EdCom Update

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EdCom Update

• Drs. Brady and Cirino
• Presented to
• AGCS Board of Trustees
• Work Session
• May 14, 2007

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Changing World

• The world is changing rapidly.
• It is critically important that we as a school
  respond.
• We must provide students with the skills they
  need to take their place a constantly changing
  world stage.
• We must articulate both how we provide
  instruction and give feedback to our
  stakeholders.

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Did you know . . .
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Sometimes size does matter.
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If youre one in a million in China . . .
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There are 1,300 people just like you.
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In India, there are 1,100 people just like you.
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The 25 of the population in China with the
highest IQs . . .
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Is greater than the total population of North
America.
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In India, its the top 28.
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Translation for teachersThey have more honors
kids than we have kids.
12
Did you know . . .
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China will soon become the number one English
speaking country in the world.
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If you took every single job in the U.S. today
and shipped it to China . . .
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China would still have a labor surplus.
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During the course of this 8 minute presentation .
. .
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• 60 babies will be born in the U.S.
• 244 babies will be born in China.
• 351 babies will be born in India.

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The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that
todays learner will have 10-14 jobs . . .
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By the age of 38.
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According to the U.S. Department of Labor . . .
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1 out of 4 workers today is working for a company
they have been employed by for less than one year.
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More than 1 out of 2 are working for a company
they have worked for for less than five years.
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According to former Secretary of Education
Richard Riley . . .
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The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 didnt exist in
2004.
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We are currently preparing students for jobs that
dont yet exist . . .
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Using technologies that havent been invented . .
.
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In order to solve problems we dont even know are
problems yet.
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Name this country . . .
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• Richest in the World
• Largest Military
• Center of world business and finance
• Strongest education system
• World center of innovation and invention
• Currency the world standard of value
• Highest standard of living

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England.
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In 1900.
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Did you know . . .
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The U.S. is 20th in the world in broadband
Internet penetration.(Luxembourg just passed us.)
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In 2002 alone Nintendo invested more than 140
million in research and development.
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The U.S. Federal Government spent less than half
as much on Research and Innovation in Education.
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1 out of every 8 couples married in the U.S. last
year met online.
37
There are over 100 million registered users of
MySpace.(August 2006)
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The average MySpace page is visited 30 times a
day.
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Did you know . . .
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We are living in exponential times.
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There are over 2.7 billion searches performed on
Google each month.
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To whom were these questions addressed
B.G.?(Before Google)
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The number of text messages sent and received
every day exceeds the population of the planet.
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There are about 540,000 words in the English
language . . .
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About 5 times as many as during Shakespeares
time.
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More than 3,000 new books are published . . .
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Daily.
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Its estimated that a weeks worth of New York
Times . . .
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Contains more information than a person was
likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th
century.
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Its estimated that 40 exabytes (thats 4.0 x
1019) of unique new information will be generated
worldwide this year.
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Thats estimated to be more than in the previous
5,000 years.
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The amount of new technical information is
doubling every 2 years.
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Its predicted to double every 72 hours by 2010.
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Third generation fiber optics has recently been
separately tested by NEC and Alcatel . . .
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That pushes 10 trillion bits per second down one
strand of fiber.
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Thats 1,900 CDs or 150 million simultaneous
phone calls every second.
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Its currently tripling about every 6 months and
is expected to do so for at least the next 20
years.
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The fiber is already there, theyre just
improving the switches on the ends. Which means
the marginal cost of these improvements is
effectively 0.
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Predictions are thate-paper will be cheaper than
real paper.
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47 million laptops were shipped worldwide last
year.
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The 100 laptop project is expecting to ship
between 50 and 100 million laptops a year to
children in underdeveloped countries.
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Predictions are that by 2013 a supercomputer will
be built that exceeds the computation capability
of the HumanBrain . . .
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By 2023, a 1,000 computer will exceed the
computation capability of the Human Brain . . .
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First grader Abby will be just 23 years old and
beginning her (first) career . . .
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And while technical predictions further out than
about 15 years are hard to do . . .
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Predictions are that by 2049 a 1,000 computer
will exceed the computational capabilities of the
human race.
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What does it all mean?
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Shift Happens.
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Now you know . . .
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The Issues

• EdCom Purpose
• Vision, Mission, Fundamentals
• Constructivism
• Discovery Learning
• RTI (IDEA 2004)
• Critical Issues
• Funnovation

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EdCom Purpose
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The Education Committee

• Under the leadership of AGCS Board Member, and
  school founder, Mark Cirino, the members of the
  AGCS faculty, parents and other stakeholders have
  been meeting throughout the school year to focus
  on issues relating to the AGCS curriculum and
  educational vision.

