Susan (NC) - Hey Kelly! hi bonbon
Susan (NC) - Kelly was your weekend with Debbie Mc fun?
Kelly M - Hi Susan and bonbon - how are you?
Kelly M - Susan - I only got to spend Sunday afternoon with Debbie....I was in Cincinnati for a NBPTS conference that weekend. Debbie was TERRIFIC - but that was no surprise!
Kelly M - Hi DJH - how are you today?
DJH (Calif.) - Good-thank you
Susan (NC) - an afternoon is better than nothin'!
Kelly M - bonbon and DJH, are you candidates? Yes, Susan, I've waited a long time to finally get to meet her!
DJH (Calif.) - Yes, I am a candidate.
Kelly M - What can we help you with?
DJH (Calif.) - I do not have any specific questions today. I have taken this time to collect materials and do long rangle curr. planning to prepare for the evidence in the portfolios.
Kelly M - DJH - that's a good way to go about it! It really helps to have a good plan to operate under.
Kelly M - DJH - are you in a year-round school?
Susan (NC) - I'm just sort of lurking today; I promised myself I'd do some work on my grant proposals but chatting is more fun!
Kelly M - I know what you mean, Susan. I have things stacked up here....but it's CHAT time!
DJH (Calif.) - No, I teach on a traditional schedule, in a multiage/inquiry focus charter school here in a rural area of Southern Calif.
Kelly M - DJH - that sounds so interesting! What ages do you have?
DJH (Calif.) - In my classroom this year I have a first and second grade class with some students that I have looped up with since kinder.
Kelly M - Oh! I loved the year I got to loop with mine! But that was a one-shot deal with that principal. I'm hoping our new prin. will be more open to that!
Kelly M - What date is your portfolio due? (There are three different 'due-dates' this year!)
Susan (NC) - You would really get to know your kids if you looped since K ! Sounds like something I'd love to try-
Susan (NC) - Kelly, do you have a new principal this year?
Kelly M - Susan - YES! I'm ALL smiles!
Susan (NC) - That's great!! Is it a HE or a SHE?
Kelly M - Susan - it's a he - and he's great! Hi Pamela - how are you today?
Susan (NC) - Hi Pamela, welcome to our group!
Pamela W - I I am very happy to be a part of the group.
Pamela W - I am doing quite well so far today.
Pamela W - DJH I see that you teach in a multiage/inquiry focus charter school. Maybe you can help me better understand how to implement inquiry lessons.
Pamela W - I am having a hard time coming up with an inquiry lesson on the states of matter.
Pamela W - Please help me!!!
Pamela W - Susan and Kelly maybe you can help me.
Kelly M - Pamela - have you read through the inquiry science paper in our files? Cheryl wrote it...and she is REALLY good at it!
Kelly M - Also, there is a great piece on the PBS site about inquiry...I think it even includes a video, but I have never seen it. Do you have that address?
Pamela W - No, I haven't read that yet. How do I locate the files?
Pamela W - Please give me the PBS address if you have it.
Pamela W - Susan are you from North Carolina?
Susan (NC) - No, Pamela I now live in NC but I was born in Canada
Pamela W - Which part of N.C. do you live in?
Pamela W - Kelly, are you still there?
Kelly M - Pamela - the PBS site is this: pbs.org/teachersource/scienceline/printguide.shtm . I think you have to click on scienceline printguide once you are there. You can locate our files by going to our homepage at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EC_GEN/ . On the left are options...click on files. Once there, scroll down to portfolio help and click on it. Cheryl's paper on Inquiry Science is there.
Kelly M - Hi Diane - how are you today? Yes, Pamela, I was still here...I was just looking up the pbs address!
Diane - I am just fine, and hope everyone else is, also.
Kelly M - Pamela - the printguide is something like 17 pages long....but it might WELL be worth printing out so you can read and re-read it. It really helps!
Susan (NC) - Pamela, I live in western NC (2 miles from the Smoky Mt. Nat. Park)
Pamela W - Thank you so much for all of your help Kelly. I will locate all of this information later today.
Diane - Pamela, just a thought, but you mght consider a melting ice cube for states of matter,
Pamela W - That's great Susan. I am from South Carolina.
Pamela W - I really thought about making OOblek. I hope I spelled it correct.
Diane - What grades represented here?
Kelly M - Pamela - that's what we're here for!
Diane - Oobleck sounds good!
Susan (NC) - I'm a reading teacher - K-5 & love it!
Pamela W - I teach third grade all subjects.
