Acting Commissioner Beardsley visits public preschool classroom

Last month, Acting Commissioner Bill Beardsley visited Brittany Kamenos’ four-year old classroom at the Chelsea Elementary School. RSU 12 Superintendent Howard Tuttle, Principal Andrew Doiron, Southern Kennebec Child Development Corporation’s Executive Director Cristina Salois, Program Manager Penny Poolman, and Child Development Services Director Larry Schooley briefed the acting commissioner on the collaboration.

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Commissioner visits Houlton Elementary School

Story courtesy of Karen Donato, former elementary teacher and current ed. tech III at Houlton Elementary School.

Acting Commissioner of Education Bill Beardsley was a guest at Houlton Elementary School this past month learning more about the successful K-to-3 literacy program in RSU 29. Beardsley participated in a round table discussion with a kindergarten teacher; first grade teachers; a literacy specialist; a literacy coach; University of Maine’s literacy coach; the principal, and RSU 29’s superintendent.

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Notice of new rule: Chapter 41 instruction related to use of CPR and AEDs in public schools

The following rule, Chapter 41: Offering Instruction Related to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and the Use of an Automated Defibrillator in Maine Public Schools, requires public schools to offer training to students on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use automated external defibrillators.

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A mathematics three-part series professional development update

This year, the Maine Department of Education is bringing together approximately 200 teachers of mathematics to learn about and implement practices that support student engagement and learning in a professional development series titled, “Connecting Mathematics Instruction to Support Student Engagement and Understanding (K-12).”

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“Content Corner” launches instructional resources for impactful learning

The Maine DOE introduces the first of three collections of articles for the 2015-16 school year in the “Content Corner,” resources designed to support teaching and learning in Maine classrooms and make connections to classroom applications and research.

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Effectively using the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements in world languages

Research indicates that the identification of clear learning targets is a strong support for language learning. The NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements for Language Learning are progress indicators for language learning, and are a valuable resource for teachers and students alike. Based on research that reveals language learners to be more motivated and self-directed when they have an understanding of the proficiency spectrum and language progressions, as well as gaining the ability to self-assess on their language ability, the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL) and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) collaborated to develop the national Can-Do statements. These are made up of two parts: the Can-Do Benchmarks and the Can-Do Statements.

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Integrating choice-based art

Students are more motivated, and are more likely to learn, when they are pursuing their own ideas. In choice-based lessons, teachers act as guides and support students to take charge of their own learning. Teachers interact with students as if they were artists and offer them real choices for responding to their own interests.

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Close reading: Developing deep understanding of texts

Close reading is thoughtful, critical analysis of a text that focuses on significant details or patterns in order to develop a deep, precise understanding of the text’s form, craft, meanings, etc. It is a key element of Maine’s English language arts and literacy standards and directs the reader’s attention to the text itself. Developing habits of close reading support a student’s growth as a reader, writer, speaker, and consumer of information.

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Effective teaching and learning in mathematics

An effective teacher of mathematics supports student learning by integrating teaching practices into their daily lessons. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recently released current research supporting effective teaching practices in Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All. This book is broken into 3 sections: Effective Teaching and Learning, Essential Elements, and Taking Action. The primary focus of this series of articles will be on supporting teachers in implementing the 8 Effective Teaching Practices outlined in the book.

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Inquiry Based Learning applied to health and physical education

The Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) process provides a model for educators to help make deeper connections to health education or physical education curriculum in the classroom. It is a strategic instructional process meant to produce and ignite questioning. Through this process, students gain deeper knowledge about the topic at hand and become more proficient with the skills involved.

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