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Vision, Goals and Fundamentals
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The Human Brain
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Using Both Hemispheres
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Articulation

• Vision Statement
• This describes the what
• What does AGCS do? What does it produce?
• What do we see our students doing after they
  graduate from AGCS?
• Mission Statement
• This describes the how
• How will we achieve the vision?
• Fundamentals
• Core beliefs that this school is being built
  upon.
• Core beliefs that guide us as we implement the
  mission to obtain the vision
• Core Philosophies
• Core strategies that we focus on to carry out the
  mission to achieve the vision.
• Discovery Learning
• The learning experience

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Fundamentals

• Belief in the Individual
• Personal relationships built on trust, honesty
  and respect
• Direct one-on-one communications
• Develop Staff
• Transform Transition Students
• Power of Small Teams
• Cooperative Learning
• Learning done in small groups of students with
  varying development portfolios some level of
  inclusion
• Differentiated instruction will enhance student
  learning
• Cooperative Leading
• Innovation
• Preparing our students for the global 21st
  century
• Charter schools fall under a national educational
  reform initiative

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FUSED

• F Fundamentally
• U Unified
• S Structured
• E Educational Environment
• Through
• D Discovery

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Student Development Portfolio
One-Dimensional
Multi-Dimensional
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Transform Transition
AG Charter K-12
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Vision Diagram
Differentiation
Transition into Global Cultures
Adapt and Engage In Global Cultures
Community Service
Academically
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Vision Diagram
Transition into Global Cultures
Adapt and Engage In Global Cultures
Community Service
Academically
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Vision Mission(Draft-Work in Progress)

• Vision (transition)
• To transition each student into the world with
  the capability to discover where and how they can
  effectively engage with and contribute to global
  cultures.
• Mission (transform)
• The Avon Grove Charter School educates each
  student through a constructivist approach in a
  cooperative environment which honors differences
  and fosters acceptance.

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Constructivism
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Constructivism

• An approach to teaching and learning based on the
  premise that cognition (learning) is the result
  of "mental construction." In other words,
  students learn by fitting new information
  together with what they already know.
• Constructivists believe that learning is affected
  by the context in which an idea is taught as well
  as by students' beliefs and attitudes.

http//www.ncrel.org/sdrs/pathwayg.htm
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Constructivism

• Refers to the idea that learners construct
  knowledge for themselves---each learner
  individually (and socially) constructs
  meaning---as he or she learns. Constructing
  meaning is learning there is no other kind.

http//www.exploratorium.edu/ifi/resources/constru
ctivistlearning.html
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Constructivism

• Constructivist teaching is based on recent
  research about the human brain and what is known
  about how learning occurs. Caine and Caine (1991)
  suggest that brain-compatible teaching is based
  on 12 principles

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12 Principles of Brain Compatible Teaching

• "The brain is a parallel processor" (p. 80). It
  simultaneously processes many different types of
  information, including thoughts, emotions, and
  cultural knowledge. Effective teaching employs a
  variety of learning strategies.
• "Learning engages the entire physiology" (p. 80).
  Teachers can't address just the intellect.
• "The search for meaning is innate" (p. 81).
  Effective teaching recognizes that meaning is
  personal and unique, and that students'
  understandings are based on their own unique
  experiences.
• "The search for meaning occurs through
  'patterning' " (p. 81). Effective teaching
  connects isolated ideas and information with
  global concepts and themes.
• "Emotions are critical to patterning" (p. 82).
  Learning is influenced by emotions, feelings, and
  attitudes.
• "The brain processes parts and wholes
  simultaneously" (p. 83). People have difficulty
  learning when either parts or wholes are
  overlooked.
• "Learning involves both focused attention and
  peripheral perception" (p. 83). Learning is
  influenced by the environment, culture, and
  climate.
• "Learning always involves conscious and
  unconscious processes" (p. 84). Students need
  time to process 'how' as well as 'what' they've
  learned.
• "We have at least two different types of memory
  a spatial memory system, and a set of systems for
  rote learning" (p. 85). Teaching that heavily
  emphasizes rote learning does not promote
  spatial, experienced learning and can inhibit
  understanding.
• "We understand and remember best when facts and
  skills are embedded in natural, spatial memory"
  (p. 86). Experiential learning is most effective.
  
• "Learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited
  by threat" (p. 86). The classroom climate should
  be challenging but not threatening to students.
• "Each brain is unique" (p. 87). Teaching must be
  multifaceted to allow students to express
  preferences.

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Belief in the Individual

• 1. "The brain is a parallel processor" (p. 80).
  It simultaneously processes many different types
  of information, including thoughts, emotions, and
  cultural knowledge. Effective teaching employs a
  variety of learning strategies.
• 3. "The search for meaning is innate" (p. 81).
  Effective teaching recognizes that meaning is
  personal and unique, and that students'
  understandings are based on their own unique
  experiences.
• 9. "We have at least two different types of
  memory a spatial memory system, and a set of
  systems for rote learning" (p. 85). Teaching that
  heavily emphasizes rote learning does not promote
  spatial, experienced learning and can inhibit
  understanding.
• 10. "We understand and remember best when facts
  and skills are embedded in natural, spatial
  memory" (p. 86). Experiential learning is most
  effective.
• 12. "Each brain is unique" (p. 87). Teaching must
  be multifaceted to allow students to express
  preferences.

