 This summer, I had the opportunity to attend a powerful three-day learning experience, facilitated by Solution Tree, which focused on the essential elements and practices of effective professional learning communities (PLC’s). In the context of education, the idea of utilizing PLC’s and the power of collective teacher efficacy is not a new concept. But, just how powerful is the correlation between teacher collaboration and improving student learning outcomes? John Hattie, the author of Visible Learning, conducts meta analyses, which evaluates multiple research based studies surrounding a specific instructional practice or strategy, as well as well as school, home, and teacher based influences that impact student achievement, in order to identify the effect size or impact that strategy has on student learning. To put it simply, an effect size of .2 indicates below average gains, .4 indicates average gains, and anything above .6 correlates with a significant effect on student learning outcomes. With an effect size of 1.57, collective teacher efficacy is ranked as the number one factor influencing student achievement (Hattie, 2016).
Most districts effectively utilize several of the essential elements of professional learning communities such as: peer coaching, data analysis meetings, and creating opportunities for teams to meet during common planning time. During the institute, one of the speakers, Eric Twaedell, Superintendent of Adlai Stevenson High School, challenged participants to reflect on the three big ideas of PLC’s:
In addition to the three big ideas in PLC’s, it is imperative for educators to reflect on the four critical questions surrounding effective professional learning communities:
A key take away from this institute was the importance of focusing on an organizational mindset committed to continuous improvement. When goals are met or surpassed, new goals geared toward improving student achievement and learning outcomes are set and plans for reaching them are collaboratively developed. Reflect. Plan. Keep moving forward. That’s how we move from good to great. By: Colleen Root, CA BOCES Professional Development
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Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge!
Catapulting Candy Corn Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way. Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom. A new challenge will be posted monthly. Welcoming West Valley students into the school library this year is a new space designated for S.T.E.A.M. activities. Jody Thiel, SLMS, is offering students the opportunity to explore coding, collaboration, and creativity with $500 raised through Donors Choose. Mrs. Thiel purchased over ten interactive resources to engage student learning and encourage a growth mindset (See photo). A struggling middle school student recently demonstrated growth mindset as he was putting together circuits. When a bulb failed to light, he blamed it on dead batteries – several times. Mrs. Thiel did not offer correction on his design but simply told him the batteries were new and encouraged him to try again. The student figured it out and was so proud of himself! Taking risks in a safe environment allowed for experiencing success. For younger students, Mrs. Thiel purchased the FisherPrice Code-a-Pillar. This is a colorful robotic whose pre-coded segments are put together by the student. Once segments are connected the Code-a-Pillar crawls across the floor to find a predetermined target. Quick feedback allows for student correction. Additional segments can be purchased for increased challenges.
Elementary and middle school students enjoy the Code & Go Robot Mouse and no doubt high school students and adults will too. Similar to the design of a BeeBot, Robot Mouse can be programmed to find a block of 'cheese' within a maze. The maze offers a variety of design challenges to engage “steamers” of all ages. and provides small groups with collaborative opportunities to problem solve.
Displayed among the LittleBits, Magformers, and Snap Circuits was the Osmo. This product utilizes an iPad, stand, mirror, and apps to teach coding, letters, words, numbers, and drawings. I tried the drawing app which uses a mirror to project an image onto a piece of paper that can be traced. Lettering is also available to make attractive thank you notes or sayings. (See photo). The tools available to use with the Osmo clearly makes an interactive tool for students K-12. By: Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES Learning Resources Teachers, administrators, staff, and parents at Allegany-Limestone Elementary School have worked together to form a Bullying Prevention Coordinating Committee (BPCC). On September 20th and 22nd, committee members participated in a two day Olweus Reboot. Staff members learned about bullying, identifying roles people play in bullying situations, and prevention and intervention strategies to create a safe and welcoming school climate. OBPP is used at the school, classroom, and individual levels and includes methods to reach out to parents and the community for involvement and support. OBPP is not a curriculum, but a program that involves a holistic approach. School administrators, teachers, and other staff are primarily responsible for introducing and implementing the program. These efforts are designed to improve peer relations and make the school a safer and more positive place for students to learn and develop. The goals of the program are:
The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program has received recognition from a number of organizations and researchers committed to preventing school violence. OBPP has been named a Blueprints Promising Program by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and was highlighted in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Policy Statement: Role of the Pediatrician in Youth Violence Prevention. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program’s Coordinating Committee at Allegany-Limestone is excited to turn-key training to all staff members and plan for the 4th year of implementation in the elementary building. Currently, ALES utilizes the following school anti-bullying rules:  The OBPCC will be embedding Olweus training in faculty meetings, student assemblies, parent nights, and much more!
