MHS teachers/instructional coaches, Kelly Shipley (left), Pam Canady
(pictured, right) and Jared Larson presented a workshop at the national
conference of the Math/Science Partnership Program in Washington D.C.
this week.
The presentation was focused on the MHS ninth-grade science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM) project, which promotes the
natural connectedness of biology and algebra. Specifically, the workshop
highlighted the collaborative teaching, coaching, and assessment of
student work that is featured in the project and the robust
problem-based learning that characterizes the project.
The STEM Project is funded by a Title IIB competitive grant totalling about $1 million over three years.
The following program description is from the project proposal:
Project Design
The STEM Professional Learning Communities Partnership Project (STEM
PLC) is designed to facilitate the interconnectedness of algebra and
biology. Core components of the project include:
- Intensive and sustained professional development
- Job-embedded instructional coaching
- Data Teams/Professional Learning Communities
- Problem-and project-based collaborative learning
Project Rationale
The STEM PLC Project fits into a larger structure at McMinnville High
School (MHS) that features 9th grade interdisciplinary teams of
teachers (Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Freshman
Seminar) who share common students, planning time, and instructional
strategies, and who have physical proximity and flexible blocks of
contiguous time. Within the teaming structure, MHS provides double-block
algebra (90 minutes every day) for 9th graders who performed below
proficiency on the 8th grade state math assessment, in order to better
ensure they catch-up, keep-up, and move-up to proficiency in math
Essential Skills and complete Algebra I by the end of 9th grade to
remain on-track for an Oregon Diploma.
Project Objectives
The STEM PLC Project is designed to increase student achievement and
accelerate student growth by increasing teacher effectiveness and
providing vibrant and robust experiential learning.