Seward Staff Continues APL Training
Launch the media gallery 1 playerSeward teachers were the students on December 7, 8, and 9, as they continued with three additional days of APL training. APL is the name of an organization that has dedicated its focus and energies to working with professional educators. APL consultants David Perry and Jean Anastasio and their associates assist educators in implementing research-based effective instructional strategies. Effective Schools research is clearly indicating that certain strategies have been proven to help increase student achievement. David and Jean have developed a set of instructional skills to help teachers provide conditions under which students are more focused on the learning, better participants in the learning process, and better able to retain that which was taught.
Launch the media gallery 2 player- On the Clock - Students are given a task, then a specific amount of time to complete it.
- Check for Understanding - The rule of "10-2" states that for each ten minutes of instruction, the teacher spends two minutes checking to see that all students have grasped the concepts taught. Checking for understanding applies to directions for tasks as well as content taught.
- Wait Time - This is also known as "thinking training." The teacher asks a question of the entire class, then waits 3-5 seconds. No hands are raised during this time. The teacher then calls on a student to give the answer. Research has shown that when some of the students raise their hands, the thinking of other students stalls, and they count on those with their hands raised to answer.
- Wait Time Extended - Again, the teacher asks the question of the entire class, followed by the 3-5 seconds of wait time. Students are then asked to share their answers with a partner, following which the teacher calls on someone. This allows for a "practice session," and eliminate the anxiety of being called upon when not sure of the answer, and assures that all students can verbalize the answer, thus increasing the learning.
- Pass Option - Students who are not sure of an answer can exercise the temporary pass option. The teacher then goes to other students, but always comes back to the person who passed, so that they can give the correct answer.
- Beginning of Class - The single most effective strategy for increasing student achievement lies in the activities at the beginning of each class period. Teachers are to use a "bell ringer," which provides an activity dealing with content from the previous class, allowing for review and practice in the concepts taught earlier. Posting the learning objectives for the class period lets students know exactly what they are to focus on for the upcoming lesson. An agenda for the day or class period increases the likelihood that all content will be taken care of, and gives students a "picture" of what their day will look like and what will be expected of them.
Other concepts taught to the Seward staff include:
- How to prepare the students for the learning about to take place
- How to deal with interruptions
- How to make homework effective and suggestions for guidelines on homework
- How to make students accountable for their learning
- How to provide worthwhile feedback to students
- How to arrange the physical environment of the room for maximum learning
- How to effectively manage the blocks of time during a class period or block of learning time
- How to deal with procrastinators
- How to deal with students who finish tasks early
- How to help students set goals for their own achievement
- How to use the knowledge of the "forgetting curve" to increase student achievement
- How to teach and maintain behavior skills with an entire student body
Launch the media gallery 3 playerThe district will be bringing APL Associates back to the district during the 2005-2006 school year to continue with our training. Other plans for next year include sessions for parents on how to help their students be effective learners, and sessions for students in helping them to manage their own learning.
Meanwhile, teachers are implementing the instructional skills learned recently and will be taking part in "learning teams," during which they will give each other feedback on how the strategies are working in theri classrooms. Additional research on effective strategies will be a component of the learning teams as well, as we study the work of Robert Marzano. Our APL trainings are paid for largely through grant funds. The district is committed to these activities as part of our School Improvement goal, "The staff of Seward Public Schools will employ selected district-wide research based instructional practices across the curriculum to increase student progress toward standards."