Career Pathways Teacher Leader NewsletterFebruary 2017

Click here to see what the District is doing to celebrate!

Welcome Jennifer Hewettto Our Team!

Jennifer Hewett is a native Houstonian with 10

years ofexperience in education to include

educational non-profit programs, publiccharter

schools and the last 6 of these years in Houston

ISD. She has served asa Middle School Science

teacher, Special Education Resource English

LanguageArts teacher and Math and Reading

Special Education Interventionist. Afterleaving

the classroom, 3 years ago, Jennifer has served

as a Campus InductionCoach, Campus

Instructional Technologist, 504 Coordinator,

Special EducationAdministrator, Teacher

Appraiser and Grade Level Dean. Jennifer

recentlycompleted her Masters in Educational

Administration and is currently pursuingher

PhD in the same area. She has an overwhelming

passion for the work thatclassroom educators do

and is excited about the opportunity to support

teachersin HISD; and to see to it that they are

provided the knowledge and skillset necessaryto

reach their ultimate capacity.

ITS

Feature Teacher Leader

Hector Buitrago

This month, we’d l ike to feature Hector Buitrago,Instructional

Technology Specialist at Lyons Elementary. Hector is in

hissecond year as a Career Pathways ITS, and has dedicated

himself to supportingothers as an educator and colleague. In

addition to collaborating with hiscolleagues on campus to find

technology solutions to instructional gaps, Hectorworks to

support other Career Pathways Teacher Leaders on his

campus and aroundthe district. Hector models the servant

leadership and quest for learning thatis so crucial to success

as a Teacher Leader, and it shows in the success he’shad at

Lyons.

Wh at l ed you to a passi on for In str u c ti on alWh at l ed you to a passi on for In str u c ti on al

Tech n ol ogy?Tech n ol ogy?

Thecombination of love for teaching and innovation led me to

a passion forInstructional technology. For me, technology has

been a great innovation thatmakes your personal and work

li fe easier. I love to spend time learning newtechnology tools

that I can share with my students and colleagues.

Technologyhas been an excellent resource for my students to

engage in their educationalgrowth.

Wh at tech tool s exc i te you th e m ost, an d wh y?Wh at tech tool s exc i te you th e m ost, an d wh y?

Some ofmy favorites technology tools are Nearpod, Kahoo,

Plickers, and GoFormtive.These apps are excellent and can

guide great results in the classroom forinteractive assessments

and checking for understanding. The app's concept issimple.

STEM Feature

Teacher Leader

Alfroze Jahan

This month, we’d l ike to featureShadowbriar Elementary

STEM Specialist Afroze Jahan. While Ms. Jahan is new

toShadowbriar, she is not new to the STEM Specialist role, or

to STEAM education.Ms. Jahan has found innovative ways to

engage students in STEM fields, anddevelops an exploratory

learning model where student autonomy guides theirgrowth.

Wh at l ed you to a passi on for S TE M ?Wh at l ed you to a passi on for S TE M ?

I was working at a pool place while in college. One day a guy

came overlooking for a pool cleaning brush and I asked him

what size does he need? Hedid not know the size so he asked

for a paper and pen. I was so surprised tosee that he was using

Pythagorean Theorem to figure out the size of the brush.I

thought he must be a high school Math teacher, who else

would remember PythagoreanTheorem? I discovered that he

was an engineer and he uses Pythagorean Theoremall the

time at work. That’s when it struck me that we all learn

PythagoreanTheorem but only engineers know how to apply it

in real l i fe situations,whereas, we all need to make such

purchasing decisions in our l i fe al l thetime. That’s when I

knew that i f we want our kids to be successful in l i fe,their

learning has to be project-based with integrated subjects. Our

kids need to be able to analyze thesituation and make

decisions using their problem solving skil ls.

Wh at S TE M l esson s/ tool s exc i te you th e m ost, an dWh at S TE M l esson s/ tool s exc i te you th e m ost, an d

wh y?wh y?

A teacher can create presentations that contain Quiz's, Polls,

Videos,Images, Drawing-Boards, Web Content and so on.

How do you i den ti f y th e ways you ’l l n eed toHow do you i den ti f y th e ways you ’l l n eed to

su ppor toth er teach er s on you r cam pu s?su ppor toth er teach er s on you r cam pu s?

