Category: Professional Development

Professional Learning Opportunity: Using Assessment to Strengthen Instruction

The Maine Department of Education is pleased to announce the next installment of its Balanced Assessment series: Using Assessment to Strengthen Instruction for high school grades. Participants will explore SAT data and methods to compare local data to determine instructional priorities.  The workshops will be at USM, UMO, and UMPI. There is no cost for these events.

For more information and to register, go to: Assessment Literacy: Grades 9-12.

For further questions, contact Morgan Dunton, English Language Arts Specialist, grades 6-12 for the Maine DOe at (207) 624-6625 or morgan.dunton@maine.gov.

 

Call for Student and Educator Team Proposals: MLTI Student Conference

The MLTI Student Conference Committee is issuing the call for student and educator team proposals for the 16th Annual MLTI Student Conference, to be held on Thursday, May 23, 2019 at the University of Maine in Orono.

Two important notes:

  1. Proposals are due much earlier this year! This will allow us to have a session list finalized by the time conference registration opens.
  2. Ideally, all proposals will have some form of student leadership incorporated. This could mean students will lead the whole session (with some adult support), students will serve as guides/coaches during the activity portion, or something in between. Students can co-present with teachers or other educators (including from community or business organizations).

Sessions will be one-hour long, must involve some form of creating, making, and doing, and should leave participants excited about what they learned and eager to share their experiences with others.

Here’s the information you need to submit a proposal:

Conference Theme:  Create for ME

Possible Topics:  Proposals are not limited to the conference theme, and might include topics such as music, spoken word recording, coding, video production, graphic design, or writing and publishing your collection of short stories.

Device Requirements:  The student conference supports all MLTI devices, regardless of platform and encourages “platform-agnostic” sessions.

A Proposal Submission must include:

  1. The name of your school
  2. The title of your session
  3. List of all presenters ($15 registration cost will be waived for up to two presenters per session)
  4. A description of your session:
    • What skill will participants learn? How will you teach this?
    • What activity will participants engage in – what will they create?
    • What can participants expect to walk away knowing and being able to do?
  5. Materials to share in the conference registration form:
    • Short video advertisement of the session (less than a minute)
    • Short description of the session (less than 200 words)
  6. Student leadership information:
    • How will student leaders be incorporated into the session?
    • How will they be empowered to succeed during preparation and during the day of the conference?
  7. Session requirements:
    • Level of expertise needed to participate fully (beginner, intermediate, expert)
    • The maximum number of participants you can accommodate (room sizes vary from 30-100)
    • Space set up requests (auditorium, tables/chairs, projector, speakers, etc.)
  8. Technology requirements:
    • A list of which platforms can be used in the session: (MacBook, iPad, ProBook, ElitePad, Chromebook, other)
    • Software and materials participants must have to participate (be specific)
  9. The name of the educator to be contacted about this proposal, and their email and phone number

Submit Proposals by 5 pm, Friday, March 15, 2019 to this online form or copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://bit.ly/MLTI-student-conference-proposals-2019. It is recommended that you type your answers in a separate document and then copy them into the form, so you can be sure to save your work.

General Timeline:

  • Proposals due: 3/15
  • Proposals selected: 3/22
  • Registration open: 4/1
  • Last day to register: 4/23

Spread the word – if you know of someone doing fantastic work involving technology with making, doing, or storytelling please encourage them to submit a proposal or send an email with suggestions to Amanda.Nguyen@maine.gov!

For more information or answers to questions, please visit the MLTI Student Conference page or contact Amanda Nguyen, Digital Learning Specialist at Amanda.Nguyen@maine.gov.

 

Maine DOE World Language Specialist Available for Program Support

The Maine Department of Education’s World Language Specialist, Lavinia Rogers is available to talk with and support districts interested in creating a plan to realize world language programs for all students, especially those districts who may be experiencing a teacher shortage in that area.

More information and resources about world languages can be found on the Maine DOE’s website, or feel free to contact Lavinia directly to request a meeting or ask questions. She is available at lavinia.m.rogers@maine.gov or (207)624-6825

 

2019 eMPowerME Assessment Administration Training Workshops

In preparation for the Maine Educational Assessments (MEA) for Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy for grades 3-8 eMPowerME assessment administration, the Maine DOE will be holding half-day regional workshop trainings February 12-14, 2019. The intended audiences for the sessions are District Assessment Coordinators (DACs), Technology Coordinators (ITCs), and/or School Test Coordinators (STCs). Morning and afternoon sessions both include topics such as: New Features for 2019; Portal Overview; User Management; Kiosk Overview; and Live Demonstrations. Registrations are limited to two (2) people per district. Should additional space become available, districts will be notified.

