Teaching
& Learning Initiative
 SERC's
Teaching & Learning Initiative (T&L) encompasses those SERC
programs/projects that have a focus on curriculum and instruction.
All of the programs and projects are designed to provide educators
with instructional models to use with students who are demonstrating
difficulty learning in the general classroom.
Looking for research-based interventions to integrate into a comprehensive literacy program for secondary schools? Based on over 25 years of research conducted by the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning the Strategic Instruction Model Content Literacy Continuum incorporates professional development, support of on-going technical assistance, decision-making based on data to provide supports and services in a collaborative model.
Click here to get more information about the Strategic Instruction Model Content Literacy Continuum. |
SERC is committed to the initiative because its activities:
- foster high expectations and the belief that all students can
learn;
- provide instructional strategies for teachers to assist students
to succeed in general education classrooms;
- allow for planning and delivery of appropriate and effective
instruction that reflects the general curriculum for students
with IEPs;
- support educators in the selection of instructional content
that connects to student mastery of CMT and CAPT objectives;
- cultivate collaborative partnerships between general and special
educators and student support services personnel;
- encourage involvement of families to support student learning;
- develop alternate service delivery models such as co-teaching
or consultation that support all students in the general classroom,
including students with disabilities.
This initiative is comprised of:
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Differentiated Instruction Program (DI)
The Differentiated Instruction
Program (DI) continues the work of SERC’s former
Integrated Instruction Initiative. The goal of the DI program
is to assist educators in designing and implementing instruction
that maximizes each student's growth by meeting each student’s
needs and helping the student to progress. Participants are
provided the opportunity to design units of instruction that:
set high standards and expectations for all students; are
meaningful and developmentally built on prior and related
knowledge; and are aligned with The Connecticut Framework:
K-12 Curricular Goals and Standards (1999). When educators
differentiate instruction, they must recognize and incorporate
various learning styles in instruction as well as multiple
means of assessment. In practice, it involves offering several
different learning experiences in response to students' diverse
needs. Learning activities and materials are varied by students'
preferred ways of learning or expressing themselves, by topic
in response to students' interests, and by difficulty to challenge
students at different readiness levels. The DI program looks
at all aspects of effective instruction – planning,
teaching, managing, and assessing.
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Project CRISS
Training in Project
CRISS has been part of SERC since 1997. Project CRISS has
the goal of preparing educators to teach students how to learn
through reading, writing, talking, and listening. Students are
taught to apply strategies in all academic subject areas. Project
CRISS provides elementary teachers with ways to incorporate
the strategies into balanced reading programs. Middle school
teachers use Project CRISS as the core for integrating curriculum
and for working as teaching teams. Project CRISS provides a
common vocabulary and an instructional approach for collaboration.
Through Project CRISS, high school students can be taught to
apply learning strategies to more difficult learning and problem-solving
tasks. Educators are trained in nine key principles, including
Background Knowledge, The Author's Craft, and Teacher Modeling
and Explanation.
Click here to visit Project CRISS www.projectcriss.com
Upcoming CRISS Professional Development Opportunities:
Project CRISS: Creating independence through Student-Owned Strategies
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Co-Teaching Program
Initially part of SIP, SERC’s Co-Teaching
Program has grown tremendously since 1997. Co-teaching is
a practical model for effectively addressing the complex challenge
of meeting the diverse learning needs of all students in general
classrooms, including students with disabilities. Co-teaching
can also provide a lower student-teacher ratio that optimizes
student learning. Training is centered on six
different co-teaching approaches with discussion on the
principles, practices, and pragmatics of each approach. Technical
assistance is provided to teams as they implement and practice
co-teaching strategies.
Upcoming Co-Teaching Professional Development Opportunities
Articles related to Co-Teaching:
What Do Co-Teaching and Sports Cars Have in Common?
Thoughts on Collaboration for
21st Century School Professionals… Moving Forward or
Lost in Space? -- by Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
Co-teaching: An Evolving Role for
Speech-Language Pathologists -- by Donna Merrit, Ph.D.
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ADD/ADHD Initiative
Since the early 1990s, SERC has provided school personnel
and families with a variety of workshops and institutes on
the topic of Attention
Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder. These professional development
activities offer classroom-based interventions that benefit
students with AD(H)D in general education classrooms. In addition,
SERC provides timely information and resources to families
to promote collaboration and consistency between home and
school.
Upcoming Professional Development related to ADD/ADHD:
Enhancing Students' Executive Skills: Strategies to Support Student learning and Behavioral Regulation
Articles related to ADD/ADHD:
Report on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - Connecticut ADHD Task Force
3rd Edition,
Spring 2005
Is Hyperactive Behavior the
Real Problem? An article by Ruth Kirsch, SERC ADD/ADHD
consultant.
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Strategies Intervention Program (SIP)
SIP has
been an initiative at SERC since 1988. The goal of SIP is
to assist educators in the development of a strategic learning
environment to meet the needs of all students, especially
those students with learning disabilities, mild behavioral
problems, and students who are at risk of school failure.
Educators receive training in learning
strategies and routines for planning, instructing, and
assessing in a "strategic" manner so that students
can be taught "how to learn" and "how to effectively
use" what they have learned in the general education
classroom. SIP provides training and technical assistance
regarding the implementation of these strategies.
These strategies and routines are from the University of
Kansas Center for Research on Learning (KU-CRL). Click here
to link to the University of Kansas: www.ku-crl.org
Upcoming Professional Development related to SIP
Making Connections with Writing
The Fundamentals of Writing Sentences
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Supporting Practices/Other Training
Areas
The T&L Initiative can also provide support and training
in Cooperative Learning, Flexible
Grouping, Reflective Practice, and Multiple Intelligences.
In addition, alternate formats
for professional development such as action research,
study groups and use of technology can be designed. |
•If you need more information
regarding the Teaching & Learning Initiative, please email teachlearn@ctserc.org,
or telephone: Alice Henley (860) 632-1485 ext. 311 or Education Services Specialists Debbie Williams (ext. 227) or Holly King (ext. 242).
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Initiatives 
