SOCSD Curriculum Articulation

Welcome to the SOCSD Curriclum Articulation Blog

Welcome Message from Lynn Gorey

Welcome to our SOCSD Curriculum Articulation Blog.  We have tried to capture the information we received from the afternoon sessions.  We know how busy everyone is at this time of year, but we wanted to be sure to share the information and let you know that your Principals and Assistant Principals will be structuring conversations with all staff as we plan our next steps.  Your input on the process and structure of our work for the 2007 – 2008 year is valued.

If you have any general comments on any of this information, please feel free to add them.

Thanks for all your help this year.  I have enjoyed working with everyone on curriculum and instruction.  You are an expert staff!  We are also working on finding the best way to share the actual workshop materials from our Conference Day, and we will give you an update on this before the end of the year.

Sincerely,

Lynn Gorey

Social Studies

Facilitator: Patricia Castelli

Notes:

Question #1:  Analyzing and interpreting maps, charts and tables were identified strengths for our students.  Why is this so?

• Many students are visual learners – features help students understand (map key, title, symbols)
• Specific places
• They are used across the curriculum (Math, Science, Social Studies)
• Always revisited throughout the grades
• High interest – not intimidating
• Real World connection (places they have been, and where family is from)
• Early exposure – younger grades
• Maps, charts and tables are concrete

Question #2:  How can we further enhance students’ ability to analyze and interpret maps, graphs and charts?  What can we learn from this area of success?

We learn that:

• Our students are concrete thinkers (visual learners)
• Doesn’t take much critical thinking
• Doesn’t require much prior knowledge

We can :

• create more higher-order thinking questions to go along with maps.  (Comparing/Contrasting)
• Connect maps, charts and graphs to their lives
• More maps, charts, and graphs across the curriculum
• More practice, modeling and analyzing

Question #3:  Using critical analysis, drawing conclusions and making inferences were challenges.  Why?

• In general we do not dialogue enough with the students
• Students are unwilling to take a risk/change
• Time (not enough) – frustration
• Vocabulary/language issues – need to expand student vocabulary
• Lack of experience/practice
• Caught up on the less important details
• Developmentally – they are not there
• Outside influences
• No application
• No integration of skills
• Concrete thinking is more measurable
• Not enough “why” questions
• Students lack the skills to think big
• Students look for a quick answer.  No follow through – happy with just a “pass”

Question #4:  What should the next steps be to enhance critical analysis, inferencing and drawing conclusions?

• Emphasize vocabulary development
• Train kids to understand point of view, bias, motives (model)
• Encourage self-confidence in divergent answers
• Introduce higher order questions at a younger age
• Ask children to use real life situations
• Provide experience with presenting views
• Teach and reinforce skills of analysis and inference

Foreign Language

Facilitators:      Peter Burgos and Dan Sullivan

Notes:

Next Steps:

·         Pass along D/F list from Middle School to high school

·         Access student history – middle school and then high school

·         Have more frequent meetings for dialoging and sharing ideas

·         Meet with middle school

·         Discussed possibly creating a Level 3 Regents and Honors Classes for those who wish to move on to the Advanced to AP level courses.

·         Having 1 – 2 Regents classes for at-risk students

·         Articulation with SOMS in October

·         The grades from middle school (6, 7, 8) need to be passed along.  (We need to explore access through Powerschool.)

Comments:

·         Repetition of “where we get at end of grade 8”.  This has been done in the past

·         Meet by specific language

·         Would have liked to time to prepare for classes

·         This session was very rich and makes me feel that it would be helpful to meet more often, maybe 2 – 3 afternoon sessions with teachers of the same language.

·         Until class sized are reduced and co-teaching and TA support given overall student performance will not improve

Physical Education and Health

Facilitator: Liam Frawley

Notes:

1)      How do we improve communication between the buildings about what is going on in Physical Education?

·         Traveling teachers.  Swapping teachers between buildings for 1-2 week periods.

·         Team / Group leaders.

·         District-wide PE newsletter

·         Observing other buildings for a day (Needs subs)

·         Pull together building faculty meetings to arrange PE dept. meetings.

·         Team building activities.

·         Use District PR department to promote PE.

·         Create a mailbox on ‘First Class’ for all district PE teachers.

·         More K-12 PE meetings (monthly?)

2)      What are your challenges?  How can you reasonably address them?

·         Space.  Wrestling mats in MS back gym.  Try to use the outside more.

·         Class size.

·         Possible loss of the pool at the middle school.

·         Student motivation.

·         Storage space.

·         Outdoor space difficult to use during lunch periods.

