WAUKESHA STEM ACADEMY ~ SARATOGA CAMPUS ~

S-3 (STEM Student Showcase), Proficiency-Based Pathways and the WSA - SARATOGA: Roadmap for success

3/6/2016

With our STEM Student Showcase (S-3) right around the corner, this week's Blog post will provide a brief description behind the intent behind our program model and host a short video on YouTube (please click here for the link to the video), to help further articulate the rationale behind this model of conferences, as well as help paint the BIG picture (30,000 foot birds-eye view) for students, staff, families and our community of excited learners and supporters. Please take a moment to reflect on the description that accompanies our latest video, as it very clearly and importantly articulates one of the 3 main components of the way we do business at the Waukesha STEM Academy, at our Saratoga Campus, for our middle school students... Proficiency-Based Pathways.

Very importantly, we would also like to continue to share out our "BIG 3," to help all families vested in their son and/or daughter's education at STEM, understand what we are all about. The three (3) main tenants that we hold very near and dear to our core-values, each and every single day, along with our Mission & Vision at the Waukesha STEM Academy are:

1). Proficiency-Based Pathways: Students are able to enter at different places in their educational pathway and move at different paces, based on their respective readiness-level.

2). STEM-Centered Learning Environments: The who, what, when, where, why and how of being at a STEM School, should be seen, heard and understood by everyone who shares learning experiences at our sites and it is not just a time of the day, or a period or class on a Friday afternoon... IT IS THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS.

3). Apply, Apply, Apply: Students are not just becoming masters of content, but experts in context, who can not only solve real-world problems, but can come up with solutions that are unique, ground-breaking and serve as change-agents to help make our world a more efficient, productive and safe place to live in... we are growing citizens who are leaders.

In order to support these tenants, we have included the following description with our latest S-3 video on YouTube (click for video link), but felt that it was important to also highlight the description in our Blog, for all STEM students and families to truly and fully understand :

This video will provide a brief overview of the flow and rationale behind our S-3 sessions, and our Facilitator Reflection Sessions for the upcoming Conference Season. We will also review our Proficiency-Based Pathways purpose and procedures, which delve a bit deeper into the "deadline vs. due-date" concept and how we are helping students move into a zone of being able to focus on their latest work and learning targets at hand, so their progress does not consistently get held back, by focusing on late work, from weeks or months ago, which will inevitably hinder their ability to move forward. They are still responsible for completing and demonstrating mastery of these [past-due] standards, but they will have alternative options for demonstrating mastery of these standards, as well as a timeline in which to do so, if they are to move on to the next level and complete (at the very least) 6-8th grade standards, prior to advancing to High School.

We are currently building a "Road-Map" of sorts for all students, staff and parents, so that everyone is on the same page and the expectations are 100% clear and transparent, of what needs to be completed and accomplished for/by a student, to move on and "pass" on to the next phase of their academic career... High School. Since we look at a student's experience at STEM - Saratoga as a 3-Year journey (540 days of amazing learning opportunities), a component that needs to be clearly understood by all involved parties of a Proficiency-Based System, is that the intent behind this program model, is that students are entering our program at different places and moving at different paces and that this system has been built to support this flexible learning via different modalities of application. What it has not been built to support, is the student who decides that they are simply going to decide when they want to do the independent practice, labs, projects or assessments and possibly decide that they are not going to do the work at all. That is when we run into a small problem and start having a different set of conversations, about what the future of that student looks like... possible extension of their time at STEM, to complete their standards, with additional support by staff, mentors and parents (obviously, not a very popular choice by students, who would like to maintain a "passing" status, among and with their peers).

As WSA and the field of education as a whole, has continued to see the Proficiency-Based System evolve, so have the expectations, and students are very quickly beginning to understand that if they have chosen not to do the work now, they will soon need to complete that work and demonstrate mastery of those [missing] standards at a later time, such as during the summer, or the following year (again, not an optimal decision for those who wish to maintain a proper pathway among their peers). With this being spelled out very clearly for students, it is critical that they understand that they are truly the one in control of their learning pathway and that their attitude, drive and commitment to their education, will ultimately determine the timeframe in which they may effectively achieve and complete their learning goals. With weekly check-points & check-ins, along with flexible learning times such as FLEX and CONNECT, there is ample time for all students to stay in charge and on top of their workload, yet some students may still attempt and choose to side-step this responsibility, so we are helping them understand the long-term effects of these choices. This is the point in the school year (prior to the spring season), when we begin to offer and advertise our STEM Summer Academy courses (course guide coming out prior to Spring Break), which has been built for extension-opportunities, as well as a foundation to support those who need to fulfill their commitment to their learning in a middle school setting, in order to move on to High School. This can often be a difficult conversation for some students to have, if they have found themselves applying less effort than they possibly should/could have, yet a critical conversation to have.

