ASCD News
Teacher Evaluation Plan Prompts Debate in South Korea
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 19, 2009
A new teacher evaluation plan is fueling debate among South Korean educators, parents and education stakeholders. Under the proposal, teachers ranked at the very bottom will be forced to undergo special training. If they remain at the bottom for three years, they will be fired. Educators ranked at the very top will be rewarded with incentives.
- Read more about the proposal in this month's edition of Education Update.
Understanding by Design Exchange
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 19, 2009
Understanding by Design is a framework for designing curriculum, assessments and instruction. This framework explores questions such as: What is teaching for understanding? How can you unpack content standards to identify the important big ideas that you want students to understand? What instructional practices are engaging and effective for developing student understanding? To help educators enrich student understanding, ASCD offers the Understanding by Design Exchange, a Web site dedicated to the design of curriculum, assessment and instruction that leads students to deep understanding of content.
- Find out more.
- Also available: Review other Understanding by Design resources
The Education and Public Health Intersection
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 17, 2009
On the Whole Child Blog, ASCD responds to Rick Hess, resident scholar and director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute, who wrote a blog post that questions why US Education Secretary Arne Duncan would become involved in health care reform. ASCD's blog post describes how research and common sense have shown time and again that education and health are inextricably linked. It references H1N1 as a current example of the intersection between the two sectors and profiles schools that participate in ASCD's Healthy School Communities program. Rick Hess' upcoming ASCD book, "Education Unbound: The Promise and Practise of Greenfield Schooling," will be available in February.
- View the post.
Teaching Kids to Teach Each Other
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 17, 2009
In a new ASCD book, "Productive Group Work," authors Nancy Frey, Doug Fisher and Sandi Everlove guarantee that engaged, cooperative group work can occur in every classroom. How can teachers use collaborative learning to help students "consolidate what they know, clarify what they don't know, and extend their learning skills"? The authors recently sat down for an ASCD Talks With an Author interview, where Frey called productive group work the "linchpin for what happens in student learning."
ASCD Conference Scholars on Leadership
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 12, 2009
ASCD Conference Scholars have participated in two recent online conversations about leadership within the education field. The first conversation -- How Can Educators Take Back the Mic? -- focuses on how to ensure that educator voices are included in policy discussions at all levels. The second -- Who Will Lead? -- addresses the shortage and attrition rate of education leaders and tackles how to move beyond the model of an individual self-sacrificing leader to create the critical mass of strong, new leaders needed in the 21st century.
Robert Marzano on Critical Transformations
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 12, 2009
In a short video clip, ASCD author Robert Marzano shares his personal story of critical transformation, which changed the course of his career and committed him to work that shapes what happens in the classroom. ASCD's 2010 Annual Conference focuses on the theme of critical transformation and will be held from 6 March to 8 March in San Antonio, Texas.
- Learn more about the 2010 Annual Conference.
ASCD's Redesigned PD Online Courses
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 10, 2009
ASCD has just released a redesign of the popular PD Online course catalog. These self-paced courses are designed with the adult learner in mind and focus on relevant topics such as assessment, instructional leadership and curriculum. Each course employs a lesson-based approach, including pre- and post-assessments and multimedia activities featuring content experts in real classrooms. New course takeaways and supplementary readings add to the PD experience by providing additional depth and perspective on the topics.
- Learn more about the PD Online course catalog.
ASCD's Sustainability Movement
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 10, 2009
After more than two years of moving the ASCD headquarters building toward sustainability, or "going green," the association was awarded two Green Globes by the Green Building Initiative in May. ASCD enjoys cost savings because of the efforts, but the ultimate benefit is reducing the organisation's carbon footprint to benefit the community and the planet.
- Learn more about what ASCD did to "go green."
