Congratulations to Katie Barnett and Christy (Ansell) Kotwica who are heading to New Orleans this summer after being selected to present at the BbWorld17 Conference!
All PA Virtual students use Blackboard (Bb) Collaborate each day to access their courses, assignments and to interact with teachers and students. Mrs. Barnett and Mrs. Kotwica – or “Miss A.”, as her students call her (her maiden name), co-teach their first grade virtual classroom in a unique way, and have been invited to share their methods at the conference this July.
What makes this first grade class so special? Mrs. Barnett and Miss A. have implemented a circular teaching model in their online classroom. This unique structure works by creating small groups and different stations where groups can work on different skills, reinforce lessons, or have independent study times.
Mrs. Barnett has taught at PA Virtual for 11 years, and has always been a primary classroom teacher for Elementary students. Miss A., in her third year at PA Virtual, is the Academic Support Teacher in the virtual classroom. Instead of pulling students out of the classroom for additional academic support, the pair works together each day to provide high quality instruction to their students. Both teachers work closely with parents to further individualize each student’s educational experience and give parents/guardians the tools they need to help their child(ren) understand the skills presented in the classroom.
The BBWorld17 Conference will take place July 25-27, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lifelong educator, Dr. Jill Biden is slated to be the Keynote Speaker and will open the conference. The BbWorld 17 Conference will bring together educators who use the platform each day to share best practices and address today’s educational challenges. Mrs. Barnett and Miss A. are very excited to join over 150 speakers and industry experts who will share their innovative ideas with other attendees.
