FOR-PD Update

Dear Colleagues:

We wish you a happy Thanksgiving holiday! The FOR-PD project continues to serve thousands of educators in our state. We have been offering 105 sections this semester and anticipate at least that many or more next semester.  Open enrollment registration will begin November 28-please inform teachers in your district. We also invite you to examine our course calendar below.

In this update you will find much information about our news and events, course schedule, resources, and information about facilitators and facilitator training, as well as testimonials from FOR-PD facilitators and participants. Please pay close attention to our project deadlines. We appreciate your ongoing support of FOR-PD and always welcome your feedback.

Here is our proposed Fall 2005 through Summer 2006 course schedule:

Fall 2005
12/5/05	Fall classes end
Spring 2006
11/28/05	Open enrollment registration for Spring begins
1/9/06	Open enrollment registration for Spring ends
1/23/06	Spring classes begin
3/6/06	10 week Spring classes begin
5/1/06	Spring classes end
5/29/06	All spring courses will be closed
Summer 2006
5/8/06	Open enrollment for Summer begins
6/26/06	Open enrollment for Summer ends
7/10/06	Summer classes begin
10/02/06	Summer classes end

 

Important News about Fall 2005 Course Schedule

In December, FOR-PD will be upgrading our version of WebCT to 4.1. We are very excited about this change as we know it will address some of the needs of our project, our facilitators, and our participants. We expect a smooth transition and know that it will help simplify your course management. However, because of time needed to complete the conversion, fall classes will all need to close by December 19, 2005. That means that the last day to start a full 14 week course is September 12, 2005. If you need to begin a course after this date, please note that the final day will be September 26, 2005 and these sections will be shortened to 12 weeks in order to make the Dec. 19th deadline. Also, all facilitators will need to send their course completion information to our office by December 23, 2005. As usual, districts will need to have their file to the FOR-PD office 2 weeks before the course starting date.

If you have any questions about the Fall course schedule please contact Richard Scott (richard@orion.itrc.ucf.edu)

This month it is my pleasure to announce that Mrs. Catherine Glass will be functioning as FOR-PD Project Director for the remainder of the year; I will continue to function as principle investigator. Mrs. Glass has been working as the reading specialist for FOR-PD since August 2004. Please contact Catherine at cc@orion.itrc.ucf.edu.

We value your feedback and collaboration. Please feel free to contact me at vzygouri@mail.ucf.edu and/or (407) 207-7296.

Best wishes,

Vicky Zygouris-Coe, Ph.D.
FOR-PD Principle Investigator

 

Latest FOR-PD Numbers

• 11,391 students
• 787 sections
• 67 participating districts
• 7 participating universities

 

Concerns about Wilma and FOR-PD Participants

We have had many inquiries from participants and facilitators in the areas affected by Hurricane Wilma. Our thoughts go out to the participants and facilitators in those areas. FOR-PD invests a great deal of time and effort ensuring the success of all participants. Our office has been assessing the impact on sections in the affected areas and from what we have seen we have many dedicated and professional facilitators and participants! We appreciate facilitator and participant efforts to complete the FOR-PD course despite their own struggles.

At this time, we are asking that all participants do their best to finish the course on time. As you know, due to our fall deadlines and restrictions for spring courses, we have limitations on course extensions. We are on a tight schedule with planned server upgrades in December. We have asked participants to contact their facilitator as soon as possible if they are still experiencing difficulties related to Wilma. Our facilitators have been notified about extensions and what we can and cannot offer for the fall term. We will continue to monitor and assess information as we receive it. Thank you for all your efforts on this issue!

 

New FOR-PD E-store!

FOR-PD is now offering the following materials to Florida educators:

FOR-PD Flyer: the flyer for the Florida Online Reading Professional Development online course

FOR-PD Brochure: the brochure for the FOR-PD online course

FOR-PD Instructional Posters - These posters are designed to assist teachers during reading instruction. FOR-PD suggests that teachers laminate these posters and use them during instruction to model various reading strategies. After instruction, teachers can post them in their room as a reference for students.