Kelly M - Pamela - be careful with ooblek...that's very teacher directed.
Kelly M - I teach first....
Pamela W - Thanks Kelly I never thought about that.
Kelly M - Ooblek could be a good spring-board for inquiry, though!
Diane - I am a kdg.teacher.
Kelly M - Ooblek 'shows' them a lot of stuff....but doesn't allow for them to discover much....or construct much of their own learning...
Diane - I am a CIW. Status check?
Pamela W - I find it very hard to think of an inquriy lesson using the states of matter. Cna anyone think of an activity that I can do?
Pamela W - Sorry about the spelling of Can. I am typing to fast.
Diane - A melting ice cube makes for good states of matter inquiry.
Kelly M - Pamela - you can actually do a good inquiry lesson with almost any topic....it all depends on how you go about it! Check out those articles and then give it some more thought. Diane - I'm certified.
Pamela W - I will most likely look into using that activity. Tanks Kelly I will look at the articles and give it more thought.
Pamela W - Once again a spelling error, that is supposed to be (Thanks Kelly, )
Susan (NC) - Kelly, does your heart still skip a beat when you can say those magic words........."I'm certified!"
Diane - Pamela, why are you choosing states of matter?
Kelly M - Hi Sam - how are you today? Susan - sure! It always makes me very proud! Pamela - don't worry about the spelling!
Diane - Congratulations, Kelly. I fear it may be a while until I can say certified. The AC was really hard for me.
Susan (NC) - Kelly, I hope to say that someday!!
Sam - Entry 4- I was an Odyssey of the Mind coach for two years. This was for older students- does this make a good community entry
Kelly M - Diane - it took me a while to get there. But I learn so much every day (STILL!) that I just love it! Diane - it's SO hard to guess your scores, though! It really is. Often people find out they did the best on what they thought was the worst!
Pamela W - I chose the states of matter because I felt that I could gather more mateial on this subject area.
Kelly M - Sam - whatever you choose to use remember that you have to turn it back to showing the impact it had on your students. Did you learn things through doing that that you later implemented in your class (like working in groups, etc.)? You must show student impact, or it just doesn't matter.
Diane - Kelly, from your mouth to Gods ear!
Sam - Yes, those students showed higher test scores and teachers commented on self-esteem issues, As far as my class it taught me to stand back more and let the students create
Diane - Pamela, there are a lot of areas of science that are good inquiry based.
Pamela W - Yes, you are right about that Diane.
Sam - I know I can get the OM parents or students to write letters. Many have told me that this is showing leadership in the community.
Kelly M - Hi viv - welcome! Sam - that's good...keep thinking on those lines (about how it taught you to stand back more and let the kids create). You have to show the impact on your students (I think!) as opposed to the Oddysey kids. Try to think of it that way....about what you took from Oddysey and put into use in your classroom - and how that benefited your students.
Kelly M - Sam - you may very well be correct in thinking it has to show the impact on the OM kids.....I'm just not sure. I know in the past you had to tie it back to your own classroom kids.
Kelly M - Sam - check it out carefully in your directions.
Sam - Would I do that in my reflection?
Susan (NC) - It is starting to thunder here guys! So I'll be back next week - bye all!
viv - Hi. I am a candidate. Teach first grade. I am working on Entry 4
Diane - I am just a CIW, but the impact on YOUR students learning must be the most important part.
Kelly M - Sam - yes - in your reflection. But do check that out. By the way...I think OM is a terrific program! Viv - how is that entry going for you?
Pamela W - Kelly, do you have to show inquiry in the social studies section ?
Kelly M - Pam - no - not unless they've changed those directions, too!
Diane - I wonder how much the enties have changed. I should try and find a copy.
Kelly M - But in SS/Arts/Community you DO have to have art be an intregal part of the lesson....not just an 'add-on' fluff piece. You have to use Art to further the SS concept. Ideally, the kids understand the art goal better because of the SS, and they understand the SS goal better because of the art! And with all of that, you will demonstrate the sense of community you have built within your classroom by how the children discuss, etc. on a video!
Kelly M - Diane - all of the standards and portfolio directions are now available online on the npbts.org site.
Sam - OK, here is another question. I observed my student reading numbers backwords and writing words backwards. Is this an valid informal assessment?
Diane - Thanks, I'll read them ASAP.
Pamela W - On the S.S. section I plan to have my students design a new state flag. Would this be a good idea for the video?
Diane - Sam, observation is a valid form of informal assessment at the kdg. level, I know for sure. But keeping a check list of observations is a good idea, too.
