EQUITY IN EDUCATION WWW.SEENMAGAZINE.US Fall/Winter 2019
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CONTENTS Fall/Winter Issue 2019 Vol. 21.2
10 Column
With Dr. Robert Furman
12 Column
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Equity in Education 16 The Promise of Equity By Mac Bogert
18 Twice Exceptional: Gifted Chaos By Timothy Gangwer
22 Equity in Educational Practices By Keri Bethune
26 Gifted English Language Learners By Timothy Gangwer
Professional Development 30 T eacher Actions that Matter By Terry Talley
32 One Key Decision that Prepared
Me for my First Year of Classroom Teaching By Lyndsay Mahoney
34 The Value of Failure for Learning By Dr. Terry Talley
College Spotlight 38 Mastering Education 42 Trending in 2019-2020 Curriculum 44 Making Advanced Learning
for All a Reality: A Case Study By Kristie Heath and Regina Willingham
Technology 48 S haping the Future; How Does 3D Printing Shape A Student’s Education?
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STEM 50 Games in the Classroom
CONTENTS
By Carma Games
53 V irtual Reality: An Innovative Vision for Education By Dr. Eric D. Marvin
56 2020 Conference Planner Security 60 3 Ways to Make This School Year Safer Than Ever By Hillary Bowling
62 How Safety at School is Being Put into Practice By Justin Reilly
64 Run. Hide. Fight.
®
By Kevin Davis
68 Safety, Security and Technology for Parents in School Transportation By Derek Graham
Facilities 74 Enhancing STEM Education Through School Design By Sophia Tarkhan
76 Fire Safety In Schools: What Your Facilities Need To Have In Place
78 Sustainability in Schools Get Cleaner Air For Free By Robert F. Goodfellow
Health & Wellness 84 V aping Epidemic By Melissa O’Brien
86 Building Sports Families and Nurturing Student-Athletes By Mike May
90 Nutrition and Its Role in Promoting Mental Health By Roxanne Moore
92 A is for Apple 4
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Student Travel 96 Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame 100 Field Trips 102 Cook Museum of Natural Science Education Department 106 Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum 108 Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum 110 Elvis Presley’s Graceland
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Editor-in-Chief Deirdre Edwards deirdre.edwards@seenmagazine.us
Managing Editor Sherry Brooks sherry@baxterknight.com
Creative Director Monty Todd advertising@seenmagazine.us
Resource Coordinators Jean Carter jcarter2@carolina.rr.com
Fran Deluca fran@seenmagazine.us
Leslie White leslie@seenmagazine.us
KCI MEDIA GROUP President and Publisher Randall B. Knight rb@baxterknight.com
Business Administrator Lisa Homesley lisa.homesley@baxterknight.com
INFORMATION Subscriptions call 866-761-1247 or e-mail lisa.homesley@baxterknight.com Send editorial to editing@seenmagazine.us Advertising inquiries call 866-761-1247 Send ads to advertising@seenmagazine.us
CONTENTS All contents Š 2019, ISSN# 1552-5333, KCI Media Group/Knight Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Products named in these pages are trade names or trademarks of their respective companies. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of SEEN or Knight Communications, Inc. The publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
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DISTRIBUTION SEEN is distributed bi-annually to educators, principals, superintendents, state departments of education, counselors, ed tech buyers, public/private schools and universities throughout the Southeast.
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From the Editor-in Chief
Welcome back SEEN! The new school year is just about to take off for most of you and many of you will start to hear from your peers more about some of the hot topics and strategies in education this year. We here at SEEN also chose to delve into some of the trending education topics and we always came back to one of the most prevalent issues everyone is chatting about: equity. Now, the topic is nothing new in the education space — but voices are getting louder when it comes to the idea. Many are debating whether equity (everyone having the resources to be successful) and equality (everyone being treated the same across the board) are the same in education and how they use these ideal to meet the needs of students. Our article contributors in this issue dig deeper in 8
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the topic of equity, teaching strategies and perceptions. With that, we also explore trends in education, professional development, applying for graduate programs and curriculum strategies. Safety and security is always top of mind for our SEEN audience and we take a look at ways you can make your schools safer this year, school bus safety, fire safety and the importance of air quality in schools. Fresh air is essential to learning! Nutrition is also essential to learning and Roxanne Moore shares with us how nutrition promotes mental health. Just as we look at promoting mental health, we’re also looking the possible negative effects vaping has on physical health. We don’t have to tell you how prevalent
this issue has become in our schools and how we, as a community, should all pay attention to e-cigarette use among our students. Lastly, we always have a little fun with student travel. We know our SEEN readers are planning their school trips and we’ve got plenty of destinations to choose from this year! From all of us at SEEN - have a safe and productive school year! Deirdre Edwards Editor-In-Chief
2020:
Coming into Focus This upcoming year, our entire focus will be on America’s learners and the resources they will need for success in the global world of tomorrow.
HERE’S WHAT’S NEXT
Volume 22 Issue 1 Spring/Summer 2020 Health and Wellness Assessing Education Curriculum and Instruction Product Review - Technology STEM/STEAM Travel Security
Read us online at www.seenmagazine.us Follow us on Facebook Call us at 704-568-7804
Column
With Dr. Robert Furman
Personalized Learning and Equity: Back to School. 10
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There are many educators who have developed a passion for the concept of personalized learning. I am one of those educators. Who can argue with an approach to learning that embraces customization of learning based on the strengths, needs, skills and interests of each student? Personalized learning demands that each student has a plan that is based on what he knows, how he learns and at what pace he learns. At first glance, one might think that this can only be accomplished through technologicallybased learning. This is not the case. Personalized learning involves more than just technology — although technology plays an important role. The teacher continues to play a critical role by providing instruction to small groups, creating appropriate projects to accommodate collaboration, and of course serves as the support system for all children. Teachers will never be replaced by computers. Afterall, computers do not create relationships. Collaboration continues to be an important aspect of personalized learning. Students share in goal-setting and self-reflection. When students choose activities based on their interest, we create more intentional learning and motivation to learn. When trying to share what a personalized classroom might look like, Janice Vargo, in her article titled “Six Examples of Personalized Learning,” shares that students begin by choosing goals and developing a flexible schedule to meet those goals. Students become adept at collecting and analyzing data using digital tools. Teachers create “playlists” which are a variety of activities from which the students can choose those that best suit their needs and interests. A personalized classroom would have center areas and flexible seating as opposed to traditional seating. Grading takes on a very different look when using a personalized approach. Assessment is about quality of learning, not completion of work. Students can be involved in grading conversations and/ or student-led conferences. As a result of these interviews, students know what they have learned and what they need to do differently. Personalized learning seems to me to be a more equitable style of learning. It seems fair to involve students in their learning www.seenmagazine.us
and their assessment. That word FAIR seems to be coming up quite often in educational circles today. The word FAIR is associated with the concept of equity in education. Achieving this equity has been closely tied to personalized learning because both focus on the success of every student. One resource describes equity in education as “putting systems in place to ensure that every child has an equal chance for success. That requires understanding the unique challenges and barriers faced by individual students or by populations of students and providing additional supports to help them overcome those barriers. While this in itself may not ensure equal outcomes, we all should strive to ensure that every child has equal opportunity for success.” The words equity and equality are not synonymous. “Equity is giving everyone what they need to be successful. Equality is treating everyone the same.” Treating everyone the same is not always fair, but differentiating to suit the needs of all students is both equitable and fair. In a personalized and equitable classroom, tracking would never be considered nor would it be necessary. In upper secondary education classrooms, alternatives would be made available to students to eliminate dead end learning and eventual student drop-out. There would be no need for students to repeat grades because systems would be in place to give struggling students the help and support that they need when it is needed. Resources would be channeled to the students with the greatest needs — once again fair not equal. After reading about personalized learning and equity in education, I felt a moment of excitement. This sounds like the perfect marriage of two groups of passionate educators. It seems that equity and personalized learning should be one in the same. What is being said here is to give the students what they need, when they need it and bring down the barriers that may hinder this from happening. I do not know of an educator out there that would oppose this action. Granted there are still a lot of barriers in our way, including the difficult discussion on standards and testing. The idea of standards became “fashionable”
in the 1980s when a report was created stating that schools in the United States were failing. “A Nation at Risk” led to “No Child Left Behind” and the testing frenzy began. The use of standards to streamline instruction ensures that teaching practices deliberately focus on agreed upon learning targets. Expectations for student learning are mapped out with each prescribed. One can immediately see the problem. Who is setting the learning targets and for whom are they being set? Why did the targets change during the Common Core implementation? How are we to personalize instruction when we are bound by prescribed learning targets and national standards? The two simply do not mix. When talking about standards and testing, it should be noted that the Rand corporation did a study and found that personalized learning approaches actually improved achievement, but this approach is more closely defined by formative assessment. Think about it for a moment. If you, as an educator, could go back in time and learn according to your interests and choose your assignments based on your strengths, wouldn’t that classroom be an exciting place to learn and grow? If you could have had the luxury to spend more time on those concepts and/or skills that were difficult, moving on only after you felt assured of your success, would you not have developed a more positive selfconcept? That is what the personalized, equitable classroom is advocating: Success for all! Dr. L. Robert Furman is an educator, principal, speaker, and published author. Furman currently serves as Principal at South Park Elementary Center and is the author of several books including: “Reading, Technology, and Digital Literacy” ,” Are You Future Ready,” and “Engaging All Readers.” He is a contributing blogger for The Huffington Post and Ed Tech Review. Furman also hosts a well-known YouTube educational video blog called The Seditionists and educational podcast called the Council on the Future of Education. Further, he has been awarded the National School Board Association’s“20 To Watch” in technology education and a Pittsburgh Tribune Review News Maker of the Year.
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Column - Soup’s On!
With Amy Newmark, from Chicken Soup for the Soul®
TRANSGENDER
TEENS
New Challenges for Teachers in a New World I want to talk about a whole new challenge for teachers: making sure they handle transgender students with sensitivity and understanding. According to a CDC study that was released in January 2019, nearly two percent of high school students identify as transgender, and 35 percent of these trans students have attempted suicide in the past year. Transgender students face higher rates of bullying, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts than their nontransgender peers. And many of them are facing issues at home as well as in school. How does an educator provide 12
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a supportive environment for such a teen? And by the way, this is happening more and more among preteens as well, so even at the elementary and middle school level educators are facing this challenge. The stories that we receive from our writers usually reflect what’s going on in their current lives so I was not surprised that we received more than one story from an educator about a transgender student when we collected stories for Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Teachers. One such educator was Ilana Long, who had been an English teacher for more
than 20 years when she was asked by her principal to do something called “Advisory.” It was her least favorite part of the day, because she didn’t know how to do it — how was she supposed to counsel a group of 14-year-olds about their emotional issues? Nevertheless, every Friday afternoon, Ilana sat on the carpet in a circle with her students and she listened as the kids shared complaints about too much homework and sibling rivalries and the other things you would expect from a group of teenagers.
Transgender students face higher rates of bullying, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts than their nontransgender peers. And many of them are facing issues at home as well as in school. But then, one day, Hannah raised her hand. “I have something important I want to say.” She blew her bangs out of her eyes. She was dressed in oversized jeans and a flannel shirt and she had a close-cropped haircut. Hannah was usually shy about speaking out in the group, so everyone paid close attention. Her next words didn’t seem to surprise her classmates as much as they surprised Ilana. She said, “Most of you know me as Hannah, but I’m asking you not to call me that anymore. That is not my name.” “My name is Henry. I would like you to call me that from now on.” Now Ilana felt really unqualified to lead this group. “I am a boy,” the newly minted Henry stated. “I have always felt like a boy, and now I want everyone to recognize me as a boy. I’ve never been comfortable being called a girl because I am not one. My parents support me, and I really hope you all will, too.” Ilana wondered if the other students would start snickering, but they were all dead silent. “This moment is something that I’ve been dreading for years, but also looking forward to. This moment is when I finally have the courage to tell you all who I really am. I’m proud of who I am. I’m proud to be Henry.” Nobody spoke. Not even Ilana, who as the teacher was supposed to say something. Finally, the boy sitting next to Henry put an arm on his friend’s shoulder. “I always knew it,” he said. Marcus, the toughest kid in the www.seenmagazine.us
eighth grade, had a funny look on his face. It almost looked like he was tearing up. He uncrossed his arms and began to applaud, and the others joined in. Henry beamed. The students took Henry’s declaration in stride. They patted Henry on the back, told him “good job,” and wished him a relaxing weekend. His friends hugged him and told him they were proud, and the other kids looked on with a detached tolerance. It was the adults who seemed to have the hardest time processing the information. Ilana felt terrible about some of the mistakes she had made as Henry’s teacher and all of the clues she had overlooked. For example, Ilana realized there was a reason why this student kept writing his last name only on his papers. It was because that student formerly named Hannah didn’t want to identify by that name. How many times had Ilana pitted the “boys against the girls” in an academic competition, and placed Henry at a table with the other girls, not realizing that was agony for that student? And Ilana felt terrible about something that had happened two years earlier when she was directing the children in “The Sound of Music.” Henry, then Hannah, had asked if she could wear pants, not a dress. But Ilana had responded firmly that the show was set in the 1930s and that all the girls had to wear dresses. Girls didn’t wear pants in the 1930s.
Henry, then Hannah, had worn that dress in the play, looking horribly uncomfortable. Now Ilana felt awful about that. She never meant to make a boy wear a dress in the school play, but she didn’t know that the child who was officially a girl felt like she was really a boy. As a longtime teacher, Ilana has had to learn to operate an interactive whiteboard and grade lessons online. But this is the biggest change of all. Now she has some clues as to how to handle this, and how to be sensitive to what underlies some behaviors that she never understood before. I was talking about this issue today with a friend who has a six-year-old granddaughter who had a classmate named Allison. Allison often wore boy’s clothing to kindergarten. At the end of the last school year, Allison announced that when first grade started in the fall she would be coming back as a boy named Skip. Her classmates accepted that and welcomed Skip this fall. The kids these days are really getting it. It’s up to the adults now to get in line. My daughter is having her first child in a couple of months and everyone keeps asking me what she’s having. I tell them that she and her husband have decided to be surprised, so I’ll let them know in a couple of months. And then I add, “But ask me again in 16 years!” To read more about Chicken Soup for the Soul:Teacher Tales, please visit https://www.chickensoup.com/ book/198706/inspiration-for-teachers
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Equity in Education
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Equity in Education
The Promise of
EQUITY By Mac Bogert
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Exclusion and Inclusion Education for all has a short history. Just a couple hundred years ago — a blink of an eye in the human story — education was strictly limited to the privileged. Even today, equality is still taking root in education. If you visit different schools and different districts, you know that it’s a work in progress. We still have huge gaps in learning opportunity. After all, Title IX only became law in 1972. That movement from exclusion to inclusion is critical for a democratic society. Yet the movement for inclusion also coincided with the industrial revolution, which stressed efficiency and uniformity over variety. Equality, a wonderful idea and a powerful social force, came piggybacked with the factory mindset. The result was a system built on producing a reasonably-well-educated work force accustomed to instruction and obedience. That’s not the same as lifelong learners dedicated to questions and discovery. In fact, those are opposites. Algorithmic or Heuristic Learning? The assumptions that underlie our schools — from pre-school to executive training centers — are rooted in assemblyline thinking about how we learn as well as why we teach: algorithms that help organize, and also restrict, learning activity. I’ve worked on two assembly lines. I remember the mindless, robotic work I repeated between the whistles that signaled two 15-minute breaks and a half-hour lunch. Any thinking on my part interfered with the algorithmic nature of my day: repeat, repeat, repeat. So, I didn’t. Think, that is. To prepare for that sort of approach to work (and life), education that focuses on memorization, replication, and obedience may provide appropriate tools. The price we pay is that the nearly limitless horizons of human thinking are ground down to docility. I’m not trying for hyperbole here. I’ve been there and remember how, even after I left work, instead of reading or any other higher-level operation, I vegetated. My brain marked time. It wasn’t tired, it was switched off. Heuristic (“to find out”) work focuses on possibilities, design, agility. It is the opposite of the factory. We develop those skills through learning that generates skepticism and innovation, and which sees error as progress. In this place, everyone www.seenmagazine.us
is a leader. Learning comes from each one and for each one. Differences in thinking, learning style, preference (e.g., introversion or extraversion) become resources. The greater the diversity — including answers — the greater the possibilities.
1. To direct our own lives; 2. To learn and create new things; and 3. To do better by ourselves and our world. How can we tap into these sources of boundless energy?
Equality and Equity Pull Schools in Opposite Directions Equity powers two parallel currents of learning and development. The first encourages opportunities based on differences — different learning styles, learning cadence, values, goals and preferences. Equality focuses on all of us, equity on each of us. In an ideal school, all of us have opportunities to learn and grow (equality) and each of us has an opportunity to find that path based on our individual temperament (equity). The second stream of equity embraces investment. We all are familiar with how much equity we may have in our home — the debt to equity ratio is a key determiner of net worth. Let me extend the financial metaphor just a bit. In order to build equity, we must build investment. How much are students actually invested in their learning? Not just in their grades, in their careers, or in their parents’ expectations, but in their own individual learning? It’s time to look at how our framework for education actually impedes continuous learning.
Building Equity I suggest we underestimate the capacity of our students. Far more of them are bored than over-challenged. In a climate of control and restriction, there’s scant room for true development. We can begin to examine every habit within the system very clearly. We can adjust or discard any practice or structure in our school that impedes individual discovery. Here are three initial changes that will build equitable learning opportunities for students. • No more grade levels. Only in schools do we segregate by age. • Teach toward exploration and answers rather than the answer. • Students develop their own objectives and goals. Other students, teachers, parents provide feedback but not control.
Harnessing Intrinsic Motivation: Drive Who is in charge of a school? Whom do we hold accountable for students’ learning? Who decides hiring, funding, curriculum, events? We build equity when the answer to these questions is “The students and . . . .” “Drive,” a book by by Daniel Pink, grew from powerful research and numerous case studies. In the book, he illuminates our earliest drive, survival. At some point, we began settling into communities (primarily due to agriculture, population, trade and politics). For these villages, towns, and cities to operate, we incorporated an external system of drive known colloquially as “carrot and stick.” Here’s the kicker: carrot and stick never has worked particularly well. It may spark achievement, but it also sparks cheating, zero-sum competition and anxiety. The most powerful drive comes from within. Always. External rewards and punishments fail whenever they obstruct our three basic human drives:
Especially in the age of digital communication, it’s too easy for our students to become isolated from meaningful connection, from deep learning. If they can be invited to contribute as unique individuals and feel connected — invested — in not just what they learn, but how and why they learn, we can serve them better. We who lead learning have a critical role, a chance to redefine teaching. Technology provides data, but let us not mistake measurement for understanding*. We can lead toward insight more than information. We can establish and preserve a context for discovery, exploration, and individual mastery rather than oversee an assembly line of uniformity. Let’s align every classroom along lines of equity. If you would like to exercise your auditory learning facility, click on this link to a podcast with some additional insights: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ learning-chaos-1-curiosity-andfear/e/62407291?autoplay=true (*Attributed to Pliny the Elder as he was about to be engulfed by the explosion of Vesuvius in 79 A.D.)
