USD 428 held their Curriculum Day October 1 with an in-service day for teachers. Students had the day off and teachers spent time diving into teaching philosophy and strategies.
The Great Bend school district administration has pointed out they are attempting to invest more time and resources in improving all their teachers and their ability to teach.
Kristin Anderson, an associate with Corwin Press, helped focus the district on how to realize the impact teachers have on student achievement. Assistant Superintendent John Popp said Anderson talked about Visible Learning training, a study on what actually works best in schools to improve learning.
John Popp Audio
Corwin offers books, resources, and consulting to help educators make better impacts on teaching and learning.
Popp added the questions that come from the Visible Learning training are, “Do you know your impact on students? Can you make the learning visible? Can you see the results in your students?”
Popp said any time you try to alter a teacher’s personal teaching technique there can be resistance.
John Popp Audio
There were roughly 90 surveys filled out by Great Bend teachers following Curriculum Day, and Popp said the majority of the surveys expressed interest in learning more on how to improve their teaching strategies. Each school building within the district has assembled teams to receive more training on how to lead Visible Learning.