Common Coure Units of Study Discussion
During our meeting, one of the main topics of conversation revolved around the Common Coure Units of Study that are being implemented throughout the district. The team had a rich discussion about what is happening, and some potential solutions and future actions that would be taken.
Concerns and information voiced in the PLC team included:
- Teachers felt that some units do not have enough content in them, and that there may be some inconsistency between grade levels as some teachers may be adding supplementary materials.
- The need for a definition of implementation of units with "fidelity" in the design phase, and "fidelity" when facilitating and teaching the units in the classroom.
- Teachers are expressing a desire for written objectives, vocabulary for the units, EL strategies, and enrichment opportunities.
Some potential solutions to these concerns were also discussed, and will continue to be discussed at the Common Core Units of Study meeting on 10/8, and further information will be posted in regards to the solutions to these concerns and information.
Discusson on the RCD topic was lengthy, and helpful for the whole PLC team. It was discussed that while it may be difficult in this first implementation stage, that it is important to implement these units with fidelity so that we can determine effectiveness across the board, and then have the opportunity to have a conversation about the units themselves from a common ground. We acknowledged all of the hard work that is being done to ensure fidelity, and look forward to evaluating the units of study, and improving them through the district wide process.
Compass Learning
As we begin to implement this new technological tool into our instruction, the PLC team discussed the tool itself, and effective ways in which to implement this tool into the classroom. The discussion that ensued brought up several main topics of conversation about this tool:
- Number of minutes that are expected at each grade level
- The need for additional training
- The need to add higher level math topics for 8th grade math
- The issues being faced with the use of the tool.
Solutions discussed during this conversation resulted in a district-wide expectation with the amount of time that is required at each grade level. During this conversation, PLC team members expressed concern about being able to find the time in the schedule of the day to fit in the required amount of minutes. Ultimately the discussion ended in a call for further discussion on how to structure classrooms in a way to facilitate the min-lab concept of 8 Chromebooks per room being used effectively in a differentiated environment. Decisions were made about specific grade level time requirements with Compass Learning.
K-2: 30-90 minutes per week, per subject
3-5: 45-90 minutes per week, per subject
6-8: 60-90 minutes per week, per subject
It was also discussed that while these were initial requirements set forth, and that the amount of minutes are likely to change as we gain more experience with the program.
Finally, the discussion around Compass Learning concluded with further discussion about the additional training needed to effectively use all aspects of this new learning tool. Functionality in the system includes the ability for teachers to specifically assign certain tasks to students, to progress monitor students, to place students in learning groups, and much more. This training will be forthcoming as we continue to use it to it's full capacity.
Chromebooks / Mini-Labs
A conversation about the Chromebooks and the mini-labs that should be established with these devices was a topic of conversation where PLC team members clarified expectations. The expectation at each school site from this point forward is that each classroom should have a min-lab of 8 Chromebooks every single day for at least part of the day. Discussion about pooling these devices together to make a class set of these devices was discussed. Pooling Chromebooks is an acceptable use of the devices as long as teachers have, and are using the mini-labs on a regular basis. Principals and teachers should be working together in their grade levels, or in their pods to ensure that this is working.
American Math Test
Brian Gervase, Math teacher at MHHS, brought information to the PLC in regards to the Mathematical Association of Amercia's "American Math Test" competition. This is something that Brian would like to bring to our district as a way for students to get excited about the math opportunities in our district. While this is typically a High School math test, students have the opportunity to participate in an 8th grade level math exam. Students who are interested would sign up to take the test, and would likely take the test at the High School as a way to get kids excited about what they will be learning as they matriculate to our high school. PLC team members were excited about this opportunity. This test would be available to any student in the upper elementary grades who are in, or are getting ready for high school math courses. The test for 8th graders would be held in November. 7th and 8th graders taking Math 1 at K-8 schools now should be aware that there is a practice test that can be provided to students and parents, along with the solutions to the questions for students to check their answers. Here are links to a sample test, and sample solutions:
Catapult Learning Professional Development
Our PLC team discussion about Catapult Learning's Professional Development offerings and the feedback that was recieved by the staff helped us to communicate our disappointment with the offerings that we participated in at the beginning of the school year. Our district office personnel stated that they are investigating options in moving forward with the professional development options with Catapult, and whether we are contract-bound to continue with them as we move forward.
Discussion surround a different model of professional development within our district was proposed during this conversation. It was proposed that instead of paying outside contractors for professional development, a call could go out district wide for topics teachers are interested in, and then when topics are chosen for the next staff development, our district could ask for proposals from our own teachers to develop sessions. Teachers whose proposals are accepted would then be paid for their time to prep their session, and then offer multiple sessions throughout a day of professional development. Our PLC team felt that the expertise of teachers within the district would be appreciated, and would be more relevant and useful for our purposes.
Additional conversation about the length of professional development sessions was discussed. The suggestion from the PLC team was that sessions be no less than 1 hour 15 minutes, but no more than 1 hour 30 minutes.
Our district administration again stated that they would take these ideas into consideration, determine our obligation with Catapult learning, and plan in the future to look at other options for professional development that better fit the needs of our teachers and administrators.
Instructional Data Team
A subcommittee of our PLC team made a presentation about the format in which all district teachers will participate as we wrap-up our first launch unit of study. Irene Busuttil, Jenna Cook, and Nicole Kangas spoke to the PLC team in regards to the process that we will be following during Teacher Collaboration Time on October 10th. PLC team members will be responsible for presenting this process to each school site, and facilitating the process. In addition to that presentation by your site's PLC team members, you can CLICK HERE for access to the documents presented as part of the Data Teams process. There is also a video of our three sub-committee members actually modeling the Data Teams Process in a video. Check back here soon for a link to that in the future.