Information provided by the teachers from thetechnology

school Survey and l istening to teacher needs and suggestions.

How do you sh ar e you r i deas wi th oth er sHow do you sh ar e you r i deas wi th oth er s

an dcol l abor ate?an dcol l abor ate?

I haveintroduced specific tools during faculty and grade level

meetings. I have beenassisting teachers in their classrooms. I

visit the grade level teamduring their PLC meeting at the

beginning of the week to model a technologytool. Once the

technology tool has been introduced I go to the classroom to

modelhow to use it in a lesson with the students during their

breakfast time. Duringthis time, we practice using the

technology tool.

Wh at su ccess h ave you h ad i n getti n g oth erWh at su ccess h ave you h ad i n getti n g oth er

teach er s on you r cam pu s to u se techteach er s on you r cam pu s to u se tech

tool s/ str ategi es i n th ei r c l assr oom s?tool s/ str ategi es i n th ei r c l assr oom s?

Most theteachers at our school are open and wil l ing to try new

technology tools. Duringthe trainings/meetings they show

interest in the technology tools. The successfrom the teachers

has been reflected in the use of technology effectively

todifferentiate instruction.

Wh at ch al l en ges h ave you faced, an d h ow h aveWh at ch al l en ges h ave you faced, an d h ow h ave

you over com e th em ?you over com e th em ?

One ofthe goals I have as the ITS on my campus is to help

teachers who are sti l lafraid of using technology in their

classrooms. I have overcome thesechallenges working one to

one with them making sure they feel comfortableworking with

technology.

Wh at adv i ce wou l d you gi ve to a n ov i ce teach erWh at adv i ce wou l d you gi ve to a n ov i ce teach er

l eader on th e best ways to con v i n ce oth er teach er sl eader on th e best ways to con v i n ce oth er teach er s

to u se tech n ol ogy i n th ei r c l assr oom s?to u se tech n ol ogy i n th ei r c l assr oom s?

My bestadvice as the ITS is to LISTEN to teachers needs and

suggestions and workaround them. Model and practice make

them master the skil l .

Technology excites me the most because it’s a forever

changingtool and it demands learning and changing the

pedagogy and practice. Technologyengages students in

learning and makes it interesting. Just figuring out how

towork with a new phone itself is a display of analytical

thinking, problemsolving and decision making skil ls. We all

know that kids can figure out a newtechnology way faster than

an adult because kids are digital natives, whereas,adults are

digital immigrants (Prensky, 2001). As Michael Fullan

(2013)identifies in his book Stratosphere, the tri logy of

technology, pedagogy, andknowledge of change, using

technology changes the pedagogy and helps educatorschange

their practice. Technology in schools is unavoidable and

usingtechnology in schools must bring change in how we

teach.

How do you i den ti f y th e ways you ’l l n eed toHow do you i den ti f y th e ways you ’l l n eed to

su ppor t oth er teach er son you r cam pu s?su ppor t oth er teach er son you r cam pu s?

My first and top most approach is always finding ways to

showteachers how they can be facil i tators instead of teachers

(Reeve, 2006). Ibelieve that our students bring a plethora of

knowledge and experience throughtheir use of technology,

and teachers must tap on this resource and build

theirteaching on students existing experience. Traditional

pedagogical teachingapproach emphasizes the role of the

teacher as the holder of the wisdom,facil i tation puts the

responsibil i ty on the participants to become involved intheir

own learning (Sunnarborg, 2008). Gone are the days when

teachers were theonly ones who had knowledge. Sit and get

approach does not work anymore becauseinternet is ful l of al l

kind of knowledge and we don’t know what students knowand

what they don’t. The only teaching approach that interests and

engages ourkids is to put a problem in front of them and ask

them to solve. A teacher’sjob is to facil i tate learning while they

are busy solving a problem. A learningthrough experience

resonates into their mind and they use it rest of theirl i fe.

How do you sh ar e you r i deas wi th oth er s an dHow do you sh ar e you r i deas wi th oth er s an d

col l abor ate?col l abor ate?

We have Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) every

Thursdayduring planning period. That’s the time when we

collaborate and share ideas.

