Now more than ever teachers are being called upon to support social-emotional learning in addition to meeting educational goals. In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, educators are navigating new technology, new ways of teaching, and unimaginable student stressors all while trying to ‘keep it together’ for themselves and for their families. Teachers are Heroes. They’re showing up to provide comfort and familiarity during uncertain times. They are modeling public learning and adapting quickly to a rapidly evolving educational landscape.

One growing commitment of education has been to provide support for the whole student – that is their academic, physical and emotional well-being. Brick and mortar schools and classrooms are often a respite for children and a controlled learning environment for teachers to set the stage for their students. Now, teachers are tasked with observing and responding to students' needs while they are at home, while there are more distractions, and with the pressures presented by changing schedules and limited control of inequity to resources and support for all learners.  What we’re witnessing is a rebirth of the classical commitment – where teachers nurture students and are focused on creating a positive learning environment, using any and all tools available. Teachers who are dedicated to the future and invested in the well-being of students first, and academic achievement second.

Teachers are providing levity and emotional support to students. They are monitoring behaviors and educational outcomes for parents and administrators. And, they are developing and adapting to digital learning tools and accepting the risks inherent in learning, trying new things and making mistakes publicly. Teachers today are making themselves available and gracefully shouldering the responsibility of being present for our young people. They deserve our patience, empathy and a round of applause for their efforts and their courage during this time. Student success and the future of our communities depends on our ability to recognize and support our local heroes, and teachers should know that they are valued and that their fearlessness is appreciated by all of us. 

School schedules, learning spaces, student groupings and personnel configurations have all been affected by Covid-19. These educational structures have been disrupted and have to be re-imagined. What ‘Bold Moves’ can we take to ensure that digital learning environments are as effective as traditional ones? The gap between onsite and online learning may not be as wide as we think and used together might be the perfect hybrid learning environment. The approach to learning in a virtual classroom offers opportunities and advantages for students of all types.

In a classroom, teachers are making students feel safe and comfortable, observing body language, assessing readiness for learning and communicating expectations – all of which are possible through video conferencing. After overcoming the learning curve of new technology, the shift for teachers is in pedagogy - how educators use their time online with students makes the biggest difference. Teachers have to understand that some activities are best suited for a traditional classroom and shouldn’t be attempted in a virtual learning space. However, remote education offers opportunities for individualized, personalized and experiential learning that engages students and is efficient and effective for academic performance.

During this workshop we will briefly review your schools curriculum mapping mission and strategy, and focus on implementation, integrating assessment data and upgrading unit maps for contemporary learners.

During this workshop we will guide each participant through:

•     an overview of curriculum mapping
•     aligning curriculum and assessment to standards
•     integrating digital, media, and global into teaching and learning
•     developing an action plan for moving the work forward at your school
•     drafting a quality unit map' as a professional development mode

For many students the feel of Spring means that Summer is near. For faculty though, it's that 'special time' when we're both preparing for the end-of-year crunch and thinking about how to improve teaching and learning for next year.

We're delighted to offer unique options and opportunities to administrators and teachers who are engaged in curriculum upgrades, interested in contemporary instructional strategies, and/or focused on assessment design.

Our services are delivered through a series of onsite leadership consulting, step-by-step curriculum coaching, and meeting facilitation for school boards and parent groups. We also offer virtual options for teams in need of curriculum audits or other remote support.

In addition, we're happy to partner with schools and school districts to offer Boot Camp Workshops featuring Drs. Heidi Hayes Jacobs and Marie Alcock. The popular Curriculum Mapping and Bold Moves for Schools workshops, offer specialized topics, tools and time to develop a strategy with your team, and personalized on the spot consulting from Heidi and Marie.

Learn more about our Boot Camp Workshops.

Teaching Social Skills In a Digital Age

Children today spend more time using digital devices than ever before, but it has come with a loss of face-to-face interaction and social skills. A 2018 Pew Research Center study found that with 95 percent of U.S. teens now having access to a smartphone, 45 percent feel overwhelmed by social media drama, 48 percent feel they don't fit in with peers, and 36 percent feel they have too little face-to-face time with friends. However, brain and psychological research has shown that having face-to-face interactions and developing social skills are essential for learning, making lasting friendships, and for academic and career success. Join us in New York to explore how our brains are wired for face-to-face social interactions, how digital devices are affecting social skills development and addiction, and how social groups, and using classroom collaborations improve learning. Discover ways to help all students, including the socially awkward and those with autism, feel accepted, make friends, and develop the social and emotional skills needed for school and life success.

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Learning Systems Associates is proud to support school organizations that are embracing curriculum change, contemporary instruction, and assessments that are authentic and standards based.

Dr. Marie Alcock works personally with school leaders and faculty to improve curriculum and transform learning environments to meet district and state-wide goals, while providing students with meaningful and measurable learning outcomes.

New Jersey Schools: Invite Marie to your school for a leadership meeting, strategic planning session or curriculum review and we will schedule a virtual planning and review session follow-up, at no additional cost. Or, partner with us to host a 1, 2 or 3 Day Professional Development Workshop at your campus. Partnering schools experience increased faculty engagement, broader connections to neighboring school groups, 20% discount on registration fee's and a complimentary full-day strategic planning session with Dr. Alcock.

When thinking about education policy around assessments, Bold Moves for Schools proposes 5 tenets to transform accountability, leadership and performance in schools.

1. Authentic Student Work -- Authentic student product or performance should be the goal
2. Realistic Audience Feedback -- Feedback connected to the purpose of the product or performance can be gathered from an audience outside of the classroom
3. Long-Term Projects -- Long term projects where deeper learner can occur should be favored over short-term memorization of processes and ideas
4. Collaborative Assessment Design -- Teachers and students can work collaboratively to identify indicators of innovation for assessment purposes
5. Self-Navigating Learners -- Students as self-navigating professional learners can monitor, reflect upon and feel connected to their personal learning path and progress

In a previous blog post we stated, "Standardized testing has its place in education, however, it is insufficient and has the potential for far-reaching unintended consequences." Here we'll discuss 4 detrimental outcomes of standardized testing.

Misuse of Data

Standardized tests used to rank learners, faculty and schools assess a few limited proficiencies but falls short of measuring what we value as learning – that which is educationally significant. This singular method does not factor in varying student conditions and environmental factors that impact scoring. In addition, grading practices are inconsistent state to state and scorers are often encouraged to favor quantity over quality reviews.

Educators and policymakers have a unique relationship – they share responsibility for shaping learning systems and preparing students for an interconnected and ever-changing world. We often think of teachers and administrators on one side and legislators on the other in a virtual tug-of-war, each side firmly planted in ideologies that inform programs and regulations. On the contrary, diversity of thought exists among teachers, administrators, superintendents, unions, governors, legislators, taxpayers, parents and students. And in fact, we’re all in this together.

Accountability and assessment methods emerge as the single most contentious policy topic. While policymakers have the extraordinary task of making decisions that impact all aspects of education, faculty struggle with administering programs that are meaningful, effective and result in satisfactory test results.