This week we had many things to do with looking at our school and the data. I constantly am looking at my schools data and assessing it. I typically will look at our MAPS data, the WKCE data, and my own classroom assessments. I like to use this data to drive my teaching and how we group students together.
The first thing we had to do was look at our own assessment within our school. For this I looked at our MAPS results. I looked at my students work and looked for areas that are our weakest areas. I saw that in 5th grade we need work on geometry. In 6th grade we need to work on statistics and probability. I can see where I need to take my future lessons for the rest of the year. Using the MAPS is something I do a lot this year to help me know where I need to take my teaching. Each year the students are different and require different needs.
Next we had to look at WINSS for our school that we work in. I think that WINNS is a very useful site for when looking at a house. When we were shopping for a house, I know the north side of Milwaukee very well since I teach around here. I used the WINNS site to help me decide what I thought of the school system around the house we were looking at. Although I have no children nor am I married, I am sure someday I will have kids and the house we were buying is a long term investment. As far as the school I teach at, I think it is a great school. Our strength is our reading program while our weakest area is math. I teach in the math department. I have not been here very long, but I can see some inconsistencies in the math program. I wonder if this is why we are weaker in the math area on the WKCE. However, I can only say this since I am in the math department. I wonder if I was in the reading department if I would also see inconsistencies.
Finally, we had two chapters to read this week. Chapter 2 and 3. Chapter 2 focused on making a team. This includes new hires, people that already work in your school, and how to find the best people that fit your team. You want to make the best leadership team possible and therefore need to consider all aspects of the team. This includes mostly new hires and how to acquire the best fit people for your team. Chapter 3 focused on communicating with your team and how you communicate. This includes how to resolve conflict and yet still be a team that accomplishes many things. I like to relate what I read to how my own school is running and how our teams work. This includes my 5th/6th grade team and also the whole school as a team.
Crystal, I am looking for a house currently and thought the same thing about the WINNS site. It's a great resource to see what schools I should be focusing on for my son when he is old enough for school. As for your school's math performance, what things do you think your department can do to help improve in this area?
ReplyDeleteCrystal you are right about every school year being different. I can quickly assess my new students at the beginning of the school year and wonder how can this group be so different for the previous year. I wonder, “How is that possible?” As educators it is our duty to acknowledge these difference and adjust our teaching. Sometimes this is easier said than done – especially when you have a favorite lesson that you want to teach vs. what you need to teach. Being able to look at the beginning of the year MAP scores gives you a great jumping off point – I wish they would have something like that for science. Usually I have to start from the beginning since science is taking more and more of a back seat to reading and math curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that MAP data is very useful. We have the students set their own goals for spring, which motivates them a bit. As a team we also like to look at the areas students are scoring low in and think of ways to improve.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the book goes, how does your district go about hiring new staff.
I love your analysis about your math scores. It makes sense that you'd be a wiz at crunching the numbers considering your subject area. Is there a specific change that you'd suggest making to better prepare your students to take standardized tests? I'd love to know so I can crib ideas from you.
ReplyDeleteCrystal I chuckled at your comment about noticing inconsistencies in the math area. You're right you'd probably notice them in the reading too if you taught reading. Since you stated you are weaker in math what are some ways you'd go about changing that? What is the approach your data team is taking? As a teacher I prefer MAP scores because it breaks down the score, allowing me as the teacher to see each students strengths and weaknesses.
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