Wh at su ccess h ave you h ad i n getti n g oth erWh at su ccess h ave you h ad i n getti n g oth er

teach er s on you r cam pu sto u se S TE M l esson s i nteach er s on you r cam pu sto u se S TE M l esson s i n

th ei r c l assr oom s?th ei r c l assr oom s?

Oth er Campu s High l i gh ts ...Oth er Campu s High l i gh ts ...

Paige ESPaige ES

"We are piloting a math programwith ReasoningMinds. I have been working with the math teachers toimplementthe program in both the classrooms and inthe lab. It is helping students getready for the STAAR

test."

-Judith Hassan, ITS

Law ESLaw ES

"We have been able to implement Class Dojo campuswide and itis working very well. All the important

information about the school is kept inthere and eventhe principal posts updates on a regular basis."

-Miguel Blanco Lopez, ITS

Garden Oaks Garden Oaks Mon tessor iMon tessor i

"Ihave started sending out a monthly Leader in Memessage to encourage parents tolearn and utilize the

Leader in Me program at home. This program isbasedon the 7 Habits of a Healthy kid. I have also

been working closely withmy team to get the teachers touse the Leader in Me more in the classrooms."

-Sara Harlan, CCS

Part of my job is to help science lab teacher in STEM

lessons.Science teacher was teaching circuits and I

purchased a book on circuitprojects and Makey Makey for her

STEM lessons and helped her carry out thelesson. First day,

after the lesson she shared with me how frustrated she

waswhen students were not successful because they did not

l isten to theinstructions, neither they read. I suggested her to

use my way of teaching andI told her to print out the

instructions and ask them to read in the group andexplain

each other what do they need to do to complete the task. Tell

them theycan’t touch the material unti l they tel l you what they

are going to do with thematerial. After the lesson she came to

me excited tel l ing me how successful thelesson was.

Basically, I suggested her change her paradigm, instead of

teachingshe facil i tated the learning.

Wh at ch al l en ges h ave you faced, an d h ow h aveWh at ch al l en ges h ave you faced, an d h ow h ave

you over com eth em ?you over com eth em ?

The only challenge I face is that some teachers, usually the

oneswho have more than 10 years of experience, are so stuck

on teaching that theycan’t let i t go. They ask me technology

question and I suggest them to askstudents to figure it out

because kids can figure out technology faster thanadults, but

they refuse it by saying “I am not going to ask them to do

somethingthat I don’t know how to do.” Only if teachers let go

their insecurities andaccept the fact that we are no more

holders of knowledge, they wil l make theirjob more

interesting and easier. I show them how I don’t teach but

justfacil i tate their learning.

Wh at adv i ce wou l d you gi ve to a n ov i ce teach erWh at adv i ce wou l d you gi ve to a n ov i ce teach er

l eader on th e bestways to con v i n ce oth er teach er sl eader on th e bestways to con v i n ce oth er teach er s

to i m pl em en t S TE M i n th ei r c l assr oom s?to i m pl em en t S TE M i n th ei r c l assr oom s?

The best way to convince other teachers is to show them how

easyteaching becomes when you present a problem and let

students figure out thesolution. As oppose to teach them

something and expect them to memorizeeverything teacher

said.

Classroom CultureSpecialists

Congratulations to al l of you for your hard work.Whether you

have documented it or not, your impact and contributions

areevident! I am enjoying scroll ing through e-portfol ios but

we have a long way togo to get them updated. I wil l be sharing

the scoring rubric in the HUBcommunity soon. This rubric

wil l be used as I review each of your portfol ios inApri l . Focus

on reflections and evidence that speaks to your impact on

teachersand scholars in I-10, I-9, and/or I-7. Remember the

evidence should be directlyrelated to campus-wide and/or

individual impact and keep those portfol io l inkscoming.

Cel ebr ati on s:Cel ebr ati on s:

M al i kka Wi l l i am sM al i kka Wi l l i am sof Bastian Elementary School: Mostup-

to-date e-portfol io and a reduction of 4343exclusionary

discipl ine practices at the campus!

Al i c i a L opez Car r eter o Al i c i a L opez Car r eter o ofLaw Elementary School: Most

up-to-datee-portfol io, completion of al l ski l l building hours

(and some), and the reductionof 3333 exclusionary

discipl inepractices at the campus!

