October+1,+2010

__**Present**__: Carol Brown, Robin DePew, Felice Digennaro, Frank Doblekar, Alison Fischer, Maria Juliano, Michele Juric, Carol Kelly, Andrea Kortright, Darlene O'Donnell, Heidi Racioppo, Mary Schoonmaker, Fran Staccio, Tim Whalen, Christine Williams, Elizabeth Turner, Michelle Donlon, Laura Ayasse

__**Introductions:**__ We need to make sure the teachers at each grade level are familiar and comfortable with the consensus maps on Tech Paths. They need to make sure they understand that the maps are our curriculum and not the Math Connects program. The math program goes beyond the standards and expectations for NYS as well as Rondout Valley.

Response to Intervention and Instructional Support Team We need to have clear criteria for identifying which students need which support. We need to be very prescriptive. How do we screen kids in Kindergarten?

Informative assessments, Benchmark assessments

As teachers, it's ok to be stronger in some area than others. It is also ok to strengthen our weaker areas. How do I do this more effectively and enhance my teaching? Sometimes there are opportunities for teachers to teach the same lesson to multiple groups of students. The students rotate through the teachers.

One of the priorities this year is to get grade level teachers together from across buildings. This builds community among teachers.

Think about the school year... pulling out of the classroom... What are our thoughts for this year?... How can we use the 1/2 days?... How do we use the meetings in the buildings? Deside on the work, where it can be done, how it can be done.

We need to update our maps as we go. What parts of the Math Connects works and what doesn't work. We need universal and quarterly assessments that are common in each grade level across classrooms.

This Wiki Space and other Wiki Spaces are intended to enhance communication and make it more efficient. It is not necessary to use. However, it would be nice to try it out. Build it into your meeting time.

__**Curriculum Map:**__ How can we let our colleagues know what to teach and what not to teach out of the Math Connects program? Do we say: "Skip page ..." or "Skip section ..." What is enrichment? It's deeper thinking and application. It's not more content. We can meet as a grade level and discuss what the curriculum is for the week. What materials and resources we can use and can not use to meet the specific content and skills on the curriculum map. For each month, we can look at what is working and not working. Work with core maps... As you're going through the curriculum, make notes as to what materials and resources you're able to use. Just do it as you go along while it's fresh in your mind. What's the substance of those math meetings at each grade level? (Here's our map, here's our resources, here are some best practices, have the conversation about the next month, etc.)

__**Assessments:**__ Common unit tests or not?? We are going to have some agreed upon benchmark assessments at each grade level. These are places in time when you stop and make sure the students have an understanding of certain contents and skills. They are checkpoints. The state assessment shouldn't be a surprise. We don't want to test kids too much.

Assessments don't have to be a written unit test, it very well could be a different format. (video, writing prompt, formal interview, structured observation) Do teachers need to do some work about assessment and construct? There are different kinds of tests and different ways to construct them. We need a training with Exam View... how to use it. Maybe this group should be trained and then we can bring it back to our buildings. Teaching to the test or not? We've got to go deeper than that. We've got to teach critical thinking skills and problem solving skills. There should be hands on application assessments as well as paper and pencil tests.

Math labs at KES... There are 20 stations that the children rotate through. A majority of the stations are hands-on manimpulatives. Some are paper and pencil. The kids like doing it in lab format. It's standards based and allows for item analysis. Last year, it was used with just 3rd and 4th graders. This year, they are working on labs for 2nd grade. Last year, it was used 2 weeks prior to the state test date. This year, it's recommended to do on a more regular basis.

Everyone should be assessing the same standards based content, but not necessarily in the same way. How do we scaffold our children to be prepared for more written assessments as they get older? We have to have a big assortment of different kinds of assessments to ensure we are meeting our students' needs. How do we align the interventions we use for our students? We do need some universal assessments.

__**Today's Agenda:**__ We will be working on formative assessments. "Switchers" will meet to get familiar with new grade level maps. 4th Grade... essential questions 3rd Grade... problem solving, formative assessment list from mapping Kindergarten... formative assessment KES: has grade level representation K-4 MES: missing 1st grade rep RES: missing 3rd grade rep

__**Our Charge for the year as math cabinet:**__ Work on diary maps along the way... add in resources and materials as you go. Come back together and compare. Tweek the maps. Look at formative assessments... develop and insert into diary maps. Develop benchmark assessments by the end of the year. Start to work on them for the middle of the year (January). BMA would be cummulative. We need more time to work on essential questions. (What is an essential question?) Have a better idea about Math Connects. How it works and doesn't work as a resource. Develop and enhance our math teaching practice.

__**Closing:**__ We are going to be very product driven for our next meetings. We will continue to work on assessments. Between now and our next meeting: go back to our grade levels and let them know not to let them use the chapter assessments. Unless you don't use the pieces that are not on our maps. Want teachers to make notes about what materials and resources they have used and are using to support the skills and content on the maps. We need more training on using the maps in general. If people can't access the map, we need to give them hard copies and ask them to keep notes on the hard copy of what they have and have not used. Takes notes on your maps. Bring Math Connects with you next time. Bring Exam View with you next time. Hit the ground running on assessment.