10/24/2007 IMP 2 PLC Minutes

• Questions from Kathy about the homework dilemma.
• Have we asked kids about why they do not do the homework?
• Mickey's previous data told him that 80% said "they just didn't do it", 15% "had other commitments", and 5% "just forgot".
• Rodney and Kym asked this question on a questionnaire last year.
• Eric will get questionnaire and data from Rodney and Kym if possible.
• Jason will speak with Ms. Bozic about strategies to get students to complete homework that would not originally have completed it. (Bozic was recommended by Stacey Geyer as a good resource on this topic.)
• Is homework essential for all students to improve achievement? Could formative assessments help us to evaluate their readiness?
• Have we taken a look at how homework completion relates to CSAP and MAP scores?
• Grading Rubric for Bee's Assessment
• Is there a way to make the findings from the process of common assessment data accessible to next year's IMP 2 PLC? Do we really need to keep starting at step one in our IMP PLCs?

IMP 2 PLC - Minutes - 10/10/2007

-State of the Union

• Chris is quite frustrated with one of his IMP 2 classes.
• Jason is frustrated with the lack of students taking advantage of revisions and the inevitable result of this being leaving students behind.
• Eric does not see the buy-in of for the students...it is a "grade chase", not a "pursuit of knowledge".
• Mickey is frustrated by poor algebraic manipulation skills of his classes.

-Inservice (Thursday 10-18-2007)

• Choice of three breakout sessions surrounding vocabulary development.
• We will attend the "Vocabulary Development: Linking to Learning Styles" in room 137.

-Data Collection Update

• Is there a correlation between grades and homework in our individual data?
• Eric said that his data shows no correlation, Mickey's data is unclear, Chris' classes have a correlation between missing assignments/revisions and low grades, Jason's classes show a correlation between missing assignments/revisions and low grades.

-Intervention Strategies

1. Sending students with incomplete homework to math lab to complete homework. (Note: This strategy has been rejected by administration.)
2. Setting deadlines and making phone calls.
3. Eliminating revisions and instead redoing a similar problem.
4. Posting completion percentage on graded works perhaps creating a competition between classes.
5. Assigning reasons for doing homework.

Summary of interventions that each person will be trying

• Chris will try stategies 4 & 5.
• Jason will try strategies 2 & 5.
• Mickey will try strategy 4.
• Eric will try strategy 5.

-Common Assessment for Bee's

• Chris wants a more objective part of the test. (Chris and Jason will make up a more objective skills based test.)
• Is the take home "Barn Problem" too hard? Perhaps, but there is great value in the question. Jason will change the wording of the problem to state specifically that the best answer is not a square.
• IMP 2 Honors - Change the pool problem to include a generalization. Mickey and Eric will change this part of the exam for the honors test.

-All common assessment parts must be completed and sent out by Friday 10-12-2007.

Agenda 10.10.2007

Minutes - Gonshor
Time Keeper - Wentz

1. State of the Union - 10 min
2. Inservice - 10 min
3. Common Assessment for Bees - 30 min
4. Break - 10 min
5. Data Collection Update: Homework Completion - 15 min
6. Intervention Strategies - 30 min
7. Summing up and next steps - 10 min