Dates & Locations

Morning Sessions 9:00 – 12:00

This is a full, comprehensive overview of all aspects and details of the eMPowerME assessment administration for those who are new to this test, or a full review for those returning.

Afternoon Sessions 1:00 – 3:30

This is a condensed version of the morning session, intended as a refresher with a review of administration processes for eMPowerME, while highlighting new features for 2019.

NOTE: Training sessions will NOT be hands-on and thus do not require participants to bring a personal computing device. For those participants who wish to bring devices (e.g., to ask specific questions about individual school setup), you may consider bringing a personal “hot spot”, as WiFi in training venues can be unpredictable and may be affected by the size of each training group. Morning and afternoon light snacks/coffee/juice available –lunch is not provided.

To Register click here

For questions please contact Eric W. Buckhalter, Maine Department of Education at (207) 624-6770 or Eric.buckhalter@maine.gov

 

Maine DOE Offers Two Opportunities to Participate in a 1% Alternate Assessment Support Webinar

Letters were sent out Friday, December 21st to all districts that have identified more than 1% of their students as alternate assessment students.  Three levels of support are offered to all districts.  Districts assigned to a level of support in Tier 2 and Tier 3 are required to attend one of the 1% Support Webinars listed below.  All other districts are welcome to attend.

The webinar will include an overview of the 1% ESSA regulation – Section §1111(b)(2)(D)(I) for providing alternate assessments, including: the definition of significant cognitive disabilities, meeting the criteria within the Participation Guidelines, how to identify students in Synergy, and how to complete the Action Plan for districts over the 1% participation threshold. Concentration on the Action Plan will look at three levels of support and what that means to districts, how to provide justifications, and a look at disproportionality.

Please contact Sue Nay at sue.nay@maine.gov or Ann Belanger at ann.belanger@maine.gov  with questions.

Integrated Pest Management School Workshop

Registration is now open for the Comprehensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Workshop to be held February 20th at Gardiner Area High School. This workshop is offered by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

View the full workshop schedule (click on Training and Events). All School IPM Coordinators are required to attend this training one time but everyone is welcome to attend. It is an opportunity to network with other Coordinators, see what other schools are doing to prevent and manage pests.

Register for Comprehensive IPM Workshop at Gardiner High School HERE. 

Save the Date: October 29-30, 2019 for our first Rodent Academy! This 2-day workshop, featuring internationally recognized rodent expert, Dr. Robert Corrigan is not to be missed! You’ll learn very practical information about how to recognize and eliminate rodent activity in your schools (and at home too!).

Questions/Comments? Contact kathy.murray@maine.gov Phone: 207-287-7616

Professional Development Opportunity – Poverty: The Multiple Influences and Effects

The Maine DOE is providing a 3-part workshop series with Miriam Dodge, a GoldStar speaker for Communication Across Barriers, that will challenge participants to understand poverty at a deeper level and to think about their own biases and beliefs around poverty. The series will be limited to 20 participants and will focus on the Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten age span. This series will address the following goals:

  1. Increase educators’ knowledge base to understand key concepts of poverty;
  2. Recognize personal biases, thoughts and beliefs around people living in poverty;
  3. Increase understanding of the effect poverty has on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES);
  4. Increase the foundational understanding that if basic needs are met (nutrition, medical, social/emotional), students can focus engage in higher order thinking skills; and
  5. Help educators recognize personal beliefs and how they can indirectly influence collaboration between school staff and families.

By understanding the effects poverty has on Maine’s children; teachers, principals and other school leaders will be better able to individualize supports and increase learning outcomes for students most at risk.

Schools are strongly encouraged to register 3-member teams representative of classroom teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, and special educators. Time will be provided for individuals to share their learning and to collectively plan for how to with colleagues in their respective schools.

Dinner will be provided during each session which will run 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm. Six contact hours will be provided to each participant over the course of the series.

Cost is $90 per team to attend the 3-part series. Registration requires a credit card.   Event Registration Link

Training Dates:                                             Training Location:
January 14, 2019                                             Educare Central Maine
March 18, 2019                                               56 Drummond Ave
May 13, 2019                                                  Waterville, ME 04901

For further information, please contact Nena Cunningham Ed.D., Head Start State Collaboration Director at 207-624-6601 or nena.m.cunningham@maine.gov

MEA Released Item Workshop Webinars

In November 2018, Maine DOE content specialists provided workshops to help Maine educators utilize the released items associated with Maine’s eMPower English language arts and math assessments and MEA science assessment. For those who were unable to attend, recordings of these sessions are now available.  The recordings can be accessed at the following links:

Educators will find documents related to these sessions in the file boxes included as part of the recordings or via links provided to Padlets incorporated within the recordings. Additionally, educators viewing the recordings will be encouraged to access released item data in the MAARS system.  Access to the released item data requires a user name and password which educators can obtain from their District Assessment Coordinator (DAC).