I would always liken a Proficiency-Based Pathways system to sending a movie on an iPhone, or any other Smart Phone. We are always going to have students who are working on the extension-end of the learning continuum... whether it be because their readiness-level is higher when they entered their middle school years, or because they have worked extremely hard to advance themselves. We are also always going to have students who are in need of support, at the opposite end of the readiness-continuum, based on multiple factors and it is our job to ensure that that "iMovie" continues to move forward... not just the extension and front-end, but the back-end as well. As teachers and leaders in education who care so much about the success of our students, it is our duty to ensure that this movie continues to move forward, at both ends... the students just need to make sure that they are putting in 100% effort to do the same, because the show must go on...

STEM- and pbl- Centered Activities... moving from consumption to production.

3/1/2016

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So...
how do we do this "stem & PBL" thing, that we keep hearing about?

Good Day STEM Activity-Seekers: My mom wrote to me this afternoon and was inquiring about some solid STEM sites, so in trying to pull together a quick gathering of top educational tools, I wanted to include our SDW crew and other educational cohorts and friends of ours, from around the country on this as well, to spread the wealth. We have probably seen most of these several times, but they are consistently being updated and upgraded! I have never hunted through these sites and not been able to find at least 5-10 gnarly activities! I have highlighted in green, some of these great resources and have linked them out, for easy reference. Please take and use what you find fitting to your program model and goals, aligned with your mission and vision.

The BIE... the Buck Institute, has some great PBL Activities that teachers can search for, based on content, target and goals and the newly organized NEA STEM Site is rad also, for the 10 Best STEM Resources! These would be a great start for STEM Activity-Seekers and I am including our STEM crew on this, to tap into, for some ideas when needed and when looking to drop in some fresh, new project pathways. If you ever have any questions about the projects that have been selected and completed, to be shared at our Student-Showcase: Gallery Walk Days, please don't ever hesitate to contact staff members from the Waukesha STEM Academy... they are the true leaders who can help you break down these activities and help get you started.

We also have our organized docs. for our STEaM-PBL CapStone Projects and other pertinent documents, contained in a One-Stop Shop (thanks to our Instructional Coach, Mr. Eric Hill) and these are some of the amazing offerings & tools/apps, that students are able to choose from, along with also having the opportunity to begin creating a Student Proposal... always an option for those who want to dig a bit deeper and explore a passion project(s), based on unique interests.

There are also the STEaM-PBL Frameworks included, that our students are required to complete at Saratoga (our 6-8 campus) [collaboratively- with norms], based on their timelines... goals... supplies... targets being addressed... production-ideas... check-points... reflective questions for feedback and other design-brief facets, which help grow our students into young foremen and forewomen like those working for a company or start-up business, who are able to dream... plan... sketch and map out... organize a supply list... manage a budget... create a project or design digital productions... articulate & teach others... reflect... make better... repeat. The Design Loop runs strong through these hallways and while we always encourage a bit of autonomy amongst our staff, this is one document that we have stayed pretty tried and true with, in order to keep the framework-consistency strong and staff working with the same frameworks and language, when working on CapStone Projects across the whole site... really helps with quality-control and consistent expectations of the WHY... pieces of the WHAT... but, it's the HOW, that has been left to roam freely and head down several creative pathways of expression and demonstration of skills.

