Districts face increasing pressure to improve teacher effectiveness and reduce gaps in student achievement. Research shows professional development programs can improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement, yet districts struggle to develop solutions that work. With limited resources available for professional development planning, administrators are forced to make decisions without understanding the true needs of the district. Knowledge Delivery Systems (KDS) helps districts build strategic professional development programs, and is expanding its range of solutions by developing 13 new courses with Solution Tree, provider of educational strategies and tools.
“For nearly 25 years, Solution Tree's been more than just a publisher. Beyond books, we have videos, live events and one of the best teams of authors and facilitators who work with schools onsite and via video and web conferencing every day,” explained Jeff Jones, president and CEO of Solution Tree. “By working with KDS to bring our authors into yet another medium, we ensure that even more educators and students can benefit from their work. With these first two courses, Dr. Bob Marzano and the team from Marzano Research Lab explore research and recommendations from his bestselling Highly Engaged Classroom and Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading."
The 13 new courses and instructors are:
-- 21st Century Skills (Jim Bellanc, Ken Kay, and contributors)
-- Assessment and the Common Core State Standards (Kay Burke)
-- Differentiation and the Brain (David Sousa, Carol Ann Tomlinson)
-- Elementary Reading Intervention Strategies (Elaine McEwan-Adkins)
-- Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading (Tammy Heflebower, Robert Marzano)
-- Grading (Doug Reeves)
-- Intro to Professional Learning Communities (Rick DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, and Bob Eaker)
-- Motivating and Engaging Students (Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering)
-- Response to Intervention (Austin Buffum, Mike Mattos, Chris Weber)
-- Teaching Students in Poverty (Ruby Payne)
-- Transforming School Culture (Anthony Muhammad)
-- Using Web 2.0 in Teaching & Instruction (Bill Ferriter and Adam Garry)
-- Vocabulary (Robert Marzano)
Six additional courses will be completed by the end of 2011, with 12 more scheduled to launch in spring 2012.