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Power of Small Teams

• "Emotions are critical to patterning" (p. 82).
  Learning is influenced by emotions, feelings, and
  attitudes.
• 7. "Learning involves both focused attention
  and peripheral perception" (p. 83). Learning is
  influenced by the environment, culture, and
  climate.
• 11. "Learning is enhanced by challenge and
  inhibited by threat" (p. 86). The classroom
  climate should be challenging but not threatening
  to students.

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Discovery Learning
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Discovery Learning(meeting notes from the Define
DL task force)

• Cooperative learning environment
• Enables the interaction of all ability levels
• Applies to and challenges all ability levels
• Is applicable to all grades
• Experiential
• Uses and develops inquiry skills
• Student-centered
• Ability to use personal learning style.
• Building bridges back to prior knowledge.
• Teach self through manipulative materials
• Engaging type of learning intellectually,
  physically, socially
• Does not preclude the use of memorization and
  direct instruction
• Uses and develops problem solving skills
• Students are involved in the decision making
• Uses scaffolding
• Incorporates cognitive disequilibrium

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To Enable Inspire Continuous Innovations in
Discovery Learning

• To provide a central point to bring our Discover
  Learning efforts together
• To help conduct the development, implementation,
  and seamless integration of Discovery Learning
  through all grades and ability levels
• To ensure for the sustainability and
  reproducibility of Discovery Learning

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RTI(Response to Intervention)
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Criticisms of Current Learning Disabilities
Definition

• Too many children are inappropriately identified
• Many children are classified as LD without
  participating in effective reading instruction in
  the regular classroom
• Too costly

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Criticisms of IQ-Achievement Discrepancy

• IQ tests do not necessarily measure intelligence
• IQ and academic achievement are not independent
  of each other
• In the case of word reading skill deficits,
  IQ-achievement discrepant poor readers are more
  alike than different from IQ-achievement
  consistent poor readers
• Children must fail before they can be identified
  with a learning disability

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Tertiary Prevention Specialized
Individualized Systems for Students with
Intensive Needs
CONTINUUM OF SCHOOL-WIDE SUPPORT
5
Secondary Prevention Specialized Group Systems
for Students with At-Risk Behavior
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Primary Prevention School-/Classroom- Wide
Systems for All Students, Staff, Settings
80 of Students
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Advantages of Responsiveness-To-Intervention
Approach

• Provides assistance to needy children in timely
  fashion. It is NOT a wait-to-fail model.
• Helps ensure that the students poor academic
  performance is not due to poor instruction.
• Assessment data are collected to inform the
  teacher and improve instruction. Assessments and
  interventions are closely linked.
• In some responsiveness-to-intervention models
  (e.g., Heartland, IA Minneapolis, MN Horry Co.,
  SC), nonresponders are not given labels, which
  are presumed to stigmatize and to represent
  disability categories (e.g., LD, BD, MR) that
  have little instructional validity.

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(No Transcript)
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Response to Intervention (RTI)

• The Individuals with Disabilities Education
  Improvement Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-446) (IDEA
  2004) was signed into law on December 3, 2004, by
  President George W. Bush. IDEA 2004 includes
  provisions that could lead to significant changes
  in the way in which students with specific
  learning disabilities (SLD) are identified.

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What is RTI?

• RTI is an assessment and intervention process for
  systematically monitoring student progress and
  making decisions about the need for instructional
  modifications or increasingly intensified
  services using progress monitoring data. The
  following is the fundamental question of RTI
  procedures Under what conditions will a student
  successfully demonstrate a response to the
  curriculum? Thus, interventions are selected and
  implemented under rigorous conditions to
  determine what will work for the student.

Source RTI Manual by the NRCLD, www.NRCLD.org
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Responsiveness-To-Intervention A New Method of
Identifying Students with Disabilities
Douglas Fuchs, Lynn Fuchs, Donald Compton and
Joan Bryant Peabody College, Vanderbilt
University and National Research Center on
Learning Disabilities www.nrcld.org
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Title I Response

• During our most recent Title I review, our
  federal monitor commented that AGCS is very far
  ahead of the game in implementing RTI strategies
  
• The kind of focus that NCLB has been attempting
  to articulate is something that has been
  happening at AGCS quite naturally, as an
  outgrowth of the schools mission.

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Critical Issues

• Lack of Awareness
• Lack of Professional Development
• Lack of Focus
• Lack of Time and Space
• Lack of Curriculum Continuity and Integration
• Lack of Innovation

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Critical Issues
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How Do We Approach These Issues?

• Discussion/Debate/Collaboration
• Subcommittee Work
• Small Group Research
• Needs Assessment

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Funnovation!
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Funnel of Innovation (Funnovation)
IDEA What is the concept of this innovation?
DABBLE Try a few things to learn more and to
make the concept stronger.
FEASIBILITY Run a small scale effort to see if
it really works.
DEVELOP Refine concept, prepare for implementing
into the school, and define launch plan.
Define DL
LAUNCH Awareness, buy-in, and resourced to win.
Curriculum Mapping/Embedding
Capture the Baseline
CAPTURE Document the lessons learned and the
best practices.