Professional Development Opportunities for Montana Educators.
The Assessment Division of the OPI offers online courses that will be available for Summer 2012 for college credit, renewal units or audit. Click on the tabs on the left for course descriptions and materials.
Upcoming and Important Dates
| 2012 | ||
| Teaching and Assessing LEP Students | Participants will focus on gaining an increased understanding of teaching Limited English Proficient (LEP) students in Montana using the new English Language Proficiency assessment and how best to develop academic language proficiency in all students. | June 25‐July 27, 2012 |
| Standards-based IEPs | Participants will focus on the concept of aligning IEPs for students with disabilities with the general education curriculum standards to support access to the general education curriculum. | June 4‐July 6, 2012 |
| FAME | Participants will focus on gaining an increased understanding of formative assessment and will become skillful users of formative assessment in their classroom. | June 18‐July 27, 2012 |
Formative Assessment (FAME)
- Thanks to continued interest, the course will be offered for 6 weeks online from June 18 to July 27, 2012, with credit granted through Montana State University. The registration deadline is June 25, 2012.
- Dr. Stevie Schmitz of Rocky Mountain College will focus on increasing understanding of formative assessment and help participants become skillful users of formative assessment in their classroom.
- Participant interaction will occur via weekly webinars and online Learning Community Discussions.
- This class can be taken for 3 graduate credits through Montana State University or 21 OPI Renewal Units or neither. It is being offered to educators wishing to retake the course to deepen their understanding of formative assessment or for those looking to learn about formative assessments for the first time.
- Montana educators taking the class for the first time will receive complimentary copies of the textbook Formative Assessment: Making It Happen in the Classroom, by Margaret Heritage. Montana educators who are retaking this course will receive complimentary copies of Dylan Wiliam’s book Embedded Formative Assessment.
- If you, or a teacher you know, want to know how to implement formative assessment effectively in the classroom, sign up soon!
Writing
Webinars
December 2009
Small Writers Handout
Early Grades Intro Handout
Conference with Courage Handout
Intro to Writing K-5
Writing K-2
Writing 3-5
Writing References
Standards Based IEPs
Back by popular demand, the Office of Public Instruction and the University of Montana are offering "C&I555 Standards-Based IEPs" for educators. Thanks to continued interest, the course will be offered for five weeks online from June 4 to July 6, 2012. Dr. Gail McGregor of the Rural Institute on Disabilities will introduce the concept of aligning IEPs for students with disabilities with the general education curriculum standards using a series of five online modules. Participant interaction will be structured through threaded discussions and other online interactive forums. This class, which can be taken for 2 graduate credits or up to 30 Renewal Units, has filled up quickly in the past.
If you or a teacher you know wants to learn why this practice is growing nationally and how standards-based IEPs serve as a mechanism to support access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities, sign up soon!
To register, contact Therese Tucker (406-444-0748, ttucker@mt.gov) or Alisia Landis (406-444-3511, alandis2@mt.gov) with the Assessment Division of the Office of Public Instruction by June 11, 2012 or register here.
Related Readings
- Ten Reasons Why We Should Use Standards in IEPSM
- NCLB and IDEA: What Parents of Students With Disabilities Need to Know
- Understanding the Standards-Based IEP
- A Four-Step Process for Accessing the General Curriculum for Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities
- Standards-Based IEP: Implementation Update
- Keys to Creating Standards-Based IEPs
- Pyramid Power for Collaborative Planning
- The Role of Special Educators in a Multitiered Instructional System
- Providing New Access to the General Curriculum Universal Design for Learning
- Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Disabilities: A Brief legal Interpretation
Webinars
MARS
MARS, the Montana Analysis and Reporting System, is a secure online site accessible by user names and passwords assigned to systems and schools. Criterion Referenced Test (CRT) and Criterion-Referenced Test-Alternate (CRT-Alt) results for each administration are posted. MARS has a static section that contains pdf files of student reports and system and school summary reports. All results are on MARS, and the only reports that are printed and sent to systems and schools are the student reports to be distributed to parents/guardians.
MARS also has an interactive system that, when used with released items, can be used to impact curriculum and instruction.
The Montana Analysis and Reporting System User and Training Guide and the modules listed below provide training and information on accessing and using MARS for assistance with data driven decision-making.
Four training modules for MARS are listed and available below:
- "MARS Account Management" covers the importance of assigning passwords and roles to each user and provides instructions on the process. It is appropriate that this module is the first listed because before systems or schools use MARS, they need to determine the role for each person using MARS so that passwords and rights can be assigned.
MARS Account Management Handout - MARS Training is intended for system test coordinators or other trainers to view before providing training to educators in their system. It is also intended to be used during training. It and the Montana Analysis and Reporting System User and Training Guide provide a foundation and training for the use of MARS by systems, schools, and individual educators.
MARS Training Handout - "Impact Instruction" is specifically for use by classroom teachers. It and the MARS Training cover many of the same functions, but this module is designed especially for use by classroom teachers.
MARS Impact Instruction Handout - "Demonstration Data" gives information on how to access demonstration data. The demonstration sites provide opportunities for practice on accessing the information and also for demonstrating the program features without representing actual student data and thus protecting student privacy.
MARS Demonstration Data Handout - MARS Demo Site Quiz
Content Standards
The Spring 2010 and 2011 CRT and CRT-Alternate are aligned to the previous Reading and Math content standards. Because item development for new standards takes two school years, the Reading and Math content standards that are online on the following link will be aligned to the Spring 2012 CRT and CRT-Alternate; Montana Content Standards
Until then, the standards on this site are the previous standards and should be used with the Spring 2010 and 2011 released items and MARS data.
The current Science CRT and CRT-Alternate are aligned to the current Science standards. They are included on this site for convenience; however, they are also at Montana Content Standards
Teaching and Assessing LEP Students
- The course will be offered for five weeks online tentatively from June 25 to July 27, 2012. The registration deadline for this class is tentatively June 25, 2012.
- Lynn Hinch, Bilingual Specialist, and Therese Tucker, Interim Assessment Specialist from the Office of Public Instruction in conjunction with Don Bouchard from the WIDA Consortium will focus on increasing understanding of teaching Limited English Proficient students in Montana using the new English Language Proficiency assessment and how best to develop academic language proficiency in all students.
- Participant interaction will occur via weekly webinars and online Learning Community Discussions.
- This class can also be taken for graduate credits through Montana State University or OPI Renewal Units or neither and is available for educators wishing to develop their understanding of language proficiency using the new English Language Development standards from WIDA. Montana educators will receive complimentary copies of the textbook Access to Academics: Planning Instruction for K-12 Classrooms with ELLs, by Joy Egbert and Gisela Ernst-Slavit.
- If you, or a teacher you know, want to know how to develop the academic language of your LEP students effectively in the classroom, sign up soon!
Transitions to the MT Common Core Standards and Assessments
Be on the lookout for three other classes that will start in July:
- Math and Montana Common Core Standards
- Writing and Montana Common Core Standards
More information will be available in mid-June. Please check back OR visit Montana Common Core Standards (MCCS)
