I have spent the last few days researching how I can best implement each of my goals. My first goal was to learn more about an online learning program called Compass. This is a program that our district pays for, yet it has only been utilized by our special education and Intervention classes. I think this program would be greatly beneficial for all students and could help teachers differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners. Unfortunately, I have had a medical emergency that has landed me in the hospital for a few days, therefore the meeting that was supposed to take place on Monday did not occur. Since I did not have time to discuss this program with my colleagues, I have spent some time exploring this resource and have set up groups for each section of my language arts classes. I am not sure how to import their previous tests scores, but hope that upon further exploration and guidance from other teachers, I will be able to differentiate assignments based on specific student needs. For now I have assigned all students a lesson on figurative language (which they have been learning about while I have been gone) to check for understanding on literary devices. I plan on having students give this program a try on Monday. After students have completed this lesson I will have a better understanding of what the results “look like” and how I can use this program with a diverse group of learners.
My second goal is a long term desire to create an “open library” time for students, parents and community members. We were not planning on implementing this until next year, but are using the rest of this year to create a vision of what we want this to look like. This week I have been looking into different community resources that we could invite to come in and provide information during this time. I found that we have a service called Ferndale Community Resources Center, which provides resources to individuals who are in need of extra support due to financial problems. I have also found contact numbers for people at the Opportunity Council of Whatcom County and the Interfaith Clinic who also provide services to those in need of support. I will be meeting with my colleague who is helping create this “Open Library” next week to outline how we want to structure this time, and what outside services we would like to contact.
Katie-
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear about your medical emergency and hope that you are feeling better. I am really interested in your Compass program that you have. We used to use a program called NWEA that would test students on the sentence fluency, reading comprehension and other important reading proficiency tools but we have since stopped using it in general education classes and it is, like your Compass program, just focused on our intervention and resource classes. This sounds like a great tool that should be utilized in all classrooms. I am excited for you and hope, but following your blog, that I too can learn more about this program and its benefits.
Your second goal that you have is a wonderful goal and I think it will be highly beneficial to your community. Is this a place that will just hold informational meetings? Will it be focused on tools that secondary students need to have to be successful? Also, will teachers in the district be the ones to teach the community or will you have outside people who are specialized in technology come? I really applaud your school for setting up something like this for the community. This is a great way to allow the community to come into the schools and really become about of the district.
JenZ
Jen,
ReplyDeleteI am curious as to why your school stopped using NWEA for general education classes. Did they find that it was not a good use of time for all students? Did they not see a correlation in the participation of this program and test scores?
The Open Library is going to be a bit of a process, but I am excited to get this started. All teachers will be welcome to come in and facilitate if they choose. While we will have the computer lab open for exploration, technology will not be the only focus. I envision this time to be flexible for those who choose to attend. Parents/community members can come to learn basic technology skills, but they can also come to learn about community resources and/or bring their students in to help with homework. It is my hope that our community will begin to feel that our school values them and that we can all work together to improve the lives of children living in Ferndale.