Notes+for+October+meeting

Quality Classroom Consortium 10/16/07

MEETING NOTES

Introduction (Mike Loughead and Norton Gusky) Largest QC2 meeting yet – -technology as a tool for collaboration and using data to inform instruction -third year of consortium meeting, over 30 school districts from 8 counties, almost 60 attendees -a lot of new members

-theme for this year’s meetings will be “Using Data to Differentiate Instruction”, tools for change -meetings to focus on difference points of view 1 administrators (district level) 2. teacher (classroom level) 3. principals (building level) -speaker/presentation featured at each meeting with time for sub-committees to meet -Resource Management (Paula Calabrese/Gil Iacono/Dan Charny) -Curriculum (Don Mann) -Features (Toby Basalla/Tom DeMarco) -Emerging Technologies (Norton) – new QC2 wiki for www.qcc.wikispaces.com

Dr. Steven Biancaniello – “Data Informed Teaching and Learning” -Duquesne University and University of Pittsburgh Partnership for School District Improvement (PSDI) ACTION: *Put presentation powerpoint on wiki -teacher preparation and training fairly limited on data analysis for new instructors WHY DATA? -Why do we have to use data in the first place? Why do we use data? -Now the data is at our fingertips, technology has advanced significantly -sophisticated tool technology won’t matter unless we engage students in the process of their learning, their investment and commitment to their own education -culture shift to transform values of kids -data can be used to evaluate, plan, organize and restructure and transform -creates a framework -various ways of defining differentiated instruction, how do you define and identify it? -teachers engaged but playing a role of facilitator, students engaged with each other with rigorous and challenging subject matter -differentiate instruction to get more kids to be successful and achieve -pressure of NCLB/AYP the “number chasing”, step back, slow down to think about how the numbers tell us a story into what children know and are able to do and how we can help refine our instructional strategies to meet their needs - Get the Right Data: are we getting the right information? Need information that will actually be helpful - Get the Data Right: make sure the information accurate, reliable, impactful – Get the Data Right Away: need it quickly to use it, PSSA is “autopsy” data, it is too late, we now have “diagnostic” data, formative assessments – Get the Data the Right Way: not everyone is a data analyst and statistician, we need to get data in a format that makes sense to the user – Get the Right Data Management: need the information to flow seamlessly - Content: Get the Data Right/Get the Right Data, what are our goals and objectives? Knowing individual students and individual expectations and a “road map” to deliver what they need, teacher may have different “directions” to get all their students to a common destination - Context: What is going on in the environment around students? -Process: How do we integrate school systems to engage students to guide the learning process? Kids have to be in the game -need clear expectations so we know where we’re going so we can figure out how to get there -no one plans to fail but many fail to plan -create an environment that clearly indicates the expectations and information to get them there get kids engaged in the process so they are part of the solution -multiplicity of choice for instruction with different strategies -mechanisms for meaningful feedback

EdInsight Update -curriculum/instruction/assessment -curriculum mapping as a dynamic process now available in EdInsight (free tool for first year) – lesson planner coordinated with curriculum mapper with online access -suggest piloting with a focused group with strong leadership on one content area -need for professional development -standards reports that align to curriculum -OHS working on an assessment builder for 1Q08 – possible subcommittee of QC2? Anyone who is interested in building regional assessment tools -Early Warning System in development for instruction -Shared resources, OHS hiring a new resource staff member will be working with Paula -Cohort management, a new visualization tool