Dates: June 27-30, 2011 PLus two dates TBD
Times: 8:30am - 3:30pm

Location: Spaulding High School, Barre, VT

Cost: $605 for LAPDA members $750 for non-members

*Additional $285 for 3 graduate credits from St. Michaels College

PLEASE see required reading below

* The Textbook,
The Skillful Teacher: Building Your Teaching Skills
will be provided to you at the first class.

Registration: http://www.lapdavt.org

*** THIS COURSE HAS BEEN CANCELLED***

Course Description: 

This course is foundational in building teachers’ capacity – the knowledge and skills as well as the courage and conviction - to promote learning and increased achievement. It is based on the belief that teaching is a process of decision-making, not a prescriptive list of do’s and don’ts; skillful teachers never stop learning through experimentation, data analysis, study, and collegial sharing about what works best for their students. While providing an overview to a comprehensive model of the knowledge base on teaching, Studying Skillful Teaching: Using Data Day to Day focuses on a few areas in depth;
1) Planning lessons that are clear and accessible to all students:
2) Communicating high expectations; and
3) Using a variety of assessments to inform planning, teaching, and reflecting on lessons. Participants will learn both how to collect and analyze data and how to respond to data by drawing on research-based instructional strategies. In addition, a strong theme throughout the course is strengthening understanding and respect for our students’ diverse cultural backgrounds.

Learning Outcomes

You will become more cognizant of –
• The three concepts of “areas of performance,” “repertoire,” and “matching” to ongoing study of the knowledge base on teaching;
• The five functions of clarity (framing lessons, presenting information, creating mental engagement, getting inside students’ heads, and anchoring learning;
• The Cultural Proficiency Continuum, describing a range of responses to diversity from cultural destructiveness to proficiency;
• The four dimensions on which to pre-assess students, including cultural/linguistic, academic, metacognitive, and personal;
• The importance of and criteria for communicating mastery objectives to students;
• The two different theories of intelligence, innate-ability and effort-based belief, and their implications for teaching practice;
• The role of formative assessment in informing instruction and students’ learning tactics; and
• The characteristics of effective professional learning communities.

Articles
Brookhart, Susan. “Feedback That Fits.” Educational Leadership. December 2007/January 2008. pp. 54-59.
Chappuis, Stephen and Chappuis, Jan. “The Best Value in Formative Assessment.”  Educational Leadership. December 2007/January 2008. pp. 14-19.
Dweck, Carol S. “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids.” Scientific American Mind. November 28, 2007.
Guskey, Thomas R. “The Rest of the Story.” Educational Leadership. December 2007/January 2008. pp. 28-35.
Lindsey, Randall B., Nuri Robins, Kikanza and Terrell, Raymond D. “Cultural Proficiency Continuum Description.” Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders, 2nd ed. Corwin, pp. 85-91. As found in Love, Nancy, Stiles, Katherine E., Mundry, Susan, and DiRanna, Kathryn. 2008. The Data Coach’s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students: Unleashing the Power of Collaborative Inquiry. Corwin. pp. 94-95.
Lindsey, Randall B., Nuri Robins, Kikanza and Terrell, Raymond D. “Five Principles of Culturally Proficient Leadership.” Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders, 2nd ed. Corwin, pp. 21-50. As found in Love, Nancy, Stiles, Katherine E., Mundry, Susan, and DiRanna, Kathryn. 2008. The Data Coach’s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students: Unleashing the Power of Collaborative Inquiry. Corwin, Handout H3.2 on CD-ROM.
Marshall, Kim. Marshall Memo 210. November 19, 2007. A summary of Schleppenbach, Meg, Flevares, Lucia, Sims, Linda, and Perry, Michelle, “Teachers’ Responses to Student Mistakes in Chinese and U.S. Mathematics Classrooms.” Elementary School Journal, November 2007. pp. 131-147.
Ritchhart, Ron and Perkins, David. “Making Thinking Visible.” Educational Leadership. February 2008. pp. 57-61.
Vilegas, Ana Maria and Lucas, Tamara. “The Culturally Responsive Teacher.” Educational Leadership, March 2007. pp. 28-33.
Wiliam, Dylan. “Changing Classroom Practice.” Educational Leadership. December 2007/January 2008. pp. 36-42. a

About the Instructor

James Warnock has served in public education as a teacher, staff developer, high school principal, and assistant superintendent. He directs the Sino-American Seminar on Educational Leadership for the University of Vermont’s Asian Studies Outreach Program and has traveled and worked extensively throughout China. Jim’s particular areas of interest include instructional leadership, improving classroom instruction, teacher hiring and induction and supervision and evaluation. He is a co-author of The Skillful Leader II: Confronting Conditions That Undermine Learning (2008).