POWERFUL TEACHING & LEARNING –GRADE THREE
LEARNING MEETING MINUTES
October 22, 2004
Alderwood: Jackie Brown, Andrea Buckley Birchwood: Carolyn Teig, Heather Gabrielson, Micah Smith Carl Cozier: Chris Johnson, Ann Schwandt, Lori Dorough Columbia: Ingrid McGarry, Sharon Smith, Lori Urness Geneva: Teri Herda, Chris Andresen Happy Valley: Shirley Prichard, Todd Hausman, Jennifer Knight, Tim Binderup Larrabee: Cathy Young, Lisa Conlon Lowell: Cynthia Zaferatos, Patty Keene Northern Heights: Staci Shrum, Tawni Eisenhart, Lisa Peterson, Cathy Crouch Parkview: Marcia Kidwell-Babcock, Thomas Gresham, Rosa Diann Ojikutu Roosevelt: Sandy Olsen, Rob Graham, Mike Webb Silver Beach: Krista Walcker, Karin Grady, Margo Graf Sunnyland: Joan Piper, Cheryl Van Etten
Provide an opportunity to learn from and collaborate with peers in order to increase understandings about district curriculum and direction, as well as to incorporate good instructional strategies into lessons and unit design
OBJECTIVES
To stimulate thinking and discussion among teachers about the practical, learning-centered reasons for changes in assessment practices
To prompt reflection about current practice as a foundation for action
NEW LEARNING
The groups recalled the work done in year one and two of the grade level meetings focusing on How People Learn and the Classroom Instruction That Works by Robert Marzano et.al. From these two pieces of research, a group of teachers and administrators have identified 7 instructional strategies for powerful teaching and learning. The first strategy is Ongoing Assessment. The group worked through a process to identify what they currently know and understand about using formative assessment. The group reviewed four articles to prepare for viewing a video and to analyze the use of formative assessment. The articles were
SHARED
Table leaders helped lead discussions for an assigned Grade Level Expectation (GLE) for number sense. Each group charted assessment strategies that could be used by teachers to determine the level of student's understanding for each GLE and to inform their instruction. Teachers shared activities from TERC Investigations, the Assessment Source Book, Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley as well as classroom practices that support ongoing formative assessment for number sense. The charts have been typed and sent out to each grade level. The typed charts will also be given to the Elementary Math Task Force who are writing a support guide for math. All minutes and work of the Elementary Math Task Force can be read on the District Web Page http://www.bham.wednet.edu/staff/elemmathtaskforce.htm
ALIGNMENT
Changes on the reading section of the report card were shared. In order to create consistency in marking the report card, teachers will write in the score from the district reading assessment (DRA) and also inform parents at the fall conference of the changes. Fluency is now combined with reading strategies and is no longer a separate box. Teachers received revised pages for their Literacy Guides. The revised pages describe the current District Reading Assessments and timelines. The Second Grade Test (found in the appendix) is to be removed. Second grade teachers follow the DRA publisher's guidelines for administering this assessment.