ISEA Academy Expands to Include More Classes

The ISEA is among the nation's leaders when it comes to helping educators improve their skills and knowledge. To help members improve their practice, ISEA's teaching and learning programs cover a wide variety of topics and issues that aren't typically addressed in traditional school district in-service or AEA professional development programs. They are team taught by a lead teacher with either a master's degree or who are nationally board certified and with at least one additional licensed Iowa educator. The courses are typically developed by teams of practitioners with the experiences and knowledge to meet the everyday challenges of the classroom and meet both licensure requirements and the higher education institutions' requirements for graduate credit.

HIT READ MORE to find out about the licensure renewal credits, the online courses, the brick and mortar possibilities for LC, audit courses and more.

The Seven Most Surprising Findings of the 2012 PDK/Gallup Poll on Public Schools

by Learning First Alliance on August 23, 2012 8:15 AM

By William J. Bushaw, Ph.D., Executive Director of PDK International

As co-director of the PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, I anxiously await the results each year. It never fails. I am always surprised by what Americans think about their public schools — and this year is no different. So here you are — the seven most surprising findings of the 2012 PDK/Gallup poll. (For a free copy of the full report, go to www.pdkpoll.org or download the free Phi Delta Kappan iPad app.)

1. There is lukewarm support for evaluating teachers using students' test scores. Only 52% of Americans favor teacher evaluations that include how well a teacher's students perform on standardized tests. Many policy makers and teachers know that we do not have the tools necessary to create a thoughtful teacher evaluation system that relies on student test results, and it looks like the public agrees, despite the attention this has received. My prediction: Look for an increasing percentage of Americans to oppose this in the future.