IN Shaler Fall 2017 | Page 32

FOX CHAPEL AREA CATHOLIC SCHOOL 205 Brilliant Ave., Aspinwall, Pa 15215 412.781.7927 | www.cdtca.org NOW TAKING REGISTRATIONS CALL FOR A TOUR th -8 K e r P Providence Heights ALPHA SCHOOL 9000 Babcock Blvd Allison Park, PA 15101 412.366.4455 www.alphaschool.org Founded & Sponsored by the Sisters of Divine Providence Where Tradition Meets New Heights of Excellence OPEN HOUSE Oct 21st 9-11am 30 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Shaler Education use in their future careers. Teachers continue to learn and grow through continuing education courses that allow them to integrate new methods for incorporating technology in the classroom to ultimately guide our students to a successful future. Providing students with access to technology in a structured setting provides them with the freedom to individually learn and discover solutions to real-world problems and prepare them for the future. Students have a paved path to achieve success with the help of cooperative, communal workspaces, online portals that encourage cross-collaboration, and support from their teachers, peers and parents. PERSONALIZED LEARNING FOR HIGH SCHOOL Personalized learning adapts a structured educational environment into a malleable approach to learning and teaching. Each learning style is different, and there is not one approach to teaching that fits them all. Personalized learning provides students with attainable success in the classroom by allowing teachers to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each individual student and adapt lesson plans to allow students to work at their own pace. Building Student Profiles: Personalized learning pulls from the strengths and weaknesses of individual students and tailors lessons to improve learning outcomes. Teachers are able to utilize these pathways to learning to guide their students to success. Digital Approach to Personalized Learning: Utilizing data from digital coursework provides an even stronger approach to personalized learning through analytics. These analytics monitor a student’s performance and can predict future patterns for learning, giving teachers the tools necessary to prepare an appropriate curriculum for their students. Teacher Adaptation: Teachers develop a new approach to instructing their students when adopting personalized learning. In a typical classroom, there are students who are ahead of the curve and students behind the curve, with very few considered to be on the curve. A teacher typically aims to teach on the curve, with students on either end falling short of their learning capabilities. Personalized learning gives faculty the ability to spend more time tailoring their approach on an individual level. Use Case: A high school in San Diego is currently implementing the personalized learning approach in classrooms after receiving a $10 million grant aimed at making high schools more personal. The effort launched two years ago with a small group of students. After seeing firsthand the academic success of these students, the school decided to take the approach school-wide by introducing one grade level every year, starting with the freshmen of 2017. PRESCHOOL TRENDS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING Early childhood learning has been studied by educators, lawmakers and researchers for years to identify the importance of learning at a young age. Research has confirmed that when educators provide a valuable education to early learners, the benefits last a lifetime. According to Educa, preschool stakeholders across the U.S. are addressing the need for a standard in consistency and quality in early education. States are taking a look at child care centers, daycares and preschools to develop an accreditation program that ensures quality in a number of areas including learning environment, increased parent engagement, teacher experience and quality center management. Along with quality standardization, there are other trends to keep an eye on for early learners: • Student Assessment – The achievement gap is often used to assess the output of students in different socioeconomic groups, measuring grade point averages, test scores and dropout rates. Since preschoolers aren’t likely dropping out of school, early learning centers focus on the importance of providing ongoing education and supporting students from a young age. This includes reading to children, engaging them in everyday conversations, establishing routines and using positive reinforcement.