Instruction & Assessment
Instruction and Assessment are at the heart of what is done in the classroom. Research-based best practices in instruction and assessment can transform how teachers teach and how students learn. Professional Development topics offered under this content area include Differentiated Instruction, EAGLE, 6-Trait Instruction & Assessment, and Visual Thinking.
Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated Instruction (DI) is a strategy designed to address teaching and learning for students with different abilities, background knowledge, readiness levels, learning preferences and interests. Differentiated Instruction maximizes opportunities for academic growth and individual success by engaging students in activities that support their particular learning needs, strengths, and preferences.
EAGLE: Enhanced Assessment of Grade-Level Expectations System
EAGLE is a web-based assessment tool that enables teachers to identify student learning styles and adjust instruction to positively impact student performance. EAGLE allows teachers to customize online tests using items written specifically for Louisiana’s GLEs. Electronically generated test results and reports can be accessed quickly and used to track student progress via the EAGLE system.
Six-Trait Instruction and Assessment
Six-Trait is a process-based writing program focusing on idea development, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. The goal of Six- Trait is to provide teachers with strategies and tools that equip students with a deep understanding of the traits, genre specific strategies, and keys to effective writing.
Visual Thinking
Visual thinking incorporates graphics to help students solve problems, think about complex issues and communicate more effectively. It also assists teachers with integrating higher order thinking skills into the everyday classroom curriculum.
Professional Learning Communities
A professional learning community (PLC) is a group of educators working collaboratively using research-based, data driven best practices and incorporating this into the classroom. Each PLC is organized into teams or cluster groups which meet regularly, usually weekly, to focus on student learning. The teams work to achieve a common goal (increasing student performance) for which the group is held accountable.
Positive Behavior Support
Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is a collaborative, assessment-based approach to developing effective interventions for problem behavior. It emphasizes the use of proactive, educational, and reinforcement-based strategies to achieve meaningful and durable behavior and lifestyle outcomes. The aim of PBS is to build effective environments in which positive behavior is more effective than problem behavior.