By: Jillian Putnam, CA BOCES Professional Development All students in CA BOCES, but especially those in grades PreK – 8th will enjoy the premium version of Tumble Books. Offered in a French, Spanish, or Mobile interface, over 1400 eBooks are available with Wi-Fi connection.
By: Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES Learning Resources Exposing children to music and art leads to a deeper understanding of content. It’s a natural connection for teachers to offer their students.
CABOCES hosted the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and an audience of more than 1,300 elementary students and teachers for 2 interactive concerts at the Olean High School on September 26. The BPO, led by conductor Stefan Sanders, kicks off their Student Concert Series each year by transporting a 60 piece orchestra to the Southern Tier. The concerts combined not only a variety of musical selections, but also original poetry commissioned for the BPO, story-telling and active audience participation. It was more than just a concert, it was an educational show that connected NYS elementary curriculum with music. The audience was prompted to sing along, in both English and Spanish, as the musicians’ accompanied them. In essence, the young students performed with the BPO. Afterwards, a Scio teacher remarked: “We haven’t been able to come to this for several years. I’m so glad we could come this year. We enjoyed every single minute of it! I loved how the BPO made it interactive for the kids and encouraged them to move and sing!” Each year a talented team of music teachers, staff and musicians develop the School Concert Series. This year the theme was a focus on community and working together. The BPO Education department linked their performances to the Common Core Learning Standards. This provided a unique opportunity to inspire Kindergarten through Fifth grade students and enhance the ELA, Literacy, Social Studies and Art Standards that are being taught in the classroom. To ensure a strong foundation for “Our Orchestra Community: Same and Different” (Kindergarten-2nd Grade) and “The Power of Listening” (3rd-5th Grade), the BPO Education Department provided curriculum material for use in the classroom. All districts received these resources prior to the shows. Teachers were encouraged to use the resources to prepare their students for the performance. The information is also available on the BPO website (https://bpo.org/community-engagement/education/for-educators/curriculum-resources/) Robin Parkinson, BPO’s Director of Education and Community Engagement, summed up the day this way: “The BPO is incredibly proud to start our season of youth concerts in Olean each year, performing for our neighbors in Cattaraugus and Allegany counties. It is gratifying to be able to take the orchestra on the road and play for students who can’t make it to Kleinhans in Buffalo.” Thank you to Wellsville, Scio, Hinsdale and Olean school districts for allowing their students to attend and promoting the arts in their education. CABOCES Arts in Education helps schools enrich the lives of their students by providing opportunities to experience the performing arts. If the concept of music as education piques your interest, please call CABOCES Student Programs at 716-376-8284 to find out more about Arts In Education, CoSer 403. By: Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programming Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge!
Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way. Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom. A new challenge will be posted monthly.
This summer, Cuba Rushford Elementary School incorporated a STEAM camp into their summer school curriculum. Students were hand-picked to participate in this innovative twist on learning and spent time working with coding, robotics, research projects, and solar ovens.
