Hillsborough Points of Learning

Debbie Burns – Woodfern Elementary SchoolKelly Owens – Auten Road Intermediate School

Karen Mammino – Auten Road Intermediate SchoolDebbie Gross – Hillsborough Middle School

Lucille Titus – Hillsborough High SchoolKim Feltre – Science Supervisor

Thinking About the Past: Learning

• Establishing PLCs K-12; expanded numbers of teachers/students who benefitted from them

• BIT – looking at big ideas through vertical and horizontal articulations

• Learning Progressions

Thinking About the Past: Successes

• Connecting to each other through BIT and vertical articulations

• Completed Train the Trainers and developed BILD workshop (formerly mini-BIM)

• Summer Science Institute• Continuing Education Units

Thinking About the Past: Works In Progress

• Common science assessments for all K-12 units

• Dabble in data analysis – technological capability not in place to drill down to individual students at this time

Thinking About the Past: Obstacles

• Limited backing of building administration

• Lack of time available to work in PLCs

• Struggle with buy-in and resistors to change

• Administrative lack of awareness of PLCs

• Need to build teacher awareness of connecting big ideas

Imprint

• PLCs promoting change; teachers understand their impact on student learning because of their collaborative work

• Mindful of the experiences teachers are providing for students

• Importance of collecting and analyzing data to identify the best practices that maximize student learning

• Taking time to make connections; making it real for students; reflecting on connections and ensuring we make students aware of them – changing the way we teach

Impact

• District initiative to implement PLCs for all content areas

• HEA contract reflects time for PLCs• 25 administrators attending DuFours’ Professional

Learning Communities at Work Institute in August• School administrators scheduling time for PLCs• PLCs – see curriculum and standards through other

people’s eyes – benefit from others’ perspectives• Deeper understanding of content• No longer an island

Envisioning the Future

• BILD workshop (formerly mini-BIM) to expose more teachers to BIT and making connections

• More vertical articulation• Develop curriculum that reflects learning progressions• Common assessments that reflect BIT• Build in time for teachers to talk about how they build

and administer assessments for valid results• Change communication with parents (online grading)

and focus on assessment data• Analyze and use data to modify and improve

instructional strategies and learning experiences as a means to meet students’ needs

• Summer Science/PLC Institute

Making a Difference!

• Adding to our toolbox so that we are

Making a difference –

one learner at a time

“...every teacher is a change agent, helping students learn and grow over the course of the school year.”

Evans, 1996, p. 24

Reference

• Evans, R. (1996). The human side of change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.