This should be enough to put some fuel into the tank and start up the STEM engine, but remember... for every project, comes an equal or larger responsibility on the behalf of the student(s) to CREATE & SHARE THAT GREATNESS, once wonderful ideas begin to take shape and supplies start shuffling in, alongside drills, 3-D Printers and saws (safety first!). To this end, Eric has also organized and shared out a Resource Document/Spreadsheet, with many great tools, to help take production to the next level. Out of the enormous list, I would wager to guess that each of us could find quite a few tools that would align very well with the projects our students are working on... or the students may even find a better tool (which happens frequently), that we end up adding to this catalog of wonderful approaches, that we utilize to make the huge transition from NOT JUST CONSUMING, but heading to the TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN... to EMBRACE CREATION... in a STEM- or PBL-environment. You can't go wrong there and quite often, these are the game-changing moments that we are seeing consistently, over the past 5+ years.

Remember, that much of what we are hearing around the state of education lately, focuses on a simple philosophy... keeping the main thing, the main thing, while providing plentiful opportunities for our students to express their voice and choice via something they may take a deep interest in:
... what are you going to learn and why is it important to you as a student/group of learners?

... how are you going to learn and gather research thats supports your knowledge surrounding that focal point/topic?

... how are you going to demonstrate and produce evidence of ownership of these topic(s) (competency-driven model), prior to moving on to the next level of challenging learning experiences?

... what type of feedback is provided at a staff-to-peer... peer-to-peer... parent-to-peer (mom/dad/son/daughter) and other various methods of arriving at 360 degrees of feedback?

... what are next steps for each student, once mastery has been achieved? We don't want to go into this game with a one-and-done mentality... Rome wasn't built in one day and some/all students won't necessarily master some pretty rigorous and real-life topics in their first big CapStone Project, so thinking about Deep Support-Systems, as well as Extension-Opportunities, is always a great plan (this used to be focused solely for GT students and it now feels as if we are at a point where all students should be able to experience this feeling and the ability to dig deeper, when they're ready).

These formulas for success, should be a great start for our amazing teacher-leaders, who are having a blast in their learning spaces each and every day, with excited learners!

Enjoy and have a super Week... Keep Rockin'!

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What is the learning Independence continuum, our S-3 model and the stem conference structure all about?

2/18/2016

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Learning Independence Continuum (James Rickabaugh- Institute for Personalized Learning)

When we began our work over six years ago, during the planning stages of the Waukesha STEM Academy, we were fortunate enough to build a relationship with a group, who called themselves CESA #1. This group is an organization who works with local schools, from South-Eastern Wisconsin, and has been tasked with helping students, staff, district leadership, parents and the educational community, as well as non-educationally related folks, to truly understand what Personalized Learning (click for link to a great article from the Getting Smart Blog Post) is all about. So much so, that they have recently adopted a new title for their organization and are now dubbed, the Institute for Personalized Learning (click for link).

The mainstay of work was led by Dr. James Rickabaugh and his crew of excited innovators, who for many years, was the Director of CESA #1 and the newly titled, Institute for Personalized Learning. In his years as the director of this amazing organization, he traveled from school to school, across the South-Eastern region of Wisconsin and eventually across our nation, helping schools understand the importance of understanding that not all learners are at the same position, in their educational journey. As can be seen by the Learner Independence Continuum above, there is a continuum that sees learners participating in an "Educator Driven" system (on the left side) and as we travel through the continuum, the opposite end of the spectrum, is a "Learner Driven" environment, where students have begun to take ownership of their learning and grow their independence as not only a student, but as a citizen, becoming ready for the real world that awaits them, beyond the four walls of a classroom. So much energy was put into this study and the focus on helping schools begin to develop these Learner Driven environments, that there was an official White Paper published, titled the Learning Independence Continuum. In Dr. Rickabaugh's White Paper, he spends a good deal of time describing the importance of this transition, the steps and stages that students and school-systems embrace and explore as they move along the continuum and that this is also a two-way street... students don't necessarily travel to the end of the continuum and consider themselves "having arrived." That is where the Waukesha STEM Academy came into play.

