Community Based Professional Development

Recently I have been helping a colleague of mine promote an upcoming series that launches later this month.  It's focus:  Developmentally Appropriate Practice.  Now that is a mouthful to say 10 times fast!  DAP for short.  Still...  professional jargon can be hard to interpret and difficult to promote easily unless the audience already knows what it is.  The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) published a book on the subject and promotes this as where we should all be headed with the little ones in our classrooms and homes. NAEYC defines DAP for as the following:

Developmentally appropriate practice, often shortened to DAP, is an approach to teaching grounded both in the research on how young children develop and learn and in what is known about effective early education. Its framework is designed to promote young children’s optimal learning and development.
DAP involves teachers meeting young children where they are (by stage of development), both as individuals and as part of a group; and helping each child meet challenging and achievable learning goals.

Have you unwrapped these best concepts with your friends and colleagues yet? It is a wonderful way to look at brain development, play, and the activities you enjoy best with the children you care for in a light that honors you as a professional. 

If they have opened a new box of crayons and experimented with big blank pieces of paper or if they have built tall towers of cereal boxes and cans from the cupboards and promptly climbed into the empty space afterward, they know what DAP is.  Have you offered up boxes of hats and old shoes and maybe a fancy shirt or two for dress up?  Are there any spaces where you could clear away an area to create a space with a masking tape outline on the floor?  For what, you ask...  A spaceship.. An airplane... A gym.  Who knows but the little ones allowed in - and maybe you if you invite them!

 

Consider songs and time outside.  Remember the time for books and dancing.  Sometimes they enjoy exploring books with you and having time to discover letters and words around the room - and sometimes they enjoy showing you what they find.  It is about looking for bugs and wondering where the water went.  And... being exhausted long before those little ones are ever ready to come inside to wash hands and faces for healthy snacks.

Most importantly, DAP is all grounded in research, and you can share ideas with your friends and colleagues...  The NAEYC book will be provided to you so I encourage you to join us for discussion and share your experiences.  The First Things First Yuma Regional Partnership Council, along with Eight - Arizona PBS invites to you find out more and register for the first session, January 19!

 



ASSET Robotics Workshop

KAET- Eight Educational Outreach is pleased to announce the ASSET – Robotics STEM Workshop for Educators. The workshops will take place on two dates this month. One workshop will be held on October 13^th and one will be held on October 20^th at the Downtown ASU Campus in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism building.

The workshops are so popular, each one filled within a month of publishing registration details.

Both educators and students will gain from the Robotics Workshops. The educators will participate in professional development during the event, as well as challenge their students to engage in math and science. The goal is to have educators go back to their schools and begin a Robotics Club. To help the teachers kick this off, any team that participates in the workshops will be given one Lego NXT Mindstorms Robotics kit; a $270 value.

Introducing PBS LearningMedia!

Looking for more quality educational content online? Then, look into our new website, PBS LearningMedia. It features outstanding educational content, organized into a library of media content. The library includes thousands of resources on a variety of subjects, including English and Social Studies. The library includes professional development resources, as well as best-in-class resources. PBS LearningMedia was made possible due to the collaboration of public media producers and partners. It was designed to engage both teachers and learners.

Highlights of PBS LearningMedia include that it is cost–effective. In addition, the resources are research-based and curriculum-targeted. Videos are designed to meet state and national standards.

PBS LearningMedia features three levels of engagement. The three service options are Basic, Custom and API. Basic is free and offers thousands of high-quality, digital resources. The Custom option includes more enhanced features, such as reports and analytics dashboard and a teacher-managed student access. Finally, the API version offers organizations flexibility to embed content into the existing digital portal. With the API version, the PBS LearningMedia works with the local team to integrate school-specific needs.

To experience PBS Learning Media, click on www.pbslearningmedia.org.

Teaching Channel Presents Synopsis

Teaching Channel Presents shows real-life experiences of teachers. The episodes cover a variety of topics and are targeted to grade levels K-12. The episodes highlight lessons teachers have learned both in and out of the classroom. Examples of topics include: the Common Core State Standards and Bullying. The episodes include videos from the Teaching Channel’s Website (https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos?q=teaching+channel+presents).

