Here are some staff development ideas for assisting staff in integrating instructional modifications to prepare students for the high school assessments.

 

Provide staff development opportunities to assist staff in understanding how the Core Learning Goals/Skills for Success, Scope and Sequence, High School Assessment prototypes, and the school system's quarterly milestone assessments can be used for instructional planning.
Offer opportunities for staff to participate in peer coaching and cognitive coaching during which staff can work with one another in collaborative planning and provide collegial feedback on instructional delivery.
Train staff in using Core Learning Goals indicators and Scope and Sequence indicators for instructional and assessment planning. Specifically, staff may consider how curriculum guides are structured to ensure consistent delivery of content with what is assessed both formatively and summatively.
Assist staff in developing study groups, inquiry groups, or action research cohorts through which staff can investigate specific instructional implications of the high school assessments and the Core Learning Goals/Skills for Success. These groups may use their process of inquiry to make instructional modifications to promote student success relative to these learning outcomes.
Use a variety of job-embedded staff development approaches (i.e., study groups, action research, peer coaching, and shared inquiry) to reinforce staff understanding and use of performance-based instructional interventions. Potential focus areas include the following:
  • Brain-compatible learning;
  • Constructivism and cognitive learning theory;
  • Dimensions of Learning;
  • Multiple Intelligences (Gardner);
  • Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe); and
  • Technology-assisted instructional delivery.
Provide ongoing professional development opportunities for comprehensive staff to work closely with teachers responsible for special populations (i.e., TAG, ESOL, Special Education, ADD/ADHD, the economically disadvantaged) to ensure that appropriate instructional modifications are offered to prepare students for the State High School Assessments.
A major component of the Skills for Success initiative involves outcomes related to the following: students' mastery of key technology competencies; ensuring that staff is trained in the use of instructional technologies (e.g., computer-assisted instruction, CD-ROM, laser disk, and internet); and facilitating staff use of various technologies to enhance instructional delivery (e.g., productivity software, word processing, spreadsheets and databases, and presentation software). This training may involve the use of the internet to access information; it may also focus on staff developing internet-based lessons. Additionally, staff may wish to consider how students can use available technologies to enhance their own learning, including data analysis and presentation, research projects, and skills acquisition.

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This site was developed by the Department of Staff Development, in collaboration with the Division of Instruction. Questions, comments, and other inquiries may be addressed to Allene Chriest (achriest@pgcps.org) or Jeff Maher  (jmaher@pgcps.org).