January 8, 2023

Good morning all-

I hope you had a great first week of 2023. 

Faculty meeting is Thursday at 2:55pm in the library. 

This coming weekend is Family Reconnect Weekend. Here is a reminder of expectations:

1. Ensure that long-term assignments are not due the following week (January 18-20).
2. Avoid an increase in student workload leading up to the reconnect weekend.
3. Do not assign any schoolwork over the weekend
4. Do not schedule tests and quizzes for the day after the reconnect weekend (no tests/quizzes Wednesday, January 18).

 

I am sure many students may start using the time to prep for midyear exams so this could be a good week to share study guides. 

Here is the 2023 Midyear exam schedule. Please remember to review it with students. 

AEFI Grant application- The Innovation Grant season is open. Please let me know if you have ideas for a grant.

Thanks again to the staff members who attended the AI discussion. Here are a few resources for your use. 

If you don't have DraftBack, Google extension, it is worth adding.

From a local high school teacher to their principal: "This site seems to do a pretty good job detecting AI written works :  https://contentatscale.ai/ai-content-detector/ but so far all 3 of my ChatGPT input essays were detected as completely AI."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAwbvGywdOc

PD opportunities from the Parker Charter School. All sessions are led by their faculty. If you are interested in attending any of them let me know and I will share registration information.

High-Quality Feedback and Assessment 

Providing students with meaningful and effective feedback that promotes learning 

February 10, 2023 

 

Effective and meaningful feedback is an integral part of the learning process and students’ growth. But how do we know when and if our feedback is truly effective? In this workshop, we will consider this question and explore different types and purposes of feedback. Participants will leave with a framework for thinking about effective feedback, as well as strategies for creating meaningful opportunities to provide feedback to their students. The session is led by two teachers and leaders with experience in middle and high school Math, Science, English and Social Studies. 

 

SEL in the classroom - Persevering through challenge  

Helping students develop coping and perseverance skills in the face of challenges 

March 2, 2023 

 

Adolescence can be hard. School can be hard. Life can be hard. And that was true even before the many challenges we have all faced in the last three years. The Parker faculty has been working this year on deliberate, research-driven strategies that support students in persevering in the face of challenge and the discomfort it brings. This workshop will focus on how teachers develop and leverage relationships with students to support the development of coping and perseverance skills. We will spend the day observing, discussing, and interviewing student and teachers through the lens of the CASEL framework. We will showcase how SEL principles inform system, classroom, and student work at Parker. Participants will leave with strategies to employ in their classroom when students are dysregulated and struggling. The session is facilitated by Parker teachers who have led the research and school-wide implementation of adaptive coping skills in the classroom. 

 

Trusted Adults 

Building authentic relationships with students to challenge, inspire and support 

March 9, 2023 

 

Kids do their best work when they feel safe, seen and trusted. Teachers who maintain high expectations and are flexible when a child needs them to be, make students *want* to do their best work for them. It is this relationship that enables students to do the hard work we ask of them every day. This workshop is intended for teachers who are looking for creative and practical strategies to make their classrooms and schools safer and more humane places to learn. Through a variety of activities, observations and reflections, participants will learn specific techniques to apply to their own practice. Participants will leave with a toolkit to build connections within their greater school culture and community. Led by three seasoned teachers with experience ranging from middle school to senior year in the subjects English, Social Studies, Math, Science, Technology and Special Education, this workshop was created by teachers for teachers in service to our kids.    

 

Teaching all Students in Math & Science 

Differentiating to meet the unique needs of all students 

March 10, 2023 

 

We believe that all students can do well in math and science and achieve high standards. So how do we create classrooms that support all learners and meet the diverse needs that students bring with them? Join us as we dissect the what, why, and how of differentiated instruction in math and science and gain new perspectives on effective teacher practice. We will problem solve perceived barriers to differentiated instruction, observe classes and teachers for practices we can implement, and grapple with how to differentiate instruction, feedback, and coaching rather than focusing on rewriting curriculum. Participants will leave with strategies to provide necessary supports and appropriate challenge for every student. The session is led by middle and high school math and science teachers with years of experience differentiating in the classroom. 

 

Student Engagement in the Classroom 

Engaging students with hands-on, collaborative learning 

March 23, 2023 

 

Every teacher hopes for high student engagement in learning!  But it is a perennial challenge to achieve this goal on a daily basis, and even experienced teachers are always looking for new ideas and ways to engage students individually and collectively.  In this workshop, we will discuss, observe, and share high engagement strategies that Parker teachers use, starting with the assumption that “the student is the worker.”  This means that we seek to make learning as hands-on as possible using constructivist activities that help students make meaning of what they learn and do.  Workshop participants will observe classes and look at models of curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices that lead to student ownership of learning and the resulting high levels of engagement in classroom activities.  Join us to see classes in action, talk with students and teachers about engagement strategies, and walk away with some new ideas for your classroom and students. 

 

Performance-Based Assessment  

Designing and assessing performance tasks that go beyond tests 

April 7, 2023 

 

Sometimes, a test is exactly the right tool for the job, and sometimes we need a different way to assess the complexity of students’ thinking.  Designing rich, open-ended tasks that challenge students to think critically and apply their knowledge in new ways is both exciting and daunting.  In this session, led by a math teacher and a social studies teacher, we will explore three key questions.  What can performance tasks reveal about student learning that traditional assessment tools may not?  When designing a task from scratch, what does the design process look like, and where can teachers find good sources of inspiration?  And how can teachers effectively align the tasks they design with the learning goals of the unit, ensuring that the task assesses the desired skills and knowledge?  Participants will examine sample projects, including student work, learn in depth about the design process used to develop and refine the tasks, and develop new ideas for performance tasks to use in their own classrooms.