Strategic Planning Committee Minutes
Shirley McMenamin and Deb
Pannabecker shared their Integrated Performance Task for Biology and Business
Computer Integrated Systems with the SPC. Mrs. McMenamin’s BCIS students began
their PowerPoint presentations in the fall semester by researching three topic, one of which had to be on a virus that affects
teenagers. The students made their PowerPoint presentations using non-linear
buttons and using PhotoDraw to modify graphics. Mrs. McMenamin emphasized that
the research had to have solid content and that the presentations reflected
that solid content rather than emphasize the bells and whistles of the
PowerPoint. Mrs. Pannabecker began the topic of viruses in the fifth six weeks.
She further focused her students on the content. She required students to
revise their presentations and delete excess slides, and then required the
students to obtain good information for their presentation. Presentations were
given in the Biology classes with 50% of the grade based on the content and 50%
of the grade based on the presentation.
Sixth grade social studies with
Diane Hogan and music with Lonnie Nielson were integrated by this performance
task. Students were divided into groups and then each group selected a country
in
First grade teachers,
Valerie McDonald, Karen English, Holly Bufalino, Beth Zipp and Evie Cutcliff,
shared their Integrated Performance Task with the committee. The impetus for
the performance task came from social studies, in which students studied
Christmas traditions, customs and beliefs around the world. Each student
interviewed a member of their family and collected information and items that
reflected their family’s traditions, customs or beliefs. These items included
pictures, recipes, ornaments, cards, foods, books or songs. The student’s
information and items
were placed in a box. Language arts generated questions and conducted research
on topics using information from a variety of sources including published
literature selections that were read aloud to the students. Traditions from
other cultures were compared with those of the
Third grade teachers, Dabs
Hollimon and Dana Sommers, shared their Integrated Performance Task that joined
social studies, language arts and art. Students were given internet sites and
approximately one month to research landforms. Students activated a Digital
Curriculum film on landforms and saved a visual for inclusion in their
PowerPoint presentation. Students also drew a picture dictionary to accompany
their research. Their PowerPoint presentation included information captured
over the Internet with the URL cited and some of the information was presented
in chart form. Geography and art were combined through such activities as the
drawing of countries. Scenarios Of New Country was
given as a prompt for the task. Teachers kept the best of these presentations
on the Internet in an online research projects folder that will be used as
models for students next year.
Kay Magness showed the
committee the revisions that had been made to the Quality Rubric for Integrated
Performance Tasks. She discussed her experiences in using the rubric to
evaluate and revise her own performance tasks. Dick Wilson had also tried out
the rubric and thought that it was most helpful in identifying areas that he
might revise in his performance task. The subcommittee recommended that
teachers utilize this rubric in pairs with one of the pair having a strong
understanding of the rubric before the pair sat down to use it. The SPC will
receive a final report from the subcommittee at the May meeting.
Roger Ruder reported that
the MLA format for citing research was agreed to by the SPC at the December
meeting. A link to the MLA format has been placed on the district website under
the library link and under each campus link. This format will be used
throughout the district to cite sources as students are conducting research.
The information will be shared with teachers prior to the start of school.
Kay Magness shared with the
committee the work of the secondary English teachers on developing syllabi for
their courses. She noted that there was a great need for a scope and sequence
for each course being taught in the district. This scope and sequence would be
of value to new teachers teaching the course or grade level for the first time.
Such a document would serve teachers well as they work to refine the alignment
of the content being taught from grade level to grade level and would show what
will be taught and when it is taught in the curriculum. Such a scope and
sequence would be placed on the intranet and would be accessible to teachers
and administrators. The scope and sequence will be revised on a regular basis.
Kay Magness, Dabs Hollimon, Susan Bendele, Edie Gross and Martha Rouse
volunteered to participate on the subcommittee to develop a draft of the scope
and sequence template. The subcommittee will report back to the SPC at the May
11 meeting.
Rita Polen informed the SPC
of a staff development request for a total of five days, three to train staff
on various educational strategies designed to improve student performance and
two for aligning English, mathematics, science and social studies to TEKS. This
means that students would be in class for a total of 175 days. The SPC thought
that these days would be of great value to teachers and approved the waiver
request.
The May meeting will
include the sharing of performance tasks from high school, middle school and
elementary (primary and intermediate grades), reports from the curriculum
criteria, the scope and sequence and the research skills subcommittees, and the
setting of the August SPC agenda.
The facilitator for the May
meeting will be Beth Howard.
Next scheduled meeting:
Room
21
4:00
PM