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Chaos haos Chaos Ch Twice Exceptional: Gifted Chaos The Intersection of Giftedness and Learning Disabilities By Timothy Gangwer, M.A. Twice-exceptional students, often abbreviated as “2e,” are high ability children with varying learning disabilities. They are exceptional both because of their intellectual gifts and because of their special needs. Their exceptional capacity may dominate shadowing their disability; their disability may dominate shadowing their exceptionality; each may shadow the other so that neither is identified or addressed. 18
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Studies as early as the 1970s indicated the students from special populations could also be gifted, but it wasn’t until the mid 1990s that “twice-exceptional” became a part of teachers’ terminology. There are estimates of about 300,00 twice-exceptional students in the United States (Twice Exceptional, Oxford Press, Edited by Scott Barry Kaufman, 2018). Of all gifted students evaluated at the Gifted Development Center (https://www.
gifteddevelopment.com), one-sixth had an exceptionality. Disabilities Paired with Giftedness - Autism Disorder — a lifelong developmental disability which typically appears in early childhood. In 2018 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that about one in 59 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder. These children
Chaos s Chao haos may exhibit varying degrees of atypical behavior that interferes in the learning process in the areas of: Communication; Social Participation; The Repertoire of Activities, Interests and Imaginative Development; Developmental Rate and Sequences; Sensory Processing and; Cognition. Students with Autism Disorder may be served in a variety of educational settings. - Asperger’s Disorder — a neurobiological disorder that can range from mild to severe, also part of the autism spectrum disorder. Odd/unusual behaviors are due to neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or improper parenting. - Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder www.seenmagazine.us
There are estimates of about 300,000 twice-exceptional students in the United States (Twice Exceptional, Oxford Press, Edited by Scott Barry Kaufman, 2018). (ADHD) — a neurobiological disorder that affects 11 percent of the school-age population (CDC). That’s 6.1 million children in the United States between the ages or two and 17, half of which receive some form of medication for it. Symptoms may include: inattention; hyperactivity and; impulsivity.
Children suspected of having ADHD must be appropriately diagnosed by a knowledgeable, well-trained clinician. - Dysgraphia — a learning disability that affects writing abilities. Just having bad handwriting doesn’t mean a student has dysgraphia. - Dyscalculia — a brain-based condition
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Teachers are eager to attain knowledge, resources and instructional strategies that will empower them to assist in identification, and classroom practices to meet the extraordinary needs of the 2e students.
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that makes it hard to make sense of numbers and math concepts. It affects roughly five percent of the population and many of these people do not realized they have a learning disorder. Dyscalculia is not another name for math anxiety, nor is it considered dyslexia for math. - Dyspraxia — a lifelong disorder that affects a person’s motor development. Though many challenges can persist throughout a person’s life, the types of difficulties experienced can change. - Tourette’s Syndrome — an inherited disease of the nervous system, marked by muscular and vocal tics. - Dyslexia — a neurologically-based, often familial, disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. It is not the result of lack of motivation, sensory impairment, or inadequate instructional or environmental opportunities. 2e Students’ Strengths - Superior vocabulary and highly creative - Resourceful and curious - Imaginative and questioning - Strong problem-solving ability - Sophisticated sense of humor and a wide range of interests - Special talent or consuming interest - Advanced ideas and opinions Challenges - Easily frustrated - Stubborn and manipulative - Opinionated and argumentative - Highly sensitive to criticism It is mandatory the gifted and special educator collaborate. This helps to foster the students’ social and emotional needs; enhance their capacity to cope with mixed abilities; identify their learning gaps and provide explicit instruction. What Works - Activities that focus on students’ gifts and interests - Open-ended outlets for demonstration of knowledge - Differentiation instruction and tasks that fit the students’ learning - Real-life tasks with hands-on experiences www.seenmagazine.us
- Integration of visual and performing arts Less Effective Strategies - Rigid task guidelines and rote memorization - Belief that 2e students can organize their thinking without accommodations or instructions Ten Ways to Spot a 2e Child 1. Is not achieving in school the way you believe (s)he should 2. Seems bright, but lazy 3. Gets easily frustrated and melts down often 4. Has attention and organizational problems that undermines his/her achievement 5. Struggles with social skills and making and maintaining friendships 6. Fails to hear correctly or is overwhelmed by sensory stimulation 7. Has difficulty with sound/symbol relationships 8. Shows high verbal ability, but extreme difficulty in calculation and rote memory 9. Isn’t able to show what (s)he knows 10. Worries all the time and refuses to try new things Seven Myths About 2e Students (Amanda Morin, understood.org) 1. Being gifted makes up for having a learning or attention issue. 2. Students can’t be gifted and lack basic skills, so they’re just not trying hard enough. 3. 2e students aren’t eligible for Individualized Education Plans (IEP) or Section 504 Plans. 4. Giftedness and challenges can’t be addressed at the same time. 5. Addressing weaknesses should be the top priority when helping 2e students. 6. 2e students need accommodations, so they can’t be in Advanced Placement (AP) classes. 7. 2e students should be more mature than other kids their age. Conclusion I am a Professional Development Specialist who has researched and designed
nine different six-hour seminars for educators and administrators. One of the seminars is on twice-exceptionality (http:// visualteachingalliance.com/?page_id=538). I work with many educators who are not knowledgeable about 2e students and what services their schools may, or may not be providing. Teachers are eager to attain knowledge, resources and instructional strategies that will empower them to assist in identification, and classroom practices to meet the extraordinary needs of the 2e students. There are thousands of students in our classrooms throughout the United States that have gone unidentified or underserved. Equity in education means there should be no obstacles to achieving potential. Therein lies the challenge. Resources 2e (Twice Exceptional Newsletter) — https://www.2enewsletter.com SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) — https:// www.sengifted.org Gifted Homeschoolers Forum — https://giftedhomeschoolers.org Great Potential Press — https://www. greatpotentialpress.com Wrightslaw — https://www.wrightslaw.com National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) — http:// www.nagc. org US Department of Education (USDE) — https://www.ed.gov Individual’s with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) — https:// sites.ed.gov/idea/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — https://www.ada.gov Timothy Gangwer is the CEO and Professional Development Director of the Visual Teaching Alliance for the Gifted and Talented (www.VisualTeachingAlliance. com). A former teacher and University Supervisor at the University of Texas, Austin, he is the author of Visual Impact, Visual Teaching: Using Images to Strengthen Learning, along with nine other books. He is the former Visual Literacy Consultant to the Ministry of Education, Paris, France, Ministry of Education, Toranomon, Japan, Mediterranean Association of International Schools, Casablanca, Morocco and the Association of International Schools in Africa, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
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Equity in Education
Equity in Educational Practices: Coaching Teachers to Implement Evidence-Based Practices with All Students By Keri Bethune When we examine student performance data in education, we see drastic ranges that correlate to a variety of factors which include, but are not limited to, class sizes, average funding per student, percent of students with disabilities, and use of evidence-based practices (EBPs; Fowler & Walberg, 1991). School leaders, such as principals and instructional specialists, are tasked with improving outcomes for students in their schools, however, many of these factors are outside of their 22
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control. Class sizes and average funding per student are often determined by state and district policies just as funding per student; characteristics of the student population are influenced by a range of larger societal factors. However, one area that school leaders can make a large impact is on the training and use of EBPs. Schools are required to use evidence-based practices under a number of legislative efforts (ESSA, 2015; IDEA,
2004), but should do so also because they are the most effective teaching procedures. Researchers have identified a number of EBPs across a variety of student populations, content areas, and practices. Often school leaders, such as administrators and instructional specialists, are experts in the use of a variety of EBPs, however there continues to be a persistent gap between research establishing EBPs and teachers’ use of EBPs (Cook & Schirmer, 2006). The research to practice gap is a complex problem facing school personnel that is influenced by a number of factors. These include lack of exposure to EBPs during preservice teacher training (e.g., university teacher training programs) and high teacher turnover. High rates of teacher turnover can result in an increase of novice and provisionally licensed teachers who have not yet completed their teacher licenses. In-Service Training Schools often respond to the challenge of training their teachers to implement EBPs by providing inservice trainings designed to teach teachers specific procedures to use in their classrooms (Wood, Goodnight, Bethune, Preston, & Cleaver, 2016). Information may be presented across a few days or in as little as an hour. This is often a pragmatic choice based on the amount of training time available and the total breadth of content that must be covered. Unfortunately, research has shown that in-service trainings are not effective in increasing teachers’ ability to implement specific EBPs in their classrooms (Wood et al., 2016). Given these challenges, school leaders must look to use training methods that are both efficient and effective.
Establishing on-site training programs that schools can implement in a practical, efficient, and effective manner is the key to supporting teachers’ use of EBPs. where the level of support is driven by the level of need (Wood et al., 2016). This is similar to the way that response to intervention approaches support of students’ academic performance and school-wide positive behavioral supports support students’ behavioral performance. Teachers who need more support, due to a variety of reasons, receive additional support based on implementation of the EBP with their students. Multi-Tiered Coaching The three core components of multitiered coaching include:
On-Site Training Establishing on-site training programs that schools can implement in a practical, efficient, and effective manner is the key to supporting teachers’ use of EBPs. One model, that meets these criteria, is the use of multi-tiered coaching that incorporates behavior skills training (a research supported training method). Multi-tiered coaching approaches teacher training via a conceptual framework www.seenmagazine.us
1. Providing an initial training that teaches the components of the EBP and incorporates behaviors skills training (BST). 2. Providing supervisory coaching to teachers to measure their use of the EBP, and, if needed, 3. Provide side-by-side coaching with in-vivo feedback and modeling (Wood et al., 2016). BST is a research-based training method where the trainer discusses and provides a written description of the EBP, demonstrates use of the EBP, has the trainees practice use of the EBP, and provides feedback on their performance
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If schools are attempting to implement EBPs to ensure the most progress for all their students, it is critical that they provide teacher training that is also based in research, effective and efficient. (Parsons, Rollyson, & Reid, 2012). These steps can be repeated as necessary until the teacher can demonstrate the skill. Coaches should be experienced in the EBP and be able to both describe and model its use accurately. All teachers who are expected to use the EBP should be provided with the initial training and demonstrate proficiency during the practice stage of BST (Parsons et al, 2012). The multitiered coaching model then moves into the decision making stage. In most schools, teachers go into classrooms and attempt to use the EBPs at this point. Coaches should then observe teachers using the EBPs in their classrooms via the same checklist used during training. At this stage, they may find that some teachers are able to implement the EBP adequately without additional coaching. A percentage of teachers may be able to do so, however many teachers will require some type of follow up coaching. At this level, most teachers should move to the supervisory coaching; the coach observes the teacher implementing the EBP, completes the checklist based on observed teacher behaviors, then provides targeted feedback on strengths and areas for improvement after observation of the lesson. For many teachers in many school situations, this will likely result in high accuracy implementation of the EBP. Use of the multi-tiered coaching package in this way, based on the teacher performance, ensure that more intensive school 24
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resources are targeted towards teachers that need them most (Wood et al., 2016). Side-By-Side Coaching The last stage of multi-tiered coaching, side-by-side coaching, would be implemented in a variety of situations. First, if the teacher has been exposed to both the training using BST and supervisory coaching, however is still unable to perform the EBP with their students. Second, if the teacher is particularly new to the field, if this is their first teaching placement, the team may decide to implement sideby-side coaching to best support their implementation of EBPs. Third, if the student(s) present the need for a more intensive teaching strategy or intervention, have unique challenges, or otherwise require a specialized team of professionals to access their education, side-by-side coaching may be necessary. In side-by-side coaching, the coach first models use of the EBP with the student(s), observes the teacher implementing the EBP and provides invivo feedback (Bethune & Wood, 2013; Wood et al., 2013). An example of these procedures in action are implemented for all new teachers at Melmark, which supports students with disabilities such as autism and developmental or intellectual disabilities and complex needs (e.g., challenging behavior) in the Carolinas, Pennsylvania and New England. All
educational and clinical practices are grounded in evidence-based practiced via applied behavior analysis. When new teachers start working, they are taught specific EBPs, such as differential reinforcement, discrete trial training and task analysis via behavior skills training. These are presented be providing written descriptions and verbal explanations. Then, new teachers practice the skills and are rated using observational checklists. When a teacher is able to demonstrate the skill and completes their initial training period, they then move into a more intensive on-site coaching model, where their coach again implements behavior skills training based on the individual strategies for students in their classroom. The procedures are described — both written and in discussion — as they are implemented for specific students in the classroom. Then the teacher practices the procedures with the coach. Next, the coach models the procedures in vivo with the student. And finally, the teacher implements the procedure with the student and receives feedback from the coach before being considered fully trained. This model is more intense than a typical school model and implements side-by-side coaching with BST for all teachers because of the level of complexity of students that require a highly skills teaching staff who can implement EBPs with a high degree of accuracy. This brings us back to the idea of equity in education. If schools are attempting to implement EBPs to ensure the most progress for all their students, it is critical that they provide teacher training that is also based in research, effective and efficient. If students in low income schools or students with complex challenges do not have access to well implemented EBPs, then they are not afforded the same educational opportunities as students in more advantageous situations. Providing multitiered coaching that incorporates BST is one way that school leaders can support a variety of teachers to be as accurate and effective as possible. Keri Bethune is Director of Educational Services at Melmark Carolinas
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Equity in Education
Gifted English Language Learners By Timothy Gangwer Who are Gifted English Language Learners and are we fulfilling their educational needs? There is often a stereotypical definition of gifted students, but does this view include gifted learners at risk; gifted students of poverty; bilingual and immigrant gifted learners? It is critical to the success of these students that we properly identify them and meet their needs without the bias of culture, limited English proficiency and socioeconomic background. Who is an English Language Learner? The short answer, according to the U.S. Department of Education, is that any student whose home language is not English and whose English language proficiency is considered limited. The Bilingual Education Act defines an English Language Learner or Limited English Proficient student as fitting any of the following criteria: Not born in the United States and whose heritage language is not English; of American Indian or Alaskan heritage and who comes from an environment where the dominant language is not English; a migratory person whose heritage language is not English; or a person who has difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding English, which denies him/ her the opportunity to learn effectively in classes where instruction is in English. Gifted Students at Risk Every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That’s a student every 26 seconds — or 7,000 a day (Miller, Tony, 2015). About 25 percent of high school freshmen fail to graduate from high school on time. (Silver, David, Marisa Saunders, and Estela Zarate, 2015). Almost 2,000 high schools across the U.S. graduate less than 60 percent of 26
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their students (Balfanz, Robert, and Nettie Legters, 2004). In the U.S., high school dropouts commit about 75 percent of crimes (Smiley, Travis, 2013). E. Robertson’s 1991 article in Equity and Excellence on “Neglected Dropouts: The Gifted and Talented” said 18 to 25 percent of gifted and talented students drop out. This number is questionable at best, yet it is not surprising that gifted students are indeed a part of the dropout rate in the United States. Why? Studies have shown evidence of recurring frustration, irritability, anxiety, tedium and social isolation, particularly with students whose IQ’s are greater than 160. They have difficulty making friends, experience de-motivation, low self-esteem and an emotional awareness beyond their ability to control. This may lead to loneliness, phobias, interpersonal problems and the fear of failure and perfectionism. This can ultimately lead to our educators’ fear of gifted students’ intentional underachievement for social acceptance. Gifted English language learners have joined the procession of the population of students dropping out of school. Insights into Gifted and Talented English Language Learners Many schools lack the ability to identify gifted English language learners adequately. Instruments tend to follow a middle-class mainstream basis of measurement leading to systematic-bias. Our teachers and appraisers may lack cultural awareness due to inadequate training, and in many cases, rely on the administration of a single test. We find our minority language learners left out of the identification process. An initial screening of a standardized measure
may not reflect the cultural and linguistic characteristics of diverse populations. Selfassessment can be biased by what students’ peers, teachers and parents think of them. Strategies of an Identification Process Nationally, 32 states, including Arizona, mandate gifted education, according to the National Association for Gifted Children. Only four fully fund gifted programs, (2014-15 State of the States in Gifted Education, Policy and Practice Data). Few, if any, require that English language learners be tested. The identification process varies nationally because policies and procedures emerge from state and local levels. The common thread remains in the standardized tests. Authentic assessment information is critical to identification. These may include: • Collecting background data and work samples • Portfolio evaluations • Determining the language proficiency • Documenting the cultural and socioeconomic background • Home environment and parents’ educational level • Parent school involvement • Work samples from home and school to assess creativity • Observation of the student’s language and social behaviors • Use of the gifted and talented English language behavioral profile\ • Examination of cultural and linguistic behaviors • The prevalence of cultural canons • Looking for inconsistencies among the standardized testing instruments.
