OETA Story on School Teachers learning new techniques aired 06/04/09

This is a story that aired on OETA Public Television's The Oklahoma News Report in Tulsa Oklahoma as reported by Cathy Tatom and photojournalist Tim Carson. For more information or to contact us, please go to www.oeta.tv The verbatim script follows below...

TUNING INTO EACH STUDENT'S PERSONAL LEARNING STYLE HELPS TEACHERS TEACH BETTER.

SO DOES KNOWING HOW TO PIN-POINT WHERE INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS FACE BREAK DOWNS IN LEARNING.

EDUCATORS FROM ACROSS THE STATE WERE IN TULSA TODAY TO LEARN HOW TO DO BOTH.

THEY'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING PAID FOR BY OKLAHOMA'S STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

KAY GAMBLE IS A HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER FROM ADA.

SHE'S ONE OF NEARLY THREE DOZEN TEACHERS AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS FROM ACROSS THE STATE IN TULSA TO GET A ONE DAY OVERVIEW OF THE "SCHOOLS ATTUNED" PROGRAM.

DR. SHERYL FLOWERS IS IT'S STATE COORDINATOR.

Dr. Sheryl Flowers/Schools Attuned: "Schools Attuned is professional development that is designed to help teachers recognize, understand and manage learning differences in their classrooms."

Kay Gamble/Science Teacher: "I've always been interested in the way our kids learn and anything I can find out that will help me help my kids learn, I'm all for that."

SCHOOLS ATTUNED OFFERS THREE AND FIVE DAY WORKSHOPS AT SITES AROUND THE STATE, AND THROUGH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS, TO HELP EDUCATORS DO A BETTER JOB SPOTTING STUDENTS FACING ROAD-BLOCKS TO LEARNING.

Dr. Sheryl Flowers/Schools Attuned: "Such as if they are struggling with spelling, if they're struggling with reading comprehension, if they're struggling with two digit multiplication, if they're struggling with writing."

IT THEN HELPS TEACHERS LEARN HOW TO TAILOR THEIR TEACHING METHODS TO INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS LEARNING STYLES BY UNDERSTANDING THE NEURAL DEVELOPMENTAL PROGESS OF STUDENTS BRAINS AT DIFFERENT AGES.

Dr. Sheryl Flowers/Schools Attuned: "We call it neural-developmental because those patterns and those characteristics of children change over time as they develop."

GAMBLE HAS TAUGHT FOR 17-YEARS AT GRADE LEVELS RANGING FROM PRE-SCHOOL TO HIGH SCHOOL, BUT HAS NEVER BEFORE HAD THIS TYPE OF TRAINING TO HELP HER STUDENTS.

Kay Gamble/Science Teacher: "I'm finding out that a lot of strategies that I've kinda stumbled upon are strategies that we're talking about in Schools Attuned, Minds Attuned and so I think that I'm on the right track, but I'm learning a lot of things that will help reinforce what I'm doing in the classroom."

"Oklahoma is one of only two states that pays for this training and it's the only state that pays for the training in its entirety."

Dr. Sheryl Flowers/Schools Attuned: "Any certified Oklahoma educator who is currently employed in Oklahoma can enroll in these courses at no charge."

WE'VE MADE IT EASY TO FIND A SCHOOLS ATTUNED COURSE NEAR YOU.

JUST GO TO THE O-N-R BLOG SECTION OF THE O-E-TA WEBSITE AND CLICK THE LINK TO THE "ALL KINDS OF MINDS" WEBSITE.

IN TULSA, I'M CATHY TATOM THE OKLAHOMA NEWS REPORT.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Oklahoma
• News
• Report
• OETA
• The
• Network
• public
• television
• PBS
• Cathy
• Tatom
• Tim
• Carson
• Teacher's
• learning
• new
• techniques