High AIMS Consortium

Professional Development

As As a large consortium of 15 school districts and nearly 100,000 students, High AIMS can provide professional development opportunities that local districts would find difficult to offer because of size and/or expense. High AIMS professional development programs reflect the needs of its member districts as expressed by classroom teachers and building and district administrators. The High AIMS professional development program continually evolves to meet member needs. 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. Math Solutions is a sequence of mathematics courses primarily for grades K-8. Teachers attend for one week in August and then attend 2 follow-up sessions during the school year. The follow-up sessions are facilitated by experienced mathematics teachers from High AIMS districts.

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. Upon completion of the work, participating teachers earn 2 graduate credit hours from Miami University at no cost.

LessonLab in Mathematics- Lesson-Lab is another on-line K-8 mathematics offering. The program is currently funded through an ODE grant. Teachers earn 2 graduate credit hours for a nominal fee. Participants praise the program for its flexibility and the quality and appropriate rigor of the content.

Developing Mathematical Ideas Workshops- The Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI) workshops are under "construction". During the 2007 summer, eight K-8 mathematics teachers from High AIMS districts attended an intense 2-week summer program at Mt. Holyoke college. These eight teachers will plan and facilitate math courses for teachers designed to enhance their own understanding of important mathematics concepts.

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 will reconvene to examine their test results and plan strategies to address district science needs as found in the district.

Developing Quality Assessment Items (DQAI) Workshops- Member districts requested that High AIMS offer a professional development program that will help teachers construct quality assessment items. Beginning in the fall of 2007, we will offer workshops for science teachers grades 3-5 and 6-8 in response to the request. We anticipate involving 250 teachers this first year. Those teachers participating in the OAT Academic Science Test review will also participate in the DQAI workshops.

Lenses on Learning- Lenses on Learning is a high quality program from the Education Development Center. It focuses on helping K-8 building administrators understand what good mathematics instruction looks like and how they can support classroom teachers in creating an environment where the focus in on student mathematical thinking. Lenses is a year-long program and requires central office support for building principal participation. A similar program for grades 7-12 will be offered during the 2007-08 school year.