GIFTED Continued on Page 28
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GIFTED Continued from Page 26 Information gleaned through school, culture and language-based domains is a highly recommended addition to the information needed for identification. Consider the answers to the following questions: Does the student: • Have the ability to read in his/her native language two grade levels above their current grade level? • Show high proficiency in mathematics? • Demonstrate advance levels of creativity in the areas of originality, fluency, flexibility and elaboration? • Show leadership in diverse settings, such as school, home, clubs and community? • Balance behavior anticipated in both heritage and new culture? • Demonstrate a respect for cultural differences and have a sense of a global community? • Show willingness to share his/her heritage culture? • Take honor in his/her culture and ethnicity? • Demonstrate proficiency levels higher than non-gifted students who are also English language learners? • Utilize code switching? • Want to teach classmates words from his/her heritage culture? • Demonstrate a willingness to translate for others? • Learn several languages at an advanced rate? • Have an understanding of humor related to cultural differences? In many cases English language learners are now in an environment dissimilar to most of their experiences. There remains a disconnection between their home and their newfound life outside the home. The school curriculum is seemingly irrelevant to their lifestyle, leading to a sense of alienation. They often feel inept due to the language barrier. What can your district/school do? Primarily, be united in your commitment to an ongoing revamping of gifted education that includes and embraces the needs of English language learners. Establish a strong collaborative effort across programs 28
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that invite and support different points of view. Broaden your view of giftedness and focus on an identification process that includes, but is not limited to, standardized and authentic assessment, teacher recommendations, and the consideration of socioeconomic background, language and culture. Put together an action plan with flexibility and realistic timelines that includes a clear and logical plan of inclusive gifted education. Maintain a strong parent program with consistent involvement and understand that your gifted English language learners may come from poverty backgrounds. Be willing to build a carefully manicured program with strength, positive results and longevity. Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners Provide students with an array of visual, auditory and tactile learning. This will assist them to become empowered in the learning process. Materials can be designed to meet the students’ learning styles, while complementing their cultural experiences. The content should be rich and engaging and relevant to their life experiences. “Most people, approximately 65 percent, are visual learners who have something like a little camera that captures information and shines it up on a mental screen” (Kranzler, 1999). “Ninety percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual” (Gubern (2010). Many gifted English language learners are strong visual spatial learners. They have hypersensitive nervous systems that absorb an abundance of sensory stimulation. “To varying degrees, these children experience extreme sensitivity to physical stimuli, particularly sound, light and touch (Blackburn & Erickson, 1986). “Our eyes can register 36,000 visual messages per hour” (Jensen, 1996). Emphasizing visual literacy — the ability to encode, or create a visual language, and the ability to decode, or understand the visual language — can be done using graphic organizers, charts, graphs and figures. When using DVD/video, be sure closed captioning is on and that the student has the remote, enabling them to pause and discuss. With group projects and cooperative learning, consider partnering English learners
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with strong English speakers. Encourage participation and use the Think/Pair/ Share method. As the student develops the language, use language-based games, such as Bingo and Pictionary. Picture glossaries can translate into a word wall, such as posting new vocabulary words on a wall organized in a group fashion. Conclusion Although the years have provided us with leaps and bounds of experience, we remain deep in the exploratory process of identifying and meeting the needs of gifted English languages learners. The one issue we can all agree on is that there is no cookie-cutter process. As new research becomes available, we root our strategies in place often finding they must be altered the following year. Administrators, teachers, parents and advocacy groups are all a vital component of forward momentum. There are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world today. According to the Global Languages Initiative at Northwestern University research on who is proficient in at least two languages: Europeans 56 percent, Canadians 35 percent, 66 percent of the world’s population, and only 17 percent of Americans. Multilingualism should never be an obstacle in education. It is an asset to learning that opens many doors in the lifelong learning process. I conclude with the words of Psycholinguist Frank Smith, “One language sets you in a corridor for life, two languages open every door along the way.” Timothy Gangwer is the CEO and Professional Development Director of the Visual Teaching Alliance for the Gifted and Talented (www.VisualTeachingAlliance.com). A former teacher and University Supervisor at the University of Texas, Austin, he is the author of Visual Impact, Visual Teaching: Using Images to Strengthen Learning, along with 9 other books. He is the Former Visual Literacy Consultant to the Ministry of Education, Paris, France, Ministry of Education, Toranomon, Japan, Mediterranean Association of International Schools, Casablanca, Morocco and the Association of International Schools in Africa, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Professional Development
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Teacher Actions that Matter By Terry Talley, Ed.D. Last week, as I was preparing for a session with teachers concerning strategies for vocabulary instruction, I had dual objectives. I wanted to share the latest in education research about how vocabulary instruction can change student achievement, but I also wanted to model the instructional strategies that would meet the teachers’ needs as learners and the needs of their students. Just as the adult learners have different learning styles and depths in their background knowledge, so do the students in their classrooms. It was important for me to select the right instructional strategies. I wanted to use a strategy to reveal their prior knowledge and skills so that I would able to adjust my instruction during the session. I also wanted to use additional strategies to scaffold their growth in vocabulary skills as a way for them to assist their students. The 2005 research findings titled “How People Learn” by the National Research Council, states that teachers have to make these same decisions each time they plan lessons for their students. First, by having 30
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a deep understanding of the concepts of the content area and then by dividing the concepts into topics and spacing them out in the order to be introduced. Once decisions are made about how each topic will be assessed; they begin planning how each will be taught. The Framework for K-12 Science Education also states how implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) will require more complex planning than in the past, in order for students to be able to master the three dimensions of the standards. During my years as a science teacher mentor and coach, most of the novice teachers I worked with used a limited number of strategies. Their strategies were usually limited to the ones used when they were students; in elementary school, high school or even college. They couldn’t tell me why they thought the strategy was a good one or discuss which one they chose not to use when they selected that one. They just used it because that was how they were taught, it’s always been done that way, and it seemed to work. When asked if all students
found it to be successful, they would say that some students were successful, but not all their students. The more experienced teachers actively selected from several instructional strategies — some that they had used in the past, learned about from other teachers, were introduced to during professional development or read about in a professional article or journal. They had a wide variety to choose from based on the needs of their students. Often times they chose several strategies within the same lesson, being prepared to be flexible as the needs of their students changed. Knowledgeable teachers made conscious decisions to disregard some strategies because perhaps the students were not ready, it would be too advanced or perhaps to remedial. Choices in strategies were based on the needs of the students and not the convenience of the teacher. Instructional decisions were made as a conscious choice and not by default due to a lack of alternatives. In the book “The Five Levers to Improve
Learning,” Tony Frontier and James Richabaugh (ASCD, 2014) suggest that two of the most powerful levers in changing student achievement are the choice of the strategy used by the teacher and the teacher knowledge about the needs of the students in her room. Choosing the appropriate strategy at the right time and knowing how to use the strategy correctly have long lasting impact on learning and retention of knowledge. “Each teachers’ ability to use the right strategy, in the right way, at the right time holds the greatest potential to improve student learning.” (Frontier and Richabough, Lever 4: Strategy) Strategies have often been referred to as the tools teachers use in helping students in the construction of a strong and complex foundation in science. Having just a few strategies in their instructional portfolio would be like a carpenter having just a hammer in their toolbox. No matter what needed built or repaired, the hammer would be the tool used. Imagine trying to smooth a surface or cut a board; the hammer would not be effective or efficient. The larger the variety of strategies
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Just as the adult learners have different learning styles and depths in their background knowledge, so do the students in their classrooms. It was important for me to select the right instructional strategies. available to a teacher to meet the variety of needs in his or her classroom, the more effective and efficient the lessons will be, and the more successful the students will be in learning. Professional learning in the form of Professional Development, Learning Communities, working with a mentor, meeting with a coach, or reading professional articles and journals are ways to add more tools to your instructional toolbox. As a professional, having strategies that are effective and successful will make
all the difference in your ability to meet the diverse needs of the students in your classroom. As Frontier and Richabaugh stated in their book, “A classroom with an effective teacher is associated with growth in student learning at a rate that is three times greater than that in a classroom with a low-performing teacher.” Isn’t that what we want? Terry Talley, Ed.D. is with STEMcoach in Action!
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professional development One of the greatest decisions I made in college was to become part of Urban Teacher Residency Partnership Program (UTRPP) — a collaboration between University of South Florida and Hillsborough County Schools. In this program, future educators are given the opportunity to see what outstanding pedagogy looks like through college courses. But what makes it a truly exceptional program — for me, and for dozens of other participating would-be teachers — is the handson teaching experience and feedback through coaching cycles.
One Key Decision That Prepared Me for My First Year of Classroom Teaching By Lyndsay Mahoney 32
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To begin, the program places students full-time in a classroom in a Title I school — a school where the majority of the student population comes from low-income families — located around the University of South Florida campus in the Northwest part of Tampa. UTRPP residents are paired with a classroom teacher, where they learn how to enhance student learning by analyzing student data and working with Professional Learning Communities (PLC). UTRPP residents also have the opportunity to plan and implement lesson plans with an entire team of veteran educators acting as a support system. Classroom teachers work alongside UTRPP residents to plan and teach their curriculum, helping residents think critically about the information they are presenting to students. For me, one particularly memorable moment of collaboration stands out. Together with another resident, I worked to develop a lesson on nonstandard measurement — but not just any lesson, a mystery lesson. I wrote a letter to my kindergarten students, telling them that trash had been found scattered all around the school campus. Next to the trash was found a mysterious set of footprints. Students were asked to use nonstandard measurement to measure the mystery footprints and compare those measurements to actual footprints of different animals. Once students figured out who the culprit was, based on their nonstandard measurements, they designed and built a trap intended to capture the animal. Students compared their designs to other designs in the classroom, and we discussed ways each design might be improved. At the end of the day, students were able to take what they had learned about nonstandard measurement and apply it to a real-world situation and have some
fun in the process. Of course, lesson planning wasn’t the only area from which UTRPP residents gained insight. Throughout the program, veteran teachers gave us would-be teachers all sorts of pointed feedback about our performance in the classroom. But rather than sit in the back of our classrooms and take notes, UTRPP used a platform called Edthena — an online tool for easy and collaborative peer coaching. The resident teachers would record footage of their classrooms in action using a smartphone and upload that video onto the Edthena platform. Then, seasoned educators would act as coaches, helping residents to reflect on what worked and what didn’t during their lessons. Together, a coach and resident would analyze a recording of the lesson. Through the Edthena platform, both participants could watch the recording and time stamp different areas of the video, allowing them to make comments, select positive points of the lesson, and mark areas that need improvement. Residents would then use their own observations from their lesson, combined with feedback from the coaches and other classroom teachers, to determine what improvements they should make to their instruction. Having these endless opportunities for reflection, carried out in a supportive environment, made positive growth almost inevitable. Completing such a rigorous residency was well worth the full-time schedule, because UTRPP really prepares future teachers for the kinds of obstacles they will almost certainly encounter throughout their careers. In fact, as a first-year teacher, I have already used knowledge I gained from UTRPP to handle challenges. For example, UTRPP showed me how to assess students using formative and summative assessments, then use this data to compare grade level scores. Having this knowledge
has allowed me to analyze different data points and present my findings in PLCs. Being able to pinpoint student learning gaps has allowed our team to quickly make instructional decisions based on our analysis. UTRPP also provided me with endless learning opportunities — the kind of experiences that helped me truly stand out as a new teacher applying for a fulltime teaching job. For starters, my resume included more than 1,000 classroom hours and UTRPP left me with a great and supportive list of references. During my interviews, I was able to talk at length about receiving feedback through coaching cycles, which ultimately showed my future principal that I was capable of taking feedback and adjusting my instruction accordingly. I was also able to share actual examples of how I would handle certain teaching situations because, in a lot of instances, I had already handled them. Any interviewee could provide hypothetical solutions to problems that would arise in the classroom, but my residency experience gave me solid evidence of how I had already solved that problem. Having this kind of real world experience and hands on knowledge going into my interviews helped me land the job I wanted. The fact that UTRPP has had a positive impact on my current career is undeniable. The program’s demanding expectations prepared me for real world challenges, and it enabled me to provide the most rewarding education to students that I can. While it was demanding at times, UTRPP was an experience that molded me into the teacher I am today. The knowledge I gained there will follow me through my teaching career. Lyndsay Mahoney is a kindergarten teacher at Fox Hollow Elementary School in Pasco County Schools.
The fact that UTRPP has had a positive impact on my current career is undeniable. The program’s demanding expectations prepared me for real world challenges, and it enabled me to provide the most rewarding education to students that I can. www.seenmagazine.us
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professional development
The Value of Failure for Learning I recently had the opportunity to visit the Winter Mansion of Thomas Edison in Ft Meyers, Florida. Not only was I impressed with the myriad of projects he was involved in but also the number of his devices and inventions that started out as ideas, became failures, but with later modifications and changes become highly successful and indispensible innovations for the world. This idea that failure is just a steppingstone towards success is the focus of an engaging TED Talks called “The Power of Believing that You Can Improve,” by Carol Dweck, that can be found on YouTube. Based on her mindset research, Dr. Dweck has found that the most common responses to a challenge are for people to: • Accept and embrace the challenge and look forward to learning • Run from the challenge and fear 34
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failure by shutting down • After the failure look for someone who did worse than them so they don’t feel bad about themselves She discussed that by having an open mindset you to accept and embrace the challenge of learning something new or rigorous. By knowing and accepting that with learning comes setbacks and failures, the next steps towards success is learning from your mistakes. The setbacks/failures are by no means the end of the learning process. They are actually the beginning. By giving yourself permission to make mistakes, having failures, and then challenging yourself to take action, comes the knowledge of “what it is not” and pushes you to keep trying to figure out “what it actually is or can be.” Dr. Dweck suggests that many run from the challenge because of the fear of failure. This is displayed by shutting-
SouthEast Education Network
By Dr. Terry Talley
down behaviors. Giving up easily and not being willing to try something new reflects a closed mindset that does not see the possibilities or opportunities to expand “what they know it to be or what it can become.” In groups where failures are not embraced often no learning has taken place and cheating to avoid mistakes becomes more frequent. Those who consider themselves failures look to see who also failed and are encouraged to know there were others whose mistakes were far worse than their own. Thomas Edison, saw his setbacks as steps in the inventing process. He saw many options for his next steps and took advantage of each of them. When an option was not readily available, such as a shortage of rubber for tires, he worked to find one more. Edison is known for his hybridization of a goldenrod plant as the main ingredient for an artificial rubber
be used in tires. He often worked with collaborators, such as Henry Ford, to leverage their mistakes as well! Edison posted a quote by Sir Joshua Reynolds in his laboratories. It stated, “There is no expedient to which a man will not resort, to avoid the real labor of thinking.” He knew the challenge of inventing and working through setbacks. It could be difficult and he acknowledged it was often disheartening. But, he showed the benefits of an open mindset and embraced his failures with action! Pat Hymel hosted a TEDxBirmingham 2014, called “Rethinking Failure” where he addressed helping to overcome being stuck in a cycle of failure. He called it “Finding your Beginner’s Mind.” Within that segment he shared the story of Michael Jordan leaving NBA basketball where he was a champion and beginning his career in professional baseball. According to some, he was a failure in baseball; he lacked the skills needed to become a champion in that sport. But, what Dr. Hymel suggests is that he had the opportunity to learn professional baseball as a beginner. He needed to learn
a new set of skills, perfect those skills, and work at understanding the complexity of all the actions needed to be a successful baseball player. Michael Jordan, was able to learn from that humbling experience, his failures, and return to basketball to view the sport with a different mindset. He viewed his sport from the eyes of a beginner and was able to fine-tune his skillset with new learning, to go on to win four National Championships with a perspective of growth and innovation. Students in our classrooms come to us with a variety of experiences; the majority of which were positive and lead to learning; but some were not. If your students see setbacks as just a way to look for another option, they will continue to be successful. But, if they see setbacks as failure, and run from the challenge of learning, our role as teachers becomes extremely important in turning them around to the path of learning. Piaget, in his research on the cognitive development of children, noted that each child was on a continuum. Some children mature quickly and are able to accomplish
tasks sooner than others. There are some cognitive tasks that he found occurred in narrow age ranges. When children are able to accomplish a certain task, such as being able to recognize the facial features of their mothers, he said they met a milestone. At no time did he call a child a failure, if they were unable to successfully complete a task by the time the majority of other similaraged children could. They were not yet in that stage and learning was still occurring. In our classrooms, as we are guiding our students through the learning process and asking them to accept the challenges of learning something new or complex, we need to evaluate our perspectives on failure. Do we consider where our students are in the continuum of development of that skill? Have we considered the strategies we have used to bring them along in their path towards success? Have we found other options when the one we previously selected led to failure? Have we encouraged and nurtured a growth mindset? Terry Talley, Ed.D. is with STEMcoach in Action!
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College Spotlight
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College spotlight
MASTERING EDUCATION Enrolled in a graduate program? Thinking about getting that post-master’s certificate? You’re not alone. Every year educators from all fields look for new graduate programs, certificates or endorsements to improve their career status — and for good reason. Obtaining a master’s degree can move you into different roles in education, better teaching practices — all while increasing your income along the way. As the playing field becomes more competitive for lucrative roles and dream jobs in education, researchers have been observing how people are now achieving their education career goals with graduate degrees and who is enrolling for these graduate programs. Here’s some of the data found: Although minorities remain significantly underrepresented, especially in STEM fields, first-time enrollment increases among Hispanic and Latino men and women have been remarkable — up 5.6 percent for two consecutive years with average increases of eight percent over five years and 8.1 percent over 10 years, fueled by a 21.8 percent rise in math and computer sciences and double-digit percentage increases in business and engineering programs. • For the eighth year in a row, the majority of graduate students at all levels were women, constituting 59.2 percent at the certificate and master’s level and 53.5 percent at the doctoral level. • Several broad fields of study clocked increases in numbers of applications from 2016 to 2017, chief among them business (4.5 percent), public administration and services (1.9 percent), education (1.8 percent) and math and computer sciences (1.7 percent). • Graduate applications showed the biggest decrease in engineering, dipping 7.3 percent. Popular Degree Programs in Education According to the website The Best Master’s Degrees, the top concentrations for master’s degrees in Education are: 38
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•
Educational Leadership or Administration • Curriculum and Instruction • Teaching English Language Learners • School Counseling • Educational Technology https://www.bestmastersdegrees. com/lists/5-top-masters-degreein-education-concentrations Getting In: The Admissions Process Getting accepted into a graduate program is much like applying for an undergraduate program. You will need: your undergraduate transcript, a completed application, letters of recommendation, acceptable standardized test scores (GRE/MAT), and to pay the application fee. These materials are needed for any graduate you seek to enroll in — either online or on campus. Your admissions materials may also require other documentation, like essays, but this is largely dependent on the program you’re applying for and what the college/university requires. Once you get accepted, expect to be in the program for about two or three years. As with everything, you may be able to finish in record time depending on your course load and motivation. The great thing is you’re that much closer to different, higher-level job opportunities. Popular Education Jobs Outside the Classroom Educators are branching out and using their M.Ed outside of the classroom. On GradSchoolHub.com, there are other education roles that put your graduate degree to good use: SEO Content Writer Knowledge and writing experiences gained from a M.Ed. will enable you to write content in education specialty areas for business websites. Corporate Trainer/Developer Corporations prefer to high individuals with Masters in Education who are highly skilled to train and motivate employees. Educational Consultant Many private schools hire consultants with Masters in Education for help
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with them classroom design, classroom management, increased parent involvement, fund raising, and motivating staff. Educational Policy Developer The government is interested in hiring candidates with Masters in Education to develop, revise, and promote educational policies. https://www.gradschoolhub.com/ faqs/what-types-of-jobs-can-i-getwith-my-masters-in-education/ Salary Increases While this topic is up for much debate, and rightfully so, your salary can increase with a master’s degree in hand. The bump up in your salary, however, does depend on a few factors: degree level, years of experience, job description/ responsibilities, state and/or county of your job, and any post-master’s certifications/ endorsements. According to PayScale. com, the average salary of a person with a MEd is $57,000. This is just an average and can oftentimes be higher in pay. Northeastern University says, “Overall, employees with bachelor’s degrees earn $2.27 million over their career, while those with advanced degrees can earn up to $3.65 million. This is a remarkable difference demonstrating that if you’re already college educated, earning a master’s degree can add a significant boost to your paycheck.” (“The Benefits of a Master’s Degree in Today’s Job Market,”https://www.northeastern.edu/ graduate/blog/masters-degree-benefits/) Future of Master’s in Education For those of you who already have master’s degrees in education (or even in other fields), know that your graduate degree will change the world. That’s not just because you’re teaching the future. It’s because your knowledge and experiences can (and will) lead to policy changes and restructure how people digest information moving forward. Powerful, isn’t it? Your contributions affect not just those in your classroom but also those in your global community.
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College spotlight
What’s Happening in Schools in 2019-2020 Equity: Equity has been the buzzword on the lips of educators for some years now, but that does not make it any less significant. It’s hardly a trend, it’s a necessity, but it is one topic that will continue to get more and more coverage in the 2019-2020 school year as more school districts are tasked to focus on improving school climate and culture. Better climate and culture = improvement in educational equity. (SEEN, Fall 2018, Connect: Community, Culture, & Conversations) Trauma Informed Education: Trauma-informed education is a topic SEEN has covered over the years, but there seems to be more emphasis on it this year. 42
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Educators are looking for more strategies to to make a difference in this arena - as traumatic experiences have proven to affect students learning abilities. In SEEN’s Fall 2018 Issue, Dr. Billie Jo Crowley gave educators some questions they might want to ask themselves when fostering a positive student-teacher relationship in the classroom: 1) What is driving the behavior? 2) What does the child need? 3) How can I change my perspective? 4) In what ways are my expectations triggering him? 5) What else is really going on?