To get any of these items for your school or classroom, fill out the form located on the E-store page and FOR-PD will mail you the items free of charge, while supplies last. Check out the new e-store page for more details! http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/publications/estore.html

 

Current District Participants - Fall 2005

FOR-PD is seeking additional information about those participants currently enrolled in district sections. Please help us by encouraging participants enrolled in district sections to go to our Information Request Page at http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/register/info.html. The information collected helps keep our records complete and assists us with our project evaluation.

 

FOR-PD Literacy e-Newsletter

Please read the November issue of the Literacy Newsletter. 

This month the focus of the Literacy Newsletter is on content area literacy. As students transition from elementary to middle school the reading demands of students also increases. Reading is essential to understanding the content of the classrooms students sit in day in and day out. For students to be successful, they must be able to read, write, and think like a scientist or mathematician or even an artist or musician. Students must be able to read and comprehend content specific instructional materials. It is important for secondary teachers to deal with reading instruction in the context of their content area classroom. Whose job is it to incorporate reading instruction across the content areas? It is the responsibility of many individuals, such as content area teachers, special reading teachers, principals, other administrators, and media specialists. Reading is everyone's business! We hope that you enjoy our resources on content area literacy.

 

FOR-PD's Reading Strategy of the Month

November's Reading Strategy of the Month examines how awareness of text structure can improve comprehension. We know that well structured text enhances recall and comprehension. Many studies have shown that instruction designed to teach students to recognize the underlying structure of text improves comprehension and enhances recall of information (Williams, 2005). Instruction on text structure involves teaching students to identify the important structural elements of a particular type of text. It involves acquiring knowledge about text and using this knowledge strategically. Check out the Reading Strategy of the Month to find out how you can implement a word wall in your classroom.

We invite you to take a look at our current reading strategy and the examples provided from elementary and secondary levels. Try this strategy in your classroom and then email us and tell us how it worked (forpd@mail.ucf.edu). Also, don't forget to share the strategy with your colleagues. Each month we feature an effective reading strategy, explain the rationale behind the strategy, give directions on how to use the strategy with students, present ideas for adapting the strategy to different content areas, present ideas for assessing the strategy, and, of course, provide a printable PDF version of the strategy. Check out our Reading Strategy Archive to see past Reading Strategies of the Month.

 

Facilitator Newsletter

Please also read our November Facilitator Newsletter. 

In our "Facilitating with Felicity" Facilitator e-newsletter, we continue to address issues of professional development, facilitation, communication, and teacher participation. This month's focus is on the National Staff Development Council’s Content Standard of Learning. This standard refers to professional development that improves the learning of all students through the application of knowledge about human learning and change.  It is essential that staff development move educators beyond comprehension at the surface level to a new idea or innovation to a fuller and more complete understanding of its purposes, critical attributes, meaning, and connection to other approaches. To improve student achievement, professional development must promote deep understanding of a topic as well as provide many opportunities for teachers and administrators to practice new skills with feedback on their performance and support in implementation.  FOR-PD’s Online Literacy Coaches are there to provide support and feedback to teachers and administration as they try new ideas and approaches to teaching literacy.

This semester’s theme is Celebration of Excellence in Online Literacy Facilitation.

Facilitators are a KEY factor in the success of our entire project. Facilitation requires diligence, time, and effort. We want to spend some time this fall spotlighting our great facilitators and their achievements! We have so many wonderful facilitators who have dedicated their time, resources, and skills to help teachers across the state of Florida. Therefore, the theme for this semester is dedicated to Celebrating Excellence in Facilitation. Let's celebrate accomplishments in leadership, literacy, communication, and creativity together! It’s not too late to send in your nominations!! Mail nominations to forpdfac@mail.ucf.edu- Subject line: Facilitator Nominations.

