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the Fall 2007 Regional Professional
Development Opportunities Regional
Professional Development Opportunities Making
the Transition to the New Mississippi Language Arts Framework (MLAF): This workshop offers an overview of the Framework, which places an increased emphasis on reading comprehension and fluency goals.
Making
the Transition to the New Mississippi Mathematics Framework (MMF): This workshop offers an overview of the Framework, which embeds problem solving throughout the curriculum.
This workshop offers strategies for managing student behavior and creating postive learning environments.
Using Webb's Depth of Knowledge Model to Prepare for MCT2 and SATP This workshop offers information regarding Dr. Norman
Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DOK) model, and importance of aligning instruction
and assessment.
This workshop offers strategies specific to the new Mississippi science assessments.
This workshop offers awareness sessions focusing on Thinking Maps, eight visual tools for processing and retrieving information.
This workshop offers an overview of new Framework for secondary teachers.
New
Frameworks in Mathematics for Secondary Teachers This workshop offers an overview of new Framework for secondary teachers.
Make the complex world of analyzing, interpreting, organizing, and communicating
information about mountains of test data a breeze! PREPS is pleased to
offer a completely customized, comprehensive training and support framework.
The new PREPS’ framework consists of the following five sequenced,
yet independent modules:
The Three-Tier Instructional Model was adopted by the Mississippi State Board of Education in January 2005. The model is designed to meet the instructional needs of all students, and it provides a systematic approach for providing student interventions. The Three-Tier Model promotes identification of students before they fall behind academically and provides the support students need throughout their school years. The Teacher Support Team (TST), the third tier of the model, is responsible for the analysis of student referral data and for prescribing appropriate behavioral or instructional interventions to help students become successful in the regular classroom, thereby preventing over-identification of special education students. The TST training is an in-depth two-day training that provides detailed information about the model and explains the purpose of each tier of the model. Training updates will be available for those already designated as a Teacher Support Team Trainer. These trainings are available at a centralized location to a group of small districts in order to lower costs. Single district trainings are also provided upon request.
Teaching for Mathematical Understanding: A Make-It Take-It Workshop has been designed for teachers of kindergarten through second grade just in time for the new school year. Teachers will create effective tools to use in their classrooms as they teach the NCTM strand of Patterns. Efficient use of math manipulatives will be practiced throughout the workshop. Activities will be based upon Mississippi Curriculum Frameworks. All materials will be provided and teachers will have the opportunity to leave with approximately eight completed projects that are ready for use!
The use of data is essential for both making instructional decisions and determining areas of focus for interventions. PREPS understands how challenging it can be to interpret, evaluate, and disseminate important information from state assessments such as the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT) and the Subject Area Tests (SAT). In response to repeated requests for assistance with these tasks, PREPS has developed a model that assists in making this responsibility much easier. PREPS will analyze your statewide test data, and then assist your district in communicating that data to other administrators, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders.
Test security is a critical priority for all Mississippi school districts. In order for there to be equity in such a high-stakes assessment and accountability system, secure materials must be handled appropriately, and tests must be administered in a manner that ensures fair opportunities for all students and schools. PREPS can provide training that addresses every aspect of test security: development of a comprehensive test security plan, training for school test coordinators, inventory, handling, and storage of secure materials, test administration, reporting and investigating alleged test security violations, etc. Test security training can be tailored to meet the particular needs of the district or school. PREPS has extensive experience in this area and can also consult with district personnel who may find the expertise we can provide beneficial.
The stringent licensure requirements teachers must meet in order to be considered "highly qualified" mean many teachers must pass one or more of the PRAXIS assessments. PREPS can provide a workshop designed to give teachers who need to pass the PRAXIS exams with strategies that will help them be successful. Participants will be given important information about the assessments. They will learn about resources that are available and about factors that lead to successful performance on these assessments. Teachers will also have the opportunity to review the kinds of questions that are on the tests. This workshop is recommended for teachers who want to gain insight as to how they can best prepare themselves for the Praxis assessments.
Developed in the spring of 2003, TestWorks is a comprehensive solution focusing on increased student learning. Features of this program include strategies for students to develop effective study habits to increase students’ opportunities to learn throughout years of formal schooling and life beyond high school. TestWorks also focuses on the development of a “Team Approach” involving teachers, parents, and students to promote student learning before, during, and after statewide tests. Teacher notebooks, student notebooks, parent brochures and ideas for meetings are included in TestWorks.
Public interest regarding professionalism and ethics has increased throughout
the nation in nearly every arena and in nearly every profession. PREPS
believes that education should be no exception. Ethics in education, however,
is all too often assumed rather than required of teachers, administrators
and other professionals working in schools and school districts today.