In our sixth year of operation, we heavily focus on many elements that can be seen on the continuum, as well as the elements and multiple facets described in the White Paper by Rickabaugh. One common misconception, is that the "Legacy" model of instruction and schooling is one that is old and outgrown and this is far from true. Best practice in teaching, would suggest that many strategies that are tried and true can be and should still be incorporated into today's educational settings, while finding a balance with some effective, newer and innovative practices, that allow for a gradual release of responsibility by the teacher, school staff and administration. Does this mean that the school becomes an environment of Organized Chaos, overnight? Certainly not. What it does mean, however, is that as educators begin to learn more and more about their students by conducting interest surveys and study-habit inventories, they begin to discover that students no longer need to be spoon fed their education, in a step-by-step format. Students now have begun to find the tools necessary to not solely rely on their teacher, to be their only teacher. With inquiry-based learning, project and problem-based learning, as well as adaptive online platforms, such as ALEKS (for math), Rosetta Stone (for foreign language), No Red Ink (for literacy and grammar skills, as well as the hundreds of other programs that are available, teachers have now begun to incorporate efficient tools, to help provide students with alternative methods of learning similar skills, while providing rapid feedback cycles, compared to the philosophy that they always held the golden key and were the "Keepers of Knowledge." This gradual release of responsibility by educators of all grade-levels, and even at the collegiate and graduate level, has afforded hundreds of thousands of teachers the ability to let those students who are a bit more independent and have grown along the Independent Learning Continuum, move a bit more freely and within a Proficiency-Based system, while simultaneously giving educators the ability to hone in on those students who need a bit more one-on-one guidance and direct instruction. For some students, this may always be the case... they require and/or prefer the face-to-face conversation and direct instruction, to learn concepts and that is okay... that is not a bad, negative or a learning style that is looked down upon. It is part of a BlendEd environment, where students have multiple modalities and platforms, from which they are able to learn from and then culminate their learning experience with productions which represent that learning via application of skills, such as a Capstone Project, where students are able to demonstrate their mastery of a topic(s), by accessing their skill-sets and utilizing those unique characteristics and passions to share out their growth.

With this new found ownership of student learning [by students], also comes a new structure for sharing out what they have learned and moving away from a conference model where the teacher simply sits across the table from a group of parents and regurgitates grades and "problems" that they may be seeing the child having in class. While this model has held some value for the past century, it holds little value in having the student own their learning and truly articulate WHAT it is that they have learned... WHY they have learned it... HOW they know they have learned it... and finally, HOW they have applied this learning, in a real-life scenario, that will help them down the road to become successful in life and not just within the four walls of a classroom.

Enter our S-3 model for conferences.

Last year, when we piloted our S-3 model of conferences, the goal was for our students to own their learning and demonstrate this ownership by sharing out what they were passionate about, as far as their best work samples and proudest moments. I would liken this to a scrapbook composed by an adult, who has diligently spent countless hours finding something that they are passionate about... learning about it... studying it... collecting and building artifacts that are related to this topic and then organizing a "Portfolio" of sorts, that they then share with their family, friends and anyone else who is interested in learning about something that they are pretty excited about sharing with others. This is the real-life parallel to what our students are working on, when they build their STEMfolios (digital portfolios) and use them to organize their learning and share out the wonderful samples of their work, that they have spent many hours constructing and reflecting on with peers and their facilitators, across several contents. With carefully crafted, reflective conversations, our Advisors and content-team teachers have spent much time working with students to help facilitate this process, so they have an ongoing Resumé to share out with all vested parties, who share in the excitement of their education. This is the purpose for our S-3 evenings, in a nutshell, and some parents have wondered if this S-3 (STEM Student Showcase) could just be done at home... sure it could. To us and to the students, however, there is something to be said about having the process formally conducted in an educational setting, where our Advisors are able to help build context, guide conversations and support and steer feedback sessions, which are just as important, if not moreso, than the actual work included in the portfolio. Do the students understand WHY they have chosen certain samples of work to share with others and can they carefully and thoroughly articulate WHAT they have learned... as well as next steps? For this exact reason, it isn't necessarily the specific Advisor that makes the largest impact, but the PROCESS that takes place and the REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS that are guiding the evening... that is the importance of coming to WSA - Saratoga for this evening of sharing out greatness. We have offered to parents this year, the opportunity for students to come to any Advisor's S-3 session (not just their respective Advisor), to ensure that they are able to find a session that best fits their family's schedule, to help work towards building 100% attendance, by ALL STEM - Saratoga students. This is a proud moment for our students and something that is difficult to duplicate at home.

