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PI 34 Professional
Development Plan
SCHOOL AND DISTRICT
SUMMARY |
| Description
of School and Teaching/Administrative/Pupil Services Situation: |
I
currently teach 7th and 8th grade Technology Education at Marshall
Middle School in Janesville, Wisconsin. I began my teaching
career in Belton, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. There I
taught Honors Math, Language Arts, Study Skills, and Computer
Skills. (Remember the old Apple IIe's?) After returning to Wisconsin
in 1995, I taught Mathematics in Wautoma, Wisconsin for four
years. I taught Technology Applications in Wausau, Wisconsin
for one year before moving into my current teaching position
in Janesville. This is my seventh year teaching Tech Ed at Marshall.
Marshall Middle School has approximately 910 students in grades
six through eight. Our student population includes: |
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·
90% White
· 1.5 % Hispanic
· .5% Asian
· 8% Black
· 0% American Indian
· 5% English Language Learners
· 23% Economically Disadvantaged
· 6% Behavioral Disabilities
· 9.7% Learning Disabilities
· 4% Speech and Language
· 2.5% Cognitively Disabled
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Marshall Middle
School Mission Statement
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Marshall
Middle School is dedicated to the academic growth of individual
students and promotes physical, social, and civic development
in a safe, caring, and positive environment.
Marshall Middle School is guided in its year-to-year operations
by a Continuous Growth Plan (CGP). This plan is based on input
from a wide range of sources and faculty. This input translates
into goals which are pursued through team developed action plans
during the year. It is anticipated that the first quarter of
the year will be heavily involved with action planning. Copies
of the current CGP are available for review in the Main Office.
A major emphasis now, and in the foreseeable future, will be
for optimal academic growth for each student at Marshall Middle
School. This growth will be measured on standardized assessments
and with authentic assessment instruments. As a staff we will
learn and utilize higher level questioning techniques, and writing
across the curriculum areas. Using these strategies, and applying
effective schooling techniques, we hope to meet each individual
student’s academic, social, and emotional needs.
Decisions that concern Marshall Middle School are made through
a collaborative process based on best practices that include,
but are not limited to: |
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· Programs
intended to strengthen family, peer, and community bonds, build
self-esteem and develop positive action towards problem solving,
through provision of basic needs, parent education and developmental
guidance.
· Developmental guidance that includes career awareness,
individual career plans for all students entering high school,
and substance abuse education.
· Staff development opportunities and resources for all
staff member to participate in professional growth activities
intended to enhance instructional skills and content knowledge,
understanding of the middle school student, organizational development
and personal growth.
· Technology to improve the instructional process and
to assist with total program management.
· Opportunities to participate with the business community
through mentorship, career shadowing, student/teacher recognition
and other partnership programs.
· Expectations for high student performance promoted
through cooperative, competitive, individual and team curricular
and co-curricular activities.
· Recognition and awards programs designed to celebrate
the accomplishments of middle school students, teachers, and
staff. |
Marshall
Middle School has developed a unique program to service the
needs of our at-risk population. This co-teach/consult program
lowers the teacher student ratio in Mathematics – Grade
6 and 7 – and Communication Arts – Grade 6 and 7.
In addition, a learning lab has been created to remediate students
in skills prior to sitting for the WKCE in the eighth grade.
Constant parent contact is the bedrock of this program.
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The
school’s leadership team identified several advantages
of this program: |
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· 1. Eliminates
the concern for a “watered down” curriculum;
Exposure to regular curriculum is necessary in preparation for
WKCE
· 2. Eliminates the creation of a program of poor behaving
students
- All research leads to heterogeneous grouping
- Helps reinforce the importance of differentiated instruction
· 3. Team of educators can work collaboratively to help
promote success; not one person’s job- the At-Risk Teacher
- It is essential the At-Risk teacher feel a part of the team
· 4. Allows At-Risk teacher to cut the number of teams
they support from 6 to 2 – far more effective and a better
use of their time
· 5. Facilitation of team meetings with admin and guidance
is streamlined
· 6. Students don’t feel singled out by going to
a self-contained classroom- eliminating a “self fulfilling
prophecy”
· 7. The At-Risk Teacher assists with parent phone contacts
teaching lessons
grading
- pulling out and assisting students, as needed
- development of accommodations specifically for this program
and tailored to the individual student.
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Our
building goals include: |
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· 1. Student
Achievement will be monitored through specific reviews of standardized
assessments and staff development opportunities.
