The end is near. One of the comment threads discussed meetings, well that is going to change significantly... with the help of the Leadership Team. I will get my first big email out this weekend, with numerous attachments.
We will have 2 hours of Core Articulation Time on the 17th, for CSAP discussion and syllabus discussion. I will also have presents for all of you...
If you could have your reflection by the 17th, I will get our PST paperwork turned into the PD office ASAP.
Great PST
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4 comments:
Thanks for setting this up and running it again this year, Joe! I feel it's very valuable.
Reflecting back on the topics covered by the PST this past summer I am afraid I did not fully appreciate the scope of what we tried to do (return to a standards-based education and tie up some "ends" that apparently had started to come loose). Most of the time I think I understood the concepts and principles involved, but lacking experience in the field of education, much of the subtlety escaped me. In the last few days (the first days of school) a whole new light has been shone on me and these issues and I feel almost disoriented. But it would be worse if I had not had the experience of the PST and the issues raised therin to have begun forming my own attitudinal base to work from. My respect and appreciation for the experienced teachers who shared their ideas and thoughts has greatly increased now that I have walked 12 inches in their shoes. All the math teachers at Altona have been a tremendous help also.
The management of the PST was candid and concise and the participants shared openly and honestly. From my perspective these factors helped me learn much and gave me an awful lot to think about. I am looking forward to next year and participating in the next PST with a little more experience under my belt.
I am very glad that I participated in this PLC. It was an excellent way to learn about the culture specific to Altona, collaborate with staff members and articulate with the science department.
The PLC provided me with the opportunity to reflect upon how I would create a standards-based classroom in this environment. I needed to restructure many of my procedures to fit Altona’s schedule. By discussing schedule options with colleagues I was able to incorporate re-looping and re-assessments into the schedule. I also learned that the schedule provides for grade level and subject area teaming. I think both are vital for student success. Grade level planning allows us to complement each others subject and can provide for the creation of some great interdisciplinary units. Subject area teaming is so important for a Standards-Based education because it allows time for vertical and horizontal alignment and for creating and grading common assessments.
Most of the work this summer was devoted to department articulation. This was very helpful because the district adopted a new science curriculum last year. People implemented this curriculum in a variety of ways last year. So, we were able to share the positive and negative aspects of the implementation. The science department was able to leave the PST with a course description which included agreement on assessments and learning activities, how to assess the science composition books and a timeline for scope and sequencing. This will prove very valuable as we progress through the year.
Thanks to Joe for running a great and meaningful class. It has helped me start the year with great success.
I am very glad that I participated in this PLC. It was an excellent way to learn about the culture specific to Altona, collaborate with staff members and articulate with the science department.
The PLC provided me with the opportunity to reflect upon how I would create a standards-based classroom in this environment. I needed to restructure many of my procedures to fit Altona’s schedule. By discussing schedule options with colleagues I was able to incorporate re-looping and re-assessments into the schedule. I also learned that the schedule provides for grade level and subject area teaming. I think both are vital for student success. Grade level planning allows us to complement each others subject and can provide for the creation of some great interdisciplinary units. Subject area teaming is so important for a Standards-Based education because it allows time for vertical and horizontal alignment and for creating and grading common assessments.
Most of the work this summer was devoted to department articulation. This was very helpful because the district adopted a new science curriculum last year. People implemented this curriculum in a variety of ways last year. So, we were able to share the positive and negative aspects of the implementation. The science department was able to leave the PST with a course description which included agreement on assessments and learning activities, how to assess the science composition books and a timeline for scope and sequencing. This will prove very valuable as we progress through the year.
Thanks to Joe for running a great and meaningful class. It has helped me start the year with great success.
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