Jessi ca L eon ar dJessi ca L eon ar dof Stevenson Middle School: Mostup-to-

date e-portfol io and completion of al l ski l l building hours.

Dear IECs ,

Please send meyour portfol io l inks even if you have sent i t to

me previously (Usingthis format in subject l ine is helpful for

me to organize: CP Portfol io <Teacher Name> <School

Name> . Sendme your l ink even if the portfol io has l imited

content. Start today ifyou have not yet started. You sti l l have

3 months to track and learn.

Portfol ios are intended to al low you to reflect on what youare

doing and grow as a coach. It also provides evidence (for

example inthe form of annotated documents or pictures of

work with teachers or examplesof student performance) that

exemplifies the impact (student achievementimprovement,

improved relationships, decreased off task behaviors,

increasedlearning time) of your work as a Career Pathways

Teacher Leader. Theportfol io helps to tel l the ongoing story of

working with your teachers,showing the strategies you

employed, and the decisions made based on teacher

evidenceof practice and student achievement data. Portfol ios

should also tel l thestory of ‘change of practice’ ---in other

words, because of your coaching, youcan describe and

provide evidence of what teachers are now doing

differentlyand show how this change impacted positively

student achievement or theclassroom environment.

Ch an i ta Osh oCh an i ta Osh oof Key Middle School: Completion of al l ski l l

building hours (and some) and thereduction of 600600

exclusionarydiscipl ine practices are the campus!

M i ch el l e N woguM i ch el l e N wogu of McGowen Elementary School:

Completion of al l ski l l building hours and thereduction of 8080

exclusionarydiscipl ine practices are the campus!

Patr i c i a Or j i an d Cor azon Fl or esPatr i c i a Or j i an d Cor azon Fl or esof Sugar Grove

Middle School: The reduction of 2 812 81 exclusionary discipl ine

practices are the campus!

R ober t Powel lR ober t Powel l of Hartman Middle School: The reduction of

2 712 71 exclusionary discipl ine practices are the campus!

Al an a D er ou ssel l eAl an a D er ou ssel l eof Milne Elementary School: The

reduction of 1 81 8 exclusionary discipl ine practices are the

campus!

S h aker a Por terS h aker a Por ter of Foster Elementary School: The

reduction of 33 exclusionary discipl ine practices are the

campus!

Jen n i fer Par du eJen n i fer Par du eof Hobby Elementary School: The

reduction of 4141 exclusionary discipl ine practices are the

campus!

R en n ette L u c i enR en n ette L u c i en of Yates High School: The reduction of

1 591 59exclusionary discipl ine practices are the campus!

Ch ar l yn Har r i s Ch ar l yn Har r i s ofCodwell Elementary School: The

reduction of 55 exclusionary discipl ine practices are the

campus!

The fol lowing CCS and their campuses had n o ou t-of -n o ou t-of -

sch ool su spen si on ssch ool su spen si on s in thefall :

Joh n ath an D or i aJoh n ath an D or i aof Lyons Elementary School

Ju di th D u ar teJu di th D u ar teof Southmayd Elementary School

D er u n za L awr en ceD er u n za L awr en ceof Gallegos Elementary School

S h ator a Adk i n sS h ator a Adk i n sof Lockhart Elementary School

S pr i n gsk i l l bu i l di n gS pr i n gsk i l l bu i l di n g wil l be updated in the HUB

communitymonthly. Feel free to share webinars that are

relevant to our role for me tovet, approve, and share with al l

CCS. Visit the HUB community for relevantbulletins of the

latest in learning opportunities.

I look forward to our e-portfol io preview andcelebrations in

early March. Unti l then, don’t hesitate to invite me for avisit.

Keep in mind that a document alone, without context doesnottel l the story. Annotated notes that accompany documentsand pictures addunderstanding and context to the significanceof the uploaded documents. The IECPortfol io sections include:

AboutMe - Picture and professional

resume/experience or why this work in

CareerPathways is important to you.

CampusGoals - A description of Campus Goals

(Explain why these goals were designatedas the

targeted goals.)

CaseloadDescription - The caseload of teachers you

are supporting (include name,content and/grade

level) and their baseline data for area that

needsimprovement.

