Today was an interesting day for me as I began by attending the Iowa Core Alignment Tools workshop. There I learned about Outcome #4 and the tools available to districts to meet their identified targets. Three 'vendors' shared their products: Power School (GWAEA); I-CAT (IDEA); and Curriculum Mapper. I had the pleasure of sitting with the Linn Mar Curriculum Directors (Amy, Bob and Dirk) and gained insights into how they are planning to meet Outcome #4. I stressed that I was eager to help them facilitate the alignment work with their science teachers and we discussed how they might use a combination of the Power School and I-CAT to meet their targets for Outcome #4. This conversation motivated me to revisit the DRAFT of the Science "Common Core" to see what changes were in the works.
This afternoon I collaborated with Steve Bartlett to plan Day Two of the Weather and Water Kit Training. We accessed the FOSS Consultant Page and carefully examined the national facilitators plan. We made some meaningful decisions regarding "recovery" and plan to have teachers experience signature activities from Investigations 3 - 9 AND help them better understand the content offered in their Teachers Guide. I will do Investigations 3 - 5 in the AM; and Steve will facilitate the PM sessions. This plan allows me to serve as the "soft" facilitator for the TiR meeting between Nannette, Susan, Yukiko and Lori in the PM of Sept. 29th.
In summary; today was about alignment:
- of district work
- of VAST work
- of TiR work
- of my personal beliefs about teachers teaching and learners learning
The constant need for alignment is the driver for action!
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