Pima County JTED Professional Development News

Issue: # 1

January 2011

Happy New Year and welcome to 2011! Among the many things I'm grateful for is the privilege of working with passionate, highly skilled, and dedicated teachers. I've been blessed to have over 200 CTE teachers in Pima and Santa Cruz Counties participate in our professional development program and I'm constantly encouraged by your commitment to the noble profession of teaching. You are recognized as leaders in Arizona because of the relevant and engaging lessons you are writing, posting to the wiki, and teaching in your classes.

As you start a new semester - it is an opportunity to "start fresh." During my 23 years as an agriculture teacher there wasn't a single year that I didn't have to do a mid-course correction with regard to classroom management. I'd start the year off so organized, with procedures taught (not told) and consistently followed. By October I was letting down my guard and minor deviations from the procedures were creeping in. By November or December students were not following procedures consistently. My first reaction was to want to blame them. But a few moments of reflection and I knew that it wasn't them I was upset with, it was me. I was the one that didn't nip it in the bud back in October. I was the one who was too busy to stop and give positive reinforcement for following classroom and laboratory procedures.

January brought a brand new opportunity to review the classroom procedures and expectations.I found that fessing-up was critical. I would tell the students "I'm sorry that I didn't consistently follow through with my classroom management plan. Toward the end of last semester a few of you weren't consistently following our established procedures and it is my fault. Today we're going to review those procedures, tweak a couple of them, and starting tomorrow we will be following them consistently.My personal goal as your teacher is provide the best learning environment possible for all of you and I will work my hardest to improve that this semester."

Isn't it great to have second chances! And third.And...

Best wishes for a successful spring semester.

Sincerely,

Curt

Math-in-CTE

The graduating class of 2013 is the first class to fall under the new state requirements which include four math credits: Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and as defined by the Arizona Department of Education an "additional course with significant math content as determined by district governing boards or charter schools."

In January of 2009 JTED held a meeting to begin looking at ways to award math credit for Automotive Technologies and Construction Technologies. Our first idea was to offer workshops to help these CTE teachers pass the tests necessary to be highly qualified. However, this plan did not fit the needs of many of our teachers. After some research I found that other states had instituted a "teacher of record" team where the CTE teacher delivered all lessons, even those deemed math enhanced and the math partner aided in the planning of these lessons and guaranteed their mathematical quality.

After a few preliminary meetings we found that Arizona Department of Education was partnering with the National Research Center (www.nccte.org) to offer training in writing math enhanced lessons. The lesson plan format they utilized had been highly researched and was found to provide highly successful data regarding student results on high stakes tests such as the TerraNova and the Accuplacer.

Pima County JTED's Governing Board approved a pilot project for teams of Auto and Construction teachers, along with their math partners, to write math enhanced lessons. You can find these on the WIKI.

Curriculum Project Update

A big thank you to all who have participated in the Curriculum Writing Project! Not a week goes by that we do not hear about the difference this project is making in Pima County CTE classrooms. We are gearing up for another summer of collaboration and lesson writing. The lead writers met December 9^th to begin creating a plan for the summer. Information on summer writing opportunities will be released soon.

New on the Wiki

A collaboration page for each program. Here you canwrite comments and upload your own resources to share
CTSO information and links
A feedback form.Found on each "Lessons" page, this form is a quick way to send in any issues you may have found on the site or on a lesson or resource
Strategies and templates sections: A source of information on teaching strategies found in the lessons
More than 60 new lesson plans and resources!

For wiki access or for assistance with any of the resources, please contact Tamara Nicolosi.

Tech Tips: Receive notifications of the latest wiki updates and lessons right in your inbox...

1. Find your program page and/or the employability skills page.

2. Click on "Page Notifications" in the upper right hand corner.

3. Select "This page and all subpages." You will then receive an email whenever your program page or subpages are updated.

You can turn the "Page Notifications" off at any time by clicking on the "Page Notifications" link.

Be Ready for Your Students

It's Not Just Right, It's Wong!

Teaching tips from Harry Wong's First Days of School

Be ready for your students daily. Greet your students at the door. Call them by name and have a smile on your face. They will know you are glad to see them. This small action will go a long way to build a positive feeling tone and an atmosphere of respect.

Out and About.....

Reggie Brooks, Indian Oasis Auto teacher, effectively uses The Ruler Game to practice measurement with Auto Math students!

The Four Aces of Effective Teaching

A recent article discusses the effectiveness of teachers. To summarize this idea, the "process" of teaching--teacher actions (aka Four Aces)--directly influences the "product"-student learning. Let's break this down...
ACE 1: Outcomes

Let students know where they are going and why
Drive hard toward clear goals
Looks like: state the objective, use bellwork to provide focus, assess student learning, use intermittent closures and checks for understanding, adjust your teaching to attain desired results

ACE 2: Clarity

Make the content as clear and simple as possible.
Build on what students already know and help them make connections.
Looks like: use task analysis to make subject matter clear and easy to learn, use graphic organizers, tell, show, guide students through new learning, help students make connections with new and prior learning

ACE 3: Engagement

Don't lecture for more than 30 minutes before running an activity that involves all students
People learn what they DO, so have students DO everything that you want them to learn.
Looks like: learn by doing, use active participation strategies, engage students during bellwork, instruction, and closure, create a student-centered environment

ACE 4: Enthusiasm

If you hate to teach it, your students will hate to learn it.....share your passion and disguise your angst (you may learn to like it too)
The only key to motivation is success
Looks like: show your passion, use student names, reinforce student participation, " walk the trenches", display quality work, smile, use humor, celebrate student success
As a facilitator of learning, you will be most effective if you use these 4 ACES throughout your lessons daily. Don't gamble with your students' education, you have a great hand!

To read this article in its entirety, visit The Journal of Effective Teaching

Literacy in 21^st Century CTE Programs

The world of work is becoming increasingly more technical and our students must be able to stay ahead of the curve in their industries. To do this, they must be able to read - and read well. Gone are the days when one could get by with hands-on skills alone. Keep pace with the ever-more-technical industry literature requires the integration of reading and writing strategies into the CTE curriculum.

"But I'm not a reading teacher," you say. Low teacher confidence is a big obstacle to literacy integration according to a Cornell University study through the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE). And, when a teacher struggles with confidence, students catch on quickly and resist. Students are more willing to try the new strategies when their teacher delivers the instruction confidently and models the method. In other words, use the strategy yourself.

So how does a CTE teacher become confident teaching reading and writing? According to the study, clear professional development, coupled with access to a community of peer and mentor teachers for feedback and suggestions, are keys to building the confidence needed to deliver effective literacy strategies.

The Pima County JTED Professional Development team can help make this all-important integration a reality in your program, and you can get started immediately. Review these reading strategy ideas, try one out, talk to your peers, contact the JTED PD for support, and practice, practice, practice.

The question is no longer "Can Johnny read?" It's "Can Johnny read a highly technical construction or automobile engine schematic, medical chart, chemical formulation, etc." You get the picture. Johnny and Jenny MUST read.