POWERFUL TEACHING & LEARNING – GRADE FOUR
LEARNING MEETIN MINUTES
October 26, 2004
Alderwood: Kent Quigley, Liz Clark, Margaret Engle Birchwood: Candy Smith, Trisha McClure Carl Cozier: Kerry Draddy, Chris Carty Columbia: Shannon Sampson Geneva: Tom Jerns, Jim Larrison, Mark Danielson, Kelly Eret Happy Valley Patsy DeCastro, Skip Failor, Sarah Sokolow Larrabee: Lowell: Charlene Esgret, Nicole Talley, Deborah Hanson Northern Heights: Karen Blum, Snadra Chervat, Sheryl Binning Parkview: Courtney Hertz Roosevelt: Barb Reilly, Vicki Niles, Sarah Fairchild, Tiffany Gutierrez Silver Beach: Barb Rutherford, Angela Hayes Sunnyland Doreen Richmond, Courtney Gates, Joy Sawyer
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
Tables discussed 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.
Questions |
Answers |
If you're going to condense the reading portion of the report card, will you condense the Writing 6 Traits to follow the state's condensed version of 6 Traits that is used on the WASL??? |
Not at this time |
Students are taking the DRA, not DRP due to being below DRA 24. What do we mark? Do we mark SC? |
Yes, use SC and then add comments on the report card comment sheet |
Math computation grading… There is only one box for all four grades??? |
Yes |