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Less Physics Mo Problems

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Why am I writing this personal entry? Well, it is not an attempt to gain any sympathy. It attempts to show what is possible if a clear intention and goal serve the learner's needs.  In May of 2022 just near the end of another fantastic school year, I do not remember what happened. But, I was unable to finish the school year and was unable to teach the following year.  Why? On May 21st, 2022, I fell down a flight of 16 stairs (luckily carpeted) from the 2nd to 1st story of our home.  I was found at the bottom of the stairs. I was found foaming at the mouth. This would lead to a 2-month hospital stay which included an induced coma because my seizures would not stop, several rounds of lumbar punctures, and relearning basic physical movements like something as simple as being able to roll in the hospital bed. Simply put, when I was admitted to the hospital, I was diagnosed as being “critically ill.” Please take a moment and read those words: critically ill. They are not terms...
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Waves of Innovation in Elmbrook: Data Driven instruction

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I was able to speak to the a PLC of science teachers from a middle school in our district today.  Sheri Gajria, Rebecca Murray, and Julie Wessel teach science at Wisconsin Hills Middle School in Brookfield, WI.  They truly exemplify the power that can be harnessed from a PLC. In our interview, they discussed how they do the following:

1) Assess each student to determine his/her level of proficiency based on a rubric
2) Pool student data across their classes
3) Use data to drive instruction to meet the needs of each learner
4) Use data to determine student grouping for targeted lessons

In addition, Sheri and Julie (Rebecca was out the day of the interview) discuss challenges they've faced and how they know their model is working. The interview goes into more so please watch it.  There is so much to learn about what an effective PLC is and how educators can use formative data to drive instructional practices for each learner.

I was amazed at the level this team is working at.




The team shared these great documents which they speak to in the interview.


Student Goal Setting and Tracking Document






Science Workshop Lesson Planning Template




Sitting down with this PLC only made me realize how much more I could be doing to look at data to drive individual instruction in my classroom.

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