9

=Grade 9 PLC=


 * Lindsay Boehme
 * Caitlin Eichler
 * Craig Hall
 * Heidi Joslyn
 * Phil Mielcarz
 * Heather Pierce
 * Erica Syzdek

__ ** September 14, 2:30-3:45 Minutes ** __ We had an enthusiastic discussion about what our semester goal should be and how to apply it across the different subject areas. An early idea was to focus on reading comprehension, but we agree that we need to analyse STAR data in order to focus in on the skill we want to focus on. Since we are working with freshmen, we also discussed the possibility of focusing on a goal that is academic skill oriented or that has to do with fostering positive school culture. We will continue to mull this over between now and out next meeting, which is on October 12.

__ ** October 12, 2:30-3:45 Minutes ** __ The high school grade level groups met in the library. Bob discussed different methods of data collection and asked groups to share their goals for the semester. Our group decided to focus on increasing student familiarity of content vocabulary. We came up with a list of five vocabulary words per content area. Before November 9, we will create the pre-assessment we will distribute to students, ask students to define the vocabulary words (in Lindsay's history classes), grade the assessments, and record how many words students were able to define in each content area.

__ ** November 9, 2:30-3:45 Minutes ** __ We completed grading the pre-assessments and recording the data on an Excel spreadsheet. When analyzing the data, we determined that students were generally not familiar with the vocabulary words we chose; therefore, our next step is to thoroughly cover the vocabulary words during each unit of study. We decided to review the vocabulary words the way we normally do and then next semester we are going to research a variety of vocabulary instructional strategies, implement those strategies, and based on the data we collect from both semesters, we are going to see if certain strategies are more effective than others.

** __December 14,__ ** __**2:30-3:45 Minutes**__
Bob discussed possibly using Google Forms or Survey Monkey to create the next assessment. With that in mind, our group decided that we should keep the format of the final assessment the same in order to gather accurate data. We will, however, spend a portion of the January 11 meeting exploring Survey Monkey and Google Forms. Based on our discussion next meeting, we may decide to use one of those programs to create an assessment for second semester. Each group member is continuing to review the vocabulary words with his or her students.

Caitlin spent the first half of the meeting reviewing Google Forms and Survey Monkey with the group. We learned how to use both programs and discovered different ways we could collect data using the two programs. We decided to use Google forms next semester. We will create our assessments using Google Forms, have students complete the pre-assessment and post-assessment online, and create formulas on the Google Forms document so the program grades the assessments for us and calculates the averages we would like to record. After reviewing the different technologies, we analyzed the data we collected and created a variety of graphs in order to create a visual of the students' performance levels at the beginning of the semester. For February 15 we decided to have students complete the post-assessment (in English classes) and take turns creating the next pre-assessment document on Google Forms.
 * __ January 11, 2:30-3:45 Minutes __ **

We spent the first part of the meeting grading the post-assessments and recording student data on an Excel Spreadsheet. During the second part of the meeting we discussed the final round of vocabulary assessments we will distribute to students. During the March 14 meeting one person from every subject area will bring in five vocabulary words to share with the group. Caitlin will then create a Google Forms document that students will complete. This is how we will collect our pre-assessment data.
 * __ February 15, 2:30-3:45 Minutes __ **

We spent the first part of the meeting looking at the data collected from the vocabulary assessments. When analyzing the pre and post assessment data, we found that the mean score rose 28% from the pre assessment to the post assessment. This positive increase proved that students understood more vocabulary words at the end of each unit; however, we would like to see the percent increase improve. In order to do so, we are going to research some vocabulary instruction strategies that can help our students learn and remember the target words. Group members shared their content specific vocabulary words and finalized the list of words we will expect our students to learn by the end of the school year. The two English teachers will have students complete the Google Forms pre-assessment by the April 18 meeting. We concluded the meeting by discussing the possibility of completing mini action research projects to test the effectiveness of certain vocabulary instruction strategies.
 * __ March 14, 2:30-3:45 Minutes __ **

Please click on the following link to view the final pre and post assessment scores (First Vocabulary Instruction Cycle):

Today's meeting revolved around correcting the answers to the vocabulary pre-test. Since we used google forms to collect the data, the grading process was simple. We determined that google forms is a great tool to use when collecting large amounts of data. Since this program creates a spreadsheet, we are able to add columns and insert student averages and scores right onto the document. By next meeting we will complete entering in student and class averages and determine which words we need to concentrate on.
 * __ April 18, 2:30-3:45 Minutes __ **

We spent the first part of the meeting transferring the data from Google forms to an Excel spreadsheet. After reviewing student scores, we each determined which words we needed to focus on in our classrooms. Based on past experiences and research, we decided that utilizing some of Marzano's strategies in our classes can help improve student scores. We plan on having students create original definitions, draw pictures representing the meaning of the words, and determine their level of understanding for each word. Students will complete the post-assessment by June sixth. At that time we will determine the effectiveness of the strategies used in our classrooms.
 * __ May 9, 2:30-3:45 Minutes __ **

Please click on the following link to view the final pre-assessment scores (Second Vocabulary Instruction Cycle):


 * __ June 6, 2:30-3:45 Minutes __ **

Today's meeting revolved around analyzing the data we collected from the post assessment scores. When looking at the data, we determined there was an average 27% increase in student scores between the pre and post assessments. Most notably, there was a 130% increase in students scoring a 90 or above on the post assessment and a 78% decrease in students scoring a 60 or below on the post assessment. Overall, the average student scores improved on the post assessment in each subject area. When examining individual student scores, we noticed that students who made the most gains were typically in our lower level classes. This proved that our students who had the most room for improvement, improved immensely, thus closing the achievement gap.

Please click on the following link to view the final post-assessment scores (Second Vocabulary Instruction Cycle): A simplified version of the data collected 130% increase in students scoring a 90 or above on the post assessment Analyzing the data collected