Ingham ISD Professional Development

Motivating Struggling Writers Using Technology

Rae Conrad-Zieger — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:57:04 +0000

Teachers will learn about strategies to use with struggling writers from grades 4-12 in this online course designed by Red Cedar Writing Project Teacher Consultants. During the course, the following key questions will be explored:

How do we motivate struggling writers?
How do we help struggling writers find real purpose for their work?
How do we help struggling writers to learn “the basics”?
How do we get them to write?

Participants will access the course via the wiki and read, discuss and reflect on their work with struggling students. They will also be provided with specific examples of strategies to engage writers, and resources to explore. Additionally, this workshop will include a focus on the way in which digital literacies are impacting the teaching of writing, specific ways to utilize technology, and time to practice these specific technologies.

Effective Practices for Teaching Students with ASD

Jane Hensley — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:06:59 +0000

This Statewide Autism Resources and Training (START) Module will provide an overview of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) including definitions, current theories, and research. The second portion covers the supports considered critical for the vast majority of students with ASD. These research-based supports are those identified as highly effective in educating students with ASD and will help provide a solid foundation for student learning. A team process for developing a universal support plan will be presented with specific supports such as: functional communication systems, visual supports, structured environments, peer-to-peer support, and behavioral programming are presented. Although this session addresses students with ASD, these universal supports are effective for students with other disabilities as well. The information contained in this session is covered in more detail in Educational Strategies, Behavior Supports and Peer-to-Peer. This session is a brief introduction to the Universal Supports.

Workkeys Assessment: Paraprofessionals

Rae Conrad-Zieger — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:08:58 +0000

Ingham ISD provides WorkKeys Assessments for individuals interested in becoming a NCLB Highly Qualified Paraprofessional.

As partners in the instructional process, paraprofessionals who work in programs supported with Title I funds must meet one of the following requirements:

Complete at least two years of study at an institution of higher education (equal to 60 semester hours);
Obtain an associate’s degree (or higher);
Meet a rigorous standard of quality and demonstrate, through a formal state or local academic assessment; or,
Knowledge of, and the ability to assist in, instructing reading, writing, and mathematics; or Knowledge of, and the ability to assist in, instructing reading readiness, writing readiness, and mathematics readiness, as appropriate.

The Michigan State Board of Education has approved the following formal assessments by which a paraprofessional can demonstrate knowledge: WorkKeys® ( http://www.workkeys.com/ ) (Passing scores: Reading for Information – 4, Applied Mathematics – 4, Writing – 3) Michigan Test for Teacher Certification- Basic Skills ( http://www.mttc.nesinc.com/ ) (MTTC) ETS Parapro Assessment* (Passing score: 460)

The WorkKeys Assessment Package is designed for individuals who wish to work as a para-professional in a school district. Participants will complete three WorkKeys Assessments. The Assessment Package includes:

Reading for Information Assessment
Applied Mathematics Assessment
Writing Assessment
Certificate

Workkeys Assessment: Paraprofessionals

Rae Conrad-Zieger — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:01:18 +0000

Ingham ISD provides WorkKeys Assessments for individuals interested in becoming a NCLB Highly Qualified Paraprofessional.

As partners in the instructional process, paraprofessionals who work in programs supported with Title I funds must meet one of the following requirements:

Complete at least two years of study at an institution of higher education (equal to 60 semester hours);
Obtain an associate’s degree (or higher);
Meet a rigorous standard of quality and demonstrate, through a formal state or local academic assessment; or,
Knowledge of, and the ability to assist in, instructing reading, writing, and mathematics; or Knowledge of, and the ability to assist in, instructing reading readiness, writing readiness, and mathematics readiness, as appropriate.

Reading for Information Assessment
Applied Mathematics Assessment
Writing Assessment
Certificate

Beyond the Text:

Rae Conrad-Zieger — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:24:01 +0000

Participants will discover how they can use images, audio clips and videos to create engaging multimedia presentations, digital stories, virtual field trips, and more!

Participants can bring laptops or USB drives to save the great projects created in this hands-on extravaganza!

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. The day will conclude with fun and prizes.

Under Construction!

Rae Conrad-Zieger — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:01:21 +0000

Ingham ISD’s PD portal is currently “under construction.” A comprehensive list of professional development offerings scheduled for the 2010/11 school year will be posted on the portal by the end of July. In the meantime, you can view those currently posted or view PDFs of offerings by checking out the PD Preview 2010-11 link (below) on the PD portal homepage.

If you have questions regarding offerings, please feel free to contact Rae Zieger Conrad at 517.244.1282 or rzconrad@inghamisd.org.

Reading in the Content Areas

Jane Hensley — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:06:29 +0000

Amy Kilbridge and Theron Blakeslee, Ingham ISD content consultants, have created a Content Area Reading Strategies toolkit. This toolkit has been presented to many middle and high schools in Ingham County, as well as to statewide professional organizations. The presentation of the toolkit strategies can last from 1-1/2 to 3 hours, depending on district preferences. The more time allowed for the presentation, the more opportunities teachers will have to try the strategies themselves and learn to teach them effectively to students.

Follow-up consists of analyzing student work resulting from classroom use of the strategies in departments or professional learning teams. Kilbridge and Blakeslee can assist schools in developing implementation and follow-up plans.

The philosophy behind the toolkit is that content area teachers can deepen students’ understanding of written materials through explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies, including monitoring comprehension, asking questions, inferring and connecting, re-reading, and summarizing.

Writing in the Content Areas

Jane Hensley — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:02:31 +0000

Theron Blakeslee and Amy Kilbridge, Ingham ISD Content Consultants, have created a toolkit of strategies for writing in the content areas. The format of this toolkit and the accompanying professional development is similar to the Content Area Reading Strategies toolkit that many schools has been using. The presentation of the toolkit strategies can last from 1-1/2 to 3 hours, depending on district preferences. The more time allowed for the presentation, the more opportunities teachers will have to try the strategies themselves and learn to teach them effectively to students.

Follow-up consists of looking at student work resulting from classroom use of the strategies in departments or professional learning teams.

The philosophy behind the toolkit is that content area teachers can use writing in their classrooms as a vehicle for absorbing content, demonstrating understanding of content, constructing meaning, communicating information, asking questions and clarifying thinking.

Writing Workshop with Young Adult Author, Laura Resau

Jane Hensley — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:20:54 +0000

Award-winning author, Laura Resau, will talk about her experiences in Latin America, showing slides of the people and places who inspired her writing and her books. She will discuss her journey as a writer and explain the process of writing and publishing a book. She will offer tips for teachers and their students that support classroom writing instruction. The workshop will focus on using details in writing, showing (not telling), using imagery, and other techniques to strengthen writing skills.

Teachers and students who sign-up for the workshop will be given one of her books to read before the workshop. Laura is a person who can inspire people of all ages to write.

Helping Students Who Struggle with Basic Number Sense and Early Computation

Rae Conrad-Zieger — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:03:57 +0000

Students who struggle with basic number sense in kindergarten and 1^st grade need carefully constructed small group interventions to help them establish the fundamentals of counting and recognizing quantities.

This is one of three workshops designed to provide the content background needed by special education teachers and others who work with struggling students. Along with content and teaching strategies, participants will learn to use assessments to monitor students’ progress in mathematics.