In an effort to honor the Independence Learning Continuum, we have also worked to strike a balance between our progressive S-3 model, as well as roll in a more traditional-style conference model, where parents and/or guardians are also able to come and visit our campus, to meet one-on-one with content-specific teachers. We realize that while many students are at the level in which they are able to clearly articulate their successes and areas in need of growth, not all students may be there yet... and that is okay. This goes back to the continuum and the growth cycles that students enter and weave in and out of, as they continue to grow as learners. For this purpose, it may be necessary to connect directly with a content teacher, to get some more direct and specific feedback, that your son and/or daughter may have forgotten to include, or opted to leave out, to provide for a "smoother" evening, without friction. These are the critical conversations that we need to have with our students also, however, so we would like to honor this format as well.

As we enter the spring season, I would like to share out our two-week framework for parents to come visit with Advisors and content area teachers. Please note that during these two weeks, we are also opening our doors to all families of STEM - Saratoga students, for See-It-Lives, where parents are able to come visit our campus and check out some greatness in action. No need to schedule an appointment or contact myself or the staff... just come on in, check-in at the front desk, get a visitor badge and enjoy.

As we continue to build learner independence, we are trending away from these nights being viewed as an "Event," or "Conference Night," which parents have traditionally dreaded, due to long lines, hot weather, lack of privacy and the lack of personal feeling of these meetings, due to the clock on the wall and the 50 people impatiently waiting outside the same door that you just walked through. We want that to be a thing of the past and have this evolve as a transition into a continuation of greatness of learning throughout the students' entire time at STEM, where connections, communication and growth are a constant. As Dr. Rickabaugh has always relayed so eloquently, we need to arrive at a place where "Learning is the constant and time is the variable." We are there... come along for the ride.

S-3 Framework

S-3 Rationale and Process

Personal Connection Framework

Personal Connection Rationale

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proficiency-based pathways... what is the secret recipe? evidence, feedback & reporting to students & families

10/11/2015

So, what exactly does a Proficiency-Based Pathway, or a system that allows students to move at their own pace, look like? Whenever I'm asked this question, I always bring the conversation back to the start of our math program five years ago and how this impacted the way that we needed to start creating unique pathways for each student at STEM, to ensure that we were "pitching it where they could hit it." When we opened over 5 years ago, we had students coming to us with such varied levels of mathematical readiness-levels, that a grade-level system of teaching math was no longer going to work. We could no longer simply offer 6th, 7th and 8th Grade math, because that model didn't make sense for the students that were learning in our learning spaces. We began to see students that were coming in with anywhere from a 4th Grade readiness-level, all the way up to an Algebra readiness-level... now this spans all the way through Algebra I, Algebra II, Honors Geometry and this year for the first time, Trig & Pre-Calculus. How wild is that?

When we began to see this learning take place, we realized that we needed to open up Proficiency-Based Pathways for our students who were not only coming in at different places in their math continuum of learning, but were beginning to move at different paces.  Some students needed a bit more guidance and time, while others were quite independent and were able to tackle rigorous mathematical experiences at a very rapid pace... while retaining the math skills that they were applying in context. It was a good problem to have, because it truly opened our eyes to what the "system" had to look and feel like. It had to be flexible enough for us to understand that seat-time no longer mattered and was something that we were no longer going to count on, for completion of a course. Students were now going to be able to work through their learning targets and demonstrate mastery at different times throughout the year, which allowed them to move on to higher levels of math, based on their needs and their own respective pace... this also included learning in the summertime and completing courses in June, July and August, to advance into the next year. Learning became the constant and time was now the variable.

With this new system and understanding of learning in place, we had to re-focus our efforts on to what was commonly referred to as "Grading" and a transformation began. The days of using A's, B's and C's was a thing of the past, because it didn't supply any feedback, outside of a letter grade. Sure, if my kid got an "A," I could presume that they had mastered the learning targets and aced their tests and was moving on. The only problem, however, was that we also had students who were earning C's and D's and were also being passed on from year to year, because, "it was just the way that schools operate..." I was never quite comfortable with this thinking, because what happens? A student who severely struggles in math is passed on, only to continue to struggle and then he/she gets to High School and math quickly becomes a daily nightmare... Algebra will be the biggest hurdle they will ever face and it will slowly begin to destroy any kind of math confidence they may ever have had. What if we built a new system that gave students specific feedback surrounding their evidence of learning and showed them exactly where they needed to focus, but we also raised the bar, as far as rigor and our expectations of what was necessary to move on to the next level? What if we created a Proficiency-Based Pathway for each student?

