Standard+2


 * Standard 2: Demonstrates competence in content knowledge appropriate to the teaching position. **

(1) Understands, communicates, and uses key concepts and best practice in fulfillment of area education agency roles and responsibilities. (2) Uses knowledge of child and adolescent development and of adult learning to make interventions and strategies meaningful, relevant, and accessible. (3) Relates professional knowledge and services within and across multiple content and discipline areas. (4) Understands and supports strategies and interventions that are best practice across content and discipline areas.
 * The staff member: **

MY ACTION STEPS:
REFLECTION: I composed this letter to the STHS SPIN team after meeting with them in October for their first meeting of the year. As I listened in on their conversation during that evening, I was somewhat amazed at what I was hearing. The two parents that were part of the group told story after story about experiences they had had at the school- many of which were extremely negative. The other thing that bothered me was the attitude on the part of the teachers who were listening. Instead of being appalled and embarrassed by what they were hearing from the parents, they seemed to "laugh it off". It did not appear that they viewed the negative experiences as anything out of the ordinary- or even as anything that needed to be changed. I returned from that meeting and attempted to capture my thoughts. The result was the letter above, outlining my suggestions for them regarding the focus of their SPIN work for the upcoming year. Normally, I would not have taken such a direct role in their planning, but what I witnessed at the first SPIN meeting convinced me that their focus HAD to be on increasing the welcoming nature of their school. In my communication, I referenced the "best practices" gleaned from the body of research on parent involvement- and that had been a part of their training during the previous school year. I wanted to impress upon them that the experiences related by the parents in the group needed to raise a "red flag" for ALL staff, and that they needed to take a very serious look at their school building, their policies, their written materials, and the practices of their staff- as well as- work to create a belief system in staff that would welcome parents as partners.
 * (1) Understands, communicates, and uses key concepts and best practice in fulfillment of area education agency roles and responsibilities. **
 * Provided guidance regarding the focus of South Tama High School's 2010-2011 SPIN work, based on my assessment of the conversation held at their first meeting of the year.
 * [[file:SPIN letter STHS Nov 2010.doc]] (Letter sent to the South Tama High School SPIN Team, November 2010)

> REFLECTION: The two artifacts included above are examples of materials I have created and used while conducting workshops on the science of learning.
 * (2) Uses knowledge of child and adolescent development and of adult learning to make interventions and strategies meaningful, relevant, and accessible. **
 * Created a variety of learning opportunities for adults that resulted in a greater understanding of child and adolescent development
 * [[file:Participant Handout- See How They Grow 2011.docx]] (See How They Grow Conference, March 26, 2011)
 * [[file:Descritptive language- with pg numbers.doc]] (Nashua-Plainfield 2010-2011 Understanding the Adolescent Brain)
 * The first example is a copy of the participants' handout from a two hour workshop I designed for the See How They Grow Early Childhood Conference. (The PPT I used was too large to upload.) This handout illustrates several of the conscious decisions I made regarding the learning opportunity. First, after "hooking" them with some basic information about brain development- how physicians and neuroscientists use brain imaging technologies to learn about the brain, and the surprises they have discovered about brain development... I asked participants to stop and consider "what they have heard thus far that is worth remembering". Here, participants had the opportunity to pause and reflect on what they had just heard, to discuss it with a partner, and to "take ownership" of their learning. Throughout the two-hour workshop, I then provided information about 5 aspects of early brain development. (language, vision, muscle control, intellectual development and emotional development) After providing information about what we KNOW about each topic, I gave time for another pause for reflection, discussion, clarification and synthesizing by jotting down 'the most important thing to remember'. The combination of CONTENT from me, CONVERSATION with others, and SYNTHESIS by each participant promoted the active engagement of each attendee. The result was a very effective learning environment, and many positive comments about the session from participants at the end.
 * The second example is a handout that I used during one of my Adolescent Brain workshops with Nashua-Plainfield 5-12 staff. The Nash-Plain PD team had agreed to purchase a book for each participant- //The Primal Teen: What the new Discoveries about the Teenage Brain Tell Us About Our Kids,// by Barbara Strauch. Participants were given the book on the first day of the PD series in August, and were asked to read it over the next 5 months. The handout included above was provided along with the book, and used during the February session to process the book's information. The descriptive language Strauch uses in her book helps the reader in understanding the brain concepts she is trying to communicate. By asking participants to revisit these phrases, and articulate to a partner the meaning behind the metaphors, they deepened their understanding of the adolescent brain concepts I wanted them to learn. I really liked this particular activity, as it 'raised the level of concern' and held participants accountable for their reading and learning, but did so within a very safe environment. It was also a good way for ME to know whether or not someone "had it"- by listening in on their own interpretation of the similes, metaphors and analogies used throughout the book.

> REFLECTION: The two artifacts that I have included were used in the forming and guiding of multiple collaborative learning teams. The list of possibilities for team study were listed on the first form, along with a brief rationale behind a collaborative team structure. The Nash-Plain HS principal explained the concept to his staff, and collected data from them regarding their preference for topics. We agreed that we wanted these teams to be formed around areas of interest, rather than by random (or not so random) assignment by the administrators. I provided the guiding questions for each team to use as they studied their topics throughout the year and also several resources to get each team started, but Erik (N-P HS Principal) did all of the orchestration involved with the formation of teams, scheduling of team time, and troubleshooting. He also orchestrated the 'showcase' at the end of the school year, at which each team presented their findings about their topic- and answered the guiding questions that had been posed.
 * (3) Relates professional kn **** owledge and services within and across multiple content and discipline areas. **
 * Helped in organizing collaborative learning teams at Nashua-Plainfield- teams that would continue their learning about the Adolescent Brain- by studying related topics of their own choosing, and then sharing their learning with the rest of the participants. (Collaborative Learning Teams were organized by topic, and met regularly between my workshops- to investigate and find answers to the guiding questions I posed.)
 * [[file:Artifact- N-P Topics for Collab Teaming.doc]]
 * [[file:Guiding Questions Form.doc]]


 * (4) Understands and supports strategies and interventions that are best practice across content and discipline areas. **