Student engagement: Making a difference, one student at a time
What does it take to get students more engaged in the classroom? Let's talk about it!
Join us for a 45-minute Twitter Chat, moderated by Cheryl Abla, and share your thoughts on classroom engagement. We hope you'll join us!
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Topic
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Making a difference, one student at a time
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Date
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Tuesday, November 10, 2015
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Time
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7:00 p.m. (MST)
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Hashtag
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#McRELchat
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Questions to consider
- What do your students remember most about you as a teacher?
- Why is it important to engage and connect with your students?
- What classroom projects have you observed that kept students highly engaged?
If you need a partner to help your improvement initiatives soar, call us at 800.858.6830 or email us today!
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Best foot forward project: Substituting teacher-collected video for in-person classroom observations
Center for Education Policy Research, Harvard University
A year-long study of 347 teachers and 108 administrators in four states, conducted by Harvard University's Center for Education Policy Research, revealed that teachers who controlled their own recordings of classroom lessons for observation found the process more fair and were more self-critical than those who were observed in person by an administrator. Additionally, administrators were just as able to identify strong and weak teachers in both teacher groups.
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Report: School environment listening sessions
White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education (WHIAIANE), U.S. Department of Education
After conducting nine listening sessions with more than 1,000 attendees in seven states across the U.S., the WHIAIANE made several recommendations related to school climate in American Indian and Alaska Native communities in a final report. Among the recommendations for states and districts, the report calls for the support and preservation of Native American languages; culturally responsive, restorative justice discipline policies; and promotion of culturally accurate instruction of Native American history.
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K-12 education: Most eighth grade students are not proficient in geography
United States Government Accountability Office (GAO)
For this study
, the GAO analyzed National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) data from 8th grade geography assessments, and found that three-quarters of 8th grade students fell below the level of proficiency, and that average test scores have plateaued since the assessment was first administered 1994.
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High school graduation rates are on the rise in most states
The Washington Post
Preliminary state data from 2014 shows the U.S. graduation rate has risen for the third consecutive year, up from 81% in 2013. While nationwide 2014 data is not available yet, 36 states are reporting an increase, with only five states and the District of Columbia reporting decreases.
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Connect with us at the following conferences
Our staff and partners will present at the following conferences:
National Dropout Prevention Network Conference
in San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 25-28. Follow the hashtag #NDPCn on social media for updates.
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ALL for all: Reviving academic language in classroom conversation
In her latest post on the McREL Blog, Jane Hill examines the instructional practice of academic language development, noting that teacher-student and student-student discourse is a key instructional strategy that builds academic language skills for all students, not just English-language learners. She says that teaching all students to "sound like a book" helps deepen comprehension of both content and concepts.
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RtI, PBIS, and MTSS: An evolution, a revolution, or roses by other names?
What is the difference between Response to Intervention (RtI), Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS)? Adena Miller explains how these student-learning supports have evolved since the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) in 2004, and how each of these support frameworks offers a different, and sometimes complementary, approach to the others.
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Research Says: Promising, but incomplete, results for mindfulness
 In his latest Research Says column in ASCD's Educational Leadership magazine, Bryan Goodwin, McREL's president and CEO, looks at what the research says about the benefits of teaching mindfulness to students and whether it affects achievement. He writes, "Improving social-emotional outcomes may not require complex approaches but may be possible with something as simple as brief meditation sessions, which themselves could be an antidote to the 'busyness' of school life."
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Balanced Leadership book helps school leaders go the distance
Learn how a balanced approach----melding purposeful change with continuous maintenance----makes school leaders more effective in implementing three fundamental components of leadership: a clear focus on issues that matter most, managing change to improve your school, and creating a sense of investment in student outcomes among teachers and staff.
Balanced Leadership for Powerful Learning: Tools for Achieving Success in Your School (ASCD, 2015), by McREL's Bryan Goodwin and independent education consultant Greg Cameron, with McREL's Heather Hein, describes the leadership practices that are proven to positively affect student achievement. Order your copy today!
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PD tools available for you, right when you need them
Your time is valuable. Now you can easily access PD resources 24/7/365. Our Solutions Portal is an online toolkit of resources to help strengthen your in-house PD, and save you time and money.
The
McREL Solutions Portal
gives district staff direct access to select, research-based professional development resources created by McREL, including training materials, presentations, videos, activity and planning guides, and much more. These resources address a wide scope of subjects--from instructional strategies and leadership development to educational technology, formative assessment, and math and science education--to help teachers and leaders hone their professional practice and support higher levels of student growth. We update the Portal monthly, with new tools and materials that supplement the consulting and training we offer to schools and districts.
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Connect with Us on Social Media
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For the latest in PD opportunities, blog posts, education news, and research, follow us on our social media channels.
REL Pacific on Twitter
on Twitter for the latest on education research, the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, and Institute of Education Sciences projects in the Pacific region, plus engaging infographics, videos, and more.
North Central Comprehensive Center on Twitter
Follow
NorthCentralCC on Twitter for updates on work with state education agencies in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
We're hiring!
on Twitter to view our current job openings.
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"McREL has never failed to provide us with innovative ideas, training, and resources."
Macomb Intermediate School District, Michigan
"We are grateful for McREL's experience and knowledge... great data analysis and assistance to stakeholders."
-Brent Bacon
Wyoming Department
of Education
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