High AIMS Consortium

Professional Development

Note: Information and Applications for High AIMS Professional Development opportunities are now located on the Registration Forms link.

As As a large consortium of twenty-two (22) southwestern Ohio public school districts with a combined enrollment exceeding 110,000 students, High AIMS Consortium provides professional development opportunities that local districts would find difficult to offer on an individual basis due to size and cost. High AIMS' professional development programs reflect the needs of its member districts as expressed by classroom teachers, building administrators, district administrators and district superintendents. The High AIMS professional development offerings are constantly evolving as needs change and increase.

Listed below is a brief description of our current programs:

M Marilyn Burns Math Solutions - The Marilyn Burns Math Solutions program was the first High AIMS professional development offering and has consistently received high evaluations from the mathematics teachers attending and from their building administrators for the affect it has had on both student learning and student understanding. Math Solutions is a sequence of mathematics courses primarily for teachers of grades K-8. Teachers attend for one week in August and then attend 2 follow-up sessions during the school year. The summer courses are taught by national Math Solutions facilitators. The follow-up sessions are facilitated by experienced mathematics teachers from High AIMS districts who have taken multiple Math Solutions courses. Since the initial offering in 2000, over 2500 High AIMS teachers have participated in Math Solutions courses. Courses offered under the Math Solutions umbrella include About Teaching Mathematics Part I and Part II, Teaching Math Through Problem Solving, Building a Foundation For Algebra and Understanding the Math You Teach.

iDiscovery in Mathematics - iDiscovery is an on-line tool made available to High AIMS through the OSI Discovery program at Miami University. The content of the on-line course work parallels and supports Math Solutions courses. Upon completion of the work, participating teachers can earn 2 graduate credit hours from Miami University.

GGeoGebra - The GeoGebra course is a week long course that teaches teachers how to use this free software program. Teachers first learn the different capabilities of the software and then they develop lessons to use in their classes using the software. This course is taught by an expert GeoGebra facilitator and is for mathematics teachers, grades 6-12.

Science and Math Standards Orientation Workshops – Each fall, High AIMS holds two Standards Orientation workshops, one for science and one for mathematics. Teachers new to teaching science and mathematics OR new to teaching in Ohio are given an overview of the Ohio Academic Content Standards for Grades –K-12. They are also introduced to the Ohio testing framework and are provided with links to various online resources to help teach science and mathematics in Ohio. These workshops are facilitated by High AIMS districts’ science and mathematics specialists.

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) – POGIL currently supports high school science teachers. POGIL is a guided inquiry student-centered strategy where students learn science content working together in small groups to solve problems and answer questions. POGIL stresses 21^st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication through collaboration and reflection. High AIMS POGIL workshops are facilitated by POGIL experts from High AIMS districts.

Picture-Perfect Science – Each summer, High AIMS offers a Picture-Perfect workshop for K-6 classroom teachers, teacher leaders, curriculum directors, special education teachers, gifted intervention specialists, and media specialists. This interactive workshop runs 4 days in the summer with a full day follow-up scheduled during the school year. It is facilitated by the authors of Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, Grades 3-6 and More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, Grades K-4, Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan. In this interactive workshop , participants learn how to integrate reading strategies into science lessons, analyze the benefits and challenges of using children’s literature in science, utilize the essential features of inquiry, and develop effective lessons using the BSCS 5E instructional model- Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate.

Probing Student Thinking – High AIMS offered its initial Probing Student Thinking workshop in Summer 2010 for science teachers, grades 3-9. The workshop was facilitated by Page Keeley, former NSTA President and author of NSTA Press’s best selling books, Uncovering Student Ideas in Science and Science Formative Assessment. In this 2 day workshop, participants learn how to use a variety of probes and formative assessment classroom techniques (FACTs) to uncover student thinking, promote metacognition and student discourse, inform and monitor instruction, and support reflective learning.

