Teaching Practices
We have high expectations for student achievement across the curriculum. Staff members are continually updated regarding best practices for accommodating all students in the classroom. We have had faculty representatives attend trainings in Arizona High Achievement for All (AHAA), a special education program designed to make No Child Left Behind work for all children who struggle to learn; Standards in Practice (SIP); and Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). The staff trainers will provide professional development in these three critical areas to ensure the continuation of staff implementation of differentiated instruction based on state standards and the needs of the students.
Data driven instruction has become a major focus in the past two years. In August 2003, a team completed the two-day “train the trainer” program on data interpretation and the creation of action plans. The data team is comprised of our principal, assistant principal, and two teachers, who have trained and guided the faculty in creating a set of action plans that are currently in place. We have adjusted our teaching because of data results from AIMS and Stanford 9.
Active learning plays an important role in the education of our population; teachers model behaviors and procedures, students practice, and then demonstrate their understanding of subject matter in a variety of formal and informal ways. The Fire Trap program taught by our local fire department teaches fire and injury prevention in the classroom. Students are assessed on the knowledge gained in a quiz show format, and then they participate in physical activities designed by the firemen to teach them how to behave in the event of a fire.
Our teachers know that students learn at different rates; they incorporate this understanding in their lessons by individualized instruction to specific learning styles using visual models, manipulatives, and hands-on activities. Learning how to do scale drawings begins with classroom instruction about ratios. Students then create a simple scale drawing of a room. When they understand these principles, they then measure the quad grass and sidewalk areas to create a more complex scale drawing.
Teachers use great latitude in meeting specific standards based instructional goals while being attentive to individual learning styles; they employ a variety of teaching techniques to enhance student learning and foster critical thinking strategies at all levels. An astronomy unit effectively addresses these areas as students visit Lowell Observatory, tour the facility with the scientists, make Planispheres, and do homework with their families locating constellations and planets in the night sky.
It is a widely held belief that student involvement is crucial to students’ learning and success. Teachers across the curriculum offer a wide variety of individual and group activities, which actively engage students in the learning process. The social studies curriculum finds students participating in mock trials, writing their own Bill of Rights, making dioramas, illustrating early 1800 inventions, and building 3-dimensional pyramids.
Our students are actively engaged in art and music throughout their middle school career. Research has shown that students who participate in music and art classes exhibit high levels of math and verbal proficiency by grade 12. Participation in the arts contributes to brain development, improves abstract reasoning skills, and the skills necessary for learning math and science. (National Education Longitudinal Survey NELS: 88)