All of the projects were interesting to the students. But the solar ovens had a prize at the end! I will give you s’more information on that later! As part of this experiment, a great deal of work was spent digging deeper into the Engineering Design Process, wherein students are encouraged to ask, imagine, plan, design, and then improve. Students researched to discover the mathematical relationship between reflection, transmission and absorption. They didn’t stop there, though! Students then applied their knowledge to building and testing a solar oven based on the supplies provided through CABOCES. In an extension, students investigated how these principles can be used as sustainable energy sources for our area through passive solar heating. After the testing phase was completed and all the kinks were worked out, the students put their solar ovens in the sun and let the cooking begin! Chocolate and marshmallows were placed on a graham cracker. After about an hour and a half: voilà! Success. It was so good, some kids wanted s’more! Interested! Order solar ovens from our SNAP page and get cooking! By: Alex Freer, CA BOCES Learning Resources
Teachers at Randolph Central School learned to build equal partnerships in any co-teaching scenario. They learned the answers to the following questions:
Although there is more to learn, there is research that demonstrates the benefits of the co-taught classroom. For instance, children with speech and language impairments made stronger gains in a co-taught classroom than in a pull-out or classroom support model. In New York, an elementary school found that literacy achievement increased for students with disabilities from 20% at or above level to 40% in just two years. Pugach and Wesson interviewed nine, 5th grade students in co-taught classrooms and concluded, “The students we interviewed felt as if their academic and social needs were being met better than they had been in classes instructed by a single teacher.” Educators report positive outcomes from co-taught settings such as professional growth, improved instruction, the ability to differentiate, better teacher access, and improved behavior management. Educators also claim that student engagement improved because two adults can share multiple perspectives, multiple voices, and generate creative connections to the content easier. Co-teaching provides a sense of belonging, acceptance for all students, while upholding high expectations for their students. Whether you are already co-teaching or are thinking about developing co-teaching partnerships, this workshop provides the knowledge and tools to be successful. We will work to develop effective partnerships and amazing learning environments for teachers and students. To Learn more about how to build effective integrated co-teaching teams contact CA BOCES (Laurie Sledge at 716-376-8357). By: Deanna Wilkinson and Marguerite Andrews, CA BOCES Professional Development
 As the new school year approaches, teachers in several districts (Cuba Rushford, Andover, Franklinville, Whitesville, Olean, Fillmore and Cattaraugus – Little Valley) learn the importance of helping students improve a set of thinking skills known as executive function skills. “Human beings have a built in capacity to meet challenges and accomplish goals through the use of high-level cognitive functions called executive skills. These are the skills that help us to decide what activities or tasks we will pay attention to and which ones we’ll choose to do.” (Hart & Jacobs, 1993) These functions are a set of cognitive processes, such as focus, memory and self-control, which enable us to manage information and complete tasks. CA BOCES provided professional development opportunities for teachers to improve how students learn and develop executive function skills during their K-12 education and beyond. Teachers were informed how to recognize students who struggle with executive weakness, and what strategies can assist students in developing these skills. Knowing Cognitive Capacities In order for teachers to target specific executive function skills, they must first be able to identify them. Our teachers researched and developed strategies for the following list of executive function skills:
Teachers reflected on how these skills might exist in the classroom. For example, Students with weak working memory are unable to remember and apply crucial information in order to move to the next step of a task. They often struggle when a task requires them to remember a series of directions, generate ideas in response to the directions and then express their ideas. Information just doesn’t “stick” for them. Once the teacher recognizes a student needs to work on working memory, they can develop a list of strategies to address this learning problem. Teachers realize it’s important to recognize that the same strategy won’t work for each student. Some students work better with visual cues than verbal cues, for instance. Teachers must differentiate thinking strategies for each student to help them meet full learning potential. Exercises for Executive Function Skills There are a number of exercises to help students develop thinking skills. Practices can range from computer games to improve memory skills to physical tasks such as balancing. Here are just a few examples of how teachers in our district have worked with students to improve their executive function skills. Organization and Planning Teachers can help students to master these tasks by encouraging students to write down important assignments in a calendar and to allocate time accordingly. Students can be taught how to make lists of homework assignments. Students can be encouraged to use brightly colored folders to take home important papers (like homework and permission slips) to and from school, so those items don’t get lost. Task Completion For short-term assignments, encourage students to picture the end result of completing the task and the positive emotion that may be attached to it. Students and teachers can brainstorm ways to make assignments more interesting. Self-Control Feeling vocabulary can be taught through books by discussing the feelings the characters had and asking the student to make connections to his own experiences. When the student begins to experience strong emotions, allow them to identify it, validate it and provide a clear direction about what could be done instead of the negative behavior. When it comes to improving executive function skills during the school day, a step in the right direction is to set up time and programs that are devoted to these strategies. It can take as little as two minutes before class or a full 30-minute session. The group concluded that students with well-developed executive function skills really hold the foundation to success in school, with their peers, in college and for a career. These skills are what provide individuals with the capacity to meet challenges and accomplish goals! Collaboratively we recognized the responsibility educators have to build these skills in ALL students. If you are interested in learning more about how to enhance these skills and promoting school and social success for ALL students, please contact CA BOCES (Laurie Sledge at 716-376-8357). By: Marguerite Andrews and Deanna Wilkinson, CA BOCES Professional Development  The Daily 5 framework lays out a structure for getting students to read and write independently during a literacy block, freeing up the teacher for one-on-one conferences or small group instruction.  Daily 5 is a student driven management structure designed to fully engage students in activities that support reading and writing. It is a structure that creates routines and procedures that foster independent literacy routines that become a habit and supports life long learning. The five tasks embedded in the structure of Daily 5 are: Read to Self, Work on Writing, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading and Word Work. Teacher’s begin with introducing read to self and then move to the task work on writing. Students read to self and work on writing EVERY day; students work on the other 3 tasks in a rotation decided upon by the teacher.  The framework begins with a focus lesson/mini lesson on a skill or a topic with the whole class. The mini lessons lasts about 7-10 minutes. After the focus lesson, students make a choice of what task they are going to work on during the round. The round lasts approximately 15-20 minutes and it is based on student’s stamina. When the chimes sound, students clean up their area and debrief/share. The teacher then begins focus lesson/mini lesson for the next round. The Daily 5 rounds may be completed at different times throughout the day or during one literacy block.
