25ANNUAL TH - Southern Regional Education Board

MMGW Key Practices for Improving Student Achievement• Quality professional development to support teachers— Provide teachers with extensive, ongoing professionaldevelopment on research-based instructional practices alignedwith the school’s mission and school improvement plan.Today’s teachers must acknowledge that student failure isno longer acceptable and that they need extensive contentknowledge coupled with effective, research-based teachingstrategies to incorporate rigorous, engaging assignments andactivities, and formative and summative assessments into theirinstruction.• Continuous improvement through strong leadership— Develop strong instructional leaders who take an activerole in engaging teachers in continuous improvement ofschool and classroom practices. Middle grades schools needeffective principals who encourage, support and activelyparticipate with teachers in planning and implementingresearch-based school improvement strategies. Schools mustcontinuously gather and use data on student, school andteacher performance to review and revise school and classroompractices as needed.• Use of technology for learning — Middle gradesclassrooms in all subject areas should view technology asa tool for learning. Schools can support teachers to planunits of instruction that allow students to conduct research,write papers, communicate globally, prepare presentationsusing electronic tools and resources, and explore the use oftechnology to address an array of contemporary problems andprojects linked to a range of broad career areas.124 25th Annual Staff Development Conference