Whole Child E-Book Free Download
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 05, 2009
Through Nov. 17, ASCD's newest e-book, "Supporting the Whole Child: Reflections on Best Practices in Learning, Teaching, and Leadership," is free to download. This book, a collection of articles from Educational Leadership and other ASCD publications, explores the various meanings of support in the classroom, school and community, including how educators can build trust through exchanges that lead to positive behaviours and engagement, helping students confront new concerns and catching them before they falter. Authors such as Carol Ann Tomlinson, Douglas Fisher and Robyn Jackson share perspectives and strategies for shaping instruction, providing scaffolds and interventions, and preparing students for the 21st century.
Free Live Stream of Author Presentation Is Tomorrow
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 05, 2009
Baruti Kafele, author of the new ASCD book "Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life," will present his book to an audience of educators and students from the Washington, D.C., area from 11 a.m. to noon EST tomorrow at the ASCD headquarters in Alexandria, Va. Kafele's book helps educators understand why lack of proficiency in reading, writing and maths among black males is a symptom of deeper problems that are generally ignored. "If we want to motivate our black male students to succeed, we as educators must be of the right mindset first," writes Kafele. Tune in to the ASCD Web site tomorrow for a free live stream of the event.
Maintaining Professional-Development Momentum
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 03, 2009
After a weekend of discovery and networking at ASCD's Fall Conference, educators should maintain that momentum for their professional-development gains. ASCD knows that true change comes to schools with sustained, ongoing capacity-building professional development. ASCD has research-based models dedicated to cultivating educators into local experts in specific instructional and leadership practices. By providing a range of PD services customized for states, intermediate agencies, districts and schools, ASCD supports on-the-ground educational change efforts around the world.
- Learn more about ASCD's on-site capacity-building approach.
21st-Century Priorities -- What and How We Teach
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Nov 03, 2009
At ASCD's recent Fall Conference, Mike Schmoker caught many in the crowd off guard with his presentation about 21st-century priorities. He warned against education's tendency to subscribe to unproven "fads" and said that schools should deliver a content-rich curriculum in which all students are encouraged to read deliberately, discuss what they've read and then write about it. A Conference Daily article summarizes the presentation and provides a snapshot of attendees' varied responses on Twitter.
Continuity of Learning and H1N1: What Questions Do You Have?
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Oct 29, 2009
If you missed ASCD's Web seminar -- H1N1 and Continuity of Learning: Meeting Students' Learning Needs When they Return to School -- set aside some time to listen to the archived version of the presentation. An ASCD blog post provides a link to the presentation, which addresses the timely question of how educators can prepare for the possibility of lengthy and widespread absences because of H1N1. The post also asks readers what is keeping them up at night as they deal with H1N1.
How to Start Eliminating Fear from Your Classroom
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Oct 29, 2009
Many teachers still intentionally create an atmosphere of fear in their classroom to manage student behaviour and encourage academic achievement -- despite compelling evidence against such strategies. Fear compromises our ability to learn, and in one of ASCD's new books, "The Motivated Student," author Bob Sullo explains why and how to create a classroom that minimizes fear. He gives teachers six tips to get started.
New: ASCD Scholars
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Oct 27, 2009
ASCD Scholars, a newly formed group of educators from around the world, will be discussing leadership topics on Inservice (the ASCD blog), Twitter and ASCD Express. Scholars will discuss topics in education leadership through the lens of their country, region or job title, and they'll invite you in on the conversation. Tackle education leadership theory, research, challenges and practicalities of implementation with the ASCD Scholars. Look for new content from the scholars every two weeks on Inservice, help us keep the conversation growing and share us with your professional learning network.
- Check out the ASCD Scholars Web page to learn more about this dynamic new group of leaders.
A Tradition of Excellence: How School Leaders Are Helping Turn One Troubled School into a Success Story
ASCD Worldwide Edition SmartBrief | Oct 27, 2009
In a new ASCD Express issue, Marc Cohen, a secondary-school principal in the US state of Maryland, writes about his experience taking over a troubled school and working tirelessly to turn it around, starting with a mind-set adjustment. In the article, Cohen discusses the environment and some of the challenges he faced coming to the school, including one of the highest rates of referrals and suspensions in the school district and what actions he took to turn it around.
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