Alabama
The SERVE Center has a significant history of working with educators in Alabama, beginning in 1990 with the U.S. Department of Education's Regional Educational Laboratory-Southeast (REL-SE). SERVE Center's state liaison helps link research, public policy, and resources to the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) and statewide school improvement initiatives. The SERVE Center's vision of an educational system that empowers and equips all people to realize their infinite possibilities and promise is aligned with the ALSDE's vision of "students prepared for college/work/adulthood in the 21st century." Below are some examples of the work that we do through the REL-SE to support ALSDE's vision.
ALABAMA 2011 MEGA Conference
SERVE Center staff conducted three professional development sessions based on research and aligned with the Alabama Professional Development Standards at the ALABAMA 2011 MEGA Conference.
- “Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through Third Grade”
The purpose of this session was to provide local education agencies’ instructional staffs, literacy coaches, teachers, principals, and other education stakeholders with an overview of the five research-based recommendations for improving elementary reading comprehension as outlined in the IES Practice Guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through Third Grade. Participants had the opportunity to reflect on their practice and to engage in discussion and activities that support ways to apply the recommendations in their classrooms or schools.
- “How Do We Know If Students Are Engaged?”
Teaching and learning depend on strong student engagement, but how do we know if they are “tuned in?” In this session the presenters discussed current research on student engagement and offered tools to monitor how well students are engaged/disengaged. Additionally, one district provided a hands-on view of what it looks like when educators use the data to identify students at risk of dropping out of school.
- “What Do We Know About Teaching Fractions?”
In this session SERVE provided local education agency instructional staff, mathematics teachers, and principals with an overview of research related to teaching fractions in Kindergarten through Grade 8. The recommendations from the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide Report, Developing Effective Fractions Instruction for Kindergarten Through 8th Grade were highlighted. An author from the Practice Guide engaged participants in activities that demonstrated what mathematics instruction looks and feels like when the recommendations are implemented.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Through the Regional Educational Laboratory-Southeast (REL-SE) at SERVE Center, we are conducting a rigorous evaluation of the impact of AMSTI on student achievement. AMSTI is a statewide initiative to improve student achievement in mathematics and science through the provision of comprehensive professional development, in-school coaching and supports, and the distribution of technology and instructional materials. To learn more, visit the AMSTI website. For other rigorous studies currently underway at other RELs, visit the REL website.