SouthEast Education Network
All of these questions can help create a better trauma-sensitive learning environment for the student and the teacher. (“Building Relationships With Students Who Have Experienced Trauma,” Crowley, SEEN, Fall 2018)
Augmented Virtual Reality (AV)/ Virtual Reality (VR)/Artificial Intelligence (AI): AV, VR, and AI
- none of these are the same. However, they all are re-shaping our curriculum and classrooms this year. In our 2019 SEEN Spring edition, Dr. Matthew Lynch, editor for The Edvocate, helped explain how AI will shape classrooms and learning. Lynch
said AI can perform automated grading (can anyone say Siri?), help focus more on personalized learning, identify weaknesses and gaps in teaching, and even make the teacher more of a facilitator in student learning. (“A.I. Revolution,” Dr. Matthew Lynch, SEEN, Spring 2019)
Assistive Devices (Siri, Alexa, Google Home, etc.): Speaking of
Siri. While Alexa and Siri may be an additional member of your household, we’ll also see them become part of the 2019-2020 classroom experience as well. eSchoolNews says,” assistive devices can update information published in outdated textbooks and give students a space to dive deeper into their own learning by asking questions and following up on their own curiosities.” (“10 K12 education trends to look for this year”, Christine Feher, eSchoolNews, February 6th, 2019, https://www. eschoolnews.com/2019/02/06/10-k12education-trends-this-year/) Gamification: Gaming has proven
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over the years to be more than a passing hobby. Here at SEEN, we talk a lot about gaming and the classroom correlation, but expect to hear even more about gamification being embraced more by school districts in the upcoming academic year. MDR Education says, “Gamification helps teachers introduce an element of fun into lessons, leading to more participatory, and ultimately, more memorable classroom experiences.” Read on in this issue (“7 Education Trends to Watch in 2019”, MDR Education, Kristina James, https://mdreducation.com/2019/02/13/ education-trends-2019/)
Smaller- Scaled Learning: We,
as a people, have shorter attention spans these days. With everything being instantly provided to everyone for use these days, that’s exactly how our students want to learn - short, concise, and fast. This school year, see a shift in how educators are presenting lessons, feeding students with smaller lessons in less time versus the longer intense model of yesteryear. EDSYS suggests more effective learning with this approach,
“Teachers are now able to incorporate bite-sized or nano-learning to reduce the intensity and increase the effectiveness of learning.” They go on to explain how the model will be incorporated, “The learning model is divided into small interactive sections. This supports the behavior of learners and ensures 100% attention during every learning session.” This is a learning approach that is scaled to grow pretty fast this year. (“Top 16 Educational Trends for 2019,” EDSYS, //www.edsys.in/ educational-trends-for-2019/)
Student Activists: Students are becoming change agents in their schools and communities. While student activism is not new (college protests), it certainly is newer to the K12 community. From gun violence to climate change, there are now more K-12 students bringing awareness to issues that impact their daily learning and growing community. Are you, as an educator, ready for the changes this new academic year holds?
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curriculum
Making Advanced Learning for All a Reality:
A Case Study
Taking a step back and really looking at what schools are offering students can be extremely eye-opening for district leaders. At Clayton County Public Schools, a Georgia Title 1 district with 55,000 plus students, we did just that when our new superintendent Morcease J. Beasley came 44
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on board in 2017. He wanted us to be committed to preparing students for a rapidly changing world and to improve their lives by preparing them for college and careers. When we stepped back and took a good hard look, we found we were focusing the
SouthEast Education Network
By Kristie Heath and Regina Willingham
majority of our efforts on remediation rather than challenging our students with advanced learning. Making a conscientious effort to provide every student exposure to rigorous coursework that will equip them with the skills necessary to achieve academic success and compete successfully in a global
society, we launched an ALA initiative to set students up for success. The ALA initiative increased the number of advanced course offerings in schools to eliminate barriers and increase access to all students. Steps to Advanced Learning for All The need to challenge students’ minds is one we should all take into account this upcoming school year. It’s certainly not easy to change the mindset of children, but it’s even harder to change the minds and habits of adults. That’s why we were very deliberate in the steps we took to make this initiative a success. Prior to current district leadership, advanced learning wasn’t a district priority. We did not have district-wide professional development for Advanced Placement/AP® or advanced learning assessments, so we knew we needed to add these supports in order to meet our initiative goals. To make this initiative a success, we formed a clear vision we communicated often to all audiences, we added a lot of professional development for teachers and supports for students, and we provided resources to help our teachers
be successful in the classroom. Here’s how we used communication, professional development and resources to put this initiative in motion. Communication Successful change always starts with a clearly communicated vision. As a district, it was important for us to clearly communicate our high expectations for our students. When we started our new initiative, we built out our district team for advanced learning and made sure our message was shared both in spirit and in the resources we provided to our teachers. Communicating our needs to our team of teachers, parents and students has made all the difference. Our superintendent now holds critical conversations and advisory meetings throughout the year to promote collaboration as a community. We created a theme of “Committed to High Performance” and made documents, brochures, webinars and video clips about it available online for parents, staff and students to access. We even publish a magazine that celebrates our successes and innovations.
Our consistent communication has helped our entire community — from district and building administrators to teachers, students and parents — strive to meet our expectations. Professional Development and Student Supports We also knew going into this initiative we needed to better understand the types of professional development our AP teachers needed in order to be successful. Some of those changes we were able to implement in the summer - and other changes take place throughout the school year. Summer changes started with additional funding from the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI). With the help of the NMSI grant, we were able to offer an intensive AP Summer Institute, as well as touch points with instructional coaches throughout the school year. We brought in experts on the AP books we were currently using to help our teachers prepare to teach the course. Those same experts also came in to co-teach a lesson with the teachers – additional preparation for teaching the
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We now have students participating in the College Board’s Capstone program, which consists of two year-long courses that help students develop critical thinking, research, collaboration, time management and presentation skills. For their Capstone project, some of our students have taken on ambitious topics such as women serial killers, using mealworms to biodegrade foam containers without having an impact on the environment, and how the Russian Revolt correlates to our present political system. These students present their completed projects to a panel of judges, gaining valuable experience similar to what they might do presenting a dissertation in college.
curriculum in the classroom. Another summer change – our summer school focus. Our students’ summer school programs used to focus on remediation and our superintendent was the driving force in getting us to focus on acceleration instead. We now have a free two-week summer camp in June that offers classes on topics such as building houses and flying planes. In July, we also offer an AP summer prep program to make sure incoming ninth graders are ready to take their first AP course. This program focuses on fostering a growth mindset, developing a confident disposition, and acquiring the skills and strategies needed to manage the demands of the more rigorous coursework. Throughout the year, we also began to offer study sessions for both students and teachers on Saturday mornings. We provide transportation, breakfast, and bring in a master teacher to delve deeply into topics the students need to know and to show teachers how to scaffold their instruction to meet students’ needs while challenging them. The master teachers also work on getting teachers to do more experimentation. The sessions are attended by students from several schools — thus giving them opportunities to have deep discussions with their peers. Also during the year, we make the AP exams very accessible for students. We provide students with training before the course starts and exam prep along the way so they know what to expect when taking the AP exam. We also pay for the exams so parents do not have that burden. 46
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Classroom Resources One resource making a tremendous difference in our teachers’ ability to challenge students is remote grading. We work with a company that provides remote grading services and high-quality, timely feedback on student writing. The company provides consistent feedback on student writing to help students understand their strengths and weaknesses. This grading platform provides powerful data to educators, so they can scaffold instruction to focus on what students need to improve upon. Armed with this information, we now focus heavily on teaching students to write with evidence - which is the best indicator that they are reading well. We ask students to formulate high-impact questions to help them get to answers and engage in academic discourse when sharing or discussing ideas. We strive to have students involved in their learning. We want them to practice getting and giving feedback and help them learn the skills they will need to be successful adults. All of this also helps students prepare better for the end of course exam. Measuring Success This shift to accelerated learning has already led to remarkable results. Students sit for AP exams now more than in the past and scores have increased for both AP and SAT exams. In 2019, the AP exam pass rate surpassed our prior four-year average by five percentage points — with some schools reached double digit gains for qualifying scores. Our district has also seen an increase in the number of dual enrollment courses taken by students.
SouthEast Education Network
Moving Beyond High School We are excited about our results so far at the high school level and look forward to seeing where this new focus on advanced learning will take us as a district - now expanding the success to our younger students. This school year, our sixth grade students are enrolled in the Grade 6 Accelerated Mathematics course, which includes exposure to sixth grade mathematics standards and a portion of the seventh grade mathematics standards. We are also piloting ninth grade literature in middle school and letting middle school students take a high school language and a CTAE business course. Looking ahead, we are examining what we need to do in elementary school to prepare students for advanced learning opportunities in middle school. For our elementary strategy, we are looking to incorporate larger projects for students with a heavy emphasis on writing. All students deserve an education that will challenge them academically. Students need to learn that they can accomplish hard tasks that they never thought were possible. As a district, our goal is to instill this mindset in all students and provide them all with the courses, support and opportunities needed to help them succeed. Kristie Heath is the Advanced Learning, Gifted and Intervention Coordinator at Clayton County Public Schools. Regina Willingham is the Advanced Learning/Gifted Lead teacher at Clayton County Public Schools.
Sponsored Content
Measurement Incorporated : MI Write For the past five years, PEG Writing - an award-winning automated scoring software by Measurement Incorporated - became a trusted name in formative writing assessment. Last year, over 10,000 teachers and 350,000 students across the country used PEG Writing to improve writing fundamentals and engage in the writing process. With over 6.8 million drafts and 1.4 million scored essays, school districts saw significant growth in writing skills and improvements on yearly assessments. With success like this, and feedback from our users, we’ve upgraded the PEG Writing platform you know and love to MI Write. MI Write, like PEG Writing, is a web-based learning environment for students in grades 3-12. The new platform will still help students improve their writing, present timely feedback, and provide guided support anytime and anywhere. We’ve simply given our software a face lift and a few enhancements to increase student engagement, align more closely with current pedagogical practices, and improve overall performance. A few key enhancements you can expect from MI Write: - Customizable peer review. Our new peer review system consists of genre- and grade-specific questions that allow students to think more critically about their peer’s work as well as their own. - Student modeling accounts. Teachers can now walk through the writing and revision process alongside their students with a fully functioning student modeling account that comes with every teacher account.
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individual writing conferences with students. MI Write also allows teachers to form student writing groups based on student skills or content and encourage effective collaborative work. For students, MI Write’s instant and individualized feedback provides recommendations as they work through the many drafts of the writing process. This feedback allows students to progress through all of their drafts more easily and enables teachers to make more targeted comments about their writing. The pre-packaged prompts and stimulus materials within MI Write, as well as the lessons that come standard with every subscription, provide a wealth of content that helps students stay engaged in the writing process. And, with the 24/7 access MI Write provides, students no longer lose valuable class time due to inclement weather or illness. They can remain engaged in the writing process no matter where they are. MI Write, with its research-backed foundations and proven effective results, will help ensure your students are getting the writing instruction and practice they need to be successful. The authentic writing experience MI Write provides will also support your students in performing at or above their expected grade level. Contact us today to learn how we can become your partner in effective writing practice. About Measurement Incorporated Founded in 1980, Measurement Incorporated (MI) is an employeeowned corporation and leading provider of customized educational assessment services for state governments, other testing companies, and various organizations.
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technology
Shaping the Future How Does 3D Printing Shape A Student’s Education?
3D Printing Facilitates Experiential Learning in K-20 Classrooms The 21st-century is proving to be a pivotal point in human history as technology permeates every facet of our lives. In order to prepare students for life and work in the age of technology, educators are looking to 3D printing to help expand their curricula for a more hands-on approach. A 2017 survey among educators using 3D printing in their classrooms highlights a few of the life skills that 3D printing is teaching children, including creativity, exploration, technological literacy, problem-solving, learning by trial-and-error, selfdirected learning, critical thinking, and perseverance. By utilizing 3D printing for such activities as role-playing and real-world scenarios, educators can expose students to 48
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and create stronger synergy between ideas and processes that, in the past, were much more difficult to achieve. For instance, using 3D printed models in biology can help students see intricate details in anatomy that were once only able to be seen through microscopes or drawings. Allowing students to hold 3D examples can also increase their understanding of structures as a whole, instead of just 2D illustrations, which helps build their spatial reasoning skills, cognitive load, and dual processing abilities. Using a 3D printer for schools also improves student choice and collaboration by encouraging students to work together by imagining what designs may look like if combined together or changed. This can help challenge students to change their views and understand how preconceived notions may be changed. By fostering this
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collaboration we have seen innovations coming from students. Building upon these skills translates to other skills such as writing, artistic development, oral speaking, visual presentations, and more. Outcomes of Project-Based Learning By calling upon so many different cognitive functions, 3D printing helps students retain content longer and creates a more profound understanding of the subject they are learning. When students understand things better, it builds their confidence, improving their attitude toward learning in general. It promotes, in essence, a cascade effect, flooding the student with positive reinforcement, and boosting their success. As soon as the machine arrives, allow students to open the box and unpack it. Even before a single model is printed, it
quickly becomes clear that the machine itself magnifies our natural curiosity and students are fascinated with the process of how it works and troubleshooting problems, often engaging even the most reluctant learners. There is an air of mystery still associated with 3D printers, given the fact they are not commonplace in our society, yet. This inherent fascination with new technology is certainly key to creating overall success in using a 3D printer for education. Additionally, there is a sense of pride when one is able to experience creating something new, which can boost the overall cohesiveness and pride of the entire school by printing objects with school insignias or models for projects of other grades and classes. Students, especially young students, revel in the idea of sharing their creations with family and friends, spreading excitement and curiosity about the technology. At school events, turn the printer on and make sure it is printing something designed by a student or class and engage parents, teachers, and students in a discussion about the future of 3D printing. It is not an exaggeration to say that 3D
printing is revolutionizing education and expanding the possibilities far beyond anything we have previously imagined. Now, more than ever, it is critical to foster an environment in schools to promote STEAM education. At Dremel, we believe in nurturing creativity, which is why we have lots of resources for educators to help
them along the journey of inspiring our youth innovation. Article written by Dremel Digilab. Find 3D printer lesson plans and educational resources to build 21st-century skills with Digilab 3D printer series. Ready to get started in your classroom? Contact us for a quote when you or your school is ready to buy a 3D printer!
