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Planning, preparing and continually improving.
A new season, new weather and new activities. There will always be NEW opportunities, but there is also a lot to be said for things that are consistent, ongoing and continually improving!
We hope you continue to find the resources, supports and professional learning opportunities that are what your school and students need. If there are things you're still searching to find the right solution for,
please contact us! We continually want and NEED to hear from our member schools to ensure we are focusing on the right areas and addressing your needs.
We are currently working on our 2018-2019 professional learning opportunities and have been talking with leadership across all our districts to help guide us in the right direction. Stay tuned!
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In this issue:
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Targeting the focus through collaboration and investigation
Pingree-Buchanan School District
In Pingree-Buchanan's school district encompassing 146 students K-12, Superintendent Denise Harrington proudly explains that she is lucky to work in a community full of very caring people.
"People in this community are constantly willing and grateful to participate in activities where they are needed and can be of help."
Harrington has 17 years of education experience in her background as a teacher and principal before being encourage by colleagues to apply for the superintendent role which she has now held for two years.
The 2017-18 school year is full of planning for the district.
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Power of Formative Assessment
via the Marshall Memo with annotations from Dr. Kevin Feldman
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In this article in Phi Delta Kappan, Kim Marshall lists the reasons that tests have come under attack in recent years: the classroom time they take; the stress on students and parents; teachers' well-founded objections to test scores being used as part of their evaluations; and the fact that changing state curriculum standards mean high-stakes tests are a moving target. "Less testing, more teaching" is a battle cry among anti-testers in Marshall's home state of Massachusetts.
[Kevin Feldman] "Good review here of some of the key ideas on our work."
But criticism of tests is mainly aimed at high-stakes standardized exams, which aren't the most important; interim and on-the-spot assessments have a far greater impact on teaching and learning. Marshall's concern is that the testing-is-bad movement will distract educators from the power of lower-key assessments ("formative assessment") to address three troubling equity issues:
- Gaps between the intended, the taught, and the learned curriculum - for example, a high-school senior who's never learned about the Holocaust;
- Teachers who don't take responsibility for their students' learning - I taught it, and if they didn't learn it, that's on them;
- [Kevin Feldman, "We haven't taught Until They Have Learned" J. Wooden]
- The Matthew Effect - the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer because gaps in the curriculum and ineffective teaching have a disproportionate effect on students who walk into school with any kind of disadvantage.
"Why is assessment so important to meeting these challenges?" asks Marshall. "Because only when teachers and principals have accurate and timely information on what students have (and haven't) learned can they do the kind of minute-by-minute, day-by-day, month-by-month fine-tuning needed to reach all children." All assessments can be handled badly, but Marshall argues that, used well, assessments are the key to improving learning during each lesson, keeping educators and students focused on where they're going, and shifting instructional conversations to student results.
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Project-Based Learning Opportunity for
your school
team
One more year of Math Science Partnership Community of Practice available!
The goal of You're Hired or any Project Based Learning (PBL) opportunity is to see improvement in student facility with 21st Century Skills and an appreciation for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).
Increased student achievement and a deeper understanding of the content through Project Based Learning is just part of a bigger picture. PBL classrooms use real-world engagement and take a glimpse into careers (engineer, researcher, technician, web-designer, marketing director, etc.). As students' roleplay and problem solve within a company, the stage is set for meaningful learning.
Click here to see results and participant comments from previous cohorts.
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Digital Skills for 21st Century Teachers
Creating infographics and posters
I hope you didn't get stuck in the past with the passing of daylight savings time because we have some great ideas shared with us for this month's article that will help your students' learning spring forward.
This month the focus is on creating infographics and posters. Read on to find out how students can modify the standard research paper to a more visual and engaging presentation.
Plus, see how you or your school staff can think differently when it comes to communicating survey results to your staff, students, parents and the public!
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The Cutting Ed Podcast
Stories about Innovative Practices in Education
The
The Cutting Ed podcast
facilitates inspiring and thoughtful conversations with all of the stakeholders in our public education system. We'll be celebrating great teaching practices, interesting innovations, and diving into an innovation playlist (
www.ndplaylist.org
) that Ted Dintersmith (Most Likely to Succeed) has pulled together with impressive national partners to support our teaching force.
With 17 episodes already recorded there is a chance to hear from educators, senators, professors, DPI staff, Knowledge Works, innovation experts and more!
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PD for Me Webinar Series
FREE webinars for teachers
This series of FREE webinars for teachers continues in March and April. Check out the variety of topics and register today. C
afeteria plan professional development credit is available for all sessions.
Sessions include:
- Music & Movement to Maximize Learning K-5, March 19
- PBS LearningMedia: All-Star Resources for K-12 classrooms, April 11
- Tech Round Up: The Best Tech Tips K-12, April 19
- Coding & Storytelling with Scratch Jr PK-5, April 25
All PD for Me workshops are also available at no cost to area schools. Email
dbakkegard@prairiepublic.org to schedule a workshop at your school!
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SEEC Upcoming Events
Click an event title below to view more information and/or register.
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SEEC Top Social Media Posts
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South East Education Cooperative
1305 9th Ave S Fargo, ND 58103
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