·         Need gym floors repaired.

·         Not always getting support of building administration.  (“PE put on the back burner”)

·         Loss of gym due to non-PE activities.

3)      What are we doing in PE that is cross-curricular?

·         Cooperative games – Team building activities

·         Nature Trail, Physiology – Science

·         

Gym City

,

PE

related current events -- Social Studies

·         Bowling – Math

4)      Generally, what are the kids doing well?  What are their challenges?

·         Doing well:

·         Prepared for class

·         Progression of basic motor skills

·         Controlling emotions during a win or loss

·         Participation

·         Share equipment well

·         Challenges:

·         Gross motor skills

·         Sportsmanship

·         Difficulty working independently.

·         Students do not seem to be active at home.

·         Motivation

·         Basic Hand – Eye coordination

·         Students not accepting PE with importance.

Music

Facilitators: Jonathan Rossi and Charles Yassky

Next Steps:

·         A K-12 curriculum should be developed and tied together

·         Try to test 7^th or 8^th grade level – basic music skills using a standardized test

·         Teachers with specific specialties should meet regularly and discuss observed strengths and weaknesses as students progress

·         More communication between administration and educators

·         More time for K-12 departments to meet during the year

·         Increase and improve communication between music staff and administration

·         Planning for future course development is based on information left open ended at this time

·         We should meet by specialization area

·         Hire a Music Department chair or use curriculum hours to generate a K-12 general music curriculum

Comments:

·         “Nice to spend time K-12”

·         “

Opportunity

to discuss long-term outcomes by tracing a “generic” student’s program with elementary music or without elementary music”

·         “Helpful in continuing clear goal planning”

·         “Written instruction/expectation of the afternoon”

·         “Valuable.  We should be able to do this on every conference day”

Technology, Business and Library

Facilitator: Mrinalini Rajwar

Notes:

Given the diverse nature of this group, we took a slightly different approach to the K12 articulation question.  We started out assessing the competencies that had been submitted by the library media specialists and the business teachers.  From there we felt that we wanted to articulate a set of 21^st Century Competencies for students that the group believed could be met through the curriculum of the 3 subject areas.  We also previewed some Web 2.0 technologies to assess their place in our curriculum including:  wikis, student podcasts, blogs, video slideshows, safe social networking sites, and photo sharing sites.

Next steps for this group could include reviewing the District’s information literacy Curriculum and technology curriculum.  It would also be important to look at the skills articulated by the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills and reference them in developing our own standards (http://www.21stcenturyskills.com).

21^st Century Competencies Needed by SOCSD Students

1.      What is plagiarism? 

a.      Students must learn how to take responsibility for their own written work.

b.      How are sources cited properly?

c.       Resources we can use include turnitin.com

2.      How to analyze problems quantitatively.

a.      When students go on to college and jobs, they will be required to use numbers to analyze issues and present solutions.

3.      Developing personal accountability.

4.      Financial Literacy

5.      Innovative-Creative Thinking

6.      Physical thinking and problem solving skills.

a.      Demons ratable through a technology curriculum.  Questions like how do you make a table that will support itself and the items placed on it.  How do you keep a motorized car from falling off a table?

7.      Students should be able to conduct research and write in depth.

a.      Students should know how to write longer papers (more than 3 pages) before they leave school. 

b.      The group agreed that teaching students to keyboard at the appropriate level was a critical and currently inadequate component of this competency.

c.       We need to show them there are search tools outside of Google.

d.      Senior thesis

8.      How to work in cooperative groups but remain responsible for their unique efforts.

a.      Wikis can be used to develop this competency.

9.      Communicating with a public audience.

a.      Wikis, podcasts, public speaking opportunities using video can be used to develop these skills.

10.   Developed skill in productivity software used in the college and business.

a.      Microsoft office product

Guidance

Facilitator: Michele Fenster

Notes:

How do we support our students to be socially and emotionally able to access the curriculum?

Group 1

Individual Counseling and Group Counseling

Topic Specific Groups (Banana Splits, Bereavement, etc.)

Guidance Counselors

Mentor academically challenged students

Student workshops on needed topics, e.g. My Space, AIP, TSP, COVE, SOS, SIP

Transition support (school to school)

CST Review/Parent Contact/Support Programs:

Spanish Speaking Mental Health Professional

Group 2

Friendship Clubs – Banana Splits

1-1    Counseling

Academic Counseling

SIP and AIP Programs

Several issue oriented groups (Bereavement, Friendship, New Entrant)

Character Education programs (Emotional Literacy, “Kindness Train,” etc.)