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STEM
Games in the Classroom It goes without saying that in the world of STEM education, games are a huge part of the curriculum. Many people don’t realize just how educational games can be and how to repurpose these activities into lessons students’ can use in life. Here’s one game inventor’s perspective on the value of games, learning and having fun in our schools. We’re game inventors. And as much as we hate to admit it to an audience of teachers, the last thing we think about when developing a game is “the educational value” of it. Instead, we think, what will make kids (young and old) instantly love it. Ten years ago, my business partner and I challenged ourselves to come up with a new dice game. To our surprise and delight, our game, was a hit. Soon after we introduced it, a teacher raved about its educational value. Steve and I looked at each other and basically said, 50
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“Huh, imagine that.” We thought we had created a game that was simple, fast and fun, but as the game gained in popularity, more and more teachers told us about the many benefits our game brought to their classrooms such as eye-hand coordination, quick decision-making and subitizing. (We never even knew there was such a thing as subitizing.) By seeing our game through a teacher’s eyes, we realized that all games have educational value to one degree or another. To that end, we’ve categorized five distinct values that games (we’re most interested in non-electronic games) bring to the classroom and we’ve broken those five values down to more specific educational benefits. Keep in mind that this list is hardly complete. There are many more benefits games provide students and, as we said, every game brings some sort of value to the classroom, you just need to look
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for it. At the end we’ve listed some of the more popular tabletop games and the learning value of each. 1. The Intellectual Value of Games This is probably the area that is of most interest to teachers and the one that teachers can most easily reference in order to justify to their administrators why their students are playing games at school. Whether it’s reading directions, listening to directions, or following directions, games enhance students’ language skills including reading, vocabulary and comprehension. Additionally, following the rules of any game helps attention span, problem-solving and strategic thinking. Let’s take the board game, Clue, for instance. That classic game is all about deductive reasoning. Players are
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Games Continued from Page 50 given a limited amount of information and, over time, have to piece together the “evidence” to form a complete picture. There’s a whole lot of problemsolving going on in that game. STEM skills are also nurtured through gameplay. Whether it’s a game like Orbitz that involves pattern recognition or Mastermind, the oldie-but-goodie that challenges kids in code-making and code-breaking, or Lego, arguably the world’s favorite building game, today’s toy store shelves are a neverending source for STEM learning while playing. And many STEM games have varying degrees of difficulty which helps prevent boredom and broadens their appeal to many age levels. Speaking of STEM, we just did a Google search on “board games for science” and a slew of fun, educational and even edgy games popped up. Clearly, these days, science and fun go together well. 2. The Emotional Value of Games Beyond intellectual value, games help students develop emotionally as well. Games help kids mature through: building self-esteem, managing risk, being patient and disciplined, easing anxiety and strengthening resilience. Let’s just take easing anxiety as one example. When a child is playing a board game, it gives them a short respite from the social pressures of the real world. And, depending on the game, it has the potential to create a more even playing field. A 15-minute search on the Internet will help you identify a bevy of tabletop games that can help your students develop emotionally. And if you debrief with your class after the game, no doubt you’ll discover a variety of other emotional benefits. (Try searching: Board games that help EQ) 3. The Social Value of Games Related to emotional value is social value. Games by their very nature are social. You’re either communicating with others, cooperating with others or competing with others…and often times you’re doing all three in the very same game. When we test out a new game we’re often asked, “Well what would prevent 52
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someone from cheating?” Our simple answer is “nothing.” Or with tonguein-cheek say, “Get better friends.” Regardless, honesty is social currency and it’s at the heart of all games (with the exception of bluffing games). Any player who is caught cheating at a board game will, no doubt, garner some “feedback” from the other players. Games also foster social skills such as: negotiation (Monopoly, Settlers of Catan), teamwork (Codenames, Say the Word), organization (Animal Logic, Quiddler), and of course sportsmanship (all games). 4. The Creative Value of Games Virtually every board game has rules and regulations, which is great for developing discipline, but doesn’t do much for creativity. But not to worry. There are plenty of games that can cultivate the right hemisphere of the brain as well. For example, Pickles to Penguins is ideal for improving lateral thinking because players have to quickly find some sort of connection between disparate objects. (What do a raccoon and a tennis racquet have in common?) And, of course, there’s always Rory’s Story Cubes whereby players roll dice that have images on them and have to create an impromptu story based on the images that are shown. If that’s not enough, you can always turn to Charades the ever-popular parlor game. 5.The Physical Value of Games The last category worth mentioning is games that help students improve their physical acumen including balance, quick reflexes, fine motor skills and eye hand coordination. As you would suspect, there’s no shortage of options here. Jenga is a classic, of course, but there’s plenty of others and a little time on Google (Search: board games that help physical activity) will turn up plenty of options. One we recently discovered, but haven’t played yet is Jungle Jive, which boosts your students’ balance, flexibility and coordination. A sampling of board game and their educational value:
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• Axis and Allies: logic, economics, logistics, probability • Battleship: grid familiarity, attention
to detail, record keeping, pattern recognition, deductive reasoning • Blokus: geometric visualization, abstract reasoning • Boggle: spelling, vocabulary, observation • Busytown: Cooperation, observation, memory • Camel Up: deductive reasoning, managing resources • Carcassonne: resource management • Clue: deductive reasoning (critical thinking), research skills, story and plot development • Connect Four: Simple logic, deduction, cognitive development • Guess Who?: Logic, memory • Jenga: hand-eye coordination, spatial thinking, geometry, architecture, construction • Monopoly: Negotiation, risk-management • Operation: Fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, anatomy, patience • Qwirkle: strategy, visions, logic, color & pattern recognition, sequencing • Risk: basic geography, diplomacy, world history • Scrabble: Spelling, vocabulary, strategic placement, arithmetic • 6 Nimmt!: pragmatism, strategy • Settlers of Catan: Strategy and planning, creating a narrative, emotional intelligence • Sorry: Patience, sportsmanship • Spot it: observation, quick decision making, • Sushi Go: probability, strategic thinking, visual discrimination • Ticket to Ride: US geography, strategy • Trivial Pursuit: general knowledge, subject area knowledge, memory, anticipating questions • Twister: physical flexibility, strength, endurance • Wits & Wagers: general knowledge, risk-management • Yahtzee: risk-management, probability, addition, strategy
STEM
Virtual Reality:
An Innovative Vision for Education Dr. Eric D. Marvin Many of us recall the old Victorian era stereoscopes and View Masters of prior decades. Still images right before our eyes literally provided us with an up-close examination of an old cowboy sitting on his horse or zoo animals feeding in captivity. The images caught our attention and gave us reason to explore every detail of the pictures before us. In more recent years, people began inserting cell phones into wearable cardboard headsets to gain a closer look at pictures and video on their cell phones. The promise was that we could fully immerse ourselves into a new, virtual reality. Yes, the cell-phone supported experience was much improved www.seenmagazine.us
from the technologies of prior decades, but it was still lacking a truly immersive experience. But now, fully immersive virtual reality is available, and the potential it provides for education is nothing short of impressive. The Oculus Quest is but one of many virtual reality headsets, but it is the first to offer a unique feature. It has the computational power to offer a truly immersive experience while also not being tethered to a desktop or laptop computer. And, the experience is amazing! According to a new report by Metaari, an analyst firm that examines trends of advanced learning technologies, educational
gaming will likely be a $24 billion industry by 2024 (METAARI, 2019). Virtual reality is one of the key factors driving such increased demand. As educators, it is imperative to consider how this immersive technology can transform learning. Virtual Field Trips Virtual reality has the capability to take students anywhere in the world. Wander is a virtual reality app that uses data from Google StreetView to transport users nearly anywhere in the world. Students can visit the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the London
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Virtual Continued from Page 53 Bridge or their parent’s childhood home. The power of this experience is that it provides a fully immersive (i.e., think 360 degree) image. Turn around and see what is across the street. Navigate forward and see what is near. Experiencing such environments in this way is much more captivating than merely browsing StreetView on a desktop computer. Even more, Wander allows users to turn back the clock and see the same location over various years. How has the geography changed? What cars did your parents previously own? See history before your eyes as you wind back time in your virtual tour. Skills-Based Individualized Learning Within the virtual environment, wearers can see their own virtual hands. Controllers enable users to pick up objects, throw them, and use tools for nearly any authentic purpose. Pushing buttons, climbing ladders and grasping items are all possible within the virtual environment. This technological capability has the potential for skills-based training to be individualized, timed and scored without the need for a human teacher. Virtual labs and dissections could occur until mastery is attained. Then, if desired, students could be tasked with demonstrating learning in the real world. Nearly any skills-based learning task could be individualized in a virtual environment to offer instructional benefits to both students and teachers. Replication of Challenging Environments Furthermore, the potential to replicate otherwise hard-to-simulate environments could occur within a virtual environment. A teacher standing before a classroom of unruly students, an assistant principal directing traffic in front of her school, and a principal addressing the crisis of a school-shooter could be replicated and used for training purposes. Learning and knowing how to react in such situations can help educators better prepare for reallife scenarios. Although such apps may not currently exist, they are conceivable for the future of virtual learning. 54
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The future of online learning has the potential to be richer within a virtual environment. Someday we will look back at our current technologies and recognize how limited they are in capability. Virtual Learning Platforms The future of online learning has the potential to be richer within a virtual environment. Someday we will look back at our current technologies and recognize how limited they are in capability. Watching online videos, uploading assignments, and posting to discussion boards will seem as dated as correspondence courses of years past. The future of online learning holds great potential. Imagine watching and discussing — from the comfort of your own living room — a documentary in a virtual movie theater with your other classmates. The richness of this experience would be much more powerful than what could be offered by posting text or voice memos to a discussion board. The kinesthetic experience could be much more interactive and engaging. Or, imagine touring Little Rock’s Central High School in a course on educational history. A virtual tour of Anne Frank’s house is already available in virtual reality. Time will only tell what other experiences await virtual learners. Communication Virtual reality allows wearers to block out the real world. In our multi-taskingobsessed world this has great potential to enhance social interaction and communication in a virtual environment. Synchronous technologies already allow us to bridge the geographical gap between campuses or offices, or between home and work, but email and every other attention grabber can vie for our attention. Communication as a digital avatar in a virtual world may seem a bit unrealistic at the moment, but it may become commonplace in the not-to-distant future. Making the Abstract Understandable Understanding abstract ideas can be complicated. Primarily, this is due to an inability to visualize, touch or experience
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that which is intangible. But, imagine being able to virtually navigate your way through the human heart, a biological cell, or the deepest seas of the ocean. Virtual reality has the potential to bring such experiences to life, and it can do so beyond imagery on a static screen. Truly experiencing an immersive environment can help to make the abstract understandable. Consider being able to walk the virtual streets of the 1850s. What would you do? How would you survive? Would you travel west to heed the call of manifest destiny, panning for gold? Who would you encounter and how would you survive? Time travel may not be a reality, but its replication could offer an immersive experience unlike any other in a virtual environment. Also, consider learning a foreign language in a virtual environment. Being forced to virtually live, work and interact in a Spanish speaking culture would provide the type of immersion that would only otherwise be possible via the expense of travel or relocation. Truly immersive virtual reality is available and holds great promise for transforming learning. With new devices and apps in development, now is the time to begin considering how it can enhance and bring your students and educators into a new world. Dr. Eric Marvin serves as Assistant Dean and Professor of Graduate Studies in Education at Union University. He holds a Doctor of Education degree in Instructional Design and Technology and has been investigating mixed reality technologies for the past decade. Works Cited METAARI. (2019). The 2019-2024 Global Game-based Learning Market Executive Overview. Retrieved from https:// seriousplayconf.com/downloads/2019-2024global-game-based-learning-market/
2020 Conference Planner October 25, 2019
Innovation in Teaching Conference Athens, GA.
October 25-26, 2019 EdmodoCon Miami, FL.
October 28-31, 2019 iNACOL Symposium Palm Springs, CA.
November 1-2, 2019
HelloLit Conference Student Center West, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
November 6-7, 2019
Georgia Educational Technology Conference (GaETC) Georgia International Convention Center, Atlanta, GA.
November 6-8, 2019
South Carolina EdTech Conference Greenville Convention Center, Greenville, SC.
November 6-10, 2019
ational Association of Multicultural Education N International Conference (NAME) Tucson, AZ
November 7-9, 2019
Annual Conference for Middle Level Education Nashville, TN
November 8-10, 2019 ASCD Conference on Educational Leadership
February 3-7, 2020
T exas Computer Education Association Conference (TCEA) Austin, TX.
National Harbor, MD
November 20-23, 2019
February 6-8, 2020
ational Association for the Education N of Young Children (NAEYC) Nashville, TN
T he Association of MathematicsTeacher Educators Conference (AMTE) Phoenix, AZ.
November 21, 25-26, 2019
February 26 - 28, 2020
T he National Council of Teachers of English Conference (NCTE) Greenville Convention Center, Greenville, SC.
ational Association of Bilingual N Education Annual Conference Las Vegas, NV.
November 22-24, 2019
March 9-12, 2020
National Council for the Social Studies Austin, TX.
SXSW Edu 2020 Austin, TX.
November 22-24, 2019
March 11-14, 2020
Learning & The Brain Boston, MA.
December 4-6, 2019
Tennessee Educational Technology Conference (TETC) Murfreesboro, TN.
December 8-10, 2019
Virginia Technology in Education Conference (VSTE) Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, Roanoke, VA.
January 14-17, 2020
F lorida Educational Technology Corporation Conference (FETC) Miami, FL.
I nternational Technology and Engineering Education Association Conference (ITEEA) Baltimore, MD.
March 14-16, 2020 ASCD Empower 20 Los Angeles, CA.
March 19-21, 2020
National Council for History Education Conference (NCHE) Cleveland, OH.
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SEcurity
3 Ways to Make This School Year Safer Than Ever By Hillary Bowling Keeping staff and students safe can be like a gray cloud always looming. As an administrator, certain questions might start to stack up as you think about this school year: How can I train staff and educate students effectively while checking all the boxes of state-mandated compliance? How can I track student behavior closely enough to see patterns and respond to warning signs? How can I handle the inevitable incidents that may happen — and avoid as many as possible? Much like the weather, school safety feels hard to predict and impossible to control. However, if you start taking small steps toward safety now, you can relieve some of the burden and feel confident throughout the entire school year. Here are three ways to make this school year safer than ever:
Identify Ways to Make Safety Collaborative
Every burden is made lighter by sharing it. Truth is, the responsibility of safety needs to be felt by every single staff member. A culture of safety is only pervasive when every individual makes the decision to actively promote safety and take their own safety education seriously. So how do you rally your stakeholders and staff? Practical ideas include leveraging social media, talking through practice 60
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scenarios to look for threats, digging deep into your own environment to find “problem areas” before they become problem areas, even bringing students into staff meetings to understand new places/apps/etc. with which students are interacting. Since every district culture is different, however, make a list of ways you can involve others. Maybe you can even brainstorm ideas with a few other school officials.
Create a Plan for How to Handle Incidents
Planning to avoid incidents is more compelling than thinking about how to handle them. But sometimes, accidents happen. Knowing what you’ll do — and communicating that plan to staff, parents and, when appropriate, students — makes everybody feel safer. This is especially important in a culture where there are major incidents happening in other schools. Gun violence, for example, was higher in 2018 than it has been since 1970, according to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at NPS. When a school shooting occurs, even across the country, everybody feels more vulnerable and fearful. Having a plan to address a school shooting or incident at another school is as deeply impactful as knowing what to do if a student is choking.
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Every good plan, of course, should include not only a resolution to a problem but a next step to move forward. One way is to offer your staff quick refresher courses that cover a host of “everyday” incidents from insect bites to slips, trips and falls.
Take Time to Educate Yourself
One best practice is reading about other schools that have had success in streamlining safety management or preventing student crises, and how they have built a culture of safety. There is likely an opportunity to look up other administrators in your state and share challenges and success stories. Make a list of three people who have handled safety really well, and three people who have had to deal with incidents beyond their control. Take them to lunch. Then incorporate their good ideas into your plan and share it with your team. If your students feel safer than ever this year, they’ll be better equipped to learn more productively than ever, too. Hillary Bowling is the marketing manager of PublicSchoolWORKS which provides complete, online safety and regulatory compliance programs for K-12 schools. A version of this blog originally appeared on the PublicSchoolWORKS website (https://corp. publicschoolworks.com/).
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Security
How Safety at School is Being Put into Practice By Justin Reilly Last year was the deadliest on record for school shootings — at least 83 died or were injured in active-shooter incidents, according to USA Today. Since Columbine, at least 228,000 students have been exposed to gun violence at school. State lawmakers and school districts across the country are increasingly focused on student safety, including a number of new laws and policies taking effect this school year. Whether the discussion involves using technology, adding staff, partnering with law enforcement, or developing training programs to address safety at school, states and schools are collectively taking a national responsibility for safer education and putting what they’ve learned to good use through new laws and policies. Let’s have a look at what some of the individual states are doing to support student safety.
1. Texas
Last year, Impero commended the state of Texas on moving forward with the passage of several bills into law that target comprehensive school safety reform. These bills put measures in place — from school hardening to emotional behavioral support services — to prioritize student safety this September. Over the summer, districts and schools trained personnel in preparation of how to handle an array of incidents affecting safety at school, including course materials on gang awareness, child exploitation and suicide prevention.
2. Philadelphia
Texas isn’t the only state though that is making changes towards safety at 62
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school this year. The Philadelphia school district has brought on 650 new teachers and counselors to enhance student safety outreach. These new members of staff are undergoing additional training in the aftermath of the tragedies in El Paso, TX and Dayton, Ohio. One of the topics for these new team members is trauma-informed care which recognizes that everyone will suffer from trauma at some point in their lives, where their past experiences inform their current behavior. Trauma-informed care along with mental health awareness and social emotional learning is giving schools the tools they need to make interventions and offer services where a student’s needs previously were more difficult to identify.
3. Florida
In Florida, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety commission, which was created after a mass shooting at the Parkland, Florida high school — one of the deadliest acts of targeted school violence in U.S. history — is reviewing schools that are not complying with new school safety laws. Florida schools are now required to have armed school resource officers on every school campus, and routine active shooter drills, with districts additionally investing in new security systems and secure entryways to increase safety at school. These new student safety laws reflect the state’s review of what can be done to improve educational facilities.
4. Oregon
On the West Coast in Oregon, similar student safety policies are being put into effect. The presence of school
resource offers, additional security cameras, and advanced alert systems are all contributing to a safer environment for children to focus on their education. Talking about situational awareness and the implementation of a threat assessment team elevates knowledge among students and staff to look for indicators that might precede a threat to everyone’s safety at school.
5. North Carolina
In the south, the North Carolina General Assembly approved a slate of school safety enhancements last year in response to the Parkland shooting. This included legislation making it a felony to make a threat of mass violence on a school or religious property and a law establishing new mental health protocols, according to the North Carolina Association of School Administrators. The law budgeted $35 million for safety initiatives including safety grants for individual schools and funding for school resource officers, mental health crisis support and training. Mental health is an incredibly important issue when it comes to school safety and we are seeing more and more school districts across the country making this a priority.
6. Georgia
This year Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp allocated $69 million in school security grants to public schools. He rejected a more sweeping school safety bill due to concerns about it undermining local control. Schools are able to allocate the school security grants to address the needs that are most pressing to them — whether it is through physical building
Last year was the deadliest on record for school shootings — at least 83 died or were injured in active-shooter incidents, according to USA Today. Since Columbine, at least 228,000 students have been exposed to gun violence at school. upgrades, staffing changes or technology.
7. Virginia
School safety legislation also made it to the governor’s desk in Virginia this year. Five new laws went into effect this summer addressing building security enhancements, building plans, school
safety procedures and training, and how school counselors spend their time. It requires counselors to spend 80 percent of their time directly counseling students. Adding legislation regarding school counselors is significant because they play a critical role in helping to identify potential concerns about students. They
are in a position to provide intervention early before concerns get out of hand, so adding more time for direct counseling can support them in this work. Whether districts are making physical upgrades to buildings, using monitoring technology to detect concerns or adding staff such as school counselors and school resource officers, it is important to be proactive about keeping students safe. Building improvements can provide physical protection. Programs that help school staff identify issues such as mental health needs or incidents of bullying among students can help schools address potential problems before they turn tragic. Justin Reilly is CEO of Impero Software, which provides student safety and device monitoring and management solutions to schools around the world. A version of this blog originally appeared on Impero’s website: www.imperosoftware.com.
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Security
Run. Hide.
Fight
®
By Kevin Davis, J.D., CPP
Run. Hide. Fight is a popular active shooter preparedness system many schools throughout the United States use to train their students and staff in an active shooter situation. Run. Hide. Fight, in a slightly modified form, is a highly effective program for K-12 schools. Here are just a few reasons why the program works so well: 1) Th e program is simple. Our brains are like computers, we only have so much RAM (processing speed). During times of tremendous stress, such as an active shooter situation, our brains are overloaded by stimuli. This overloaded effect can cause us to be indecisive to the point of not being able to function. However, Run. Hide. Fight provides three simple options for our brains to process and will hopefully spur us into action. 2) R un. Hide. Fight was produced by the City of Houston through a Department of Homeland Security grant. It is backed and recommended by the Federal Government. It provides a standard system that is widely recognized 64
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and accepted. If a school was to get sued over the preparedness of their staff regarding an active shooter situation, the school can state that they were trained utilizing a nationally recognized system propagated by the Federal Government.
Lockdown (Hide)
The first response of most schools in an active shooter situation is to go into lockdown (Hide) mode. Teachers are responsible for all of the students in their care under the doctrine of in loco parentis. Imagine a kindergarten teacher trying to herd 20 five and six-year-old students as they run away from the school building. Because of the constraints involved in safely protecting all children, the safest solution for most classrooms is to lock
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down. This is the area of Run. Hide. Fight that deserves the most attention in training, because it is the most likely “go to” response for schools. When teaching the program in schools, it is important to incorporate the specifics of the school into active shooter preparedness training. Security administrators should conduct a walkthrough of each school before training so that you get a feel for the security measures in place and current policies and procedures. This allows you to address specifics when talking about lockdowns. Point out physical security measures such as access control, video surveillance, hardened areas in rooms, windows/doors, etc. Also, it’s necessary to address procedures with staff to make sure each teacher and staff member know what to do in active shooter situations.
A specific item to address with a school is the use of code words or phrases to initiate lockdown procedures. I am not a fan of code words. Code words are often times obscure and/or overused. When it comes to initiating a lockdown, keep the code word simple. Use the word “lockdown,” and say it repeatedly over the intercom or any other way that the school has of communicating with their teachers. Announcing a lockdown should immediately set teachers and staff in motion and should result in every classroom and office being locked in seconds. Saying the word “lockdown” won’t provide any special advantage to the shooter. In fact, by clearly announcing lockdown, schools actually hamper the shooter’s ability to easily find potential victims. It is very important that schools understand that locking students in classrooms will not keep students and staff 100 percent safe. However, quickly locking doors and moving away from
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Students should not be instructed to hide under desks or other objects that would hinder their ability to run away or to fight if the shooter was able to gain entry to their locked classroom. doors and windows provides a relative amount of safety for the majority. Students should not be instructed to hide under desks or other objects that would hinder their ability to run away or to fight if the shooter was able to gain entry to their locked classroom. If a shooter enters the classroom, be prepared to do whatever it takes to survive.
