Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Content continuum
I've noticed how valuable it is to have good communication in a district when planning the curriculum. For example, it is really helpful for the science teachers at the middle school to be aware of what students are learning in elementary school and what they will need to know when they get to the high school. Even though we have content standards, these can be interpreted in different ways and it is great to cooperate with other teachers both to make sure everything is covered and to know whether or how much students are taught about certain topics in previous classes.
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At both of my placements, I have participated in departmental meetings to discuss standards. But I'm not aware of any meetings that occur between schools (elem/middle/HS) in my district. Does you district promote these meetings, or do teachers coordinate them on their own?
ReplyDeleteI also want to know the mechanism for those meetings? Through inservice times?
ReplyDeleteI have not noticed any communication between the grade school/middleschool and high school since I have been teaching.I agree it would be good to make connections so that the students are building on previous knowledge.
ReplyDeleteKatie
I think the idea of "vertical" teams is a good one. At one point I worked with a curriculum committee in La Grande that had representatives all the way from kindergarten through grade 12. It was a very productive structure and helped everyone realize what came before and after their level.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying these blogs,
Your dean
I also agree that is important to know what has been taught and what is going to be taught. Especially in subjects such as math and science. A teacher needs to know what skills the students should have coming into your class and what skills they should have when they leave your classroom. It would be very beneficial for the students and let the teacher plan more efficiently. Julie, sounds like your school has a good system going.
ReplyDeleteIt is my understanding that the communication is informal and happens between individual teachers because they want the students to be well prepared. It would be great if this happened in every district in all content areas.
ReplyDeleteHermiston S.D. had been working on what they called "Power Standards" where representative teachers from the science departments from each secondary school were meeting to form a curricular plan for 7th-10th grades. All of their hard work was for naught because this fall they found out that the standards were re-written and are now highly integrated. The middle school teachers meet once a month through PLC's and are working together to enhance literacy skills right now. I'm not sure about the high school teachers, but it is my understanding that they are now meeting as a department too. I don't know if they will try to work together again anytime soon since with the budget cuts, they may not be compensated for the added meetings it requires to accomplish such goals.
ReplyDelete