While the students are embedded in the tasks of Daily 5, the teacher pulls students who are needed for small group instruction, one-on-one conferences or assessments. Students should meet with the teacher a couple times a week and the most needy are met with daily! The Daily 5 Framework is NOT CONTENT, it is a structure for fostering life long learning and independence. The 10 steps to independence formulate muscle memory, build independent learners and increase student’s stamina on reading and writing. The teacher models/teaches the steps to independence during the focus lesson and then the students work on the tasks and build their stamina. This summer, we had 45 teachers from the region attend the kick off workshop and book study for DAILY 5, we have follow up dates in the calendar to support a smooth transition AND to support teachers and learn from one another. If you want to learn more about Daily 5, check out the text and/or attend one of our DAILY 5’s workshops during the upcoming school year! By: Tessa Levitt and Shannon Dodson, CA BOCES Professional Development  When Microsoft originally announced that they were going to offer the Office 365 suite and its components free of charge to all schools who wanted access, it was seen as a “game-changing move” for education and learning in schools as we know it.
With the focus of today’s technology moving to cloud-based computing, storage, app access, and more, it made sense for Microsoft to offer these services to school districts to ensure that their software suites were still relevant and useful for students. Especially when factored in that competition in the education space has heated up between Google, Microsoft, and Apple, with all three offering enticing services to find their way into contracts with schools across the country. This summer, school districts from Fillmore to Portville, and even administrators themselves, have been taking part in Office 365 Trainings offered by CABOCES. With a focus on what is Office 365, what features are included in the suite, what can be done with the programs, teachers and administrators have been upping their familiarity and comfortability in using the resources available to them in Office 365. There were some topics that created more buzz than others, such as how to set-up and use ClassNotebook to run a blended or flipped classroom in various subject areas and grade spans. Seeing teachers experiment with creating classes, adding students and learning how to share documents and classroom resources with the push of a button to student computers is leading the charge this summer toward some classrooms becoming paperless! Sway, a presentation tool that creates its products as websites that automatically scale to fit different screen sizes was also a teacher favorite for combining elements of PowerPoint and website design into a friendly and easy-to-use format. Microsoft Forms, which allows for teachers to create surveys or quizzes online and quickly share them with students, access instant results, and provide data points that can be analyzed and diagnosed deeper to assess student progress on their learning of concepts was one that most teachers say they could see themselves using on a constant basis. With Fillmore and Portville students having 1-1 devices, the possibilities for enriching students’ learning are endless! With everything around us moving toward cloud-based architecture, it only makes sense that our schools learn and adapt at the same time. Staying current for our students and using the resources in much the same way they do every day will allow us to stay relevant in education and keep the students with the best resources available to them at the touch of a button, mouse, or smartphone screen. With the move to Office 365, students will have the opportunity to have access to their files, and their programs, no matter where they may be with the devices they are already so capable of using every day. By: Ryan McGinnis, CA BOCES Professional Development On July 18th teachers, administrators and staff took part in a Community Action Poverty Simulation during a Professional Development Summer Work four-day study of Poverty. Approximately 40 Pioneer employees and CA BOCES ISS Staff took part in a simulated month of poverty. Teachers were assigned to family groups while administration, staff and CA BOCES employees supported the families as Community Resource Personnel. In addition, one member of the Community Resources Personnel is a Cattaraugus County Community Action (CCA) Representative. The CCA supports families that struggle to meet their family’s needs of food, clothing and shelter with an extensive list of services and a friendly helpful hand to complete forms and navigate the resources available. You can find out more about Community Action in your county or New York State at the sites listed below.