Caseloadparticipant’s Data - The case study data

results based on monthly OPA cyclesand SIBME

data. To demonstrate growth you need a baseline

score andongoing formative tracking of data.

MonthlyReflection Journaling ((1-2 paragraph

minimum on successes, evidence ofpositive

changes in teacher practices and lessons learned);

What have youlearned?

CoachingTools – Evidence of using data collecting

tools learned at ski l l buildingtrainings

VideoData - provide instructional comments based

on the video by cl icking the red"export to PDF"

button in the upper right hand corner and upload

thePDF to your portfol io.

BrightSpots – Highlight campus teachers who have

served as models for other teachersbecause of their

effective strategies that impact students positively

andsupport meeting identified campus goals.

OPAresults - OPA documents serve to show

comparative growth as reflected in thepre and post

assessment of student or teacher abil i ty. Upload a

summary withthe OPA document for each monthly

cycle (Oct., Nov., Dec./Jan., Feb., andMarch.)

Testimony– At least 2 Teachers/1 Principal letter

about how you have supported thecampus (Complete

no earl ier than February)

Best regards,

Vanessa

Peace,

Dr. Lancaster

TLAC Specialists

B y B r ean a B asker v i l l e ( B r ook l i n e E l em en tay) B y B r ean a B asker v i l l e ( B r ook l i n e E l em en tay)

As f i r st-year teach er s en ter th eedu cati on f i el d th eyAs f i r st-year teach er s en ter th eedu cati on f i el d th ey

ar e extr em el y opti m i sti c an d car r y an i deal i sti car e ex tr em el y opti m i sti c an d car r y an i deal i sti c

v i ew on h ow to ach i eve th ei r goal s f or th ei rv i ew on h ow to ach i eve th ei r goal s f or th ei r

stu den ts. Af ter abou t on e m on th of bei n gi n th estu den ts. Af ter abou t on e m on th of bei n gi n th e

c l assr oom , th ey ar e h i t wi th th e r eal i ti es ofc l assr oom , th ey ar e h i t wi th th e r eal i ti es of

teach i n g. Th ey m aystr u ggl e wi th c l assr oomteach i n g. Th ey m aystr u ggl e wi th c l assr oom

m an agem en t, stu den t en gagem en t, r eal i ze th atm an agem en t, stu den t en gagem en t, r eal i ze th at

th ei r stu den ts ar e far beh i n d gr ade l evel , an d ar eth ei r stu den ts ar e far beh i n d gr ade l evel , an d ar e

faced wi th oth er si tu ati on s th atth ey h ad n otfaced wi th oth er si tu ati on s th atth ey h ad n ot

an ti c i pated. Th i s m ay n ot h i t h om e for som e f i r st-an ti c i pated. Th i s m ay n ot h i t h om e for som e f i r st-

year teach er sbu t th i s was def i n i tel y th e r eal i ty ofyear teach er sbu t th i s was def i n i tel y th e r eal i ty of

th e f i r st year teach er s i n m y TL aCcoh or t at th eth e f i r st year teach er s i n m y TL aCcoh or t at th e

begi n n i n g of th e sch ool year . begi n n i n g of th e sch ool year .

Fr om th e star t of th e sch ool year u n ti l n ow I h aveFr om th e star t of th e sch ool year u n ti l n ow I h ave

wi tn essed fou r f i r st-year teach er s tr an sfor m f r omwi tn essed fou r f i r st-year teach er s tr an sfor m f r om

str essed teach er str y i n g to keep th ei r h eads abovestr essed teach er str y i n g to keep th ei r h eads above

water to th r i v i n g edu cator s, al l du e towater to th r i v i n g edu cator s, al l du e to

th ei m pl em en tati on of Teach L i ke a Ch am pi onth ei m pl em en tati on of Teach L i ke a Ch am pi on

tech n i qu es. Jen i fer B r eton , f i r st year pr e-tech n i qu es. Jen i fer B r eton , f i r st year pr e-

k i n der gar ten teach er states, “Teach L i ke ak i n der gar ten teach er states, “Teach L i ke a

