September 6, 2007

Summer school for teachers

Simonds teachers explore future of education at Denver symposium

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

Everyone knows that a wise person never stops learning. And that’s just what Simonds Elementary School teachers did this summer—they went to school.

The event was the “Serious Systemic School Reform—Journey to Student Success,” a summer symposium presented by Dr. Robert Marzano and Associates in Denver, Colo. July 23—25.

The day before school started on Aug. 28 found Simonds Elementary School Principal Janice Samuels excited and ready for the new school year. Photo by Jeanne Carbone Lewis

“We explored what the future looks like in education,” explained Simonds Principal Janice Samuels, who attended Marzano’s training before becoming an administrator. “An example is technology. It’s taking us to places where we never expected to go. And it’s important for us to know what’s available to improve our children’s educational experience.”

Marzano & Associates’ work involves translating education research and theories into practical programs and tools for kindergartner to 12th grade teachers and administrators in the United States, Europe and Asia. Marzano is the author of more than 20 books with titles like “Classroom Instruction That Works,” “Classroom Management That Works,” as well as 150 articles and chapters and more than 100 curriculum guides and related materials for educators and students.

And with presentations such as the “Art and Science of Teaching: Instruction,” “Formative Class-room Assessment” and others, Simonds teachers left the conference excited to implement the new tools for the school year.

Twelve Simonds teachers attended the symposium paying their own airfare. Of special interest to the Simonds staff that attended was the Standards-Referenced Approach, a comprehensive K-12 timed system where student performance on specific areas of knowledge and skill are tracked and reported.

“Building Background Knowledge” was one of the seminars they also found interesting. The session examined vocabulary development in the classroom across all curriculum area at every grade level.

“I’m especially excited about what we learned on Building Background Knowledge,” said Simonds Technology Research teacher Anita Kwock. “After hearing about the research and theory on vocabulary development and how this research can impact children’s learning, I can’t wait to get started.”

Rubric grading has been the standard for elementary schools at San Jose Unified School District [SJUSD]. Simonds educators left the conference interested in re-evaluating ways to measure student knowledge and skill acquisition. They would also like to establish a computer-generated report card with Excelsior [gradebook] that is already in use with the secondary schools.

Improving the “Art and Science of Teaching: Instruction and Classroom Management” provided guidelines for lesson planning and teaching. The school also looks forward to investigating how Simonds and San Jose Unified School District can work together to create a district-wide policy for “best practices.”

“I knew of Dr. Marzano’s work,” said Simonds teacher Steve Quigley. “However, during the symposium I learned about the need to balance the art of teaching with the science of teaching. The science of proven instructional methods is important, but so is the art of teaching—each teacher’s style of engaging the students. Teaching is more than learning lots of facts. It is connecting students to each other and to the world.”