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Professional
Development
Note:
Information and Applications for Spring and Summer 2010 PD is located on
the Resources Page.
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:
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.
DDeveloping Mathematical Ideas (DMI)
- For three years High AIMS, through a grant from the OSI
Discovery program at Miami University, has sent a team of
teachers to an intensive summer training program at Mt. Holyoke
College. This program is designed to help teachers master
the concepts they are expected to teach. They are also trained
to facilitate these courses back in their districts. These
teachers facilitated [Making Meaning for Operations (MMO)]. High
AIMS will add one additional course (Working with Data WwD) in
the spring of 2010.
GeoGebra - 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 21st 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 will offer its initial Probing Student Thinking workshop in
Summer 2010 for science teachers, grades 3-9. The workshop will be
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.
Ohio
Academic Science Test Review- With the advent of the
OAT in Science, High AIMS held several workshops in 2006
designed to share with K-8 science teachers to the design and
intent of the Ohio test and explored strategies for helping
teachers help students succeed on the test. The emphasis
is upon standards/benchmarks/indicators and how they are
assessed. In 2007, science teachers reconvened to
examine their test results and plan strategies to address
district science needs as found in the district.
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.

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 21st 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, like their 21st
Century teachers and students. If it sounds like a foreign language and
you have no clue where to begin, this workshop is for you!
21st
Century skill development requires the use of 21st Century
tools. Web 2.0 tools open up a world of possibilities for connecting,
communicating, and collaborating with students, teachers, parents and
community. To realize their potential, it’s important to take a step
forward and give them a try.
The
morning session will be devoted to exploring 21st 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, you 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 is best initiated using a carefully designed and
highly respected model. High AIMS is currently in the process of
studying the best models for implementation during the summer of 2010.
The long term plan will be 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 promoting the development of 21st 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 21st
century learning and working environment. Please see the 21st
Century Learning link and the October 20, 2009 link on this site and
www.vision21online.com for more information. Future High AIMS
programming will feature opportunities to learn more about 21st
century teaching and learning.
PR
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