mimi - i have a question? i know that i have to address the standards in my writings, but do i have to address each and every little part of every standard or can i just address one part of a standard?
nan - each entry tells you which standards are involved. You have to addresss those standards
mimi - nan: every little part of the standards, or can i be general about it?
nan - are you talking about any particular entry or just in general? I think you have to show that you meet the standards in every entry
nan - I have only started on entry 5.
nan - what and where do you teach? I teach 6-8 grade LD resource
mimi - for instance: addressing learning environment. do i have to address apply principles of fairness sensitively, hold high expectations for all, involve students in setting class rules. in my writing, do i have to address every little part of each standard?
nan - I think you have to show how you do those things especially in the videos. One of the things they look for is a community of learners. They want to see all those standards on action
mimi - i teach e.m.d. grades 3-5
nan - I think especially in the videos they are looking to see that you do all those things. They want to see that you meet the standards
mimi - i did entry #2 a video on literacy. it took me approx. 12 hours to write it up. is this usual, or am i making a big thing about it?
nan - what is emd
mimi - emd = educable mentally disabled
nan - I have heard about 300 hours to complete the portfolio
nan - in Mississippi we use EdH (educationally handicapped) I taught life skills for 7 years
nan - what did you do in your video?
mimi - i did a literacy video and conducted a guided reading lesson
nan - where is everyone from? I am from Mississippi Gulf Coast
mimi - north carolina
Kathey - I wrote a grant for funding for an in-school factory --do I write about that in entry 5 or entry 6 - I'm from NC also
nan - I would use it for entry 5, entry 6 is parent communication
mimi - durh, n.c.
Kathey - but 6 also has community and I tied the grant to visits to local weavers, etc.?
nan - entry 4 is the one i am having trouble with I do not get this question
nan - from what I have heard about the way they score 6 it is primarily family contact that will score well
nan - there was someone on the digest that has scorers for entry 6 in her district and that is what she said
nan - I think i have her address. She said we can send her our entry and they will offer advise
Kathey - thanks nan - what exactly is it about 4 nan that you don't get?
nan - will look and post it if I have it
amy - hi! nan. I am a secondary head teacher here in the Philippines, I would like to know about you and your profession.
amy - hi! nan. I am a secondary head teacher here in the Philippines, I would like to know about you and your profession.
mimi - on ques. 4 you have to formulate a question. i haven't tackled that one yet. any ideas out there?
nan - her email is: <hnlhess@redrock.net>
Kathey - in our workshop they said some sample ideas were things like - what is the child's learning style - how can I facilitate that style?
nan - I have read this entry over and over. What kind of question do you think they mean
nan - I think I am trying to make it too difficult. I need to keep it simple
nan - My mentor group is going to tackle that entry later. We meet next Thursday to go over entry 2 and work on 5 and 6. I am almost done with 5
nan - My mentor group is going to tackle that entry later. We meet next Thursday to go over entry 2 and work on 5 and 6. I am almost done with 5
Cindy - Hi all! I am awaiting scores. I am here to help if i can. My questions were 1) Why didn't the student make appropriate progress? and 2) How can I motivate him to want to learn?
mimi - how many entries did you do for entry 5?
Kathey - our group has 6 due a week from Wednesday - we're a mixed group and that and 5 are the only things we have in common - other than stress LOL
nan - those sound good. i think i have been stuck on getting down to a specific area. i have lots of questions about lots of students
Cindy - I'd have to look to tell you exactly. I think it was around 7-8
nan - Right now i have 5 different things, but it is way too long so, i have to edit, edit , edit
Cindy - Try to pick a student who challenges your teaching. That way your analysis will really help you in your classroom
nan - one of mine is about a workshop for a new program I am teaching it took three pages
Cindy - I was told to try to keep each accomplishment to 1- 1 1/2 pgs.
nan - I think it is as short as I can make it. It is an important accomplishment though. i teach 4 classes and did a workshop for my faculty
Cindy - One way to edit is to look at each sentence and ask yourself, "Does this answer the question I am addressing?" Avoid including "feeling" type information and anything that goes off on a tangent away from the direct question.
nan - I was told to show how you were a learner, a collaborator and how it impacted your students, this did all three things\
Kathey - nan - are you talking about a workshop you attended and then taught?
Cindy - I think the editing part of this process is the most frustrating. I felt like I was trying to guess what the assessors wanted to see.
nan - It was a workshop to train me to teach my students a new program for critical thinking skills I then taught some of the skills to the rest of the faculty
Cindy - Are the questions still 1) Nature of Accomp. 2) Significance of Accomp. 3) impact on st. learning?
Cindy - This is my opinion.... take it for what it's worth. Taking the workshop is not necessarily significant. Training others is. If you need the space ,cut it back to include only the training of others.
nan - I think the most significant part is the impact on students it has been dramatic
nan - are all of you in mentoring groups?
Cindy - Yes--- I agree. However, the impact on students is the by-product of your efforts. The significance is what makes the accompliment above and beyond the call of duty. I struggled with the same thing. You have to look back at you in stead of the students for the 2nd question.
mimi - i'm working with two teachers at my school who are also doing their boards. we support each other and video each other.
Kathey - yes i am,but the others are all reg. ed
nan - we have 22 ex needs in my group
Cindy - Wow! Nan, you are lucky to have all that support.
mimi - the teachers i am with are reg. ed also
nan - there are lots of school districts in a small area, so lots of teachers
Cindy - Do you have any other questions I might be able to help you with?
mimi - entry 5: if i was a science contact between the district and school, does that count?
Cindy - Yes- if it positively affected student learning, especially if you were a participant in developing or changing policies or curriculum or training other teachers.
mimi - entry 5: here is another one. what about coach for special olympics?
Cindy - How involved is your coaching/ once a year or an ongoing position
mimi - approx. six weeks of training, preparing students for athletic events.
Cindy - It sounds like you can count it then especially if this is not expected of you.
mimi - on the verification forms for entries 5/6, can i have peer teachers verify my entries, or does it have to be principals or some higher than a teacher?
Cindy - It can be teachers.... anyone who is knowledgable about your accomplishment, including parents. Remember that you can use other documentation than verificatin forms. the v-forms are to use if you don't have other documentation.
mimi - what are other examples of dealing with professional community besides wkshps. what about grant writing?
Cindy - Some of the best practical advise I received as a candidate for Entry 5/6 were this. 1) For each accomp. write 3 paragraphs, 1 for each question. 2) Use the "language" of the question in the first sentence of each paragraph. 3) If a sentence in the paragraph does not answer the question, delete it. It is more important for the assessors to be able to find your answers than it is for your entries to flow. Also... use the language of the standards throughout.
mimi - thanks, good advice
Cindy - Some of the things I used were 1) Grant 2)experimental multi-level classroom situation 3)participating in a pilot study 4)setting up a new classroom 5)officer in school curriculum committee 6) member of county wide technology team 7)advocacy efforts 8) survey to colleagues