· 2. To provide opportunities to enrich student learning
at Marshall Middle School through academic and co-curricular
activities that go beyond the basic classroom instructional
programs.
· 3. To provide information and opportunities to students
and parents to work together in partnership with the school
to promote student engagement at school and student learning.
· 4. To promote the use of data in our comprehensive
assessment of the effectiveness of MMS in meeting the academic,
social, and emotional needs of our students.
· 5. A variety of school-wide activities and opportunities
will be developed to promote student and parental involvement
at Marshall Middle School.
· 6. Provide Marshall’s students will community
based and school based service learning opportunities.
· 7. Marshall will provide students with a variety of
opportunities to understand and appreciate our multicultural
society.
· 8. To provide students the opportunity to experience
service learning and work experiences. |
The
staff of Marshall Middle School is very progressive in their
approach to our important work. They continually seek methods
of developing themselves in an effort to further enhance student
achievement. This is best exemplified by the work our Cardinals
have begun in piloting Single Gender Education.
The recent explosion in brain research has ushered in a wealth
of information regarding how boys and girls learn, hear, see,
and cogitate differently. (For example, girls are "pre-wired"
to use the most advanced part of the brain, the cerebral cortex
(front), to integrate their knowledge, feelings, sight, and
hearing. Boys utilize the hippocampus when synthesizing information.)
In addition, the gap between boys and girls achievement continues
to be recognized nationally (specifically, in math, reading,
computers, and science). With the recent changes to Title IX,
public schools are now permitted to implement gender specific
classrooms.
During the 2007-08 school, Marshall Middle School is proposing
the pilot of gender specific classrooms on one team in the sixth
grade and up to two teams in the eighth grade. (In accordance
with the law, schools implementing single sex (SS) classrooms
must offer an alternative co-ed (CE) classroom in the district.
We intend to continue offering instruction in both formats.)
Students will participate through an "implied consent"
process (as recommended) and be randomly placed. Teams would
remain CE; however, certain core academic courses would be gender
specific. Preliminarily, we are planning Advisory and Reading
would remain CE. We believe this is especially important in
the social - emotional development of our middle school children.
In an effort to assess the outcomes of this program, baseline
data will be collected at the beginning of the 2007-08 school
year. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of students'
aptitudes Grade 5 and 7 WKCE-CRT and MAP data will be pulled
during the summer of 2007; moreover, we anticipate tracking
disciplinary referral rates, attendance, and other student performance
data.
Potential team members have volunteered to be a part of this
pilot. As a professional learning community, they have reviewed
the current research, attended regional and national conferences,
visited schools implementing SS classrooms, and engaged the
Marshall community in an open dialogue. Staff members understand
this is a minimum two year commitment - an especially important
consideration when developing a basis for program strength and
developmental needs.
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TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
SUMMARY
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Marshall Middle
School Technology Education Mission Statement
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| Students
will realize how technology affects their lives and the society
within which they live. They will develop an understanding of
how a continually changing technological society impacts various
disciplines of science and problem solving applications. As
students explore career possibilities, they will realize the
necessity for life-long learning. |
Program
Goals |
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· Develop
an understanding of scientific principals
· Demonstrate an understanding of engineering concepts
· Develop and demonstrate critical thinking and independent
research skills
· Become aware of career possibilities
· Realize the correlation between technology and academics
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Program
Description |
Technology
Education at Marshall Middle School provides students with the
understanding of how technology and academics integrate. Students
complete modular labs designed to promote problem solving through
the application of technology. Critical thinking and independent
research skills are stressed. As students learn about the application
of technology in their lives, they begin thinking about career
possibilities and the necessity of life-long learning. At the
completion of the 7th and 8th grade classes, students have explored
at least 12 different technologies. Some of these modules include:
fiber optics and lasers, alternative energy sources, computer
graphic design, space and rocketry, robotics, and engineering
and stress analysis. The separate strands of technology taught
at the two grade levels are as follows:
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7th
Grade |
8th
Grade |
| Animation |
Automation
and Robotics |
CO2 Raceway |
| Computer Graphic Design |
Conceptual/Applied Physics
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Video Production |
| Plastics |
Engineering & Stress
Analysis |
Electronic Music |
| Space and Rocketry |
Flight Simulation |
Radio Broadcasting |
| Woods Manufacturing |
Weather Satellite |
Web Design |
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Computer-Aided Design |
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7th & 8th
Grade Technology Education Teacher |
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Technology Dept. Chairperson |
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Student Newspaper
Advisor, The
Marshall Redcoat. |
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