Ch am pi on h as r eal l y h el ped m ebecom e a str on gerCh am pi on h as r eal l y h el ped m ebecom e a str on ger

an d m or e ef fec ti ve teach er f or m y stu den ts. I h avean d m or e ef fec ti ve teach er f or m y stu den ts. I h ave

r eal l yen j oyed l ear n i n g al l th e n ew str ategi es. Ir eal l yen j oyed l ear n i n g al l th e n ew str ategi es. I

h ave al so u sed th e 'col d cal l 'tech n i qu e i n m yh ave al so u sed th e 'col d cal l 'tech n i qu e i n m y

c l assr oom wh i ch h as ben ef i ted m y stu den ts toc l assr oom wh i ch h as ben ef i ted m y stu den ts to

al waysbe on al er t th at th ey m ay be cal l ed on . ”al waysbe on al er t th at th ey m ay be cal l ed on . ”

Ju an i ta Yan ez, f ou r th gr adesel f -con tai n edJu an i ta Yan ez, f ou r th gr adesel f -con tai n ed

bi l i n gu al teach er wh o str u ggl ed wi th c l assr oombi l i n gu al teach er wh o str u ggl ed wi th c l assr oom

m an agem en t an dgetti n g h er stu den ts m oti vatedm an agem en t an dgetti n g h er stu den ts m oti vated

states, “TL aC h as h el ped m e l ear n di f f er en t waysstates, “TL aC h as h el ped m e l ear n di f f er en t ways

to en cou r age sch ol ar s topar ti c i pate an d keep th emto en cou r age sch ol ar s topar ti c i pate an d keep th em

en gaged wi th i n th e l esson s. Uti l i zi n g som e ofen gaged wi th i n th e l esson s. Uti l i zi n g som e of

th edi f f er en t tech n i qu es su ch as Col d Cal l an d Wai tth edi f f er en t tech n i qu es su ch as Col d Cal l an d Wai t

Ti m e h as r eal l y h el ped m e i n h av i n g th e stu den tsTi m e h as r eal l y h el ped m e i n h av i n g th e stu den ts

m or e focu sed an d acti ve wh i l e teach i n g n ewm or e focu sed an d acti ve wh i l e teach i n g n ew

l esson s. ”l esson s. ”

M y coh or t h as m ade a goal to en r i chM y coh or t h as m ade a goal to en r i ch

an den cou r age th ei r stu den ts i n or der f or th em toan den cou r age th ei r stu den ts i n or der f or th em to

ach i eve academ i c gr owth . As th e Teach L i ke aach i eve academ i c gr owth . As th e Teach L i ke a

Ch am pi on S pec i al i sti t i s r ewar di n g to see th emCh am pi on S pec i al i sti t i s r ewar di n g to see th em

ach i ev i n g th ei r goal by execu ti n g var i ou s TL aCach i ev i n g th ei r goal by execu ti n g var i ou s TL aC

tech n i qu es i n th ei r c l assr oom s. Wh en you en tertech n i qu es i n th ei r c l assr oom s. Wh en you en ter

an y of th ei r c l assr oom s you wi l l wi tn ess th eman y of th ei r c l assr oom s you wi l l wi tn ess th em

bu i l di n g a posi ti vec l assr oom cu l tu r e an dbu i l di n g a posi ti vec l assr oom cu l tu r e an d

setti n gh i gh expectati on s for th ei r stu den ts by u si n gsetti n gh i gh expectati on s for th ei r stu den ts by u si n g

TL aC tech n i qu es su ch as Pr ec i sePr ai se, Posi ti veTL aC tech n i qu es su ch as Pr ec i sePr ai se, Posi ti ve

Fr am i n g, For m at M atter s, an d m y per son alFr am i n g, For m at M atter s, an d m y per son al

favor i te N o Opt Ou t. S econ dgr ade bi l i n gu alfavor i te N o Opt Ou t. S econ dgr ade bi l i n gu al

teach er, L i l i an a G om ez states, “I bel i eve TL AC i steach er, L i l i an a G om ez states, “I bel i eve TL AC i s

an essen ti al r esou r ce for n ew an dan essen ti al r esou r ce for n ew an d

exper i en cedteach er s. Usi n g th e tech n i qu es an dexper i en cedteach er s. Usi n g th e tech n i qu es an d

str ategi es h el ps i n m ai n tai n i n g m y stu den ts’str ategi es h el ps i n m ai n tai n i n g m y stu den ts’

en gagem en t an d keepi n g th em focu sed al l owi n gforen gagem en t an d keepi n g th em focu sed al l owi n gfor

teach i n g an d l ear n i n g to take pl ace i n m yteach i n g an d l ear n i n g to take pl ace i n m y

c l assr oom . ’”c l assr oom . ’”