Please share the recording links with classroom teachers and instructional coaches who might not have been able to attend.

For questions or additional assistance, please contact the appropriate content specialist:

Professional Learning Opportunity: #DigCit4ME Challenge and Workshops

The Maine Department of Education will be facilitating a series of opportunities for educators to participate in professional learning related to digital citizenship, as well as interacting in the digital world in healthy and safe ways.

  • Part one of the series is an online game, which is called the #DigCit4ME Challenge. Participants who register for part two of the series (the in-person workshop) will obtain access to play the game. Playing the game is a prerequisite to attending the workshop.
  • Part two of the series is a regional in-person workshop, which is open to all educators to attend. Educators are encouraged to attend in school teams. There are a number of opportunities to attend a workshop in January. More information is below.
  • Part three of the series is an opportunity for health education and physical education educators to engage in this learning at the spring Health/Physical Education Conference.

In-person workshops

In January, there will be in-person regional #DigCit4ME Workshops. Participants will develop a better understanding of the Cross-Curricular Framework for Digital Citizenship from Common Sense Media and its connection to the Maine Learning Results Health Education and Physical Education standards and content areas. Educators will be able to create relevant learning experiences for students to help them incorporate this knowledge and these skills into their daily lives.

Cost: Free to attend
Contact Hours: Earn 6.5 contact hours
Target Audience: Educators who interact with students in grades 5-12
Draft Agenda
9:00am – 3:30pm

  • Welcome and Introductions
  • Digital Citizenship Framework from Common Sense Media with Maine’s Health Education and Physical Education Standards
  • Resources to build educator knowledge, to share with families, and to use in classrooms
  • Lunch (provided)
  • Goals and expectations for afternoon
  • Planning time in small groups
  • Sharing time
  • Announcements and directions to continue with online game

Locations and Registration

Register Here

January 8th, South Portland High School
January 16th, Auburn Middle School
January 25th, University of Maine at Fort Kent
January 29th, Washington Academy (East Machias)
January 30th, Husson University (Bangor)

For more information or answers to questions, please contact: Amanda Nguyen, Digital Learning Specialist, Amanda.Nguyen@maine.gov

Using Assessment to Strengthen Instruction in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science, K-8

As part of its 2018-19 Assessment Literacy series, the Maine Department of Education will present full-day workshops to continue supporting educators in examining eMPower ELA and math, and MEA science assessment data, connecting that data with locally generated assessment information, and identifying high impact instructional strategies that foster student engagement and achievement of learning standards.

State level assessment provides school systems with a useful lens through which educators can evaluate the effectiveness of curricula and instructional practices. This information can help educators improve programming to increase the number of students meeting expectations for learning standards in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science. The availability of released item data and sample state assessment items, coupled with local level assessment information, enables educators to dig more deeply into what instructional practices are benefiting student learning as well as where adjustments could be made to result in greater positive impact.

Join Maine DOE ELA, Math, and Science specialists as they provide professional learning and resources that:

  • Connect state eMPower and science assessment to instructional practices
  • Delve into the roles cognitive demand and stamina play in instruction and assessment
  • Explore protocols for linking state level data analysis with local level data analysis

Participants will select one of 3 content areas in which to focus their learning during the day: English language arts, mathematics or science.  Schools are strongly encouraged to register teams of 3 so that they will have representation in each of the 3 featured content areas. An alternate option is for educators to come as a team representing one content area (e.g. science teachers from a middle school).  Time will be provided during the day for teams to share their learning across content areas and to collaboratively plan for how to disseminate the day’s content back in their respective schools. Lunch will be provided during each full day session which will run 8:30 am – 3:30 pm. Contact hours will be provided.

Cost is $40 per individual or $100 per 3-person team. Registration requires a credit card.  

Workshop Locations/Registration Links Workshop Dates
Keeley’s Banquet Center, Portland January 15, 2019
Snow Date: February 1, 2019
Jeff’s Catering, Brewer January 24, 2019
Snow Date: January 31, 2019
University of Maine at Presque Isle January 29, 2019
Snow Date: January 30, 2019

For further information, please contact Lee Anne Larsen, Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Learning Systems at 207-624-6628 or leeann.larsen@maine.gov.