Run
Run is a very important strategy that cannot be ignored in the active shooter
preparedness toolbox. Even in the K-12 setting, where lockdown (Hide) is the default, run plays a very important role. Many times, running away from danger is the best option and is a natural reaction when the “fight or flight” instinct kicks in. For the K-12 setting, many factors come into play when assessing whether to run is an appropriate option. Those factors include: • The age of the children: Can everyone in the teacher’s care run to safety? Or would it be more prudent
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There are many different ways people can fight back. Some might have martial arts or defensive tactics training, others might use objects that are available in the room, still others might let natural instinct take over (scratching, biting, hitting, and clawing). to secure the children in a classroom or other locked room? Herding a class of kindergartners would be a much more difficult task than asking a group of high school students to run away. • Proximity to the shooter: Would running away place children in harm’s way because the shooter is close at hand? Typically, shooters are looking for victims in their line of sight. When a shooter is close, it might not be the best option to run into the shooter’s vision. • Abilities of the children: Just like age, ability plays a huge role in deciding whether to run is appropriate. A teacher in a special needs classroom is much less likely to exercise the run option and most likely will need to lockdown their students. • Size of the group: Smaller groups are easier to control and keep track of than larger groups. Educators have to ensure every child can safely run away if the run option is chosen. Teachers are then responsible for 66
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accounting for the students in their care. If run is the chosen option, teachers and students must run until out of danger, The old HazMat adage, “Rule of Thumb” is appropriate here: When you hold out your thumb in front of your face, if you can still see the building where the danger is occurring, you are still too close. Keep moving until everyone is safe. Teachers must remember to keep their students together as a group so everyone can be accounted for. When you choose to run, use the nearest exit, or create your own. Use the nearest exit (even if it is alarmed) or create your own exit by breaking a window if necessary. Do what it takes to get out.
Fight
The final tool in the toolbox of the Run. Hide. Fight training strategy is fight. Fight is listed as the option of last resort when lives are in immediate danger. When fight is chosen, commit to the fight wholeheartedly with the attitude of
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“it’s either him or me.” Fight involves the most danger of the three options because of the proximity to the shooter and the actions being taken stop the threat. There are a multitude of different active shooter preparedness training programs in existence, some of which place more emphasis on fight then the Run. Hide. Fight program. Here are some of the reasons to not overly emphasize fight: • Training to fight can lead to injuries. There have been several instances where teachers and other personnel have been injured during “fight” training. Any time there is a handson, physical component to training, steps must be taken to mitigate and minimize injuries. There is a fine line between realistic training and taking training a little too far, resulting in injury to participants. There are many different ways people can fight back. Some might have martial arts or defensive tactics training, others might use objects that are available in the room, still others might let natural instinct take over (scratching, biting, hitting, and
clawing). Skill levels and abilities vary drastically, making it difficult to teach one particular fighting method over another. • Personalities vary by a wide margin. Some people are naturally more aggressive than others. Expecting someone with a mild disposition to overcome their instincts and personality traits to fight off an armed aggressor might be expecting too much from them. Fight training can be very stressful, and it might overwhelm personnel who are not mentally prepared for it. • The age and physical abilities of the children in the classroom make a huge difference on whether fight is an option. Older children (typically junior high and high school students) have a much better chance of helping teachers and staff to physically intervene in an active shooter situation. Schools must take all of the above factors into account when deciding whether a fight component will be incorporated into active shooter preparedness training. With that being said, if fight is the
chosen option, or the only option available, fight with everything you have. There are no rules to this fight — everything is fair game. Summary Run. Hide. Fight is designed to be simple to maximize surviving an active shooter incident. The three components
of Run. Hide. Fight should be viewed as tools in a response toolbox ready to be called into action if needed. It should not be expected to follow the steps in order in every situation. The bottom line and goal of any active shooter preparedness training is to do something. Preparedness might help save your life.
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SECURITY
Safety, Security and Technology for Parents in School Transportation
6868Fall/Winter Spring/Summer 2019 2019 SouthEast SouthEast Education Education NetworkNetwork
By Derek Graham Years ago, my coworker had a child in middle school who rode the bus to and from school. In an era before cell phones were commonplace — especially for kids — she would anticipate the daily landline call from her son reporting that he had arrived home. Then, she would breathe a sigh of relief. Now, as they say, there’s an app for that! It’s just one of the ways that new technology is being used in school transportation. How Today’s Parents Expect Communication Parents of elementary-age children have grown up with technology. They are accustomed to online banking, digital shopping carts and receiving notifications dealing with those transactions on their smartphones. So, it is not surprising that they expect information from the school district on their smartphones too. When considering a move, or actually moving to a new school district, parents look online for information about which school they are assigned to, based on their street address. The same need is there when preparing for their first child to begin school. As each new school year starts up, they look to a smartphone app to find out where their child is supposed to catch the bus and at what time. Further, they expect to know, on a daily basis, when the bus is going to make the stop. That technology is here. GPS and Parent Notifications Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have been used by school districts for years now as an essential part of providing safe and efficient transportation. Maintenance personnel need to track buses for servicing breakdowns, conducting routine inspections and more. And GPS can document the exact location of a motorist that illegally passed a stopped school bus. GPS is also a valuable tool in addressing customer service questions that arise on a routine basis. A phone call from a parent indicating that the bus www.seenmagazine.us
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never stopped can be quickly verified by the district using GPS data. It may be that the bus passed the stop, perhaps because
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there was a substitute driver. Or it may be that the bus actually stopped, waited for two minutes, and the student never arrived at the stop. GPS documents all of that. School districts can make GPS location data available to parents. Parents want — arguably, NEED — to know when the bus is coming, whether it is on time or maybe that it is running late. It helps them to gauge the appropriate time to leave the house to walk to the bus stop. The same holds true in the afternoon. In addition to added convenience before going to the bus stop in the morning, parents get peace of mind knowing that the bus arrived at school or made it to their bus stop in the afternoon.
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Added Security As parent bus tracking apps are becoming more mainstream each year, school districts are considering what’s next. Yes, it is helpful for the parent to know that the bus made it to their stop in the afternoon but did their child actually get off the bus? School districts are now enhancing their school transportation security by using student ridership programs. Essentially, a student is issued a card and will “swipe on” and “swipe off” the bus. Parent notification apps can be enhanced such that the parent not only receives a notification when the bus arrives at the stop, but also receives a notification that their specific child has swiped on or swiped off the bus. This enhances security when the bus is being driven by a substitute driver. At each bus stop, the “sub driver” can be notified on a mobile data terminal (MDT) that the student is (or is not) authorized to board or exit at the designated stop. A student swipes on and a verification takes place to the driver, acknowledging that the student is, in fact, assigned to board or disembark at that bus stop. Additional Benefits of the On-board MDT The MDT can provide even more information to the bus driver. It can display a list of bus stops and even turnby-turn directions to assist the driver in following the correct route. It also serves as a mobile time clock. After all, the school bus is the driver’s “office.” Information about maintenance issues, inspections, etc. can all be entered by the driver before departing on his or her route. New Technology on the Bus Most innovations for today’s school bus focus on the overall goal of providing safe transportation for students but not all are geared toward parents. School bus manufacturers recently began providing Electronic Stability Control (ESC) on large school buses to assist the bus driver in maneuvering through challenging road conditions. Electronics are being used to detect students or other pedestrians in the loading/unloading area immediately
around the school bus. And, the industry reports development of systems that can actually predict when a vehicle is likely to illegally pass a stopped school bus, and trigger audible warnings to the bus driver or student passengers. And inside the bus, more and more school buses are equipped with technology long considered standard in passenger cars, such as air conditioning and lap/shoulder seat belts. Making the Safest Mode Even Safer Long recognized as the safest means of transport to and from school, the yellow school bus looks to many just as it did decades ago. But the advancements inside, outside and around the bus are focused primarily on preserving, and even improving, that safety record. School district customers — parents and students — expect information, communication and technology commensurate with their experience throughout today’s connected society. And
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school districts are rising to the challenge. Derek Graham is a former state director of pupil transportation in North Carolina.
He is currently an industry consultant with clients that include Education Logistics (Edulog), a provider of computer routing systems and GPS applications.
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Facilities
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Rendering Courtesy of Cooper Carry Architects
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facilities
Enhancing STEM Education Through School Design By Sophia Tarkhan, AIA, LEED AP
Rendering Courtesy of Cooper Carry Architects
Schools rooted in STEM-based (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) instruction are sprouting up across the Southeast. To provide students with the comprehensive education needed to excel in these growing disciplines, these schools not only require specific curriculums and tools, but also environments designed to foster students’ success. At Atlanta-based design firm Cooper Carry, the architects in the K-12 Education studio are currently working on multiple projects that push the envelope for STEM education, focusing on promoting more collaboration and innovation within the schools. When asked to design the new Innovation Academy in historic Alpharetta, Ga., the first STEM-based school in Fulton County, the design firm knew this would become a oneof-a-kind experience for the more than 1,500 students who will attend the academy when it opens in Fall 2021. This isn’t like the school you attended. In order to design a forward-thinking setting that is uniquely its own while still complimenting 74
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the look and feel of the surrounding neighborhood, visioning workshops were held with local students, parents, teachers, school administrators in key curriculum roles and board members. These first meetings and initial planning stages established that the school’s design should advocate for STEMbased learning through collaborative, team-based areas as well as flexible, modular spaces to facilitate the seamless blending of disciplines. To create an incubator of burgeoning STEM professionals and future industry leaders, Cooper Carry’s K-12 studio also consulted with our Higher Education and Science + Tech studios. Together, they endeavored to model the forthcoming Innovation Academy with a range of design features and technologies to forge a space that will adequately prepare students for their bright futures and career paths in fast-evolving STEM fields. No More Static Space Of particular note, the overall design
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concept was conceived during the workshops in which Cooper Carry took part in collaborative discussions with innovative teachers and forward-thinking students. With the understanding that students learn and socialize differently from previous generations, the school’s nearly 250,000 square feet utilizes a three-level atrium that will encompass both the media center and cafeteria, also known as the “touchdown” space. This light-filled, gathering space will serve as a coffee shop microcosm, where students can study, take breaks, enjoy a meal and intermingle with peers. This multipurpose arena will be the heart of the facility, acting as a study hall, commons area and lecture hall all rolled into one. Differing extensively from the traditional configuration of these kinds of spaces, which are usually wholly separate and designed for a singular purpose, the “touchdown commons” allows for cooperation between students and offers unfiltered access to necessary tech
Enhancing Continued on Page 112
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facilities
Fire Safety In Schools: What Your Facilities Need To Have In Place
Today educational facilities are revamped with wonderful aesthetics and state-of-the-art technology, but oftentimes the basic facility needs can be initially overlooked. The need to equip your facility with safety protection systems is key to creating a safe environment for staff and students. Fire safety is one of those pertinent protection systems that should be incorporated in your facility planning and upgrades. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) fire departments respond to an average of almost 5,000 school fires every year. Almost 70 percent of these fires occurred in schools serving kindergarten through 12th grade and resulted in 351 injuries. (“Developing a Fire Safety Plan for Your Schools, Jan.10, 2019,https://blog. koorsen.com/developing-a-fire-safety-planfor-your-school). With statistics like these, it goes without saying that fire alarms, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems, and fire escapes are key components to the safety of everyone on school grounds. The NFPA notes that a working alarm cuts the risk of dying in a reported house fire by half. Installing and regularly maintaining fire alarms is essential to keeping kids and property safe (“School Safety:Fire Prevention Week,” Safe and Sound Schools, https://www. safeandsoundschools.org/2017/10/09/ school-safety-fire-prevention-week/). Experts and safety inspectors strongly suggest fire alarms and fire extinguishers 76
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undergo routine maintenance in order to perform as needed. On Whirlwind Steel’s blog, they caution that “in no instance should the alarm pull or the extinguisher access be blocked or hidden.” Having proper access to alarms and fire extinguishers could mean the difference between life or death. (“Fire Codes for School Buildings: An Overview,” Whirlwind Steel, January 2014,https://www.whirlwindsteel.com/ blog/bid/364304/fire-codes-for-schoolbuildings-an-overview). Fire Safety: School Building Codes and Regulations When it comes to adhering to facility building codes and regulations, there are fire codes and regulations to closely follow as well. Safe and Sound Schools suggest you know the following about your facility occupancy and activity — key to getting everyone out safely in case of a fire. •
When the last time the building was thoroughly inspected? • Where critical signage is located, such as exit signs and evacuation routes. • How many people can fit in the building as a whole and in classrooms and staff rooms? (“School Safety:Fire Prevention Week”, Safe and Sound Schools, https://www. safeandsoundschools.org/2017/10/09/ school-safety-fire-prevention-week/). Also, per School Planning and
Management, experts in the article “School Building Codes: A Basic Guide for Facility Managers,” suggest checking for fire ratings. They say many schools were designed with hallways and corridors to be fire rated — which means “hallway doors are rated and labeled so that when replacing a door, a quick look at the label makes it simple to replace it. Similarly, walls must go all the way to the deck. Holes in the ceiling must be patched to maintain its fire rating. Also, if a pipe is put through a fire-rated wall, the hole can be sealed with fire-rated caulk.” (“School Building Codes: A Basic Guide For Facility Managers”, Ellen Kollie, 2007, https://webspm.com/Articles/2007/12/01/ School-Building-Codes-A-Basic-Guide-forFacility-Managers.aspx?Page=1) These regulations and standards are especially important for administrators and facility managers to check-off as they make sure the building is safe. The Exit Plan For all the building preparedness, there is no substituting a smartly, executed evacuation plan. Teachers, administrators and staff should all know the importance of routine fire drills — and make sure their students know the importance of the drills as well. Viewed by many today as a small break from class, there have been too many instances where fire alarms weren’t a break at all — but a real instance of safety. It’s important to make sure everyone knows the protocol to get out and get home safely.
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Sustainability in Schools
Get Cleaner Air For Free By Robert F. Goodfellow, CAFS
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There can be many advantages to reducing outside air. And with the right air cleaners, the investment will pay for itself in energy savings. A 2006 national report, Greening America’s Schools, concluded that environmentally-friendly school buildings lead to lower operating costs, improved test scores and enhanced student health. The report, produced by Capital E and cosponsored by The American Institute of Architects (AIA), concluded that environmentally-friendly schools save an average of $100,000 each year. The benchmark study examined 30 green schools built between 2001 and 2006 and determined that the total financial benefits of green schools are 20 times greater than their initial cost difference. Measurable benefits include energy and water savings, improved student health and higher test scores. The findings also indicate that there are tremendous benefits from energy efficient school design, not only from an economic standpoint,
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but also from far healthier environments through enhancements such as improved air quality. Among the study’s conclusions: • On average, green schools use 33 percent less energy. • A study of Chicago and Washington D.C. schools concluded that better facilities could add three to four percentage points to a school’s standardized test scores. • Green schools typically have better indoor air quality (IAQ), which contribute to fewer sick days. Where could it possibly be more important to have cleaner air than in our schools? But the key to cleaner, healthier air may not be as simple as A-B-C. The Key to Cleaner, Healthier Air The conventional approach to air quality in schools is to introduce fresh, outside air to dilute contaminants. The amount of outside air introduced to the indoor environment depends
on the number of building occupants. Most schools’ HVAC systems are designed for 15 CFM per person. This can be costly, in terms of conditioning outside air, and sometimes ineffective, when the outside air is polluted. Cleaning the air, rather than diluting it, can save energy and money and improve IAQ. Although the air outside is usually cleaner than indoor air, it can also contain unwanted particles and odors. “Air intake vents can pull a lot of air into a school,” says Jeff Watcke, Southeast Regional Manager with Dynamic Air Quality Solutions. “Because of the nature of our business, we often get involved when there’s a problem. We’ve seen a number of instances where school buses get close to school buildings to load or unload and the engine exhaust from the idling school buses gets sucked into the building’s HVAC system. In worst cases, the ultrafine particles in smoke or vehicle exhaust can trigger asthma attacks.”
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Today, some high efficiency air cleaners, such as polarizedmedia electronic air cleaners, have low static pressures and high dust-holding capacities that are capable of cleaning air without increasing costs. Such was the case during the past few winters in Fairbanks, Alaska. At least six students at Woodriver Elementary School suffered asthma attacks caused by smoke from nearby residential wood-burning boilers. One of the downsides of these asthma attacks is that the children are typically sent home from school. This could be prevented if the culprit _ in this case, ventilation air — was improved. Filtration and Ventilation Historically, increasing filter efficiency meant increasing energy and operating costs. It takes more fan horsepower to push air through denser, more efficient filters. These filters can load quickly and require replacement often. And diluting 80
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indoor air with more outdoor air means heating cold, unconditioned outdoor air in the winter and cooling hot, humid air in the summer. Today, some high efficiency air cleaners, such as polarized-media electronic air cleaners, have low static pressures and high dust-holding capacities that are capable of cleaning air without increasing costs. These air cleaners can be used for cleaning indoor, re-circulated air, and also for eliminating odors and ultrafine particles from incoming outdoor air, such as vehicle exhaust emissions. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.12016, which is the basis for many local mechanical codes, provides three alternative procedures for determining minimum outdoor
airflow rates: the ventilation rate procedure, the natural ventilation procedure, and IAQ procedure. The first two are prescriptive methods that are easy to calculate. The IAQ procedure is more complex and based on performance criteria. It allows HVAC system designers and operators to reduce outdoor air when it has been determined that the air inside the space is clean enough. Impacting the Bottom Line So, we can see that reduced outside air can save money and pay for the cost of the air cleaning equipment. Here’s the breakdown: Energy Consumption. In a typical building with no smoking and no unusual contaminant sources, outdoor
air levels can often be reduced to between 7.5 and 10 CFM per person. For example, a school with a 60ton rooftop unit can expect annual savings on utility costs in the range of $3,000 to $12,000 depending on the geographic location of the building, the utility rates and the hours of operation. Capital Investment. Reduced outside air can favorably impact equipment selection. Lower fan horsepower requirements can translate into smaller tonnage equipment. Maintenance. Polarized-media electronic air cleaner media pads last longer than conventional passive filtration, extending changeout intervals and saving labor costs. Maintenance personnel like the light-weight pads that are lighter, less bulky than equivalent efficiency bag or cartridge filters, and easier to store and handle.
But Wait, There’s More! High efficiency air cleaning systems offer other benefits for schools, as well: Improved IAQ. High efficiency air cleaners remove dangerous airborne particles that other air cleaning systems miss — including odors, VOCs, smoke, bacteria, allergens, fine dust, molds and pollen — without producing any harmful ozone. Mold Prevention. Air cleaners that collect mold spores reduce the risk of potential mold problems by removing mold spores from the air stream, as well as sub-micron particles, which can provide a food source for mold growth. Versatility. Few air cleaners offer the same versatility when it comes to application in the types of HVAC equipment used most frequently in schools. Versatile air cleaners can be applied to packaged terminal units, unit ventilators, rooftop units,
water-source heat pumps, as well as large custom air handling units. Increased Attendance. Studies document the correlation in the reduction of student and staff absenteeism to cleaner air in schools. Poorly controlled asthma can more than double healthcare costs and threaten educational achievement. Cleaner Air Means Happier, Healthier Students Dynamic’s Watcke sums it up this way: “It’s important to remove barriers to learning in our schools and to offer a safe and healthy environment for our children. It’s good to know that you can do so, and that it can be done at zero net cost.” For more information about IAQ and options for schools, visit www. dynamicaqs.com/commercial.