On e of th e m ost r ewar di n gpar t of teach i n g i sOn e of th e m ost r ewar di n gpar t of teach i n g i s

wi tn essi n g a stu den t’s gr owth bu t th e m ostwi tn essi n g a stu den t’s gr owth bu t th e m ost

r ewar di n g par tof bei n g a Teach er L eader i sr ewar di n g par tof bei n g a Teach er L eader i s

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poten ti al . I am gr atefu l Car eer Path waysh as gi venpoten ti al . I am gr atefu l Car eer Path waysh as gi ven

m e th e oppor tu n i ty to h el p gr ow th ese teach er s tom e th e oppor tu n i ty to h el p gr ow th ese teach er s to

en su r e ever y ch i l dth at th ey ser v i ce r each esen su r e ever y ch i l dth at th ey ser v i ce r each es

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DTAS & DC

Authentic Assessments

Educators define authentic assessment as an approach to measure student performance in a direct, relevant way to see if thelearning objectives were met. Educators might use projects such as reports, journals, speeches, videos and interviews with thestudents to measure their understanding of the subject material.

For example, an authentic assessment on the expedition of Lewis and Clark would grade students on journals they wroteimagining themselves as the explorers, or have them draw a map showing the route which Lewis and Clark traveled.

The goal of authentic assessment is to enhance the learning process and help students gain knowledge while completing tasksthat are beneficial to their “real-world” experiences. Unlike taking an exam, students work on the authentic assessment over aperiod of time and they are not l imited to fi l l ing in bubbles on scannable test papers to demonstrate what they know. Authenticassessments let students show what they are really capable of without the pressure of having to perform well on a traditional test,so they are great options for students who suffer from test anxiety.

Why should educators use authentic assessments?

Authentic assessments help students analyze what they’ve learned and apply it their own experience. They don’t have tomemorize facts for a test, so they can use their creativity to show what they’ve learned. For older students who can use acombination of writing and speaking, authentic assessment helps them refine their writing and oral presentation skil ls. Authenticassessment works great for groups, so students can get experience collaborating on projects with their peers.

Tips for using authentic assessments

Do it often: While it takes time and effort to plan and carry out authentic assessments, they are very rewarding for both thestudent and the teacher. When teachers first begin using them with a new class, they should expect some challenges and workthrough them as best they can. With repeated use of authentic assessment, teachers and students wil l become more comfortablewith the process and come to enjoy the satisfaction that comes from completing holistic projects.

Break it down: Many students get overwhelmed easily, so teachers should help them out by breaking down the project into manysmall steps. For younger students, steps should be assigned to a time l ine, while students in middle school and above canschedule the tasks on their own and learn about self-discipl ine at the same time.

Don’t dwell on rules: When creating authentic tasks, educators must remember that there is no one right way to do them. Theyshould approach it with the same creativity with which they expect their students to complete the work.

Go backwards: As teachers set out to design the lessons, they should first start with the assessment and what they want the studentsto demonstrate at the end. By knowing which objectives they want to see students meet, they can design their lessons accordingly.

Cater to students’ interests: Teachers should try to match the assessments to the interests of the students. This won’t work in everysituation, but think of how students wil l really jump into their work when tech-savvy kids get to create a video or a websiteshowing what they’ve learned or music-minded youngsters can share their knowledge via lyrics.

Never underestimate the power of reflection: Have students reflect on the project and assessment once it’s completed. This wil lhelp them to further synthesize what they have learned and it wil l give teachers an inside look into what the children thought of

the project. Additionally, students wil l feel glad to know that the teacher cares about their opinions.

Reminders...

-Use the Time Tracking Tool to log your support

-You must attend 5 PSCs and 3 Skill Buildings to receive full stipend payment

-There will be an Open Lab for EPortfolio Building on 2/28/17 from 4pm-6pm

-Complete the Survey sent from Career Pathways

-Deadline to submit all disputes is February 15, 2017

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