FOR EDUCATORS OF CATTARAUGUS AND ALLEGANY COUNTIES.
  • Innovative Teaching
  • About
  • Contact
  • CABOCES.ORG/iss
  • Calendar of Events
  • AdvancingSTEM

Innovative Teaching

For Educators of Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties
We've Moved!

Our CA BOCES Innovative Teaching Blog has moved to a new location as of July 1, 2024. Please access the same great stories from around the Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES region at our new location: CA BOCES Success Stories,
 https://casuccessstories.weebly.com

librarians inspired to make new learning opportunities for students

6/1/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
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 

0 Comments

Wellsville Central School attends Odyssey of the Mind World Finals 2017

6/1/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
 
(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. 
Picture
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 [email protected] or 716-376-8323.

By:  Jean Oliverio, CABOCES Student Programming
0 Comments

The region explores digital Learning

6/1/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
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
0 Comments

June STEM Challenge

6/1/2017

0 Comments

 
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. 
0 Comments

    Follow us on
    ​social media

    Want to attend a professional development session offered by Instructional Support Services?  Click here to review our catalog of professional development offerings.  
    Need 24/7 access to digital classroom resources?
    Click here to access "no charge" digital resources for you and your students.

    Categories

    All
    1:1
    3d Modeling
    7 Habits
    AdvancingSTEM
    Akom
    Allegany County
    Allegany Limestone
    Alternate Assessment
    Andover
    Angela Stockman
    Anti Bullying
    Anti-bullying
    Anxiety
    APPR
    Art
    Artificial Intelligence
    Arts
    Arts In Education
    Artspower
    Arts Power
    Assessments
    Audiobooks
    Belfast
    Benchmarks
    Blended Learning
    Bolivar Richburg
    Book Study
    BPO
    Brain Based
    Breakout EDU
    Ca Boces
    Canva
    Career Day
    Career Resources
    Castle Learning
    CA Today
    Cattaraugus Little Valley
    CBT
    Clc
    CLC (collaborative Learning Community)
    Climate
    Coding
    Collaborative Project
    Common Core
    Community And Schools Together
    Community Schools
    Community Schools Service Showcase
    Community & Schools Together Conference
    Cooperative Learning
    COSER 506
    Co-teaching
    Covey
    Credit Recovery
    CRSE
    Cte
    Cuba Rushford
    Cuba-Rushford
    Curriculum Modules
    Dasa
    Data
    Dave Ruch
    Delevan Elementary
    Distance
    Distance Learning
    Diversity
    Driver Education
    Drone
    Drones
    Dyslexia
    Early Childhood
    Ebooks
    Ela
    ELA CLC
    ELA Learning Standards
    Ellicottville
    Environmental Education
    Environmental Science
    Eresources
    Esl
    Esports
    Executive Function
    Family Engagement
    Field Trips
    Field Trip Zoom
    Fillmore
    Film Festival
    Flipgrid
    Fossils
    Franklinville
    French
    Friendship
    Game Based Learning
    Game-based Learning
    Genesee Valley
    Global History
    Global Studies
    Grit
    Growth Mindset
    Health
    Hinsdale
    Houghton College
    Innovation
    Instruction
    Ipad
    Jcc
    Khan Academy
    Kimberly Morrow
    Kits
    Language Line
    Leadership
    Learning Resources
    Lego League
    Libraries
    Library
    Literacy
    Maker
    Math
    Math Clc
    Math Modules
    Matt Miller
    Media
    Mental Health
    Microsoft
    Microsoft 365
    Microsoft Teams
    Minecraft Education
    Model Schools
    Moodle
    Moodle/Mahara
    Music
    Nerdle
    Newsbank
    New Teacher Academy
    Next Generation Science
    Odyssey Of The Mind
    Olean
    Online Class
    Osmo
    Osmos
    Overdrive
    Padlet
    Parents
    Parent University
    PBL
    PE
    Physical Education
    Pioneer
    Pioneer Central School
    Pixar In A Box
    Play
    Portville
    Poverty Simulation
    Power Apps
    Power Automate
    Power Teaching
    Pre K
    Pre-K
    Professional Development
    Professional Development]
    Randolph
    Randolph Academy
    Reading
    Regents
    Regents Exam
    Remote Learning
    Resilience
    Restorative Circles
    Restorative Practice
    Re-write
    Rocket League
    Salamanca
    Scdn Social Studies
    Scholastic Challenge
    School Library
    Schoology
    Science
    Science Investigations
    Science Of Reading
    Scio
    Seesaw
    Sel
    Self Care
    Sharepoint
    SLO's
    SNAP
    Social Emotional
    Social Emotional Learning
    Social-emotional Learning
    Social Studies
    Sora
    Spanish
    Special Education
    Standards
    Star Lab
    Stem
    STEM Challenge
    Student
    Student Competitions
    Student Programming
    Student Programs
    Summer School
    Summer Tech Camp
    Tcif
    Teacher Academy
    Teaching
    TeachingBooks
    Teach Like A Champion
    Technology
    Theaterworks
    TheaterWorks USA
    Theatre
    The Mailbox
    Tier 1
    TITC
    Trauma
    TRLE
    Universal Design For Learning
    US History
    VEX
    Video Conferencing
    Virtual Field Trip
    Virtual Scholastic Challenge
    Wellsville
    West Valley
    Whitesville
    Why Try
    Writing
    Zoom
    Zulama

    Archives

    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Innovative Teaching
  • About
  • Contact
  • CABOCES.ORG/iss
  • Calendar of Events
  • AdvancingSTEM