 

Monthly Online Chats

WHEN: Monday, November 28, 2005
TIME: 7:00pm - 8:00pm EST
WHERE: General Chat for All Courses Chat Room
WHO: Participants
TOPIC: Participants will join us for a chat on any technology or general course-related issues. Our technology lead will be available for the first half an hour to answer your technology questions. Then we will open the floor to any general questions about the course or the reading endorsement.
REQUIRED RESOURCE(s): None

WHEN: Tuesday, November 29, 2005
TIME: 7:00pm - 8:00pm EST
WHERE: For Facilitator Only Course Chat Area, Room 1
WHO: Facilitators
TOPIC: Facilitators will join us for a Wrap Up chat for all fall courses. Our Facilitator Support Specialist will lead the discussion for facilitators to talk about course closing tasks and issues that may have come up during your courses this fall.
REQUIRED RESOURCE(s): None

Chat transcripts are available on our Web site at http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/resources/chat.html.

 

FOR-PD Help Desk Hours

Our Technical Team continues to improve the services they offer. We have created a new Technical Help Web Form to assist participants in contacting the Help Desk with technical issues they are facing. The Web Form can be accessed from a new web page that has the most up-to-date contact information for the Help Desk as well as the latest Help Desk hours. The new FOR-PD Course Technical Support Site will provide a central location with all Help Desk information as well as enable all participants and facilitators to easily communicate problems with the Help Desk.

As indicated above, the Technical Support Site lists the most up-to-date Help Desk hours. Our new hours, effective August 1, 2005, are as follows:

Monday through Friday 9:00am - 4:00pm EST and 6:00pm - 10:00pm EST
Saturday 10:00am- 3:00pm EST

The phone number is 1-866-863-READ (7323) toll free, Florida calls only. For non-Florida calls only 407-249-4702. Technical support is also available through AOL Instant Messenger, screen name "forpdhelp".

 

FOR-PD Notable Quotables

"I knew I would enjoy being a facilitator, I just didn't know how much. You meet some really great people and the exchange of ideas in both the Facilitator Only section and the course site are thought provoking and energizing. I find myself thinking of new ways that I can improve my role as a Reading Coach. People are so willing to share their suggestions, insights and strategies for being both a better teacher of reading and a FOR-PD facilitator. I'm loving it!"
    -- Crystal Johnson, Fall 2005 Facilitator

"A professional learning community is made up of practitioners from diverse backgrounds with varied life and educational experiences. Input from each [Professional Learning Community] member is invaluable and offers a perspective we may have not been aware of. How unique and advantageous to accomplish a shared vision with the contributions of so many who have made a commitment to making the educational process really work for our students."
 -- Sandra Wagner, Fall 2005 Facilitator

FOR-PD recently hosted a chat with Evan Lefsky centered on the topic of secondary intensive reading classrooms. Below are a few of the questions and responses from that chat. The entire chat transcript will be available on our web site at http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/resources/chat.html.

• Would you highlight for us three "must haves" in the secondary intensive reading block?

Evan Lefsky>> Small group instruction, time for independent level practice, and guided whole group instruction.

• When I walk into an intensive reading classroom, what can I expect to see the students doing?

Evan Lefsky>> Students should be engaged in text, as well as discussions and writing that is text centered. Students should have plenty of opportunities to practice the strategies that are explicitly taught and modeled by the teacher in engaging text. Nothing worse than teaching a great strategy with boring text.

• Wow, I do not know I would see students working in center like activities?

Evan Lefsky>> You could, as that would be the ideal situation for a teacher to be working with a small group of students. Time spent in small group instruction is the most highly correlated teacher behavior with student reading achievement.

• It's great that we at least are looking into it, planning, supporting, and even possibly attempting to restructure high schools to better meet the needs of all students; indeed, a Herculean task, and we all need to realize that it will take much time and many challenges. Let me ask another question--What is the role of content area teachers?

Evan Lefsky>> Reading classes alone will not get it done for kids who are behind. They need the application of all the strategies in every content class with challenging informational texts and literature. Content classrooms are the ideal place to deliver intervention if the teacher has strong content knowledge and reading knowledge.

Please share with us your opinion of the course. Email us at: forpd@mail.ucf.edu.