KPBSD Professional Development

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“This is the best week ever,” said one KPBSD teacher!

School was out for the summer, and yet more than forty KPBSD teachers showed up to participate in the Kagan Institute, June 2 - 6, 2014, at the Soldotna Sports Center. In teams of four, educators engaged in cooperative learning strategies called Kagan Structures for the classroom. Strategies to engage students so they pay attention, are motivated, and learn more have creative names such as Quiz Quiz Trade, Round Robin, and Rally Coach. For example,  Quiz Quiz Trade asks students to quiz each other while moving around the room, Round Robin allows students to each answer a teacher prompt, and Rally Coach enables students to help each other learn by coaching correct answers. In all, teachers learned over twenty-five different cooperative learning strategies over the five days.

“Regardless of the age of the student—from early childhood through adulthood—the strategies taught during the Kagan Institute are guaranteed to increase student engagement when used correctly,” said Dr. Christine Ermold, Director of Elementary Education and Professional Development. “The district’s goal of increasing student engagement was directly supported through this professional development, and I’m confident that our students will experience a direct benefit as teachers employ these strategies in the fall.”

Kagan Publishing and Professional Development research based instructional strategies reflect best practices in brain research, kinesthetic activity in connection with learning and musical influence on students. Use of Kagan strategies increases student engagement, promote student collaboration within teamwork, and, most importantly, facilitates individual student learning.

“This is Kagan’s third visit to the Kenai. In all, eighty-eight teachers at twenty-four different sites have become trained in the use of Kagan cooperative learning strategies,” said Michelle Thomason, Professional Development Coordinator.

Links
Kagan Publishing and Professional Development
KPBSD Professional Development




















 
 
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