Group 3

Child Study Team, AIP, SIP, Team Meetings

Individual and Group Counseling

Talking to Parents/Teachers/Children

“Be a Buddy not a Bully”

Character Education Program

SOS (Grade 1-7)

Emotionally literacy

Peer mediation

Peer tutoring

Monthly read aloud

Classroom meetings

AP – Discipline issues

Friendship groups

You Make a Difference

Student of the Month

SOS Celebration

Group 4

Counseling – Crisis/Mandated

School Community of support:  psychologist, nurse, AP, TA’s lunch aides, teachers.

Bully Program – Character Education Program – SOS (Mentors)

Friendship groups – Bereavement/loss  sessions

Student/Clubs Word of Month.  Banana Splits, Relax Club

Good Student/Friendship Club

Summary:

Group meetings:  CST, AIP, SIP, Friendship Groups

Workshops

Individual Counseling

Community Support as needed by staff

Efforts to transition from building to building  (Articulation showing improvement)

Character Educational/Emotional Literacy

Bi-Lingual Social Worker

What are the areas of strength for our SOCSD students in the social/emotional domain?   Why?  What are we doing to continually support this strength?

Group 1

Involved Parents

Students are above average intellectually (Lake Wobegan)

Early access to diversity (Princeton Plan)

Mental health professionals housed in school-integrated with every day process

younger kids, especially, are willing to talk – to engage with staff

Group 2

Availability of Counseling Staff:

Administrative support team

Students:  Good decision makers, role models, leaders, peer mentors

After school ESL programs – Charlie CAAPS program

Many groups offered – TSP Program, SOS Program

Peer Mentors and volunteers helping students

Group 3

Students want to learn to help, interested in community service when given structured opportunities

Students want to have friends, like socializing, want to identify with family

Staff use of time to develop relationships with children

Group 4

Eager to be involved in community projects

Parents are helpful

Enthusiastic and academically strong

Peer Mentors, Peer Tutors, Peer Mediators\

Activities for community needs

“Charlie Caps” school wide program

Student of the Month

Word of Month/Character Education Program

Summary

Parents

Student Abilities

Support Staff Support each other

Role Model leaders

Staff time management

Teaching staff aware of student social/emotional issue

What are the areas that are most challenging for our SOCSD students in the social/emotional domain?  Why?  What can we do to support this need?

Group 1

Too many non-clinical tasks, that take precedence over direct student contact, interfere with ability to do job trained for

Technological on-slaught

Tough to break in if not involved from beginning

Not having a district social worker – big loss

Helicopter parents = kids don’t develop problem solving skills

Need to improve character Education program

Sex roles continue to be rigid

Group 2

Conflict resolution, making good decisions, dealing with peer pressure, learning how to manage a stressful situation

Poor Parental Support

Availability of Counseling Staff (Time constraints)

How can we support this need?  “Parent In-Service Training,” Consequences-> related to more of a learning experience as opposed to ISS, OSS, After School Detention, etc.

Group 3

Children have tremendous anxiety, depression, family problems, bullying and teasing, racial issues, bigotry, students not college bound – socially rejected

What we need:

Common K-12 vocabulary about social/emotional issues

District Social Worker

Two more Guidance Counselors at TZHS

Additional Guidance Counselor and Psychologist at SOMS

K-12 Comprehensive developmentally appropriate Guidance Program

Student Assistance Counselor at High School

Support for incoming ESL students

Free up psychologist to do more clinical work

Reduce clerical/administrative duties for psychologists and guidance counselors

Suggest a more sensible budget to voters that address these needs

(Austerity budget is not appropriate)

Additional Teacher Assistant support.

Group 4

Anxiety!!!

Peer Social Skills

School has become a counseling resource for families

Poor accountability – Parents and students

(Too many activities, increased family stressors)

Demanding curriculum hurts average student

Increased demands at school and home and less accountability

School – more aware of divorce, alcoholism, abuse at home, loss

Children do not have appropriate boundaries

Free up psychologists from clerical responsibilities

More support staff

Teachers – freed up to address social/emotional needs through learning activities

Parent Workshops – scheduled during the school day

Summary

Due to academic and teacher demands student access becomes more limited to address social/emotional issues

Scheduling challenges due to participation at Child Study Team meetings, team meetings, etc.

Testing demands, as well as, Annual Review demands continue to be time limiting to student access

Anxiety of students – parents not as available (MS-> depressed)

Bullying

Technology Role

Clerical/non-clinical tasks take over for direct student contact

Personal family issues are overflowing into the school environment

Art

Facilitators:  YuBong Ko and Beth Dougherty

Notes:

·         Continue discussions with more guidance

·         Need to look at regular classroom curriculum

·         Analysis strengths and needs at all levels

·         Pay attention to themes

·         Identify top 10 critical skills and be specific about expectations under each skill with differentiation, emergent, development, master.

