Dear Monomoy Educators:
Curriculum Night:
- Thank you for a very successful Curriculum Night in each building. Caregivers were grateful for all the information communicated, care displayed, and time provided.
- Some buildings added new structures/events including having the children join their grown-ups at the event, sharing a community meal with other families in the same cohort, piloting translation devices, expanded community partnerships, and changing up schedules. All exemplary evidence of finding innovative and effective ways to connect our caregivers, community, and school together.
- Well done SHARKS!
More information for our MRSD Professional Development Days (Nov. 4-5):
- Nov. 4th PD Day:
- Location: MRHS
- Keynote at 8:30am (all educators and administrators attend): Universal Design for Learning & Equity, hosted by CAST.
- Two, 2-hour professional development sessions follow the keynote. Please select sessions to attend based on strategic, schoolwide, and your Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP) goals (registration opens Oct 15th, 4:00 PM, limited to 30 participants per session-for more information on how to register, see Vector PD section below).
- Lunch will be provided by MRSD Food Services Director Noks and the MRSD Food Services team.
- Session details and lunch menu: https://www.monomoy.edu/curriculum/professional-development/professional-development-pathways ("Professional Development Workshops for Nov. 4th" tab)
- Nov. 5th PD Day ~Two Options:
- Option 1: Attend Cape Cod Collaborative All Cape Sessions-Register for these sessions as soon as possible (seats filling fast!); if attending the CCC All Cape sessions, please submit a conference/workshop request form to your administrator so they know your intent to attend these sessions.
- Option 2: MRSD PLC/Building-based sessions (8:30 AM - 3:30 PM); more details and the agenda for the day will be communicated by administrators and instructional leaders prior to the event. No need to register for these events.
- Lunch will be on your own on November 5th.
Vector PD Platform Training and 11/4 PD Session Registration:
- MRHS and MRMS training on our new Vector PD Platform is scheduled for Oct 15th (MRHS) and October 16th (MRMS). Elementary educators were trained earlier this month.
- Vector PD Platform will house the registration for the November 4th PD sessions. Registration for 11/4 PD sessions will open in Vector PD on Oct 16th @12:00 PM. Please register for your choice sessions as soon as possible as seats will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
- If you are attending November 5th sessions at MRSD, we will pre-populate your sessions into your individual professional development plan in Vector; you do not need to register for any internal, district events for November 5th. If you are attending the CCC All Cape sessions on the 5th, you will be able to upload your certificate of attendance into Vector PD platform after the event.
- For support accessing and using the Vector PD Platform visit: https://www.monomoy.edu/curriculum/professional-development/vector-solutions-teachpoint
As always, please do not hestiate to reach out with any questions. I look forward to sharing in the professional learning sessions with all of you in November.
Sincerely,
Robin
Teaching Creative Thinking: Developing learners who generate ideas and can think critically (Pedagogy for a Changing World)
Teaching Creative Thinking: Developing Learners Who Generate Ideas and Can Think Critically defines and demystifies the essence of creative thinking, and offers action-oriented and research-informed suggestions as to how it can best be developed in learners.
Where once it was enough to know and do things, young people now need more than subject knowledge in order to thrive: they need capabilities. Teaching Creative Thinking is the first title in the three-part Pedagogy for a Changing World series, founded upon Lucas and Spencer's philosophy of dispositional teaching a pedagogical approach which aims to cultivate in learners certain dispositions that evidence suggests are going to be valuable to them both at school and in later life.
A key capability is creative thinking, and, in 2021, one of the guardians of global comparative standards, PISA, is recognising its importance by making creative thinking the 'innovative assessment domain' to supplement their testing of 15-year-olds' core capabilities in English, maths and science. Creative thinkers are inquisitive, collaborative, imaginative, persistent and disciplined and schools which foster these habits of mind in learners need to be creative in engaging children and young people by embedding creativity into their everyday educational experiences.
In this extensive enquiry into the nature and nurture of creative thinking, the authors explore the effectiveness of various pedagogical approaches including problem-based learning, growth mindset, playful experimentation and the classroom as a learning community and provide a wealth of tried-and-tested classroom strategies that will boost learners' critical and creative thinking skills. The book is structured in an easy-to-access format, combining a comprehensive listing of practical ideas to stimulate lesson planning with expert guidance on integrating them into your practice, followed by plenty of inventive suggestions as to how learners' progress can be assessed and tracked along the way by both the pupil and the teacher. The authors then go further to offer exemplars of success by presenting case studies of schools' innovations in adopting these approaches, and dedicate a chapter to dispelling any pressing doubts that teachers may have by exposing the potential pitfalls and offering advice on how to avoid them.
