Month: May 2013

All Aboard! Teachers and Principals join efforts in collaborative learning teams to understand assessment for learning

All Aboard! Teachers and Principals join efforts in collaborative learning teams to understand assessment for learning

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IN ONE IOWA DISTRICT, ALL TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS ARE ON THE SAME JOURNEY

Collaborative learning teams are improving teacher practice and student learning results in the Dallas Center-Grimes Community School Districts near Des Moines, Iowa.

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Teacher collaboration improving outcomes for students

Teacher collaboration improving outcomes for students

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The Dallas Center-Grimes Community school district in Iowa is making strides in reaching important district and building goals by having collaborative teams of teachers learn together about how to conduct formative assessments of student learning. The entire district leadership and teaching force is focused on this effort and four years into the commitment, this focus appears to be improving teacher practice, and in turn, improving learning outcomes for students.

Read about the process, challenges, and benefits of the district’s work in All Aboard! published in the April edition of Learning Forward’s Journal of Staff Development (JSD), Co-authored by Deb Hansen, senior policy analyst at West Wind.

 

Silos

Silos

Reading Time: 3 minutes

At my in-law’s annual reunions of the offspring of Danish immigrants who settled in northern Iowa, one can learn a lot about life by listening to the stories about farming. Last year, I heard a retired farmer reminisce about the time he loaded the grain silo on Thorvold’s farm with chopped hay. Because he waited too long to load his crop into the silo, the hay had become so dry that it molded and caused the whole silo to overheat. He had to unload tons of smoldering ash, one shovel full at a time for hours.  Grueling work! Time lost! Crop lost! Continue reading “Silos”

May 2013 Cultural Heritage Recognition

May 2013 Cultural Heritage Recognition

Reading Time: 2 minutes

May is Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Jewish American Heritage month. We were in the midst of our customary recognition of cultural heritage months, which we hold every month, when we ran into a wrinkle that we just couldn’t smooth out on our own and we’d like your help.

At West Wind we honor each cultural heritage month recognized by presidential proclamation. We do so in a couple of ways, one of which is to create a special banner each month for our website. In deciding the design of the banners we always look at a variety of images that could represent the group and deliberate which images to use. We take this seriously and really wrestle with the task. Our discussions invariably include the following points of consternation: Continue reading “May 2013 Cultural Heritage Recognition”

May 7, 2013 Teacher Appreciation Day

May 7, 2013 Teacher Appreciation Day

Reading Time: 4 minutes
Image created for West Wind Education Policy by Leah Dusterhoft

In recognition of the day, some of us at West Wind want to share about teachers from our K-12 years who we remember and appreciate.

BY DEB HANSEN—I have been thinking lately about my High School German teacher, Frau (Mrs.) Chua. At the time I thought she was very strict, and I was a bit intimidated by her, but now that I am an educator, I realize she used great instructional practices. She provided theory, always demonstrated what she wanted us to learn, gave us daily time to practice, and coached us on our usage. As a teenager, I thought we had a lot of quizzes and assignments, but I suspect she using formative assessment to inform her instruction. Surely, my German teacher is long since retired, but maybe not — when you are 15 everybody over 25 looks old. She would have been pleased to hear me speaking German, as I traveled through Austria last summer. Of course, I was rusty, but a bit of review with audio tapes refreshed my skills enough that I could chat with new friends in Viennese cafés. Continue reading “May 7, 2013 Teacher Appreciation Day”

The Burden

The Burden

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Last weekend I was reminded of the care and caution needed with raising young Black men.

My sons have been involved with a local Boy Scout troop for the last five years.  My eldest joined the scout troop at the beginning of sixth grade and my younger two sons followed suit.  Up to this point, I’ve never felt they were looked at or treated differently based on their race.  Until last Sunday. Continue reading “The Burden”

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