Air Filtration:
Your next Energy Conservation Measure? The Dynamic V8 Air Cleaning System offers sustainable MERV15 performance for better IAQ, using 2/3 less fan energy than MERV14 filters and removing odors, VOCs and ultrafine particles without Ozone. The Dynamic V8 also offers average maintenance intervals exceeding four (4) years. The Dynamic V8 can cut fan energy costs in half. And additional substantial savings may be available through reduction of ventilation air requirements using the IAQ
AIR CLEANING SYSTEM
Procedure in ASHRAE Standard 62. The IAQ Procedure allows recirculated indoor air to be cleaned rather than supplemented with outdoor air that requires heating or cooling. Schools can achieve higher rates of air filtration with much lower pressure drop, allowing HVAC systems to operate at lower brake horsepower than comparable conventional air filtration systems. Visit DynamicAQS.com or ask us about a free Life Cycle Cost Analysis to find out how much you can save on fan energy and maintenance costs.
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www.DynamicAQS.com
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Health & Wellness
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Curriculum Health and Wellness
Vaping Epidemic Middle School and High School Students Show Extreme Increase in E-Cigarette Use By Melissa O’Brien
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In the early 1800s, cigarettes became popular in the United States. It was not until the 1950s and 1960s that medical reports confirmed the dangers of smoking cigarettes. It took almost 200 years to detect the extreme health risks of tobacco smoking. Today, we have e-cigarettes; created initially as a healthy alternative to help smokers kick their habit. Which makes many assume that e-cigarettes and vapes are risk and addiction-free, but this is not true. Vaping causes a multitude of health risks, especially when inhaled by adolescents. Companies, like JUUL, are marketing products for teens, by promoting flavors like mango, fruit medley, creme brûlée and more. The marketing of fun flavors has become an essential marketing tool for these companies, and it has drawn in large numbers of young smokers causing an entirely new generation of nicotine addicts. Electronic cigarettes have become a grave concern across America due to the vast number of adolescents abusing them. Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Scott Gottlieb, former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, express how crucial it is to make sure that e-cigarettes do not become an on-ramp for children to become addicted to nicotine. In recent years, the National Youth Tobacco Survey stated that the number of high-school-aged people using e-cigarettes rose by over 75 percent and an increase of 50 percent among middle-schoolers. Nicotine is highly addictive and can cause harm to the brain’s development, which continues to www.seenmagazine.us
develop into young adulthood. Statistics have shown that young e-cigarette users are more likely to begin smoking conventional cigarettes than their peers who do not use e-cigarettes. There are many people in the FDA pushing to reduce nicotine levels in combustible cigarettes to render them minimally addictive or completely nonaddictive, as an effort to reduce the likelihood of adolescents becoming addicted, and as a way to create other options for adults to receive nicotine to give them a safer substitute for cigarettes. The e-cigarette liquid contains toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde and diacetyl. Formaldehyde is often used in
building materials and antifreeze, also a well-known cause of cancer. Diacetyl, a flavoring chemical, was banned from being used in popcorn factories due to the high number of factory workers developing lung disease. Formaldehyde is linked to ALS and causes other nervous system consequences. This toxic chemical is released when the liquid inside an e-cigarette is heated. Formaldehyde is released at all vaping voltages but vaping at a higher voltage causes an increased amount of the chemical to be released. The chemical diacetyl links to a disease called Bronchiolitis Obliterans. Also
known as “popcorn lung,” due to the high amount of popcorn factory workers who suffered from exposure. Popcorn lung is a condition that causes damage to the small airways of the lungs, causing coughing and shortness of breath. Nicotine levels in e-cigarettes are very high, and it is hard to monitor the amount one is inhaling. When smoking conventional cigarettes, one can track the number of cigarettes smoked per day, but with e-cigarettes people, especially teens, go through pods quickly without knowing how much nicotine content they have inhaled. A single JUUL pod has the equivalent amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. JUUL users on an online forum reported a JUUL pod lasting less than three days, and some said if it lasts 24 hours that it is a “miracle.” Vaping is not a healthy alternative to smoking actual cigarettes. It is highly addictive, filled with chemicals and causes diseases. We especially need to keep vapes out of the hands of teens due to the higher risk of health problems seen in youth and young adults. Melissa O’Brien is a Stony Brook University graduate with a background in marketing, business management, and IoT. She previously served as a Committee Member of the State University of New York Student Assembly, working with the SUNY Board of Education on behalf of the students, she has helped change the lives of students with Soter Technologies. Melissa has worked with Soter Technologies in their marketing department to help create safer and healthier environments for students across the globe.
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BUILDING SPORTS FAMILIES AND NURTURING
STUDENT-ATHLETES By Mike May For a family to become a “sports family” and for a child to become a “student-athlete,” then two things need to take place. The family unit needs to be physically active and the child/children need to have regular — ideally daily — Physical Education (P.E.) at school. The P.E. component at school is a key, critical and necessary part of the equation. Not only is a P.E. class a great place to be physically active, it’s a venue where children get to learn about the importance of being healthy, have fun with their classmates, develop self-confidence and earn the respect of their peers. But, it’s worth noting that the biggest positive side effect of a P.E. class is the student’s mind. Research confirms that physical activity
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during the school day actually enhances academic achievement. “Exercise wakes the brain up and prepares it to be in its best learning situation,” stated Chad Fenwick, Advisor for Physical Education, K-12 (Los Angeles, California). “The best behaviors and the best academic outcomes are when they (the students) come back in from physical education,” stated Dave Spurlock, Director of P.E., Charleston (SC) City Schools. “Movement can change the whole dynamic of education.” The P.E. factor is so influential that children who receive P.E. are two to three times more likely to remain physically active outside of school according to
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research conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys, USA. Sadly, the current situation in the U.S. indicates that the vast majority of children are not physically active to healthy standards, which means the number of student-athletes is not what it should be. The facts on physically active children in the U.S. are sad and sobering, but reversible. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), only 20 percent of U.S. teens are getting basic levels of physical activity, which is 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous levels of physical activity each week. According to research conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys, USA, the number of U.S. children who are active at least three times a week has dropped to 23.9 percent, a decrease of 15 percent in the last five years. This trend toward physical inactivity has resulted in more than 82 million Americans being classified as physically inactive, based on the joint findings of the Physical Activity Council and Sports Marketing Surveys, USA. Another revealing side effect of the rising level of physical inactivity in the U.S. is the conclusion of a recent international youth fitness study done by the British Journal of Sports Medicine. This global study on youth fitness revealed that U.S. children ranked 47th out of the 50 countries studied. There is no more 88
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powerful sign of the negative magnitude of physical inactivity by the youth in the U.S. than that particular study. It’s sad, but true, but reversible. For a family unit to be exercising and physically active, at least one parent (though, ideally both parents) needs to take the lead and be physically active on a regular basis. This involves leading family bike rides, taking trips to the swimming pool, playing pitch-and-catch in the backyard, shooting hoops in the driveway (or a basketball goal at a nearby park), or simply going to a vacant playing field to kick, catch, hit, chase or throw a ball. One of the lost pastimes on the American sports scene is the decline of pick-up and sandlot play. Not only do pick-up games of soccer, basketball, baseball, whiffle ball, softball, and touch/ flag football keep children physically active, it allows children to the work on conflict resolution skills:
Decision Making: Is somebody out or safe? Fair Play: Where should we play today’s game? Fairness: Does the basket count or not? Integrity: When teams are chosen, are they selected evenly? It’s important to keep the score in every game with accuracy!
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Organizations like PHIT America have been busy uncovering research highlighting the severity and negative magnitude of physical inactivity in the United States. In addition to its research, PHIT America has also been busy providing a solution to the issue: PHIT America GO! Grants. PHIT America GO! Grants help elementary schools that are in desperate need of sports gear, programming or training for physical activity programs. PHIT America GO! Grants range in size from $1,000 to $5,000 per school. Every PHIT America GO! Grant is focused on providing assistance to schools which want to help students improve their motor skills, reduce obesity, enhance their personal fitness and educate them about the longterm value of being physically active and physically fit. “We are proud to play a role in getting more young school children physically active and playing sports during the school day,” stated Jim Baugh, Founder of PHIT America. “The GO! Grants are an investment in our national campaign to fight and reverse the ‘Inactivity Pandemic.’ Research confirms the huge benefits that exercise at school has on the academic, physical and emotional health of school children. The PHIT America GO! Grants are changing lives.” Since September 2015, PHIT America has awarded PHIT America GO! Grants to 730 elementary school P.E. programs in 39 states which have provided physical activity outlets for more than 400,000 elementary school children in the U.S. More than 100,000 young students have been introduced to an active lifestyle in the past year. By reversing the Inactivity Pandemic, we will see a growing number of studentathletes and sports families, which is not just a good thing for America; it’s a great thing for America! Mike May is a contributor on behalf of PHIT America, a national non-profit sports and fitness organization. For more information on the academic-athletic correlation, go to www.PHITAmerica.org and view the docuseries: “Creating Healthier & Smarter Kids: The Power of P.E” The docuseries showcases the significant academic benefits of P.E. and the downsides of physical inactivity.
Offering 1% flavored milk will make a difference! Over 300 Schools brought back 1% flavored milk in 2017 and 2018 and here is what they shared: What you need to know about 1%
flavored milk in schools:
s w e N d o o G Kids prefer it!
Since the switch in 2012, milk usage has dropped nearly 6% in Southeast schools.
58%
saw an increase in milk sold
82%
reported it was easy to fit in calorie maximums
79%
shared that it was easy to fit within the budget
It boosts the bottom line!
Nearly 1/3 of schools who brought it back saw an increase in ADP.
Close the nutrition gap! Reduce waste and increase consumption of essential nutrients by offering 1% flavored milk.
Contact your Youth Wellness Manager about dairy programs in your schools at
thedairyalliance.com
Survey conducted by The National Dairy Council represented 317 schools in 8 states, reaching over 200,000 students.
Health and wellness
Nutrition Promoting Mental Health By Roxanne Moore
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“Hangry” is a term that has become increasingly popular. There are books focused on the topic of hangry, t-shirts, posters and even “hangry” kits or care-packages that you can buy for your friends and family. As funny as the term sounds, hangry is a real thing. It’s a phenomenon whereby some people get grumpy and short-tempered when they are overdue for food, or hungry. The emotional state associated with hangry is a result of real biological and hormonal changes taking place in the body that make it harder to focus and control emotions. Many people joke about being “hangry” because it’s typically associated with acute hunger. The unfortunate reality is that many people, especially school-age children and teens, deal with the feelings of hangry at a chronic level. It’s a daily, maybe hourly, experience for them. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the problem of child hunger is a vast one with one in five American children living in food-insecure households. For most school districts across the U.S., student hunger is a recognized problem and many school leaders and educators feel a moral responsibility to fulfill the basic needs of their students. Because it tends to be easier to address, food insecurity solutions often focus on elementary-age children, while the problem is widespread among adolescents as well. In a report by the Urban Institute and Feeding America they estimated that nearly 7 million young people between the ages of 10 and 17 struggle with food insecurity in the U.S., a figure that’s likely grown since the recession, even as the economy has improved. (http:// apps.urban.org/features/food-insecurity/index. html) Frequently, where we see hunger, we also see behavioral and mental health problems in youth. Research has revealed that food insecurity is negatively correlated with children’s ability to make and maintain friendships, ability to express feelings and ideas in positive ways, control of one’s temper, respect for the property of others, and the ability to express empathy and positive regard for others. (http://mcsilver.nyu. edu/sites/default/files/Child%20Food%20 Insecurity%20and%20Mental%20Health. pdf). For teenagers, the stress created by food insecurity, in turn, can lead to a host of other issues. Hungry teens were found to be seven www.seenmagazine.us
Many people joke about being “hangry” because it’s typically associated with acute hunger. The unfortunate reality is that many people, especially schoolage children and teens, deal with the feelings of hangry at a chronic level. to 12 times more likely to exhibit behavior like fighting, stealing and disobeying teachers. Among 15- to 16-year-olds, food insufficiency was associated with depressive disorders and suicide symptoms after controlling for income and other factors. In our desire to find solutions to the mental health crisis, Nutritional Neuroscience is shedding light on the fact that nutritional factors are intertwined with human cognition, behavior and emotions. Few people are aware of the connection between nutrition and depression while they easily understand the connection between nutritional deficiencies and physical illness. Depression is more typically thought of as strictly biochemicalbased or emotionally-rooted. On the contrary, nutrition can play a key role in the onset as well as severity and duration of depression. The explanation of how nutrition plays a key role in mental health can be summarized in three areas of study: micronutrient deficiencies, inflammation and the gut: brain connection. Each topic provides potential links to how an imbalance of nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, hormones, antioxidants, neurotransmitters and inflammatory biomarkers may be contributing to mental health problems and limiting a student’s ability to reach their greatest human potential. Certainly, the causes of mental health and other behavioral concerns can be complex, and while nutrition may not be the only solution, as school leaders we do have the capability to evaluate whether our schools are maximizing the opportunity to make healthy food accessible to students of all ages. Hunger does not discriminate, therefore, no matter the percentage of free and reduced, consider asking the following questions about access to healthy foods in your school district: 1. What is the percentage of participation in all school meal programs across all
schools? 2. Do all schools offer access to a healthy school breakfast program either before or after the bell? 3. Do students have to wait in long lines during their lunch period? 4. Is there significant food waste after school meals? 5. Do schools have a policy for minimizing food waste and maximizing food recovery? 6. Is there an opportunity to offer after school snack and/or supper programs in your schools? 7. Do teenage athletes have access to healthy snacks/supper on campus? 8. Do students 18 and younger have access to food on weekends and holiday breaks? 9. Do students 18 and younger have access to food during the summer? 10. Do schools have, or need, a backpack program? 11. Do schools have, or need, an on-site food pantry? 12. Are schools partnered with a local, community food bank or pantry? 13. Do schools have opportunity for a school garden? https://schoolleadersnow.weareteachers.com/ how-your-school-can-help-reduce-student-foodinsecurity/ For more help assessing your school nutrition program solutions, please consider reaching out to the following resources: 1. Your School Foodservice Director 2. The State Agency that administers the USDA Child Nutrition Programs 3. Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, Roxanne Moore RDN, Executive Director @ Roxanne.moore@sodexo.com 4. Local Food Bank
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health and Wellness
A is for Apple Healthy Habits for Educators
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We just finished talking about nutrition and the students’ brain. But how does nutrition affect you as a teacher? When you’re an educator, you’re constantly on the move during the school day. So...you might grab a candy bar from the vending machines to sustain you until lunch. Or you have meetings after school so you reach for chips and a soda to tide you over until you make it home for dinner. Whatever you’re able to grab fast can oftentimes be the wrong food choice. These unhealthy choices can affect your teaching performance - producing a lack of energy and an inability to concentrate on educating your students. Just as you can see how nutrition plays a role in your students’ learning, it has the same outcome for you as the educator. Edutopia. com says, “The brain consumes calories, too, about 600 per day on average. Food choices that support cardiovascular health -- a diet primarily consisting of non-starchy vegetables and fruits, healthy oils and fats, a variety of protein sources, and selected whole grains -are also good for the brain and may enhance cognitive functioning across the lifespan.”
Whatever you’re able to grab fast can oftentimes be the wrong food choice. These unhealthy choices can affect your teaching performance producing a lack of energy and an inability to concentrate on educating your students. Here are some tips/goals to feeding your brain better this year: 1. EAT BREAKFAST - This seems to be a no-brainer but a lot of people go without eating breakfast. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day as it literally wakes the body and replenishes the body of nutrients it lost overnight. The energy breakfast provides keeps you alert going into the day. Edutopia says , “Beginning with a healthy breakfast can mean the difference between a full morning of energetic teaching and starting to feel droopy by 10AM.”
Healthy foods of course! Healthy foods include berries, leafy green veggies, whole grains, nuts, and protein. There are so many food sites and recipes that can show you what foods to choose and how to prepare great meals and satisfying snacks. Once you get in the habit of healthy eating - you’ll be able to spot these foods with no trouble! Now, those are tips for eating but healthy habits also incorporate other
necessary lifestyle changes. Exercise being at the top of the list. As an educator you already exercise the mind, but exercising the body is just as important. Studies show that 3045 minutes of exercise per day is necessary for healthy bodies. So... get moving! In an extremely stressful occupation like teaching, it’s important to exercise as it also helps with stress and the effects of stress on the body. Sleep is also necessary. My mother, a retired educator, worked long hours and well into the evenings - so I know many educators do not get adequate sleep. However, eight hours of good sleep is essential to brain functioning and healthy bodies - and you need focus and concentration in the classroom! There are different methods for achieving and mastering any one of these goals this year. It won’t be easy to make these lifestyle changes in the beginning, but if you can stick to it long enough (they say it takes seven days to create a habit), you’ll be better off for it in the long run!
2. WATER - Stay hydrated. You know this already but it’s still worth repeating to stay hydrated during the day and avoid sugary drinks. Teach. com suggests, “Keep a water bottle with a fruit infuser at your desk. You can refill it a few times for naturally flavored water that won’t integrate a ton of unnecessary calories into your diet.” 3. MEAL PREP/PACK YOUR LUNCH! - Not just a fad, meal prepping is nothing new. It’s the same exercise your mother’s may have done planning for lunches and dinners for the week. This time you’re just doing it for yourself as an adult. The purpose is to have food already on hand to grab. Healthy food at that. There is a bonus: you’ll also save money you would have spent at the vending machines or in the cafeteria. 4. HEALTHY FOODS FOR HEALTHY MEALS AND SNACKING - So...what to include in your meal prep? www.seenmagazine.us
Online Health Education Resource 7 Health Topics, Grades K-12 Over 142 Lesson Plans & Activities Documents Available in Spanish Curriculum Mapped to All 50 State Standards www.learntobehealthy.org | 866-506-5552 | hproctor@byrneshec.org
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STUDENT TRAVEL
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Student Travel
Turn Textbooks into Playbooks with a Field Trip to the
Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame
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Immersive Exhibits and Activities Score a touchdown with your students by taking them on a trip to The Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame this school year! Our 45-yard indoor playing field and over 50 state-of-the-art interactive exhibits make the top-rated Hall of Fame the perfect place to engage your students and experience the greatness of the game. Guests receive a personalized experience from the moment they walk in the door. Kickoff your visit by registering your All-Access Pass, selecting your favorite school and watching your school’s helmet light up on our 3-story Helmet Wall, with over 770 colleges and universities represented. Our award-winning RFIDenabled All-Access Pass is the key to unlocking all the fun throughout the Hall. Your students will see and interact with personalized content throughout the building that corresponds with their favorite team. Their All-Access Pass will allow them to download the content from their visit so they share those special memories with their families! After lighting up their schools’ helmets, your students can test their football skills at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Skill Zone. Kick a field goal through the uprights of our regulation goal post, run an agility drill, catch a diving pass in the end zone and take the quarterback challenge, all on our 45-yard indoor playing field. The fun doesn’t stop when you leave the field. In fact, it is just getting started! Head to the second floor for five unique galleries featuring multimedia,
TOURING THE HALL IS A TEAM SPORT
Take Your Students on a Legendary Field Trip Planning a school trip to Atlanta? Make sure a visit to the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame is in your game plan. With more than 50 state-of-the-art interactive experiences, historical exhibits and FREE STEAM curriculum available, it’s like no other game in town.