Kelly M - Sam - anecdotal (did I spell that right???!!) things are certainly an 'informal' assessment.
Kelly M - Pamela - it would all depend on how you tie that in with your goals.
Diane - Pamela, does the video need to show community interaction this year?
Kelly M - And also, Pamela, check out the directions about having to have the kids discussing something........I know it used to be that they HAD to be discussing. So maybe they could be discussing what all they would want their new state flag to show. But again, please check out your directions carefully!
sue - pam- I think a lot of people did that last yr,too. patriotism seemed to be the thing at 9/11
Sam - I'm a Yankee living in Oklahoma, so I'll just say "Howdy ya guys!"
sue - sss was hard for me. It had to show both community and the ss/arts concept
Diane - Sue, may I be so bold as to ask your grade level and NB status?
sue - oops forgot-- EC GEN, CIW
Pamela W - Diane, I am not sure.
Kelly M - Hi Sue and aggieb - how are you today?
aggieb - Hi every one!!
Diane - Hello, aggieb
sue - kelly- getting used to empty nest syndrome. son left for college thursday!
Pamela W - Hello aggieb!
Sam - Aggie, do you have a web site?
aggieb - Sue, just keep busy
aggieb - Sam, yes but it desperately needs updating
sue - aggie- LOL! that's never a problem for me
Kelly M - Sue - Empty nest is the best kept secret! It's wonderful! I always miss my kids terribly...I love having them here.....but I REALLY do love when I have the house to myself again!
aggieb - I used my website as part of the way I communicated with parents
Pamela W - That's what I plan to aggieb.
sue - kelly- I'll keep that in mind
Sam - If you are who I am thinking, it is a very extensive one. did you use it as part of your Entry 4
sue - I used my website as part of my communication entry for entry 4, too
Sam - What kind of proof did you use?
aggieb - Yes, sam that is how I used it. I used the parents comments as part of my documentation
sue - sam- I included a copy of the home page as documentation
Diane - I wish I had thought of that!
aggieb - NB is looking for varied ways you provide ways for two way communication
Diane - Is it too late? Can I file an extension?
sue - diane- you're never finished with NB. I realized this month I forgot to write up the school supply drive I head up at church.
sue - It impacts the learning of kids at 8 area schools!!
aggieb - Diane, if we could file an extension, the CIW would all pass
Kelly M - You're right...it's never over! That's the best part.....I think it just sets you onto a path that will carry us as long as we are educators (and probably beyond!).......
Diane - Hey,that'd be okaywith me!
sue - kelly- one of the new NBCT's just started as a master teacher for our parish
Kelly M - sue - we're turning up all over the place!
aggieb - I have got to run, but as always I wanted to stop by and see if I could offer so advice to the new candidates
sue - have yall seen the new CTP mini readers? That would be a great way to start a very inexpensive take home program
sue - diane- where are you in the process?
Pamela W - I am going to sign off guys. I will chat with you on next week.
Kelly M - Bye Pam and aggieb!
Diane - Sue, I am a CIW. Bye, Pamela
sue - diane- LOL! do you feel like posting a post it note to your head that say " Not til November!". I do!
Diane - Sue, I am literally crawling the walls!
sue - diane- not me.. way too busy with grant stuff
sue - gotta go see yall next sat
Kelly M - Waiting is hard! But remember...you can be setting the scene while you wait. When people ask, be sure to say something about how you hope to hear how close you are to certifying in late November. That starts to build the mindset that this IS set up to allow for a multi-year process!
Diane - I have already started doing that for my own mental health!
Kelly M - Diane - GOOD! It makes November a lot better!
Diane - I wonder why it takes so long, since we have all been scored by now?
Kelly M - Diane - there is a TON of things they have to do to put entries/exercises back together in San Antonio - double check everything - run all sorts of reliability and validity stats on everything, etc. It all has to go through the legal folks who also check it out, just to make sure! They don't want any goof-ups. Believe me, they would LOVE to get the scores out faster! But it just can't happen and still hold true to the statistical standards they have to meet!
Diane - Well, thanks for the explanation. I never really knew why, and now I do.
Kelly M - It's all very complicated....but I've heard it many times...and I believe it!
Kelly M - I think we'll have rolling score dates from now on....with the rolling portfolio dates in effect now. And it's going to soon be even more rolling that this year!
Diane - I believe you, and we are the last 2 here. I guess I'll let you go on with your Saturday afternoon.
Kelly M - I'll see you on the ring! Have a good week!
Diane - Thanks for all you do, Kelly!