During the four-day study of Poverty teachers explored strategies and mindsets to adopt in their classrooms and buildings. The four-day study included the work of Eric Jensen in his books, “Poor Students, Rich Teaching” and “Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind”. Teachers were encouraged to find instructional strategies that engage students of all levels of socioeconomic status. Among the ideas teachers considered are: training working memory, using movement and music, adopting an attitude of optimism and gratitude, using cooperative learning and classroom discussions. If you are interested in a Poverty Simulation for your building/district or would like professional development for your staff around teaching students of poverty please contact Tim Clarke, Kathleen Agnello, Jillian Putnam, Karen Insley or Brendan Keiser. By: Karen Insley, CA BOCES Professional Development
A relatively new education innovation that has come to the CABOCES region is called Breakout EDU. This concept takes the idea of an escape room, a recreational activity where teams work together to get out of a locked room, and turns it into a learning activity for students where they work together to open a locked box. The idea behind this activity is that students will use their brains to solve various puzzles to get inside the tightly locked box which has several various types locks connected to it. These locks can be 3 or 4 digit combinations locks, directional locks, key locks, or even word locks requiring students to spell the correct word to open the lock. Various simulations and games are available on the BreakutEDU website, but teachers are also encouraged to build their own games for their students.  The end of the school year brought with it opportunities for students at Gail N. Chapman Elementary to participate in Breakout EDU and work together to open the box. The 2nd grade and 4th grade classes worked to find missing birthday presents and solve a chocolate mystery in the Breakout games they participated in at the end of the year. The challenge of breaking into the box was a mix of frustration, cheers, and ultimately success. The added difficulty of getting into the box in a limited amount of time brought motivation and challenge that pushed the students to use math strategies, geography, and chronological reasoning and thinking to accomplish the task. Congratulations to the students who didn’t give up, and who were able to proudly say “We Broke OUT!”.
Teachers appreciated the new experience that Breakout EDU was able to provide for their students, and are already discussing ways to incorporate the games into instruction for next year. By: Rob Griffith, CA BOCES Professional Development What is the difference between group work and cooperative learning? To qualify as cooperative work, rather than individuals working in a group, students must need each other to complete the task. Students are expected to participate in tasks that are clearly constructed and necessary for the group's completion and success. The teacher remains active as a circulating resource and, when necessary, a facilitator, but students should be capable of carrying out their tasks. Students, not the teacher, are responsible for accomplishing their tasks in the way they think best, with accountability to each other and to the teacher's standards. When setting up lessons for successful collaboration in cooperative groups, consider the following ideas that help teachers differentiate between cooperative learning groups versus group work:
Cooperative group activities, unlike whole class discussions or independent work, provide the most opportunities for students to express their ideas, questions, conclusions, and connections verbally. In traditionally structured classes each student has about five to ten minutes of individual time to engage in classroom academic discourse. In cooperative learning groups, that amount of time increases dramatically. Students experience a greater level of understanding of concepts and ideas when they talk, explain, and argue about learning, ideas, concepts, and content with their group, instead of just passively listening to a lecture or reading a text/article or textbook. In addition, metabolic brain activity accelerates during active constructive thinking, such as planning, gathering data, analyzing, inferring, and strategizing versus passive information acquisition. When the verbal center becomes engaged while information or a task is being learned, more neural activity travels between the left and right brain. When students describe their thinking verbally to the group or work on a group chart, diagram, or project, the new information becomes embedded in multiple brain sites, such as the auditory and visual memory storage areas. Now, with neuroimaging, we know that this multi-centered brain communication circuitry enhances comprehension, making new material more accessible for future use, because it is stored in several brain areas. The more a student is engaged in a learning activity, especially one with multiple sensory modalities, the more parts of the brain are actively stimulated. When this occurs in a positive classroom setting, without stress and anxiety, the result is greater long-term, relational, and retrievable learning. Consider the increased comfort and enjoyment that students have when pleasurable social interaction is incorporated into their learning experiences. Successfully planned cooperative learning group work can help to support ALL students at ALL academic levels by reducing the fear of failure that can cause them to avoid academic challenges. Well-structured cooperative group activities build supportive classroom communities, which, in turn, increase self-esteem and academic performance.  If you would like to learn more about Cooperative Learning Groups and increased student engagement, please check out our high energy workshops in the upcoming 2017-2018 school year. You won’t regret it!
