The Quality Teaching Blog
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Jerry Seinfeld and the Interactive Classroom
(RALEIGH) – What good is technology if it sits on a shelf? That’s been a persistent question for administrators juggling budgets and deciding whether interactive tools are worth the price. Amid budget cuts and belt tightening, no one wants to spend precious dollars on tools that aren’t effective. But instructional leaders are desperately looking for … Continue reading
Coaching that Connects
One-on-one teacher coaching plays an ever larger role in our efforts at The Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning. The reflective approach our expert coaches use has a two-fold benefit: it trains teachers to examine and improve their own classroom practices, and does so without putting them on the defensive.
Creative Solutions to Funding Challenges
As important as it is to provide professional development opportunities for teachers, that is becoming a bigger and bigger challenge for schools. That worry is a common theme among instructors from QTL’s District Partnerships. QTL instructors from several counties across North Carolina are gathering in Raleigh this week to hear about what’s new with our … Continue reading
Engaging History Project Makes the News
Finding ways to get elementary students interested in social studies and history can be a challenge, but it’s one that lends itself to creativity. A Franklin County teacher’s awesome “Famous North Carolinians” project is a case in point. A “Tar Heel Traveler” news crew from Raleigh’s WRAL visited Louisburg to watch as fourth graders dressed … Continue reading
Can Race to the Top Turn the Tide?
Ten years into the 21st Century, educators have been too slow to embrace the technology tools needed to help American students keep up. That’s the conclusion of the longtime educator in charge of implementing North Carolina’s Race to the Top grants. “Classrooms still look too much like they did when I went to school,” Dr. … Continue reading
Five Surefire Ways, Part 4: Graphic Organizers
This month, we will look at Graphic Organizers, a fourth way to improve student performance. (Read other portions of our series, Five Surefire Ways to Engage Students at the following links: Part One: Brain-Based Learning or Part Two: Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles or Part Three: Cooperative Learning.) Let’s say I am your boss or … Continue reading
District Honored for Raising Achievement
One of QTL’s first district partners has been Recognized for Raising Achievement of Economically Disadvantaged Students. Lee County Schools is being honored by the Virginia Board of Education and deemed “Distinguished Title I School Division” for the school year ending 2009. Lee County is one of seven districts receiving the honor for exceeding NCLB objectives … Continue reading
School Improvement Effort Pays Off for Students
This spring a state report said coaching and collaboration are making a difference at Creswell High School. Now test scores vividly illustrate the impact teachers are having. Test scores are up sharply at Creswell High School, a grade 7-12 school in rural northeastern North Carolina. And a recent formal review of Creswell High School by … Continue reading
SummerSALT Sparks Teachers' Creativity
What do artichokes, plantains and squash have in common with GPS, laptops and wikis? A Wilson County conference in June challenged teachers to integrate a variety of tools into 21st Century teaching. SummerSalt stands for Study and Learn Together. Wilson County developed the professional development week as “an acrobatic combination of skills and agilities integrating … Continue reading
Five Surefire Ways to Engage Students, Part 3: Cooperative Learning
This month, we will look deeper into Cooperative Learning, the third way to improve student performance in our series, Five Surefire Ways to Engage Students. (Read Part One:Brain-Based Learning or Part Two: Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles or Part Four: Graphic Organizers.) Cooperative Learning models have been used at all educational levels, but are also … Continue reading
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