If ethical and professional behavior is to be required, educators should
be advised and educated themselves on what is expected of them.
One continual need of PREPS member districts has been in the area of
classroom management. Research tells us that focusing on negative student
behavior will not improve classroom climate nor teaching and learning.
In classrooms of the strongest teachers, management of student behavior
seems to be woven into all parts of teaching. The way to improve teaching
and learning is to improve all parts of our teaching practice which in
turn will minimize poor behavior.
PLP seeks to address the everyday behavior issues of the K-12 classroom
by revisiting tried and
The 2006 Mississippi Language Arts Frameworks was piloted in the 2005-2006 school year and will serve as the foundation for the MCT in 2006-2007. While the new MLAF can be correlated with the old language arts frameworks, the 2006 MLAF is substantially revised, including differences such as an increased emphasis on reading comprehension, a substantial new teaching guide designed to help teachers implement the frameworks, fluency goals, increased emphasis on writing, and others. Each of the following sessions will focus in-depth on particular teaching strategies to help teachers make the transition to the 2006 Mississippi Language Arts Frameworks. Each can be delivered as either a half-day introduction or a full-day of in-depth study. Two sessions can be combined into a one-day session, or several can be offered as a series for sustained professional development. The sessions are appropriate for teachers in grades K-8 or they can be tailored to have an early elementary or middle grades focus.
Fluent readers read more rapidly, and are more likely to comprehend what they read. In fact, research suggests that differences in fluency are largely responsible for differences in standardized test scores. Teachers can take some very simple steps to improve student fluency and this session will help them to do so. This session will also prepare teachers to interpret and use the LEXILE framework. LEXILE scores will soon be reported with MCT scores and can be used to help match readers with appropriate texts.
Writing. Organization. Transitions. The best topic sentence. Conclusions. Introductions. Adding details that enhance a piece of writing. Deleting the sentence that doesn't really go with the topic. Making decisions about word choice. All of these are questions that are asked in the "meaning" component of the MCT Language test. Many schools in Mississippi struggle with "meaning." Helping students revise their writing can improve their judgment about organization and coherence, improving their test scores in an authentic, meaningful, and engaged way. This session will help teachers implement a variety of simple strategies that will get students revising their own work.
Effective readers have extensive vocabularies and effective readers are able to use their knowledge of words and word parts to decode and comprehend texts (and improve their test scores). The old habit of assigning twenty vocabulary words on Monday and testing them at the end of the week is a start, but there is much more to effective vocabulary instruction. This session will help teachers use word sorts, word study, and a variety of other strategies to develop students' vocabularies and their strategies for reading and figuring out new words. As an added bonus, word study can also help students become better spellers!
The second of the four competencies in the new Mississippi Language Arts Framework is the comprehension competencies. Students must be able to read, understand, interpret, analyze, and evaluate the texts they read. Teaching strategies suggested by MDE for comprehension include teacher modeling and think-alouds and asking students to respond to, write about, and come up with their own comprehension questions with increasing depth of knowledge. This workshop will introduce teachers to several comprehension strategies for reading both narrative and expository texts.
The standardized tests ARE important, but you will be limiting student performance if they are the only assessments you use to make decisions about what and how to teach. In this session, participants will evaluate the assessments collected in the classroom and improve teachers' ability to interpret the results of assessments in order to better understand learners and plan for instruction. In addition, the session will help teachers learn to implement and interpret a variety of informal assessments that will supplement the existing assessment system. This session can be tailored to the needs of particular districts and schools.
Having a cadre of substitute teachers who are prepared to step in for
absent teachers and perform at a high level of effectiveness is a valuable
asset for a school district. PREPS has experience working with local school
districts to customize in-district training for substitute teachers prior
to the beginning of the school year.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is well known for assessments that align with classroom instruction. This alignment of skills taught and skills assessed provides a clear blueprint for administrators and teachers at all levels. This session promotes development of classroom assessments that mirror characteristics of NAEP by providing guidelines for development.
Assistant teachers often hope that they will have the opportunity to transition from their current position in the classroom to the head of the class. Many are unsure of what to do to begin this transition and others are intimidated by thoughts of the time, expense, and experience that they need to begin a career as a professional teacher. PREPS and the College of Education at Mississippi State are excited to collaborate on PREPS’ Transition to Teaching Institutes. The institutes are designed to provide assistant teachers with information about the protocol for entry into the teacher education program and all the requirements for obtaining a teaching license in the state of Mississippi, including information about the Praxis exams. PREPS has a cadre of both public school teachers and MSU faculty members who are willing to serve as mentors for interested teaching assistants. |