By: Tessa Levitt and Kathleen Agnello, CA BOCES Professional Development Sign up for our monthly email. It will keep you informed of all our offerings.
If you're teacher in Allegany or Cattaraugus counties, then this is for you!
Have you ever made a mistake? Have you ever faltered with a task that you simply gave up on? Let’s face it: life throws us challenges, and some are more likely to give up on those challenges than to embrace them, struggle through them, and ultimately learn and grow from the experience as a whole. Today, many students are in the same shoes as a large percentage of adults - unwilling to take on new learning, new adventures, new challenges. To help cultivate a willingness to grapple with difficult problems and to persevere both inside and outside of the classroom, many are turning toward the ideals of a Growth Mindset. Through cultivating a culture of growth, students’ minds evolve to having a willingness to try, to stick with a tough challenge, and make the most of each and every bump in the road they face. Cuba-Rushford Elementary is home to some 60 or so fifth grade students. To help teach these students about having a growth mindset, Beatrice Bottomwell of The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes painted a picture of overcoming challenges and growing from the things that often get the best of us. In hearing main character Beatrice’s tale, students came to find that no one is perfect and that mistakes are okay; so long as we embrace them, and grow from them. These same fifth graders were given a challenge: cut a piece of paper so that an adult could walk through it. Words such as “impossible,” “hard,” and “can’t” rang through the halls of CRCS. Cuts were made, paper was ripped, and students sat staring wondering how this challenge could ever be fulfilled. In talking about how the initial mistakes were made, and the emotions that the students felt, they learned; they grew. Before you knew it, these same fifth graders that had points of frustration and attitudes of “I give up” were walking through paper left and right! As some students shared, making mistakes on math problems is common, and while thinking “we can’t” when faced with a tough problem, they come to realize that with effort and commitment, they can get through it. Others felt they simply couldn’t tumble, a recent unit of study in PE. Despite that belief, after practicing and asking for help, that attitude of “I can’t” turned to one of “I can.” Without realizing it, fifth graders were sharing stories of how they took a fixed mindset and transferred it to a mindset of growth. As teachers, it is important to acknowledge when students are making the most of the mistakes they’ve made, learning how to overcome challenges and those bumps in the road. Whether it be a challenge in the classroom or a challenge in everyday life, having a growth mindset can help adults and students alike to have an attitude of CAN as opposed to an attitude of CAN’T. Students thrive in environments that support their growth as learners. By learning from Beatrice Bottomwell, and by embracing challenges such as the paper activity, students can begin to see that life is more about the journey than the destination; it’s more about the path we take to find success than the immediacy of doing well. By: Lauren Stuff, CA BOCES Professional Development “What did you learn today?
What mistake did you make today that taught you something? What did you try hard at today? – Carol Dweck Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge!
Sliding Down a Slippery Slope Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way. Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom. A new challenge will be posted monthly.
College and career readiness are words that ring through the minds of many, wondering how such learning experiences can be generated to cultivate a sense of the opportunities that exist beyond a traditional PK-12 education. For many, college and career readiness is a facet embedded in the NYS Common Core Learning Standards for ELA and Math and the Next Generation Science Standards. For others, exposure to college and career opportunities is much more than what is taught in a traditional setting; it’s about the experiences and the real-world application we can create for learners of all ages.
