Teachers
Teachers
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- Human Resource Page
- Skyward
- My Benefits Channel
- Tennessee Instructional Practice Guide (IPG) – K-12 Knowledge Building Lessons
- One-to-One Plus- Inventory and technology requests
The following tools are used to support teachers and their development...
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- Ethics Training for Tennessee Educators
- Child Abuse Training and Resources
- Jason Foundation
- HEADS UP to Youth Sports: Online Training
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Aimsweb Training Video for Teachers and Paraprofessionals
- This two-hour recorded webinar covers how to administer and score each K-3 literacy measure. We begin with measures that are administered one-to-one with students and scored using Digital Record Forms in aimswebPlus. Next, you learn how to administer and score paper/pencil measures. Finally, you learn how to administer measures that are administered through the student test-delivery application called TestNav. Standardized test administration is important to receiving valid and reliable test results, so we encourage all test administrators to view whether they are new to aimswebPlus or experienced users who need a refresher.
Reminder of Licensure Requirements
As a reminder, state law (T.C.A. § 49-5-101) mandates that all teachers, principals (including assistant principals) and supervisors be properly licensed:
T.C.A. § 49-5-101.Basic requirements.
(a) No person shall be employed as principal, teacher or supervisor of any public elementary or high school by any local school district, or receive any pay for such services out of the public school funds of the local school district until the person presents to the director of schools a valid license as prescribed in this part. It is unlawful for any board of education to issue any warrant or check to such persons for services as principal, teacher or supervisor until the person has presented for record a license valid for the term of employment.
Securing and maintaining a valid teaching license is the responsibility of each individual teacher.
Researched Based Practices
What research says about effective teacher development…
Research shows that an inspiring and informed teacher is the most important school-related factor influencing student achievement, so it is critical to pay close attention to how we train and support both new and experienced educators. Significant and sustainable change in practice is an ongoing process and it takes time to implement and reflect on new practices.
In this high-stakes era of higher standards and teacher evaluations based in part on student achievement, professional development has to have a laser-light focus on one thing— student learning.
The real challenge Smith County Schools faces is how to create opportunities for teachers to grow and develop in their practice so that they, in turn, can help students grow and develop their knowledge and ability to think critically.
Research suggests that effective professional development abides by the following principles:* Smith County Board of Education values these practices and upholds them in implementation.
The duration of professional development must be significant and ongoing to allow time for teachers to learn a new strategy and grapple with the implementation problem.
- There must be support for a teacher during the implementation stage that addresses the specific challenges of changing classroom practice.
- Teachers’ initial exposure to a concept should not be passive, but rather should engage teachers through varied approaches so they can participate actively in making sense of a new practice.
- Modeling has been found to be a highly effective way to introduce a new concept and help teachers understand a new practice.
- The content presented to teachers shouldn’t be generic, but instead grounded in the teacher’s discipline (for middle school and high school teachers) or grade-level (for elementary school teachers).
*Center for Public Education (2013)