Today, that is what we have in place at the Waukesha STEM Academy. We have created a system that focuses on evidence of student learning being displayed in a digital portfolio (STEMfolio), consistent feedback being given by teachers, to help the students understand how they are doing and what areas they need to focus on, as well as their next steps and we also report out to both students and parents. All three of these steps are extremely critical to the trifecta, which consists of students-teachers-parent(s). In a Proficiency-Based Pathways system, the thought process used is one that incorporates these main components:

- What are you learning?
- How are you going to learn it?
- How are you going to demonstrate that you have learned it?
- What are your next steps?

As we continue to transition into a fully Proficiency-Based Pathways system, our goal for next year is to have every content area at "P" for proficiency and "AP" for approaching. This year is truly a transition year for many of our teams and we are seeing a few different systems in place, for a transition year, but our end-game and goal is to have ONE system, that is universal no matter what class a STEM student is in. This is an item that parents sometimes inquire about when they contact me... consistency across the board and having varied ways that their child receives feedback and reports on how he/she is doing. It can be confusing to students and parents (and staff) and we want to eliminate that, to have a universal system of reporting. In a true Proficiency-Based Pathways system, students are either proficient or they are not. If they are not, they are approaching... there is no numerical value placed on this and there is no "I am higher or better than you on this test, or that assignment..." There is a great sense of accomplishment when a student demonstrates mastery and we have set the bar very high. That is reflected when we see the results of some of the formalized and standardized tests that our students take, when compared to the rest of the district, their normed-peers and students across the nation. We are WELL ABOVE the average range of achievement and since we expect students to perform at a level that some would consider "exceeding" or "advanced," we have set the new standard of excellence... it is just the way that we do business now. That says a lot about our program model.

When looking at the rubrics that are now used with students to provide feedback, we have basically combined the "Advanced" (previously a 4) and "Proficient" (previously a 3) descriptors to articulate what is required to be Proficient and we have combined some aspects of the "Minimal" (previously a 1) and "Basic" (previously a 2) categories to create the Approaching category. Students are now being asked to apply, innovate and create a product, based on what they have learned in a deep, rich context, to demonstrate learning and competency on each skill. Research has proven time and time again that if someone is able to learn something and then teach it, that they must master that skill or own the knowledge required, prior to being able to teach someone else to do the same. At this level at the Waukesha STEM Academy, students have now begun to own their learning and by demonstration through application and creation in context, we are seeing the highest level of proficiency ever and this is no longer an additional category that some kids might try to reach for, if they are smart enough.  This is where we want all students to strive to be... to move their edUcation forward. This is raising the bar and helping students see and realize their full potential, like never before.

So, here's the million dollar question! What does the reporting side of things look like this year at STEM and what does it mean to me as a parent... how does my student know what they are learning, how are they are going to learn it, how are they going to demonstrate what they learned and how do they receive real-time feedback, along with a report declaring that their proficiencies are being met?

Wonderful questions and here is a little bit of a cheat-sheet that might help really clear up any areas that may have been a bit fuzzy. Keep in mind that this is the first installment of many Blog posts surrounding this topic, which are designed to help walk our parents through the reporting, evidence and feedback pieces at STEM, to ensure everyone is on the same page. I didn't want to drop everything on our families all at once, as it may be a bit intimidating and people's heads would be just about ready to burst! The components in today's Blog really feel like the Least Common Denominator pieces, which means that they are the most commonly asked questions and ones that will help you understand the day-to-day operations at STEM. As always, please don't hesitate to leave me any feedback, or send questions my way and I'd be glad to get back to you as soon as possible.

I have been using a similar description with parents this weekend, so I wanted to pass along what they felt was a pretty helpful explanation and very beneficial in wrapping their head around our reporting, evidence and feedback system, for WSA students. Please also keep in mind that as we transition into a fully Proficiency-Based Pathways system, we will be working out some kinks and learning as we go, since we are really working at building and strengthening the educational system that has been in place for hundreds of years... it's time to make it better for our students and build a better bridge.