Laurie Bushnell and Tracey Keller’s second grade students recently visited the Career and Technical Education Center in Olean, NY to highlight some of the future educational opportunities that they may have, be it as a programmer of various robotics resources, as a cosmetologist, or even as a culinary artist. The experience was intended to give students a greater sense of the opportunities that exist in the real-world, as well as an understanding of the strategies and skills that can help one to be successful. While fiddling with robots can seem like all fun and games, for the teachers and students alike, the experience was much more. The students were able to gain insight into how robots work, solve posed problems, experience challenge, and learn how these emotions lend themselves to the real-world. Some students felt frustration in trying to accomplish a task or goal, but through their perseverance, their commitment, and ultimately their inherent want to be successful, the students learned. For Ms. Bushnell and Ms. Keller, giving students exposure to experiences outside the walls of East View Elementary in Olean, NY brings new light to the opportunities that await them in the future. Having students feel a little bit pampered by the cosmetology department and engaged by the prospect of making robots work reinforces the need for teachers of all students to provide learning experiences that enhance exposure to college, to career, and to challenge. By: Lauren Stuff, CA BOCES Professional Development Students from Portville, Olean, and Hinsdale Central School Districts embarked on a great adventure this week: Outdoor Adventure Camp 2017.
Portville, Olean, and Hinsdale School Districts have collaborated for the past three years to provide up to a total of fifty students who are entering grades 4-12 an outdoor learning adventure that promotes friendship, fun, team building, growth mindset, and confidence. Because each of the three districts has been awarded The Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Grant, the Adventure Camp is free for students. The 4-day outdoor adventure includes kayaking on the Allegany River and Quaker Lake, archery, tennis, swimming, and Portville’s Ropes Course & Climbing Wall. The opportunity takes learning outdoors and kids are raving about it: “I loved all of it”; “It’s so much fun trying new things and going to new places”; “I like making new friends”; “I love kayaking and the ropes course”; “I conquered my fear of heights”; “I want to come back every summer”; “I’d recommend this camp to all of my friends!” The cheers of encouragement from the belay team to a fellow climber speak volumes: Outdoor Adventure Camp is an experience the kids will carry with them for a lifetime. By: Anne Mitchell, CA BOCES Professional Development & Portville Central School Curriculum Coordinator  Over 300 school librarians converged in Buffalo May 4-6, 2017 to attend the state’s annual school librarians conference. Thirty-nine vendors were available to discuss databases, continuing education programs, cataloging systems, and books that support learning standards as well as popular fiction. Co-chaired by Pioneer school librarians Maria Muhlbauer and Tina Pierce, this year’s theme Make. Learn. Inspire. was a hit!
Make. Learn. Inspire. offered professional development workshops specific to the needs of the school librarian. Keynote speaker Gene Luen Yang, a former high school teacher, has been a recipient of several national book awards. Yang’s engaging style, peppered with humor, brought attention to using comics in education and the importance of representing diversity through the comics medium. Yang’s message was fitting in that it supports the current initiative by CA BOCES’ Brendan Keiser and Cece Fuoco in building graphic novel kits for classroom use next school year. Thirty-six workshops were made available including“Fostering Civic Engagement Through Archival Research”, “The Differentiated Makerspace”, “Sensory Storytime”, “Game Design”, and “Genrefying Your Library”. One workshop held by Scio librarian, Mary Zdrojewski, had a packed room of 75 attendees who came to learn about using a Breakout Box to teach library skills. Bolivar-Richburg librarian, Karen Fox, (see photo) presented to over 50 attendees on “21st Century Toolbox for the School Librarian”. Fox capitalized on skills she learned as an employee of Apple and Starbucks to streamline the process for managing her library resources and tracking students. Librarians also enjoyed hearing CA BOCES’ S.T.E.M. coordinator, Clay Nolan discuss using common fiction stories to create S.T.E.M. activities to support ELA standards. After introducing the book Timing Races: Measuring Time by Dianne Irving, Nolan challenged participants with Zometools to create an object that could spin and outlast others (see photo). It was a fun activity and participants’ phones were busy capturing the learning and competition taking place. Returning to their schools across the state, librarians left inspired to make new learning opportunities for students. By: Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES Learning Resources  (Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan) –The Wellsville Central School Odyssey of the Mind team participated in the 38th annual Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University from May 24-27. The Problem 5 Division 3 team consists of Skyler Stisser, Rachael Ferraloro, Alysa Daily, Justin Cole, Alyssa Kear, Ashley Reitz, and Braden Scott. Jennifer Parks is their coach. They excelled at the Region 19 Tournament in Wellsville and the State Tournament in Binghamton, where they earned the honor to advance to the 4 day international tournament, representing New York State. Founded in 1978, Odyssey of the Mind is the largest international creative problem-solving tournament in the world. The program encourages students, from kindergarten through college, to use original