Hi Everyone -

SO WONDERFUL TO SEE EVERYONE
YESTERDAY!  While a large portion of our meeting was devoted to taking
care of a lot of business, we got an incredible amount accomplished, including:

• Discussing
  our role in Teachers Network Leadership Institute and planning a
  post-Showcase organizational meeting for any NEFEC teachers interested in
  working with this organization next year

• Planning
  the 4th annual Showcase, fine-tuning the schedule, and discussing ways to
  get more people involved other than presenters (Within a week, I’ll draft
  a letter to administrators suggesting comp time be provided as an
  incentive for teachers who aren’t presenting to attend and post it for
  your use)

• Revisiting
  our on-line community (with Chris' Help) and revitalizing this important
  mechanism to keep us connected to each other, and maximize the individual
  and collective learning that we are all engaged in about both teacher
  research and coaching teacher research  (Remember our new ground rule:  Each member of the community will
  post at least once every two weeks as a reminder to us all that our
  on-line community is alive and vibrant)

• Reviewing
  the data analysis protocol and planning for this local meeting

• Sharing
  the ways support for Inquiry is being shifted from NEFEC/CSI to districts,
  and identifying issues that are important to address as plans for this
  work continues

I will be working on a number
of things on my end to keep all of our ideas and planning moving forward as you
meet and work with your teacher inquirers over the coming months on data
analysis and Showcase preparation . . . I’ll keep you abreast of updates and
developments, as well as send our reminders as we approach critical dates (Like
Titles/Abstract Due On or Before March 17!)

During our small group work
yesterday around the data analysis protocol, in my group I shared a little bit
about a consultant I had gone to see that helped teachers teach test- taking
skills.  With FCAT season upon us,
Rhonda and John were both interested in what I learned, and asked that I share
it with them . . . As I was preparing to send them an email, I thought some of
you might be interested as well, so thought I’d fold it into our on-line
learning community.  So here goes .
. .

The gentleman I saw present
believes our bottom quartile students perform poorly on the FCAT because they
are not familiar with 12 common words that often appear on standardized test.
 Oftentimes, these learners might know the content to be able to answer
the question, but don’t know what the question is asking them.  The 12
common words that are frequently found on standardized test, as well as how
they can be explained to kids are:

Trace – List in steps

Analyze – Break apart

Infer – Read between
the lines

Evaluate – Judge

Formulate – Create

Describe – Tell all
about

Support –Back up with
details

Explain – Tell How

Summarize – Give me
the short version

Compare – All the ways
they are alike

Contrast – All the
ways they are different

Predict – What will
happen next

His premise is that we can improve kids test scores if we
“teach” these words and use them every day of the school year with our
students.

I share this with our community for whatever it’s worth to
you . . . I think in this era of high-stakes testing and accountability, it’s
important and necessary for us to devote some time to the teaching of
test-taking skills.  Sometimes I am
saddened, however, when the intense pressure the permeates our schools today
leads us to focus more on test-taking skills and test performance than on good,
sound, teaching and learning practice. 
In the spirit of inquiry, I wonder how we, as educators, can balance
preparation for tests and the teaching of test-taking skills with continued
meaningful teaching and learning. 
I know there is no answer to this constant tension we all feel each and
every day, but perhaps through engagement in inquiry, we can learn to navigate
that tension in the best possible ways . . .

Ahhh . . . Another inquiry for another day!

Have a great rest of your week! 

Best!

Nanc