union High SD, Magnolia SD, Fountain
  Valley SD,
• Orange USD, ACCESS, Anaheim YMCA, and three
  private
• schools
• 30 Teachers, 300 Lessons
• Summer Five-Day Institute
• Monthly Trainings 400-700 p.m.
• Rewriting English/Language Arts lessons, grades
  4, 5, 7, 9, and 10
• Improving Classroom Culture

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Year 3
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• New Teachers, New Lessons
• Administrators Added
• Plan for School Wide
• Website
• Marketing Plan
• Implementation Strategies
• Publish Lessons
• Research Findings

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Growing character education from the classroom out
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Community
Whole School
Grade level
Classroom
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What Were Measuring
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• Teacher Efficacy
• Student Behavior, Attitude, and Knowledge Changes

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Teacher Reported Knowledge ofCharacter Education
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Character Education Knowledge
Not Very Knowledgeable
Somewhat Knowledgeable
Knowledgeable
Very Knowledgeable
N26
0 10 20 30 40
50
Percent
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Summer InstituteEvaluation Results
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Statement Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
I found the teamwork valuable. 75.0 25.0 -- --
I was provided with clear direction to complete the work. 35.7 57.1 3.6 --
My role in the research evaluation component is clear. 57.1 39.3 3.6 --
I know what is expected of me as an ICE Fellow. 57.1 35.7 7.1 --
My role and responsibilities in ICE are clear to me. 46.4 50.0 3.6 --
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Quotes from Teacher Observation
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• Has improved in his participation in class. He
  was never a negative influence but has made a
  turn to a definite positive influence in the
  class in his attitudes and interactions.
• Has shown a great desire to learn character
  education.
• He had trouble following class rules at the
  beginning of the year. Since then, he has shown
  great improvement and always wants to help
  others.
• Self-confidence has grown and she is becoming
  an active participant in class.

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Random Research Thoughts
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• Incarcerated youth study with four fellows
• Challenge of Quasi-experimental Design
• A more focused implementation study
• Employ expertise from the field

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Role of Administrator
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• Assess needs of staff, parents, community
• Explore new resources, research, best practices
• Plan next steps
• Ready, set, go!
• Attend four meetings

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Role of Current Fellow(s)
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• Mentor new fellow(s)
• Help with Summer Institute
• Coach staff/school team
• Share lesson plans
• Share Classroom Culture
• Attend four meetings

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Role of New Fellow(s)
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• Attend five-day Summer Institute
• Learn Best Practices
• Share with grade level teams
• Write lessons
• Attend up to ten meetings

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• True character education is the hinge upon which
• academic excellence, personal achievement, and
• true citizenship depend. It calls forth the very
  best
• from our students, faculty, staff, and parents.
• Building Character in Schools, K. Bohlin,
• D. Farmer, K. Ryan, 2001 Jossey-Bass

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• We propose that schools reassert their
• responsibility as educators of character.
• Building Character in Schools, K. Bohlin,
• D. Farmer, K. Ryan, 2001 Jossey-Bass

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