Leadership Matters August 2013 issue.pub

Enhanced P.E. Task Force offers additional webinar Leading the Nation: Illinois Enhance P.E. Task Force Recommendations & Revised Learning Standards

The Illinois Enhance Physical Education (P.E.) Task Force, established by Public Act 97-1102, brought together a diverse array of stakeholders who created recommendations driven by the compelling evidence linking enhanced P.E. with improved academic achievement, behavior, and health. The recommendations promote and support the leadership of local schools and administrators so they can be champions and models for other schools. The Task Force also recommends actions to ensure that sufficient professional development opportunities are available to teachers and suggests specific metrics that can be used at the state and local level to measure the implementation and impact of enhanced P.E. The Task Force also proposed revisions to the state learning standards for Goals 19-24 that will facilitate consistent implementation of quality P.E.

This webinar will be held Tuesday, September 17, 2013 from 10 to 11 a.m. Click here to register. During this webinar, participants will hear from Task Force members, including the State Superintendent of Education, and will learn about the specific recommendations put forth by the Enhance P.E. Task Force, including proposed changes to the learning standards.

ISDLAF+ July 2013 Monthly Update

Click here to view the July 2013 ISDLAF+ rates, economic indicators and general economic news brief. To obtain additional information regarding this IASA sponsored service, contact Emmert Dannenberg, statewide marketing director/ ISDLAF+ at 815.592.6948. To check daily rates, visit the ISDLAF+ website at www.isdlafplus.com .

Concentrate on improving teaching, not just getting rating——————————

show students met the objective?  What types of patterns did you see in the students’ responses?  Which resources in the lesson were most effective in meeting the objective and why?  Describe the students level of engagement during the lesson. The reader may remember in a previous article that this author recommends several informal observations and at least two formal observations. One of the reasons for multiple observations is to develop trust and a rapport between the evaluator and the teacher concerning teaching and learning. The teacher will have several opportunities to reflect on their own practice and to make improvements based on the reflective conversations. Then, in the end, the “rating” should not be that big a deal, it will reflect the growth of the teacher throughout the process.

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In one of my recent training sessions, Christine Yeoman from Watseka thought of these reflective questions as a result of watching a high school English teacher teach a lesson. They were:  How could more students be engaged in questioning?  Tell me about a part of the lesson that did not go according to plan.  How could students be encouraged to ask better questions?  Tell me how supplies could be better distributed to the class.  What was the outcome of the lesson?  In what way were students learning-challenged?  Talk me through the purpose for the graphic organizer.  What evidence was gathered after the lesson to

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