·         Common District template to visually map out K-12 articulation

·         Revisit first draft of K-12 articulation

Math #9

Facilitators: Kerry Houlihan and Jeanine Carr

Notes:

1.  Computation and concrete math skills are an area of strength.  Why?

·         More manipulatives/hands on

·         Repetition ® have seen concepts since Pre-K

·         Lack of reading needed

·         Parent support easily accessed (know basic skills)

·         Not multi-step

·         Procedure based

·         Easy to remediate (skill and drill, timed tests)

·         Easily measurable

·         Don’t need application/integration (just a skill)

·         No critical thinking

·         Exposed to multiple strategies

·         More rote memorization

·         Many teachers felt with was not a strength

·         They can’t transfer – lose skills

·         Have to teach concept as new skill – can’t built on what’s been taught in previous grades

“Depth over breadth” – too much to cover so children aren’t retaining information/skills

2. If students are doing well with computation, what can we learn from this, and how can we further enhance the growth of all students in this area?

We can learn that

·         Students are good with basic procedures

·         Students are able to memorize facts

·         Students are rote learners

·         More concrete, less abstract

·         There are timed tests

We can further enhance student growth by

·         Spiraling

·         Applying to “real-life” situations

·         Providing more time to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills

·         Using the calculator at the appropriate times

·         Forging the home-school connection – even giving parents materials that were not working – saw no improvement

·         Providing additional opportunities and enrichment activities for reinforcement

·         Offering leveled/tiered instruction in order to differentiate

·         Remediated instruction/small group

·         Send home rubric 1 – 4 and when parents saw their child was a1, the parents were more eager to help and saw improvement

Problem solving, reading, and interpreting mathematical information were identified as areas of challenge for our students.  Why do you think this is?

·         All involve multi-steps

·         Problem solving is higher order thinking

·         Math vocabulary ® specialized ® confusion occurs

·         Lack of basic “word skills” and reading comprehension

·         Children are unable to transfer skills and strategies to different types of problems

·         Need for an integration of computation as well as application and problem solving

·         Children want an end result and they are unable to monitor themselves to “slow down” and “think things out” using a step-by-step approach

·         Sometimes it’s an “attitude” or “belief” that “I’m not good at math” (emotional component)

·         Large class sizes

·         Often taught “to the whole group” where the children who need differentiation and smaller instruction suffer

·         Math is cumulative and each skill and concept is built – often topics are not reviewed – not cyclical

·         Children’s absence can affect this

4.  If problem solving and application of mathematical skills are areas of challenge for our students, how should we address this issue?  What are our next steps?

·         Smaller classes for individualized instruction

·         Highlight key words/vocabulary

·         More hands-on learning activities

·         Teach critical evaluation of your own work

·         Appropriate use of calculators for support

·         Incorporate multi-step problems earlier and throughout the curriculum

·         *Reading comprehension skills*

·         Spiral back to find area of weakness and provide ongoing assessment

·         Consider project based activities

·         Use of manipulatives and visual aids

·         Mandatory support services for students who do not meet grade level standards – i.e. summer school

·         Elementary children have reading support for areas of weakness, but there is no math support for struggling students

Math Group #8

Facilitator: Sheila Silverman

Question #1 – Computation and concrete math skills were an area of strength for our students.  Why do you think this is so?

• Drilled in math facts and computations every year
• Rote learning is an easier skill
• Not much thinking involved – only one right answer
• Calculators are used on tests
• Computer programs and Smartboards are used for drill and are more fun
• Games and manipulatives are used to teach and for reinforcement
• Many students go to Kumon for drill
• Variety of creative teaching strategies

Question #2 – If students are doing well with computation, what can we learn from this and how can we further enhance the growth of all students in this area?

*There was discrepancy as to whether students did have strong computation skills.  The following data is based on the assumption that computation is strong:

• Multiple strategies are taught
• Technology is used as a tool
• Practice, Practice, Practice
• Incorporate different numbers
• Integrate into other disciplines
• Relate to real life situations (include names of students)
• Use peer mentors
• Co-teach and challenge groups to build skills

Question #3 – Problem solving, reading and interpreting mathematical information were identified as areas of challenge for our students.  Why do you think this is so?