Developing Quality Assessment Items (DQAI) – High AIMS districts requested that High AIMS offer a professional development program to help teachers construct quality assessment items. Beginning in the fall of 2007, High AIMS offered workshops for science teachers in grades 3-5 and 6-8 in response to the request. As a result of these workshops, High AIMS teachers have created science review sheets for each benchmark in the 3-8 grade bands that are composed of 4 multiple choice items, 1 short answer item, and 1 extended response item. These review sheets are periodically reviewed and revised by 3-5 and 6-8 grade science teachers and are available to all member districts.

K-8 Lenses on Learning - Lenses on Learning provides a broad overview of the fundamental ideas about mathematics teaching and learning in a Standards-based, K-8 mathematics classroom. It gives school-based teams comprised of a mathematics teacher-leader and a building administrator the opportunity to consider together how students process mathematics teaching and learning. Requiring that participants attend in school-based teams including a building administrator creates an opportunity to build quickly a common language and culture regarding mathematics teaching and learning in K-8 school buildings.

Learning and Leading in the 21^st Century – Offered for the first time in June 2010, this workshop is designed to give building administrators tools they need to support and learn with their staff the constantly evolving world of technology. For administrators who desire to be linked in, tweeting and blogging,etc. like their 21^st Century teachers and students. If it sounds like a foreign language and you have no clue where to begin, this workshop is for you!

21^st Century skill development requires the use of 21^st Century tools. Web 2.0 tools and emerging social media sites open up a world of possibilities for connecting, communicating, and collaborating with students, teachers, parents and community. To realize their potential, as well as their caveats, it’s important to take a step forward and give them a try.

Part of the day is devoted to exploring 21^st Century skills and six basic Web 2.0 tool categories. Time will be provided for individual, guided exploration, allowing each learner to progress at a comfortable rate. In the afternoon session, participants will select one or two tools to explore in depth, while creating and publishing content for your colleagues, staff, parents and/or community.

Problem Based Learning – Problem Based Learning (PBL) is recognized as an excellent strategy for bringing twenty-first century teaching and learning into the classroom. Effective Problem Based Learning strategies must be aligned with state content standards and are best initiated using a carefully designed and highly respected model. High AIMS has contracted with the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) to facilitate problem based strategies professional development for High AIMS teachers. During the summer of 2010, 110 High AIMS teachers attended a 3-day workshop designed to give them the confidence and strategies needed to introduce PBL in their classrooms. Follow-up training is scheduled during the 2010-11 school year with additional training planned for the summer of 2011. The long term plan is to develop local expertise and facilitation through the extensive development of a cadre of competent and motivated High AIMS teachers. Developing local expertise and facilitation cuts costs and helps ensure our capacity to maintain the program over the years.

Vision 21: Career and College Readiness – High AIMS has made an extensive commitment to the development of 21^st century teaching and learning in our classrooms. This commitment extends to all schools and school districts in the region and includes businesses and civic organizations. The High AIMS vision is that we can transform the region by strengthening our students’ abilities to succeed in a 21^st century learning and working environment. In October 2009 High AIMS hosted a regional conference kicking off the Career and College readiness initiative with an event attracting over 400 people to the Cintas Center on Xavier University's campus. We raised over $125,000 from area corporations, businesses and universities. The money raised was awarded in the form of mini-grants to area school districts based upon a 21st century proposal they submitted. In April 2010 another large event was held celebrating and sharing the work accomplished through the mini-grants. On September 29/30 High AIMS is hosting KipCamp, an in-depth look at social media, the influence of social media on today's students and the implications for teachers, students and the business community in the years to come. For more regarding the College and Career Readiness initiative, visit the High AIMS website or go to www.vision21online.com. Future High AIMS programming will feature opportunities to learn more about 21^st century teaching and learning.

Ohio STEM Learning Network

High AIMS has become a full partner with the University of Cincinnati's STEM Hub hosed on the U.C. campus. This relationship promises to open more professional development opportunities for High AIMS district5s as well as for the entire southwestern Ohio region. Stay tuned.