and divergent thinking as a team sport. Divergent problems, that is, those with more than one solution, encourage students to learn and lead the way using 21st century skills. By working in teams of up to seven members, participants learn teamwork, the appreciation and understanding of others, and the concept that a group is a more powerful thinking force than an individual. Over 850 teams from throughout the United States and 13 other countries compete in Odyssey of the Mind. Teams from the US, Canada, China, South Korea, India, Japan, Russia, Poland, Germany, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy, and Mexico traveled to Michigan State University, making this year’s tournament the largest one in 38 years. Over 20,000 students and supporters, from different cultures and widely varying backgrounds, prove that creativity is universal. The high-energy tournament embodies an international spirit of teamwork. While the competition is fierce, there is also a feeling of camaraderie amongst competitors. At World Finals, teams have an once-in-a-lifetime experience to form friendships that span the globe, through a common goal of being creative and having fun.  The Wellsville team chose to tackle Problem 5, described as-
To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger: Creativity is being taken away from the world, and it is up to Odyssey teams to rescue it! Teams will present a humorous performance about an unexpected superhero that must save creativity. The superhero will change appearance when it displays its superpowers and go back to blending in with society when not. The performance will also include a clumsy sidekick, a nemesis character, a choreographed battle, and a cliffhanger ending. Not only do the participants compete within their chosen problem, but teams must also perform well in a “spontaneous problem”, where they solve a new problem on the spot. They must be creative, quick thinking and work well together as a team. Odyssey of the Mind team members spend months of their free time solving problems as well as developing teamwork skills, independent study, friendships, confidence, and most importantly, improving their brainstorming and problem-solving techniques. They learn new things and utilize their individual strengths to solve problems creatively. Teams also learn how to budget money as there is a cost limit to each problem. Throughout the competition days, wherever you look, there are imaginative costumes, elaborate props, dances, original songs and poetry, creative writing and more. Tournaments are the culmination of months of work from students, coaches, parents and judges who all work together with the common goal of expressing creativity, supporting the arts and learning new things in a fun environment. It is not possible for a team to be able to attend World Finals without a tremendous group effort from the team members, coaches, school board, community, parents and families. Thanks to the supportive Wellsville school district and communities for their commitment to their students. These local teenagers are inspirational role models for younger students who hope to some day repeat their successes. This team has represented their school, community, Region 19, and New York State in an admirable way. The team’s success would not have been possible without a long term commitment from their dedicated coach, Jennifer Parks. Thank you and congratulations to all on an outstanding accomplishment. For more information visit odysseyofthemind.com, nysoma.org or contact Jean Oliverio at jean_oliverio@caboces.org or 716-376-8323. By: Jean Oliverio, CABOCES Student Programming  Digital Learning Day, hosted by Betsy Hardy, Distance Learning Coordinator for Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES (CA BOCES), was held mid-March this year at the Main Center in Olean. There was a record turnout from neighboring districts, with more than 55 educators from across the region including attendees from six regional BOCES, traveling to learn about implementing online learning in their districts or how to enhance current programs.
The day was split into rotating sessions with vendors that CA BOCES currently has partnerships with or with vendors that may be of future interest to any district hoping to broaden depth of transcripts, assist struggling students with unit, quarterly or full credit recovery, or generally provide multiple pathway of learning for their students. The day’s focus was on credit accrual or electives through Edgenuity, world languages, CTE courses, and electives through EdOptions Academy, unit and credit recovery through APEX Learning, homebound tutoring with iTutor, middle school content through Spider Learning, and K-12 collaborative and customizable digital content aligned to standards through Buzz at OHM BOCES. Overall, the day was a huge success. At the beginning of the day, two rotating sessions with 25 minute overviews of the various kinds of curriculum and implementation methods were held. Lunch and breaks provided time to meet up individually with vendors to ask more district specific questions. The day was rounded out with presentations from Andover, Franklinville, and Allegany-Limestone sharing successful implementation stories of language programs, electives, and credit recovery programs respectively. Fortified with information from the day, many districts are developing a plan for digital learning and reaching out to CA BOCES as they bring new curriculum to students across the region. For more information on online learning, please contact Learning Resources at 716-376-8281. By: Christina McGee, CA BOCES Learning Resources Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge!
Plethora of Pollinators Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way. Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom. A new challenge will be posted monthly. |
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