• Students are not reading out of school, for the love of reading
• Lack of work ethic and diligence
• Poor reading comprehension
• Word problems are intimidating – students cannot analyze problems to pick out relevant information
• At elementary level, parents pick up students early which is ELA instruction time
• Most math skills are rehearsed and the questions are predictable; but word problems may be unfamiliar
• Lack of vocabulary
• Students do not always read directions
• Calculator dependency
• In a society of instantaneous feedback, students automatically “shut down” when they do not fully understand a problem in the first reading
• Difficulty recognizing what the problem is asking for

Question #4 – If problem solving and application of mathematical skills are areas of challenge for our students, how should we address this issue?  What are our next steps?

• Universal Language/Strategies K–12
• More time dedicated to problem solving
• More real-life applications that students can relate to
• Students need to take ownership and responsibility for their learning
• Increase in comprehension skills and number sense
• Not getting flustered by vocabulary
• Change student’s mentality to problem solving
• Teach units with problem solving throughout – not as an add-on at end
• Include problem solving on all home works
• Learn how to sort out the important information (key words)
• Hold student’s accountable to explain their thinking
• Students should be reading more outside of school
• Make a list of steps to take (graphic organizer)

• Reading comprehension needs to be improved

What do you believe should be the next key steps in articulation?

• Common vocabulary throughout the grades
• More extensive problem solving (more diligence when working through a problem)
• Develop universal language/math vocabulary.
• Develop universal problem solving skills or use graphic organizers (ex. read, understand, maybe highlight key words, develop plan, solve)
• Incorporate problem solving throughout units.
• All grades named the same weaknesses and strengths for the most part.  We should pick one weakness and work on it for a year, then evaluate again.
• Developing ways to accommodate our societal issues, parent help, work ethic, always wanting to take the short cut.
• Collate information collected by other groups and meet again next year to discuss next steps.
• Perhaps another conference to work on strategies to improve weaknesses.
• Implementation of some of the recommended thoughts and philosophies (i.e. make students responsible for their learning.
• Finding the common responses to the questions from all educators K-12 and see if there are re-occurring issues that are being brought up.
• Continue discussions for today, move on to more specific solutions.
• This conference day was very helpful to gather ideas.  One or two suggestions should be highlighted and put into action.  It feels there is a lot of talk about “what can we do?”  Let’s do it!
• Create motivational math climate.  Continue to work on weak areas.   Continue to complement strong areas to increase motivation.  Create long-range problem solving activities to encourage students to deliberate and think!
• Analyze similarities and discrepancies.  Develop plan to overcome difficulties.
• Addressing motivational prompts, working on practicing math facts, incorporating technology into math lessons, going back to rote memorizing.
• Leave the societal issues at the door.  Believe we are the sole giver of math curriculum.  Develop a concise, critical, in-depth K-12 curriculum.
• More conference days like this.
• Take the information gathered and review it and regroup again.
• More practice at younger grades, more skill practice at all levels, emphasis on reading.
• Continue to talk K-12
• What we can do as teachers to solve the issues discussed?
• Devise a realistic plan to bring the district forward.
• Have these meetings more frequently.  A K-12 curriculum should be developed.

What general comments would you make about the K-12 afternoon session?

·         It was informative and discouraging.  Kids need to take ownership of their academic learning.

·         I enjoyed meeting the math teachers K-12.

·         It was interesting to talk to math teachers at other levels.  We have common problems and concerns.

·         Very productive.  We found common themes K-12.

·         I thought this was a great opportunity to talk with other teachers.  I found the conversation more productive than I thought it would be. Great facilitator!

·         Good to meet other teachers and discuss general strengths and weaknesses in Math K-12.

·         I thought the dialog and exchange of ideas was excellent.  Looking forward to the next session.

·         I thought it was very interesting to meet with the educators K-12 and see there are common issues from Kindergarten to the High School.  Very informative.

·         Very informative.  Interesting to work with teachers from other buildings.

·         It was wonderful to talk with the math teachers K-12!

·         Informative.  Interesting to share information across the grade levels.

·         Informative to discuss with all levels.  We shared very similar concerns and positive thoughts.

·         Good – it’s always good to share information and ideas.

·         Great to work with all levels in SOCSD.

·         Many concerns were a common thread throughout the grades.  Informative.

·         It was excellent.  In the years past there has not been an opportunity to get to know or hear positive or negative feedback across the district.  It was interesting to find a common piece through the grades.

·         Very useful and informative.

·         Lots of good comments and food for thought.

·         Productive, talked about problems facing all of us.

·         Excellent, but as we move forward, please don’t ask us to reinvent the wheel.

·         Very useful and important process.  Very informative.