Venturing beyond the classroom setting, Teaching Creative Thinking also delves into the ways in which a school can work towards the provision of co-curricular experiences such as partnering with a range of external community groups and better engage its leadership team and pupils' parents with the idea of creative thinking in order to support learners with opportunities to grow. The authors offer many examples which will inspire schools to do just this, and collate these ideas into building a framework for learning that equips young people in schools today with the twenty-first century skills and capabilities that will enable them to thrive in the workforce of tomorrow.
Replete with research-led insight and ready-to-use strategies, Teaching Creative Thinking is a powerful call to action and a practical handbook for all teachers and leaders, in both primary and secondary settings, who want to embed a capabilities approach in their schools. (Amazon summary)
Now That's a Good Question: How to Promote Cognitive Rigor Through Classroom Questioning by Erik M. Francis
In this book, Erik M. Francis explores how one of the most fundamental instructional strategies—questioning—can provide the proper scaffolding to deepen student thinking, understanding, and application of knowledge. You'll learn:
- Techniques for using questioning to extend and evaluate student learning experiences.
- Eight different kinds of questions that challenge students to demonstrate higher-order thinking and communicate depth of knowledge.
- How to rephrase the performance objectives of college and career readiness standards into questions that engage and challenge students.
Francis offers myriad examples of good questions across content areas and grade levels, as well as structures to help teachers create and use the different kinds of questions. By using this book to fine-tune your approach to questioning, you can awaken the spirit of inquiry in your classroom and help students deepen their knowledge, understanding, and ability to communicate what they think and know.
Deconstructing Depth of Knowledge: A Method and Model for Deeper Teaching and Learning by Erik M. Francis
Depth of knowledge (DOK) has become a priority for many schools. But if your understanding of DOK is a little cloudy, you're not alone. This resource is your one-stop-shop for learning what it is, who it's for, and how to use and sustain it. Ultimately, you will discover how to plan and provide learning experiences that are academically rigorous, socially and emotionally supportive, and student responsive.
- Learn how DOK is a different, deeper way of approaching teaching and learning.
- Explore the different DOK levels and how they relate to instruction.
- Understand DOK's relationship with standards and assessment.
- Designate correct levels based on learning needs.
- Acquire strategies for helping students engage with DOK on a deeper level.
Techer Clarity Playbook: , Grades K-12: A Hands-On Guide to Creating Learning Intentions and Success Criteria for Organized, Effective Instruction Second Edition by D.Fisher (Author), N. Frey
https://youtu.be/FR9EpMINCUQ?si=tYMZD24dxZAcZC9w
On a clear day, you can learn forever― that’s the adapted lyric you’ll be happily humming once you’ve covered this playbook, because you will have mastered using learning intentions and success criteria, the twin engines of Teacher Clarity. This template-filled guide shows you how to own it, do it, and live it―and your students will be more successful as a result.
In this fully revised edition, this succinct, smart, and swift book’s nine learning modules take you systematically through a process that begins and ends with standards. With abundant and all new examples that span grade levels, planning templates for every step, key professional learning questions, new videos, revised success criteria and relevance sections, and the latest research, you have the most practical and up-to-date planner for designing and delivering highly effective instruction:
- Identifying Concepts and Skills
- Sequencing Learning Progressions
- Elaborating Learning Intentions
- Crafting Success Criteria
- Modifying Learning Intentions to Include Language Expectations
- Determining the Relevance of the Learning
- Designing Assessment Opportunities
- Creating Meaningful Learning Experiences
- Establishing Mastery of Standards
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A Shark Shout Out to Ms. Jordan for recommending the above article!
MRSD Website: Portrait of a Graduate
We are proud to present Monomoy Regional School District’s 2024-2028 Strategic Plan. This plan will guide the operation of our schools in the coming years with a focus on the needs of our students, providing guidance and identifying priorities for a wide range of actions related to our schools – from professional development to curriculum planning to family engagement.
