Professional Development & Consultation Learning, Teaching & Development Policy Development Keyword Search:   Comer Site Med center Site Yale Site     Comer School Development Program 55 College Street New Haven CT, 06510 (203) 737-1020 Tel. (203) 737-1023 Fax			Programs & Services Learning, Teaching & Development     • SDP Balanced Curriculum Process • Teachers Helping Teachers Learning, Teaching & Development What is the Learning, Teaching and Development Unit? Learning, Teaching and Development (LT&D) expands the focus of the Yale Child Study Center's School Development Program (SDP) from relationships and school climate to student achievement and school performance. Its mission is to help schools and districts set academic priorities and focus resources on them. Its programs complement the work of other SDP units. Its method is to provide consultation and services to schools and districts to help them identify and address their students' unique academic needs. LT&D strategies show educators how to apply the principles of child and adolescent development to improve curriculum, instruction and assessment by using the SDP framework and Dr. James P. Comer's Six Developmental Pathways. (They are the physical, psychological, language, social, ethical and cognitive pathways that are critical for academic learning.) Teachers learn how they can begin where their students are, build on their strengths and achieve improved academic results. LT&D Services The Balanced Curriculum Process: This unique process helps teachers and administrators collaboratively and systematically weigh key factors, such as: the mandates of national, state and local standards and tests; their students' developmental abilities and needs; the textbooks and other resources available; and what the teachers themselves already know and do. Together they decide what is important and then proceed to balance, coordinate and align the curriculum. Using Dr. Comer's Six Developmental Pathways and three guiding principles as an organizing framework, the Balanced Curriculum Process helps teachers maximize student achievement and the school's performance. Teachers Helping Teachers is designed to help teachers use best teaching practices to meet the learning needs of students. The underlying premise of the program is that teaching will improve and student learning will be enhanced when teachers, in a climate of trust, take time together to reflect in depth on their teaching and on how children learn and develop. LT&D Programs under Construction:  Additional programs are being developed, refined and field-tested by the SDP's Learning, Teaching & Development Unit. They will address subjects such as early learning and school readiness; and teacher preparation programs that focus on the application of child and adolescent development principles. More Information For further information on the programs and services of the Learning, Teaching, & Development Unit of the School Development Program, contact us at: Director Learning, Teaching & Development School Development Program 55 College Street New Haven, CT 06510 Phone: 203.737.1020 Fax: 203.737.1023 E-mail: schooldevelopmentprogram@yale.edu
			Copyright © 2001 School Development Program, Yale Child Study Center. All rights reserved. Comments or suggestions to the site editor. Photos from the book "Child by Child: The Comer Process for Change in Education," are by Michael Jacobson-Hardy and Laura Brooks. Used by permission of Teachers College Press. Home URL: http://www.schooldevelopmentprogram.org/ Last modified: June 2007 (CS)