- Area teachers will benefit from in-service programs; new director named
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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Steven Paulsen will replaced Norm Wall, who retired, as the in-service development director.
Juab School District has an intensive program of teacher development and in-service.
Steve Olsen, a former district principal and an educational consultant, still works with the new district teachers. He helps orient and train all first and second year teachers, said Superintendent Kirk Wright.
Paulsen, Nebo View Elementary School Principal, has assumed, at school board request, the extra job of providing staff development opportunities for the district’s certified teaching staff.
“Teachers received a list and description of the courses being offered this school year to improve their skills in the art and science of teaching,” said Paulsen. “Training will include one 6-hour session followed by six 2-hour sessions held throughout the year.”
The initial 6-hour session will be held on a regular school day with a substitute provided.
The 2-hour sessions will run from 3:30 to 5:30 on days scheduled by the trainers.
Quality Block AYP Hours may be used for the hours of in-service outside regular contact time.
All of these courses are offered for district lane advancement.
They are also offered for university credit through the University of Utah for a cost of $50 per credit. University credit enrollment will be completed in the spring for all courses offered this school year.
Paulsen said the course trainers for elementary teachers are Betty Morgan and Mary Wohlforth. For secondary teachers the trainers are Ann Peterson and Janet Ware.
“The course they will teach is required for all third year teachers,” said Paulsen. “Participants in this course will learn to design assessment instruments which effectively measure student learning outcomes.”
Teachers will also learn to use the assessment process as a basis for instructional decisions and as a teaching tool to motivate students to strive for excellence. Assessment alternatives such as rubrics, portfolios and projects will be explored.
Steve Olsen is the instructor for “Results l and Results II.” Both classes are held early in the year and are required of all district beginning teachers. Technology I (Renewal 2007 -08) is taught by Tony Sperry.
“This year a Technology l class will be offered as a renewal for staff members that have not taken a technology class in the past 7 years,” said Paulsen. “This course will address recent additions to the technology in education field such as Apple OS X, Power School, and new E-Mail programs. Other systems that support education of our students will also be explored.”
Technology II will also be taught by Tony Sperry and will extend technology for teachers with an exploration of many software applications and student projects using a multimedia computer.
Completion of the Technology l course is required for teachers interested in taking Technology ll.
Elementary Data Teams is being offered by Janet Ware, Red Cliffs Elementary principal and is for elementary teachers.
“Drawing on the work of Doug Reeves, this course teaches participants how to implement data-driven decision making at the classroom practioner level,” said Paulsen. “Its goal is to enhance teachers’ abilities to work with data by clearly and specifically identifying areas of student needs in a team setting that encourages effective teacher collaboration.”
Project Criss--Creating Independence through Student Owned Strategies--is taught by Donna Allred . The course focuses on reading and writing strategies that help students increase their comprehension of critical content.
“Some of the strategies include: vocabulary and concept learning, pre-reading, during reading and after reading, writing processes, studying, struggling readers and writers and more,” he said.
Lorraine Wallace, a former Juab High English teacher, will teach Analytical Writing Assessment.
The course will focus on teaching how to teach the writing process. Participants will learn the POWER_UPP system for process writing and the rhetorical strategies that good writers use (RAPPEL).
“This course will also focus on the Six-Trait Assessment model, as practiced by the Juab School District and the State of Utah and is required for all certified personnel in this school district,” said Paulsen.
Because the class is required, participants in Results l & ll will be granted an exception to enroll in both the Results course and the writing course.
Rick Durbin and Ken Rowley will teach Applying Rigor and Relevance which will investigate “Rigor and Relevance” instructional strategies.
The course will include four areas of focus: Preparing the Culture of Learning for Quadrant 4, Evaluating Assessments for Quadrant 4, Models and Strategies for Quadrant 4 and Validation.
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