The co-host of the show is Sarah Brown Wessling, 2010 Teacher of the Year and the Teacher Laureate. Each segment is one-hour in length and the episodes are presented as magazine style (http://www.teachingchannel.org/tv-schedule). Supporting ideas can be found on the Teaching Channel website (https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/).

The program is designed for both teachers and parents. The show presents best practices and is a professional development tool. In addition to being informative, it is designed to be entertaining. The program celebrates teachers and their accomplishments.

            The program receives funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

            Upcoming episodes include The New Teacher Experience.

 

                                

 

PBS LearningMedia

From watching blood cells evolve, to identifying main ideas, PBS LearningMedia meets the needs of a wide variety of students and teachers. The modules are research-based and range in tone and style of presentation. To learn more, please visit http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/content/.

Amazon Rainforest features spectacular images of this

region. The module describes how the plants and animals

of the rainforest are used for a variety of people,
both commercially and personally. Finally, the module
warns of how the rainforest is being overused and
overtaxed. It urges for wiser, more sustainable use of its resources.

 

Includes Background Essay, Discussion Questions and Transcript.

     ¡Arte y Más! Hot Chocolate features a demonstration of  how to prepare hot chocolate by mixing chocolate with hot milk. The demonstrator chants El Chocolate while mixing the ingredients. The series was created for primary-level

Spanish-speakers and features topics from culture and humanities.

                          Includes Background Essay,

                      Teaching Tips, and Chocolate and

                                      Coloring Page.                                                                           

      

Fridge Magnet Game is an interactive set of games             

designed to increase knowledge of grammar.

Students click on magnetic words in order to
create sentences on a fridge. Through a process of trial-and error, students improve their vocabulary, grammar, and syntax knowledge.

Includes Background Essay and
Discussion Questions.

 

Introducing... Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood!
Enter Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and watch as Daniel interacts with other Neighborhood members, including O the Owl, Mrs. Elaine, and Father and Mother Tiger. Watch as he learns valuable lessons. Each episode includes valuable social and emotional strategies for preschoolers.



Daniel and O the Owl are on a camping trip with their father.
O is afraid of the camping ground because he has never been there.
He looks around the camping ground.
He learns the camping ground can be fun.

Strategy: See what it is, you might feel better (Daniel learns new things are not so scary).



Mrs. Elaine is eating with the family.
She tries some herself and is proud that she did - even if she did not like it. Mrs. Elaine encourages the children to try food that they have never tried.
She tries some herself and is proud that she did - even if she did not like it.

Strategy: Try a new food, it might taste good!


Daniel wants to make banana bread for his mother.
He and his father go to a factory and learn about the process.
They share the meal with their mother.

Strategy: Making something is one way to say "I Love You."

Daniel and his friends are playing in the park.
He does not want to share his toy car, but he does it anyway.
He learns to share when he knows it will be returned.

Strategy: You can take a turn, and then I'll get it back.


Daniel and his family are making a playhouse.
Daniel is discouraged because he cannot contribute to the playhouse his father his making. He speaks with his father.
His father shows him ways to contribute and he learns to contribute.


Strategy: Everyone is big enough to do something.

What is the best part??! Parents and teachers can find great resources online to use with children from PBS and Fred Rogers:

For Parents:

www.pbs.org/parents/daniel

For Teachers:

www.pbskids.org/daniel

Martha Speaks

February 20th 11:30am

Martha Speaks kicks off its fourth season on Monday, February 20 with an action-packed two-part episode guest starring real-life Hollywood couple Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Jennifer Westfeldt (Friends with Kids) - and their real-life dog, Cora.

Part I, Cora! Cora! Cora! features a traveling production of Antony and Cleopatra, a case of mistaken identity and a troupe of circus dogs. Helen’s family friend Kit Luntanne, voiced by Jennifer Westfeldt, is upset that she’s had to leave her lovable dog, Cora, at home while she travels with her acting troupe. Martha tries to help by visiting Kit at the theater to give her authentic dog support. Backstage, Martha meets Ham Johnson, voiced by Jon Hamm, an actor who admires Kit and wants to impress her. Together, they hatch a plan to reunite Kit with Cora.

In part II, Cora Encore!, confusion ensues as Martha and Ham cross paths with a troupe of circus dogs who all look exactly like Cora. Can Martha and Ham find the real Cora before she’s sent off to perform on the high wire? Or before Kit finds out about the mess they’ve made?

Here's some clips

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