Tuesday, June 19 – Thursday, June 21, 2007 (Opening reception is June 18th.)
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
More information is coming soon.
Tentative Dates: July 15 – July 23, 2007 (Course 1: July 15 – July 20)
More information is coming soon.
Ford PAS teachers who are teaching Module 2 may be eligible for this (from news@edutopia.org).
Cable in the Classroom offers $3,000 and a trip for two to Washington, DC, to K-12 teachers who have advanced the teaching and learning of media-literacy concepts and skills; the deadline is December 15. For more information visit
http://www.ciconline.org/leadersinlearningawards/default.html.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 9, 2006) - Implementing a new learning program designed to help high school students succeed both in college and the workplace is the first project for Metro Schools' new Office of Redesign and Innovation. The program is part of Metro Schools' overall goals of incorporating rigor, relevance and relationship.
Approximately 50 high school educators from all subject areas are being trained this week in the Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (Ford PAS), an academically rigorous, standards-based program that will introduce students to concepts and skills needed for future success. A second group of 50 teachers will receive the training next week as the district works to incorporate this program, which was developed by Ford Motor Company Fund in partnership with Education Development Center Inc.
The mini-institute for teachers is being held Nov. 8-9 at McGavock High School, with a site visit to Hospital Corporation of America headquarters Nov. 10. HCA staff will tell teachers what skills they are looking for when they hire new employees. Next week, the second group of teachers will receive training Nov. 15-16 at McGavock, This group will visit Dell Computer Nov. 17.
“This training is a hands-on approach for teachers of all disciplines to work together, using team activities that have been designed to help them learn the key teaching strategies used in Ford PAS,” said Starr Herrman, director of MNPS new Smaller Learning Communities program in the Office of Redesign and Innovation.
Ford PAS links classroom learning with the challenges students will face in postsecondary education and with the expectations of the workplace they will face as adults. These links are forged through community-wide, cooperative efforts and innovative partnerships that join high schools, colleges and universities, and businesses. Through these coordinated learning opportunities, Ford PAS equips students with information and provides experiences to help themmake decisions about their future education and careers. The hallmark of the Ford PAS approach to learning and teaching is to integrate what and how students learn with what and how their teachers teach. There are four “Learning Pillars” and five “Teaching Pillars” in the curriculum.
The Learning Pillars are: critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and communication. The program’s Teaching Pillars are: inquiry-based, project-based, real-world, performance-based, and technology integration.
During the mini-institute, which is being conducted in partnership with the Ford Fund and the Center for Technology Education (CITE) at Nashville State Community College, teachers are using critical-thinking skills in problem-solving activities and have divided into teams to develop solutions and strategies to handle real-world business situations.
Metro Schools’ use of the Ford PAS program in its high schools is just one of many strategies and new programs the district plans to use to improve graduation rates, improve attendance and discipline, increase academic achievement and reduce the achievement gap between subgroups of students.
Ford PAS training participants will visit HCA headquarters Friday, Nov. 10, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. They will tour the company and meet with various departments at HCA. Next week, the training will take place Nov. 15-16 from 8:30-3:30 at McGavock High. That group will visit Dell Nov. 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Metro Nashville Public Schools provide a range of educational opportunities to nearly 74,000 students in Nashville and Davidson County. The governing body for MNPS is the Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County Board of Public Education, a nine-member group elected by residents of Metropolitan Nashville. For more information, please visit www.mnps.org.
Contact: Woody McMillin
woody.mcmillin@mnps.org
(615) 259-8405