[Simtrainer-l] Final request

[Susan Woodruff]

Hello all of my SIM Friends …
As many of you know, I am completely retiring in June.  I am preparing for my final professional development which I will be having in June with teachers in a small high school in Ohio.  We are differentiating the professional development as the teachers are overall very good for the most part.  The principal is an instructional leader.  Next year this school will be developing capacity and leadership within their own ranks. 

What we would like to do after school is out, is to have teachers bring their Course and Unit Organizers (if they have them), take time to develop and revise more, and reflect on their courses just completed.  The principal has identified some areas that she says could move teachers from “Developing” to “Skilled” AND “Skilled” to “Accomplished.”  One the big items is developing formative assessments and identifying student evidence of learning.  Several of the teachers in the building have developed Course and Unit Organizers, but they don’t use them really effectively yet.  Does anyone have ideas about elevating the use of these planning routines?  I hate to reinvent the wheel if someone has a presentation they use to help teachers see the value when it comes to both differentiating instruction and measure student learning.

I am open to any and all suggestions.  If you have an activity that has worked quite well, I would love to see it.  Keep in mind that this is a fairly proficient staff, and my goal will be to help teachers use these tools more effectively. 

Thank you SO much!  I have valued this network for many years, and I am ending my career on a very positive note.
Best,
Sue Woodruff