The Groundwork:
Why ‘Ladders’?
Make easier the work of selecting instructional
and curriculum resources that match the variation of students’ readiness to learn level…
What’s the Work?
This work is about
- working together to define what we want students to achieve…
- using data to find out where our students are in relation to where we want them to be…
- making available teaching strategies and resources that would support a teacher desiring to customize/differentiate
instruction and/or curriculum to meet student needs…
and eventually,
- reporting out student achievement based on how well they are doing on
which targets (standards/benchmarks/grade level expectations)…
- and making sure that students are involved and have ownership in their learning…
The History
During the 2004-05,
2005-06 school years, Reading and Math teachers from
MISIC school districts were released from school periodically and worked together. They
worked on:
1. matching the
MISIC standards/benchmarks with the skills on the Des Cartes (Learning Continuum),
2. writing descriptors
of what a student performance would look like at that benchmark, and
3. citing resources,
ideas and tips that may be helpful as a teacher taught toward that benchmark.
Once they had their work drafted,
it was given to a programmer who worked to make it web accessible to all MISIC members. That work is still in progress.
In 2005-06, Science was selected as
the next two year focus. The Project Manager suggested that science teachers
might benefit from having the work planned for a week in the summer rather than during the school year. The benefits would be less wear and tear preparing for a sub, fewer days of instruction lost, and a more
relaxed mindset to do the work. Favorable comments were made about the proposal
at the spring General Meetings and the decision was made to offer the teachers a $100. a day stipend. The call for teachers
was sent out in April. Districts were asked to nominate their teachers that demonstrated
the following characteristics:
1. Depth of knowledge
about science at his or her level,
2. Understanding
of standards and benchmarks and their value to student learning
3. A strong teacher
who employs a variety of teaching strategies
4. Creativity
in helping students achieve success in their content area
5. can work collaboratively
with a g roup of colleagues in a professional manner
6. can attend
all date for the project.
To date, 36 teachers have been nominated
and have agreed to participate. The work starts on June 13, 2006.
