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Educators' Resources

History of:
AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) has been active in San Diego since 1980. The program was founded by Mary Catherine Swanson (read interview) when she was a high school English teacher and has spread nation, in fact world, wide. The program is actively used in 36 states and 15 countries.

For the past two years several teachers have been piloting an organizational, study and note taking skills program adapted from the secondary AVID elective class. It was offered by Kelly Holden, Deer Canyon 4/5 teacher, as a TLC professional development training in fall 2005. The TLC group teachers have reported good success in the program's ability to build skills in the areas on organization, note taking and study skills, and time management. Additionally, the program fits well with existing curricula and is not perceived as an "add on" program. In the Spring of 2006 it is being introduced to 4th - 6th grade teachers district-wide.

Below are resources for you and your students to utilize. This page will be update with additional materials as they are developed and "tested" in the classrooms.

Web Sites:
AVID
SDCOE AVID Program
Galileo Academy AVID Handouts - looks like a high school, but great ideas!
A PowerPoint Presentation on Cornell Note Taking you can show your students
Different kinds of note taking can be seen and downloaded here.
More interesting downloads available here.
Introduction to Socratic Seminar
Bringing Dialogue to Today's Schools
Socratic Seminar Tutorial
Web English Teacher - Socratic Seminar
Using Socratic Seminar with Middle School Students

PDF files: (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
AVID Information Notes
Contract for Success Students / Parents / Teachers sign a commitment of responsibilities for student success (K. Wusthoff - RH / MRES L.Harvey - RHES)
Binder Check List - Karen Bosco - SDES
Cornell Note Format Can be printed and run off for student use (L. Harvey - RHES)
Cornell Note Abbreviations ~ (html) will be added to as we move through the project (M. Lewnes - SCES)
Cornell Notes Checklist for student use (M. Lewnes - SCES)
Student Goal Setting Page (K. Wusthoff - RH / MRES)
Student Participation Conference Planning Form For student led conferences (L. Harvey - RHES)
Student Reflection on the Conferencing Process Use after the conference experience (L. Harvey - RHES)

Visuals: Displaying concepts, quotes, key components, etc. will help keep the expectations visible to the students. Below are a few ideas.
Components of Cornell Note Taking Daily Homework Assignments recorded on whiteboard	Monthly Calendar Concept Map ~ Celebrate Highlighted Student Work Concept Map ~ Labels to cut out (pdf)