Math & Electives Reporting (STEM Pathways, Phy. Ed., Music, etc):
P = Proficiency
AP = Approaching

Science Reporting:
P = Proficiency
AP = Approaching
E = Emerging (because all students are able to choose their science courses and they are not grade-based (by age), so they are all working toward 8th grade standards... the E helps students and parents know that there are three years that students have to demonstrate mastery in each target and they may be at Emerging for two or more years, before they hit proficiency... not a bad thing)

Literacy Reporting:
6P, 7P, 8P = denotes the "grade level" of proficiency for ELA (English-Language Arts) skills, since students are working at varied levels and aiming for 8th Grade targets by the end of their 540 days at STEM
6AP, 7AP, 8AP = denotes the "grade level" of approaching for ELA skills
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The main tools that are used to accompany the descriptions below include:
-Google Classroom: Used to deliver and collect assignments in courses such as literacy, humanities and math.

-BlackBoard 9 (Bb9): Warehouse of student assignments, movies, resources that students can log into and access at anywhere/anytime.

-Infinite Campus (IC): Housing for all reports of how students are doing... this is where you will find a "P" or "AP," along with the rubric that was used to arrive at this declaration. This is also where personal info for your family/student is housed, where fees may be paid, as well as where a final declaration of "C" for completion of the course, or "NC" for non-completion of the course is listed, in June.

-Science Notebook (Google Site): Used by the science team as a means for students to submit their daily independent work (this is linked out of their Gmail account).

-Google Forms: Used to quickly collect data from students and parents, as well as currently being used as a digital permission slip.

-ALEKS, IXL, TenMarks, BuzzMath:  Adaptive and Responsive online math programs that are used to help build proficiency with students who are working on reinforcing skill-development. Teachers then step in to help provide opportunities for application and using skills in context.

Our biggest focus among all else, is for the evidence and feedback piece, because that is truly where the learning takes place and where students own their learning. We are hitting the STEMfolios hard this year and students are consistently updating their profiles with their amazing work that demonstrates mastery of their respective learning targets. This will also be the focus of our STEM Student Showcase (S-3), which are our Student-Led conferences this fall, and are co-facilitated by each student's Advisory. The power in this format is unparalleled by any other, because the students truly own their learning and reflect on what they are learning... how they are learning... how well they are doing and areas in need of focus. Talk about a very solid metacognitive piece... this is the pinnacle and we are working with students who have now been doing this since being at the elementary level, so it is the way we do business.

As I sad earlier, we are in a bit of a building phase with our Proficiency-Based Pathways reporting system, but it has become quite clear that this is how we have been teaching our students for five years... this is how our students have been learning for 5 years... this is why our school(s) were originally opened over 5 years ago and now we are building the reporting, evidence and feedback system to perfectly fit and 100% align with our mission and vision. Ideas and conversations are becoming more clear than they have ever been before and students are given five times more opportunities to learn the way they prefer to learn, and focus on what they want to focus on, to demonstrate the same learning targets as their peers. Not only is there a much stronger initiative, but there is also pure enjoyment and engagement, because they actually and finally care about what they are leaning about. They aren't being forced to learn about some garbage that has no meaning to them and that they don't see any value in. How would you respond to a system like that? Why would we make our kids do that then?

- Murray

Images Cited
Personalized Learning. Digital image. PLE Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web.

PBL Image. Digital image. Venturing into Project-Based Learning. BIE, n.d. Web.

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S-3 (STEM Student Showcase), Proficiency-Based Pathways and the WSA - SARATOGA: Roadmap for success

STEM- and pbl- Centered Activities... moving from consumption to production.

So...
how do we do this "stem & PBL" thing, that we keep hearing about?

What is the learning Independence continuum, our S-3 model and the stem conference structure all about?

proficiency-based pathways... what is the secret recipe? evidence, feedback & reporting to students & families

Mr. Murray

Archives

S-3 (STEM Student Showcase), Proficiency-Based Pathways and the WSA - SARATOGA: Roadmap for success

STEM- and pbl- Centered Activities... moving from consumption to production.

So...how do we do this "stem & PBL" thing, that we keep hearing about?

What is the learning Independence continuum, our S-3 model and the stem conference structure all about?

proficiency-based pathways... what is the secret recipe? evidence, feedback & reporting to students & families

Mr. Murray

Archives

So...
how do we do this "stem & PBL" thing, that we keep hearing about?