Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 18, 2011 Page: 51
79 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
For BISD, the first step was to fo-
cus on assessment. Step two was
for Bluff Dale teachers to docu-
ment their instruction, curricular
habits, and practices. Our inten-
tions are to evaluate "actual" class-
room instruction and curricular
practices to find areas for improve-
ment and modification. Through
these measures, we hope to derive
a solid methodology that affords
the teacher more opportunities to
use best teaching practices to chal-
lenge individual students based on
the student's specific instructional
needs. We recognize that learning
is a chaotic process that the teach-
er simply participates in, without
controlling the learning process;
therefore, the teacher's observa-
tions must be the foundation to
plan and provide a learning envi-
ronment for each student. The end
hope is for all students to collabo-
ratively create an individual edu-
cation plan that addresses their
personal academic needs. (Jacobs,
2010). In addition, during the sum-
mer months of 2011, the instruc-
tional staff will be divided into
grade-based groups to participate
in professional development work-
shops that provide them with the
opportunity to further develop
their personal knowledge and
skills on the latest technology.
Moreover, the teachers will be re-
quired to implement these skills
into the learning cycle.
As for the future, we are structur-
ing a 2-year plan, for the 2011-12
and 2012-13 school years. The
classrooms will start moving to-
ward an online style of instruction
where students will no longer be
dealing with actual papers but will
receive and submit assignments,
lectures, research, and global cor-
respondences from experts and/or
other children electronically. This2-year initiative will be imple-
mented starting in 4th and 5th grade
on a part-time basis and fully im-
plemented in all other upper
grades. In addition, our intentions
are for the students to be 100%
mobile in the learning process with
the aid of handheld devices, such
as IPods, IPads, and even the
feared cell phones. In order to ex-
plain the reasoning behind these
points on our road map to the 21st
century, I will only need to ask one
simple question: Can you make it a
day without using any form of
electronic communication? If you
answered no, then you understand
the importance of teaching chil-
dren in a method that will be used
in the real world. If you answered
yes, then I have a collection of
eight track tapes that might interest
you.
I would love to continue with a
detailed explanation of an exact
road map with all the steps neatly
plotted, but like a classroom, a
school district has to be flexible
based on the needs of the students,
teachers, and community. So, I
will simply provide you with our
"guesstimation" of the continuance
of Bluff Dale's journey.
Beyond 2013, we are hoping to
initiate the final stages of creating
Bluff Dale 21st century. Our plan
for this stage is to start looking at
the major restraints that we see
preventing our school from com-
pleting the evolution into a true
21st century school. These re-
straints are some of the structural
pillars of the public school system
that have been imbedded into our
society since 1892. To help clear
the muddy water, some examples
of structural pillars are schedules
(long term and short term), group-
ing patterns of learnersThe end hope is
for all students to
collaboratively create
an individual education
plan that addresses their
personal academic needs.51
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Tarleton State University. Effective Schools Project. Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 18, 2011, periodical, 2011; Stephenville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201694/m1/55/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.