July 2005 — SETDA
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Going the Distance to Hold Teachers Accountable
Highly Qualified Teachers: Louisiana
Louisiana receives national recognition for its flexible online professional development program that helps improve the quality of classroom teachers statewide.
Like many states, Louisiana is challenged by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requirement which states that a highly qualified teacher be placed in every classroom, particularly in rural and urban settings. The Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) responded to this challenge by exploring the possibilities of online professional development; subsequently, the Grade-Level Expectations Educational Model (GLEEM; www.d'e.state.la.us/lde/lcet/2063.html) was developed. The GLEEM is a statewide online professional development program designed to:
- Provide educators with a deeper understanding of grade-level expectations (GLEs) and state comprehensive curriculum;
- Enable educators to increase their understanding of effective instructional and assessment practices as they relate to the comprehensive curriculum; and
- Broaden educators' knowledge of standards, benchmarks, GLEs, and instructional technology through applications in the development of standards-based lessons and assessments.
As one Louisiana school technology coordinator explained, "GLEEM has afforded our teachers an opportunity to participate in a high-quality professional development experience that fits their needs and busy work schedules."
Louisiana's State Superintendent of Education Cecil J. Picard is also excited about the prospects of virtual learning's benefits for teachers across the state. "GLEEM is one of the important innovations that will allow teachers the flexibility to take courses specifically focused on enabling them to understand and implement the GLEs and state comprehensive curriculum," he said. "I realize that teachers play a significant role in students' lives; therefore, it makes sense that we are focusing much of our attention on improving teacher quality. GLEEM is one of our many efforts to do just that."
Making the GLE Connection
The GLEEM consists of five two-week online modules. Each module consists of learning experiences that focus on a discrete topic (or series of topics) that prepares educators to improve curriculum, instruction, and student achievement.
The first module provides teachers with an awareness and understanding of the state's GLEs in standards-based curriculum and instruction. This module focuses on the "big idea" of the instructional implications of GLEs and vertical scaffolding.
The second module focuses on the GLEs and their relationship to effective classroom practices and strategies. In this module, the emphasis is placed on understanding the "Louisiana Components of Effective Teaching" (www.d'e.state.la.us/lde/uploads/5564.pdf) and the principles of the "Universal Design for Learning" (www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html).
The third module, "Enhancing a Standards-Based Lesson Plan," allows teachers to improve their lesson activities using standards-based instructional resources to address all learning styles. In this module, teachers begin developing a GLE-aligned lesson plan using Making Connections (http://mconn.d'e.state.la.us), the state's online resources center for model lesson plans, Web site resources, and statewide assessment items.
