1. AP Vertical Teaming Bear Creek High School Bear Creek K-8
Carmody Middle
Bear Creek
High School

2. The primary goal of the vertical team strategy is to enhance all students’ achievement.

3. The Pre-AP Vertical Team Goals
To develop an understanding of math and respective roles to ensure growth
To explore/share approaches to instill analytical thinking and communication skills necessary for academic success
To create assessments and identify evidence of understanding
To find ways to ensure that each student is being challenged

4. Effects
Foster grade-level participation that bridges the middle school grades and high school grades
Increase the quality of instruction by improving communication between teachers and updating their knowledge of math curriculum, instructional strategies and assessment techniques
All students can perform at high academic levels
Early development of skills and acquisition of knowledge will prepare students for higher level engagement in advanced mathematics

5. Meeting Ideas Identify external curricular forces
Explore concept development
Focus on content across the (math) curriculum
Big picture view of the curriculum
Focus on assessment
(Acuity, CSAP, ACT)
Focus on literacy
(iRead, iWrite, iLearn)
Focus on difficult topics to teach or learn
Notation coordination
Focus on student understanding of content across the curriculum
Vocabulary across the curriculum
Periodic review of team goals

6. Teaming and Collaboration All Students prepared for College,
Careers, and
Citizenship
Bear Creek High School +
Bear Creek K-8 +
Carmody Middle School

7. The Problem Isolation! Teachers working alone Schools working
independently
Assumptions:
“If only they would have taught students to…”
Confusion
Students learning new terms, encountering disjointed practices, and uneven expectations

8. How…Re-thinking Vertical Alignment & Transitions
Existing Instructional Practices
Support Structures
Community Resources
Technology
Assessments

9. Assessment Tools
Acuity is a computer-based test that measures how students are progressing throughout the year in meeting the expectations of the Colorado State Standards.
CSAP is designed to provide a picture of how students in the state of Colorado are progressing toward meeting academic standards and how schools are doing to ensure learning success of students.
The Colorado ACT is an assessment of 11th grade students to determine their level of college readiness.

10. Looking at Our Own School’s Data
What trends do you
see in ACT scores?
see in ACUITY scores?
What trends do you see in CSAP scores?
What trends do you see in AP?

11. Data Drives Practice…
The vertical team uses a continuous improvement model based on results.
The team reviews achievement data.
The team reviews personal successes of both staff & students
The team identifies areas of growth and helps students keep focused on their academic goals.

12. Requires Standardized Testing Curriculum Alignment Vertical Teaming
TIGHT FIT (no slack)

13. Guaranteed Viable Curriculum
Gather data for incoming students to develop profile
Form study groups to look at curriculum alignment (vertical and horizontal) to identify gaps
Align current courses to content standards
Starting Principal Walk-throughs on web, Principal has to design ways for others to accomplish

15. What is curriculum all about?
iRead
iWrite
iSolve
iLearn

16. Critical thinking
A cylindrical container 60 cm long with a diameter of 40 cm is lying on its side.
a. If the container is full with a liquid, then the volume is_________________
b. What is the volume of the liquid if the container is not full, the depth of the liquid is 15 cm?

17. Right Triangle Trigonometry Inverse Trigonometric Functions
A cylindrical container 60 cm long with a diameter of 40 cm is lying on its side. a. If the container is full with a liquid, then the volume is_________________ b. What is the volume of the liquid if the container is not full, the depth of the liquid is 15 cm?
Pre-Algebra
Algebra I
Geometry
Algebra II
Pre-Calculus
radius
diameter
circle
circumference pi
area of circle
Base
right cylinder
altitude
area of base
volume
arcs
arc length
sector of a circle
degree measure
area of the sector
chord
minor arc
segment of a circle
right triangle
Right Triangle Trigonometry
sine
cosine
tangent
Inverse Trigonometric Functions

18. Tammy Maccalous BC Calculus teacher At Bear Creek High School
Enrollment in 1997: 5 students
Enrollment in 2007: 90 students

19. Joe Otero Differential Equations teacher At Bear Creek High School
Enrollment in 2005: 7 students
Enrollment in 2007: 15 students

20. Tammy has stated “vertical teaming has been the key component to increasing the number of students enrolling and succeeding in BC Calculus.”

21. What we liked best was . . .
Group activities, i.e., opportunity to share experiences; ask questions; discover areas that need more attention; challenging each other; synthesizing.