“Your class was the first time I enjoyed science, the place where I learned how to make connections, where I could measure how much I learned, and where the teacher really valued student input.”

Middle School Student, California
 

Monday  

Creating a continuous improvement culture and

improving enthusiasm

Theory: Quality Management and Continuous Improvement, systems thinking, effective management and human motivation

Practice: 

• Understanding participant attitudes and perceptions

• Collecting initial data

• Setting up graphs

• Clarifying the learning goals of the institute

• Understanding management styles

• Applying PDSA to the school/classroom environment

• Learning how to effectively gather feedback

• Applying a variety of quality tools to improve the system

• Using data to monitor improvement

• Improving enthusiasm  

"This is the first time I am more of a facilitator than a dictator!  The students are enthusiastic, engaged, and completely in charge of their learning."

Teacher - Texas

Tuesday 

Overcoming “Teach, Test and Forget”

Theory: Day 1 theory as well as formative assessment, progress monitoring, student engagement and cognitive theory applied

to knowledge.

Practice:

• Clarifying expectations with a Knowledge Map^™

• Creating standards based Knowledge Maps^™ with the Essential Knowledge Resource^™

• Practicing and experiencing Learning Checks^™  from the student's and teacher's perspective

• Understanding how to graph individual and class                          learning progress                                

“This year, I'm finding myself having more conversations with parents regarding learning.  (At parent conferences) … there was very little conversation regarding grades. I loved it.” 

Teacher - Ohio

Wednesday  

Improving performance

Theory: Day 1 theory as well as formative assessment, progress monitoring, student engagement and cognitive theory applied

to performance.

Practice:

• How to use nearly all student work as a source of insight             to improve

• Clarifying performance objectives and overcoming subjectivity

• Involving students in defining criteria and designing rubric

• Utilizing rubric and non-rubric performance assessment formatively

• Utilizing assessment data to build teamwork and drive instruction

"I am excited about next year working with the students by allowing them to engage in their learning.  They will have a concrete understanding of what they need to do to improve their skills in my class."

Teacher - Rogers Arkansas

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