Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning & Innovation is great resource for learning at home
K-12 learning has moved online nationwide. Lipscomb's Ayers experts have resources to help parents navigate this new landscape.
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With school systems across the nation closed for several weeks, the Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning & Innovation, an extension of Lipscomb’s College of Education, has a number of FREE resources available to parents who are home with school-aged children who want to keep learning going during this time.
eduTOOLBOX™ (www.edutoolbox.org)
eduTOOLBOX™ is a free academic resource-sharing portal created by the Ayers Institute. The website provides access to over 4,100 academic items including lesson plans, learning activities, and links to academic resources from other educational websites. Educational units, lessons, and activities are housed in the “Instructional Exchange” while additional materials can be found in the “Educator’s Toolkit” and “Tennessee Tools” sections of the website. Resource lists can be narrowed by content area/subject and grade range to help you find the items that are most relevant to the student’s learning focus.
The eduTOOLBOX™ website was launched in 2016 and is used by educators and parents across Tennessee and around the world. Collaborative support and funding for the creation of eduTOOLBOX™ was provided by the Tennessee Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education's Math & Science Partnership program.
Webinars
The Ayers Institute provides free, on-demand access to web-based seminars (webinars) on educational topics. (Simply complete the form and you will receive an email with a link to the webinar.) A few that might benefits parents as they continue their child's learning at home:
Interactive Storytime: How to bring books to life!
Get your Storytime moving! Create the excitement of a book by following along and acting it out. Learn how to run a tooth fairy training camp, travel with Max to Where the Wild Things Are, actually become a dot, and move to the directions given. Susan Frizsell of the Nashville Public Library Foundation’s 'Bringing Books to Life!' shares clever tips and tricks on making and using props, sound effects, and costumes. As a teacher in preschool, elementary, and middle school classrooms, Frizsell’s use of this interactive and engaging style of storytelling was popular with her students. This webinar provides practical ideas that can be implemented the next school day.
Is Every Teacher a Reading Teacher? Secondary strategies for literacy across the content areas.
Literacy is a focus of teachers and leaders across the state of Tennessee, and across the nation. But literacy is more than a passing emphasis or an educational buzzword. Strong literacy skills are at the heart of equity and opportunity for all our students. Literacy at the middle and high school levels is the avenue by which students access knowledge. Students must know how to use their literacy skills in every content area in order to learn. Teachers must be equipped with ways to unlock these opportunities for literacy across all subjects.
Join Dr. Ally Hauptman and Dr. Michelle Hasty for the Ayers Institute Webinar: "Is Every Teacher a Reading Teacher? Secondary Strategies for Literacy Across the Content Areas" as they share practical strategies for literacy across the content areas, with a specific focus on how to incorporate these strategies in grades 6-12.
Phenomena-based Learning in K-12 Science Classrooms
Why is the sand hot at the beach? Why are ash trees dying in Tennessee? Why do most adults around the world get a stomachache when they drink milk? With the recent implementation of new practice-focused science standards in Tennessee and across the country, phenomena-based learning has emerged as an effective way of helping students make sense of science in their everyday lives. In this approach, students observe a natural phenomenon and investigate why it occurs— an approach that mirrors how actual scientists find answers through reasoning and inquiry. Using phenomena as an anchor for science learning taps into students' natural desire to understand the world they live in and motivates students to figure out how and why something happens.
Join Dr. Kara Krinks from Lipscomb University for the Ayers Institute Webinar: "Phenomena-based Learning in K-12 Science Classrooms" as she shares various examples and practical strategies to implement this approach in elementary and secondary science classrooms.
Using Modeling in K-12 Classrooms
What is a scientific model? How do students engage in modeling? What could this look like in a science classroom? With the recent implementation of new practice-focused science standards in Tennessee and across the country, modeling is a high leverage practice that engages students in all of the other NGSS scientific practices and helps students make sense of science in their everyday lives. When students engage in modeling while studying natural phenomena, thinking is made visible and public, ideas are more easily connected, teachers can better see student thinking and conceptual changes in their thinking, and students are allowed to critique one another’s claims and use of evidence. The practice of modeling mirrors how actual scientists find answers through reasoning and inquiry, and is a natural companion to phenomenon-based learning.
Join Dr. Kara Krinks from Lipscomb University and Dr. Andrea Henrie from Vanderbilt University for the Ayers Institute Webinar: “Using Modeling in K-12 Science Classrooms.” Explore what modeling actually looks like in K-12 science classes and gain practical strategies to implement this approach at varying grade levels.
Diverse Texts for Reading
Each year, Dr. Jeanne Gilliam Fain publishes a list of linguistically and culturally diverse texts. It’s critical that all students vividly see themselves within literature. All students need to see authentic representation of culture, language, and diverse stories. Dr. is an associate professor of education and the lead faculty for English Language Learning Program at Lipscomb University’s College of Education.
Children's and Adolescent Literature in Our Global World
Resource link on eduTOOLBOX™: https://www.edutoolbox.org/rasp/4506
Two podcast episodes in which Fain highlights selected texts from the list:
Moving Linguistically & Culturally Diverse Texts into the K-8 Classroom:
Using Linguistically & Culturally Diverse Texts that Move Students:
Educational Technology Resources
“Amazing Educational Resources” is a crowdsourced list filled with helpful resources for families that has grown in popularity and scope since its launch. Check it out here.
For more information about the Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning & Innovation, visit www.ayersinstitute.org.
For more information about Lipscomb’s College of Education, visit www.lipscomb.edu/education.