404.880.4841 | groups@cfbhall.com
traditions and passion of the sport, student groups take away valuable lessons about the importance of leadership and hard work. Back at school, you can use our FREE STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) curriculum to follow up on key learnings and ensure the field trip to the Hall is an experience your students will never forget. The STEAM curriculum, which blends the topic of sport and interactive experiences at the Hall and ensures the visit is an educational experience, is available for download directly from cfbhall.com.
Grab your friends and cheer on your favorite team at Fight Song Karaoke on the second floor of the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame.
Curriculum and Learning Opportunities In addition to discovering the
experiential and historical exhibits. Your students will be captivated by a 52-foot interactive media wall, show off their swagger and passion with Fight Song Karaoke, call a legendary play and pick their favorite team to win the game at the ESPN College GameDay Desk. Get up Close and Personal with the Greatest of the Great Wrap up your visit on the third floor where legendary players and coaches are immortalized in the Hall of Fame. The Hall captures the stories and cements the legacies of more than 1,000 legendary college football players and coaches who broke records and won our hearts. Featuring permanent, etched-glass blades that represent each class inducted since 1951, the Hall of Fame Rotunda honors the rich tradition of the game. Guests are also treated to a personalized, in-depth experience through augmented reality displays that share stats, photos and video highlights from their favorite Hall of Fame players and coaches, taking the fan experience to a new level.
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Location and Contact Conveniently located in downtown Atlanta near Centennial Olympic Park and directly connected to the Omni Hotel at CNN Center and the Georgia World Congress Center, the Hall is a five-minute walk to other amazing attractions like the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, CNN Center, Imagine It! Children’s Museum, Skyview and The National Center for Civil and Human Rights. For more information, contact group sales at groups@cfbhall.com or 404-8804841.
Play alongside the legends on the 45-yard indoor field at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame. Run through the SkillZone Challenge, kick a field goal, catch a pass and enjoy a full day of entertaining and interactive experiences.
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Discover a World of Ahhs
worldofcoca-cola.com ©2019 The Coca-Cola Company. All Rights Reserved.
Student Travel
field Trips Field trips are a wonderful opportunity for experience and exposure that simply can’t be gained within a classroom. Whether to a park, a zoo, a museum or another destination, field trips are an exciting chance to get the kids out of their usual element and captivate their attention and imaginations. However, field trips are not without their detractors -- and, when considering how to allocate funds for next year, consider instead bringing the field trip to you. There are so many factors that go into planning a field trip, from the first day the excursion is approved all the way up to the day of the trip itself. How many students are attending? How will the trip be funded? Will you travel via bus, cars, or by walking? How much will transportation cost? How will lunch be handled? Who will your chaperones be? Oh! Don’t forget about permission slips! Did someone bring a first aid kit? What is your itinerary? How does this trip tie into your curriculum? How will you justify the loss of classroom time? Will you pre-test your students’ knowledge? How will you be addressing the learned concepts once you return to school? What will you plan for the students who don’t turn in permission slips, or otherwise can’t go? I’m overwhelmed just thinking about it! With an in-house field trip or a school assembly show, many of these concerns are intrinsically addressed. First, you 100
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don’t need to worry about transportation or permission slips - two huge obstacles! The cost of school bus transportation for a single class can be more expensive than bringing in an assembly presentation for your whole school. You also don’t need to be concerned with keeping track of permission slips or collecting ticket money. When the field trip comes to you, everyone is invited and everyone’s ticket is paid for. Since assembly presentations are usually only limited by facility size, there’s no need for more than a rough student count when planning. And since assemblies are hosted at your campus, you control the schedule! While you might need to shuffle around your specials, generally your students can eat their lunches at their usual time, and not miss a step in their regular day, while still gaining all the rich educational benefit of an out-of-school field trip. While the time spent at your field trip destination will certainly be educational, a field trip eats up lots of precious classroom time with travel, coordination both at school and on-site, the wrangling of students, and unexpected events. By taking the transportation out of the equation, quite a bit of the hassle involved has been circumvented. Now, instead of having to get across town, students just have to get down the hall. The liabilities of lost kids are greatly reduced, and you probably won’t need that first aid kit after all!
SouthEast Education Network
Generally speaking, most field trips are an excursion taken by a single grade or even just a single class within that grade, but an in-house field trip services your entire student body. While an annual trip for all third-graders, for example, is a wonderful way to ensure that all students eventually receive the opportunity, with an in-school field trip, the entire school can benefit on the same day. Many assembly programs have multiple sessions in a single day, usually breaking the audiences up by grade level. This enables the presenter to tailor and scaffold the content according to the grade level of the audience. Additionally, many assemblies are accompanied by preand post-assembly materials to supplement and address curricular standards. Beyond curriculum, in-house field trips teach invaluable social skills for your little ones, such as lining-up, how to treat a guest in your school and how to be a polite and attentive audience member. Plus, in-house field trips are just plain cool! Today’s school assembly vendors can turn your gym into a planetarium, a handson science museum, or a dinosaur dig! With these portable experiences, time and money are both saved, without sacrificing the educational experience of a classic field trip. In-house field trips: no permission slips, no buses - just peace of mind and an unforgettable experience for your students.
THE POWER
of PLACE. More than a museum, a public square. There is power in experience. More than exhibits, lessons. There is power in knowledge. More than events, opportunities. There is power in connection. More than history, today and tomorrow. There is power in moving forward. More than a destination, a journey. There is power in purpose.
S E E . L E A R N . E N G A G E . A C T.
450 Mulberry Street | Memphis, TN 38103 | civilrightsmuseum.org
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The
Cook Museum
of Natural Science
Education Department
www.seenmagazine.us
Are you looking for the perfect place to take your students this fall? The Cook Museum of Natural Science has developed an education department to teach children and adults alike about the natural world around us. Our mission is to have people realize that “life is amazing.” By creating and implementing a curriculum that contains life, earth and physical science, we hope to enhance and encourage scientific learning in our community. Starting downstairs in our exhibit area, students and teachers will begin a journey through the natural world. Through hands-on interactives, visitors can examine the principles of both Fibonacci’s sequence and Bernoulli’s sequence. Guests will encounter the solar system and our special star, the sun. Our interactive kinetic sand table is a must-see for everyone! Deep in the heart of the exhibits, guests will find a cave to explore. Just beyond the saguaro cactus students will be awed by our 15,000-gallon saltwater aquarium. In the forest, students can climb through a model of the largest tree in Alabama. These are just a few of the learning opportunities for students of all ages to experience. On the second level of the museum, our focus is even more intentionally educational. We have three dedicated classrooms, each with a different focus, both in age-group and discipline. Teachers, homeschool co-ops, and other special groups will be able to schedule more in-depth classes upstairs in our labs. In the Adventure Lab, students may study geology, meteorology, biology and chemistry. These classes include labs that discuss caring for our earth, Alabama wildlife, various animal programs, erosion, sea life, dissections, states of matter and many more. Our trained educators walk the students through an engaging lesson that expands their knowledge and heightens their curiosity. Then they will end the experience with a hands-on activity or experiment. The Maker Space classroom is designed to encourage creativity. It was developed with design and engineering in mind. The lessons focus on biomimicry, physics, engineering and robotics. These engaging lessons begin SouthEast Education Network
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with exploration into the topic and end with the engineering process. Students will be challenged to ask what can be done, imagine their solution, plan their project, create the solution and work together to improve upon it. Our Salamander Room is geared toward preschool students. In this classroom, we will focus on “Mommy and Me” classes, birthday parties, afterschool fun, and younger homeschool groups. We want to engage young minds in the scientific process of observation by using activities that immerse the students in nature, sound and art. The education department at the Cook Museum is dedicated to working with educators and family groups to bring science to life. We want to encourage wonder about the world around us and bring about scientific curiosity in our patrons. Schedule your exciting field trip today! Written by Jennifer Densmore, Education Manager at the Cook Museum
3 Fully Equipped Classrooms
SCHEDULE A FIELD TRIP CALL NOW
256.351.4516
“
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Student Travel
Learn Aboard a Piece of History
Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum There is no better place to experience STEM than inside the hull of an engineering marvel, all 888 feet and 30,000 tons of it. Commissioned during WWII in 1943, the USS Yorktown sits in Charleston Harbor and is a part of Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum located in the town of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Both the ship and its salty setting, alongside overnight accommodations, create a one-of-a-kind opportunity for hands-on learning. Whether visiting for the day or
extending your stay, there are multiple options to meet your STEM education needs. The Flight Academy at Patriots Point provides a menu of fully immersive aviation programs designed to integrate invaluable soft skills, like communication and teamwork, with science, technology, and math. It goes without saying that showcasing careers is paramount and in this way the Flight Academy goes above and beyond. Participants aren’t simply shown a career in a STEM field- they are doing. “We all said we wanted to
probably be doctors or lawyers growing up, but this allows them to actually try out being an aviator, an air traffic controllerit exposes them to these careers,” says Flight Academy Program Coordinator, Kenny Brinckman. The Flight Academy has created age appropriate classes for specific age ranges, targeting concepts like force and motion, and also for specific groups such as JROTC units. The fun doesn’t stop with Flight Academy. The museum’s Charleston Harbor backdrop is the perfect place to
CHARLESTON’S TOP STUDENT ATTRACTION iscount
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explore saltwater science. While several science programs in the shipboard Education Center use the surrounding estuary as a platform to address a variety of STEM and standards-based concepts (including force and motion, properties of matter, ecosystems, oceans, and landforms) it is the Marine Science Program that delves deeper. Science Program Coordinator, Hannah Giddens says that this program is near and dear to her not only because of her background in marine biology but because she likes to highlight that we are all inherently scientists. “We all question, we all observe, and we all explore from the moment we are born. I think it is important to humanize scientists and science practices because for some learners it seems intimidating and such a far reach. Science is truly for everyone.” The Marine Science Program is not lecture-based, but rather through a series of group activities students are introduced to qualitative and quantitative observation-making skills while setting the stage for more in-depth exploration of marine science. A highlight is always the Education Center Wet Lab featuring various aquatic animals that
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make the USS Yorktown their home. All education programs onboard the USS Yorktown strive for, and achieve, authenticity. Program instructors are chosen with care and are often experts in their field- whether veterans, veteran aviators, oceanographers, marine
biologists, or formal educators, they know their stuff. Tens of thousands of guests enjoy these structured classes each year. Isn’t it about time to make your reservation? Learn more about Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum and its educational programs at PatriotsPoint.org!
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Student Travel
Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum At the end of her workday on Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a seamstress at a downtown department store, boarded a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus for her ride home. A short time later, Mrs. Parks would take a stand by refusing to relinquish her bus seat to a white male—an action that resulted in her arrest and led to the 382-day boycott of Montgomery buses by African Americans. The Montgomery Bus Boycott represented the first largescale U.S. demonstration against segregation, and Mrs. Parks became frequently referred to as the mother of the civil rights movement. Today, Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum stands on the spot of Mrs. Parks’ historic arrest. Located on the University’s Montgomery Campus, the museum opened on Dec. 1, 2000, with the mission of preserving and interpreting the story and lasting legacy of Mrs. Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott for future generations. Constructed on the site of the former Empire Theater, the museum has become a major landmark in the revitalization of downtown Montgomery and annually draws visitors from throughout the country and around the world. As the nation’s only museum dedicated to Mrs. Parks, the museum collects, preserves and exhibits artifacts to the life and lessons of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the civil rights movement and provides educational programming and resources for K-12, adult and lifelong learners. 108
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Visitors to the museum will learn more about the people behind the boycott, as well as the political and social climates of 1950s Montgomery. Through the exhibits, visitors will hear the voices of brave men and women who fought for freedom through the peaceful bus boycott, witness the arrest of Mrs. Parks, and travel back in time to a mass meeting at Holt Street Baptist Church that set the stage for the boycott. Artifacts within the exhibits include a restored 1955 station wagon, a replica of the public bus on which Mrs. Parks was sitting on the day of her arrest and original historic documents of that era. Visitors may also choose to take a trip aboard the “Cleveland Avenue Time Machine” in the museum’s Children’s Wing. By boarding a replica of the Cleveland Avenue bus where Mrs. Parks was arrested, visitors are taken on a 20-minute, virtual trip through the historical events of the Jim Crow Era, setting the stage for what they will see in the museum’s main exhibit. The museum also regularly hosts traveling exhibits in its gallery, which are free to visitors during normal business hours. Located at 252 Montgomery St. in Montgomery, the museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $5.50 for children ages 5 to 12 and $7.50 for visitors 12 and up. Tours of both the Museum and the Children’s Wing are $14 for adults and $10 for children. Children under 5 years old are admitted free of charge. For information, contact the Museum at 334-241-8615 or visit troy.edu/ rosaparks .
Learn about the woman who became a movement. More than sixty years ago, Rosa Parks’ simple act of bravery became an important symbol of the Civil Rights Movement. Today, you can step back in time and experience the sights and sounds that forever changed our country. Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum is a state-of-theart, interactive facility that honors one of America’s most beloved women. Visit today and learn all about this freedom warrior firsthand.
For ticket information and hours, visit troy.edu/rosaparks or call 334-241-8615.
© 2019 Troy University
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Student Travel
Get Schooled on Rock
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Graceland is a fun and educational destination that gives students the opportunity to learn about American music history and pop culture. It takes them on the journey of a poor boy from Tupelo, Mississippi, who followed his dream of becoming a singer and rose to the iconic status of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. At Graceland, students can explore Elvis’ home, Graceland Mansion to see how the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll played, relaxed and spent time with family and friends. Then, they can fully-immerse themselves in his life and career through more than 10 all-new exhibits and attractions at Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment complex. Exhibits at Elvis Presley’s Memphis include Presley Motors Automobile Museum, ICONS: The Influence Elvis Presley, Elvis in the Army, Hollywood Backlot, plus Elvis: The Entertainer Career Museum, featuring gold records, awards, jumpsuits and more! In addition, the newly opened Graceland Exhibition Center features limited-time exploration exhibits to delight visitors of all ages. The new
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exhibit “Journey to Space” opens in October 2019 and will run through January 2020. The Journey to Space exhibition invites visitors to experience traveling to, living and working in space. Visitors are immersed in the challenges that astronauts - and the engineers and scientists that make their journeys possible - face. Space features interactive exhibits, whole body experiences and authentic artifacts that engage visitors with the unparalleled adventure of space exploration. Graceland welcomes student orchestral, choral and band groups to rock out in their
own style of music while visiting the home of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll as part of their Graceland experience. Performance space is available at Elvis Presley’s Memphis and groups can request to perform. As an enhancement to the Graceland experience, the Graceland Education Program “Schooled on Rock” offers a unique experience tailored to match your students’ needs and curriculum, including homeschool groups. Our learning program can be designed around the many facets of Elvis Presley’s life. Our practical learning program uses the impact of Elvis storytelling, the dynamic use of technology through our iPad tour and the environment of Elvis Presley’s home. In addition to the tour options, during your Graceland visit, our staff can also provide a standards-based curriculum lesson focused on Elvis for an additional fee. We also offer several different educational tools to help you prepare your students for a trip to Graceland. For more information on visiting Graceland with your student group, visit Graceland.com/Students.
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Enhancing Continued from Page 74 tools in the media center. The atrium will also house a projection screen that can be used to showcase TED Talks, while moveable furniture can be rearranged to accommodate robotics practice runs. Extending beyond the interior, the central common space spills out into an outdoor makerspace and open-air courtyard surrounded by engineering labs, allowing students to flow freely between the various zones and cultivate a learning environment attuned to their own preferences. With learning styles varying between students, it’s imperative to offer opportunities to pick and choose how they would like to consume information and put it into practice. Multiples and Modules Just as quickly as technology advances, courses may change throughout the year, or from year to year, which is why the facility is designed to be easily reconfigurable to meet new demanding curriculum evolution. A classroom can become an office or vice versa at Innovation Academy. With newfangled devices and smartphone apps popping up daily, it was only right to ensure that flexibility and adaptability of space are prioritized in the design. Almost all the rooms at the school are being constructed using multiples of the same dimensions (11 feet wide by 30 feet deep which is conducive to laboratory design), enabling these spaces to be easily converted for alternative use. While a high school typically has very specific uses for very specific spaces, the educators at Innovation Academy can 112
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maximize the usability of a space to correspond with changing needs on a day-to-day basis. If more space is needed to host a lab, intermediary stud walls can be modified more easily than a wall made of cinder block. If the school experiences an influx of new students and has an excess of office space, those offices can simply be converted into extra classrooms. This state-of-the-art adaptability supports the functionality of the school and broadens the extent to which students can learn in a comfortable environment. Also, the modularity of the design aligns well with the inflexibility of limited K-12 budgets, offering the ability to restructure layout without the costs associated with a redesign. Innovation on Display At the Innovation Academy, crossdisciplinary work is amplified by removing walls and barriers — literally. Glass partitions make learning transparent between classrooms, fostering an environment of inquisitiveness that improves focus by seeing other students learn. The glass also allows more natural daylight to pour in from the outside, which is linked to various health benefits and boosts cognitive focus. Instruction can also happen across classes with operable, garage door-style walls which open to allow multiple classes to convene and collaborate on a common topic. In an effort to make the learning process even more visible and transparent, teachers at Innovation Academy will not have their own assigned classrooms and instead revolve meeting locations throughout the building. This allows students the opportunity to switch up their environment, which has been proven to increase
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productivity. Simply put, design informs our actions every day. The angles and contours of a building not only determine people’s movement through a space but can also influence people’s moods and behaviors. In the case of educational design, achieving ideal student performance isn’t solely determined by the quality of the curriculum or an instructor — the built environment also has a powerful effect. As advancements in technology continue to permeate our daily lives, the status-quo school blueprint of yesterday is bending to meet students’ changing needs. When planning STEM schools, architects are challenged to rethink designs and find innovative ways to complement new curriculums and tech tools, while also incorporating flexibility for classrooms to continue to evolve and adapt for years to come. Sophia Tarkhan is an Associate Principal in design firm Cooper Carry’s K-12 Education studio, striving to translate the owner’s visions into the built environment in the public and private sector for K-12 Schools project types. With more than 20 years of experience in the building industry as a project architect, program manager (owner’s representative) and construction manager, Tarkhan’s first-hand experience in the different building disciplines gives her an edge in negotiating through the design and construction process. She is a registered architect, a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), of the Council of Educational Facilities Planners International (CEFPI) and is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP).
The right way to intervene The underlying premise of RTI and MTSS is that schools should not delay in
OUR FEATURED EXPERTS Keynote speakers
providing help for struggling students until they fall far enough behind to qualify for special education, but instead should provide timely, targeted, and systematic interventions to all students who demonstrate the need. Join us at an upcoming RTI at Work™ Institute to:
Brian K. Butler
Luis F. Cruz
Nicole Dimich
Angela Freese
Paula Maeker
Mike Mattos
• Create a school or district culture that focuses on student learning • Build a highly effective, collaborative core program • Focus core instruction on rigorous core curriculum • Unpack standards into focused student learning targets
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Rich Rodriguez