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East Alexander Middle School
Important Information
PLC group Oct. 20
I was a little apprehensive about the curriculum mapping prior to going. My previous experiences have not been favorable. However, yesterday went well under the leadership of Dane. I know this sounds too "sweet" to be true, but everyone worked well together and all seventh and eighth grade science teachers were extremely patient and helpful to us. As sixth grade teachers, our major concern was what do we need to do in order to better assist students in preparation for the eighth grade test. Due to the organization of our meeting, each grade level was given the opportunity to discuss and highlight areas where the goals overlap. This visual strategy assisted us in deciding what was relevant and what amount of time we needed to spend on each goal. This will certainly help in completing the chart. We were also able to come to a consensus on a scientific method to be used throughout middle school. Maybe by eighth grade students will have it down pat. Did we complete everything? No, but we did develop a strong foundation.
ReplyDeleteI would say that our curriculum day went well. I agree with Charlene's comments, and I would like to reemphasize that we did not complete our curriculum mapping, but we did lay the foundation so that we could work both in our respective grade levels and as a department. We created a wiki that is going to be used to help us effectively collaborate, given our busy schedules (check it out -> http://eams-terauds.pbworks.com/sciecne-Mtg ). On it, we have tasks to complete, basic resources, discussed information & notes, and it will be available for any of us to add to or edit in the future. Finally, kudos to my fellow science teachers, everyone worked hard in order to do things right, in order to benifit all students at East.
ReplyDeleteThe curriculum mapping went well. It was good to share and discuss ideas about where science has been at East and where we see it going. We started discussing similarities between grade levels, finding commonalities. With that we started to create a vocabulary list, a list of words that seventh and sixth grade teachers could use in place of the ones in their NCSCS. These words were to help bridge the gap between grade levels (we are still creating our science vocabulary list). We came up with a standard scientific method, and then branched off into our grade levels to discuss a new plan for teaching the old curriculum.
ReplyDeleteWhat I recommend is coming to this meeting with a few specific goals. Where do you see your subject area in the next few years? Because this is one of the few times that you will be able to work with other grade levels find commonalities and ways to link the grade-levels together.
Science got a geat start. Word of advice! stay focused on goals. Don't get yourselves sidtracked.
This meeting was extremely helpful to me as a new science teacher. Going through the curriculum so in-depth not only strengthened my awareness but began preparing me for the task ahead this year. (That's all just on a personal note.) Everyone worked so cooperatively and kept the ultimate goal in mind. This was about what would be most beneficial to the students in the long run. As mentioned above, we accomplished agreement on a scientific method format, some common grade 6-8 vocabulary words and overlaps in our curriculums. My advice would be to have a leader in place as effective as Dane was and to not get too bogged down in the nit-picky stuff. I'm really glad we were given this opportunity.
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