Welcome and Thank you for participating Our topic is professional growth in a school setting The results will be used to assist me in a school related project to promote professional growth among teachers in a consistent, non-intrusive form.

The DreamIt Project This project is part of the work created for a class in STEM education through Michigan State University and the Wipro Corporation The goal is to try to create an innovative learning experience in one of the STEM fields Since I have transitioned out of the classroom this year, my project involves teachers

Guidelines No right or wrong answers, only differing points of view I would like to use a video recording to be able to go back and listen to comments, please, one person speaking at a time so I can transcribe. You don't need to agree with others, but you must listen respectfully to others Don’t be afraid to be critical (I can take it). In fact you help me more by being honest.

Question In your opinion, what are some of the professional development needs we have at this school?

Question Have you ever participated in an online learning community or a professional learning community? What is the goal?

What do teachers do? They make copies and prepare materials for student use. Objectives, instructions, bell ringers, and daily vocabulary are all carefully written onto classroom boards in deliberate ways to establish routines and jump start activity in the classroom. Plan each small task while preparing for the day so that they will work in conjunction to create the most efficient and optimal learning experience. Plan a continuum of lessons in a content area that work towards developing student understanding of core concepts within a discipline. Choose experiences and activities that will enable student learning that can later be transferred to a performance of this learning in a different situation or context. Considerable research combined with a knowledge of the content is necessary to be successful in both creating the educational experiences and the optimal environment for students to develop an understanding of core, content-based concepts.

Wiggins and McTighe make an important distinction about learning: “To know which fact to use when requires more than another fact. It requires understanding—insight into essentials, purpose, audience, strategy, and tactics. Drill and direct instruction can develop discrete skills and facts into automaticity (knowing “by heart”), but they cannot make us truly able.

The key is for teachers to understand what is meant by understanding. If understanding is what enables students to transfer what they learn to new and different situations and contexts, then simply planning a series of unrelated lessons that focus on memorizing facts and learning isolated skills will not be enough. Understanding, understanding will require time to study the meaning, discuss interpretations, and analyze examples of what student understanding looks like.

My aim is to help establish a professional learning community among math and science teachers, administrators and support staff to help understand understanding. With this in place, “learning community” will not only refer to students, but everyone who has a stake in the success of the students.

It will take time to learn to effectively use of the backwards design template for unit design, and require even more research to determine what understandings students must develop and what questions will guide their understandings. Some of the practices we can use are: Review of units with groups of teachers to identify how understandings are being developed through instruction and discussion of the implications in the classroom (PQS pop up) Presentation and discussion of lessons designed by teachers to develop understanding of an identified concept (Lesson Study) Presentation and discussion of work from a performance of understanding Development of a vertical plan for curriculum. Online Learning community and PLC’s

A draft of the online community format Link to the Davis Math and Science Curriculum Page

Time to discuss What do you think of this idea? Does this project address a need at the school? If so in what way? Will teachers respond to this format? Why or why not? How can the project be improved? Are the goals going to make any change in student learning?