Meeting+25+-+Aug+'14

** Friday, August 29th, 2014 (7:15am – 8:00am) ** ** H103 – BioHazard Meeting Room **
 * Science Department Meeting **

i. Science Department Calendar ii. Open House Flyer open house flyer - Physics first, course sequence and availability. Review and have available. iii. Article: “Let it Marinate” Robb's focus as chair this year - ensuring that we express how important it is for reflection in the department. In lesson plans leave time for reflection - write down something they learned and share with others. Article to maximize reflection and make it efficient. Craig - IPP training, 5E and Active program - research shows that this is an important part of brain development. iv. Update Family Photo in Biohaz
 * 1) Welcome Back
 * 2) Distributed Documents

Share Science dept link and calendar - upload to personal calendar. Science dept meeting dates put in calendar, and Biohaz hosting assignments. Be sure to remind dept if you are hosting Biohaz, and attempt to make the Biohaz meeting time. New fridge for Biohaz - help split the cost through the department ($250 ish). If anyone has an old fridge, etc. let them know. i. Presentation Topics? ii. Date & Time? NSTA Long Beach - acceptances for invitations came out. Robb has Thurs and Sat morning, Mike Lew - Friday presentation. They are coming out - if and when it is accepted let Robb know for a schedule. Meet up down there during NSTA. Subgroup budgets taking care of PD down there. Rick spoke about it - due to Rick by Nov 1 - due to Robb by October 17th for review with Robb and off to Rick - discussions on goals for future. Personal effort and goals for oneself as a professional. Craig - webinar on PD plans. learning center.nsta.com - if you watch a webinar, it will go in a PD folder, and can add to an administrator which PD items that you have completed. Watch a webinar and have proof that you have done it - if upload lesson plan, etc. Professional development portal - proof that you completed parts of your PD plan. Summer sabbatical recipients - Rick wants a formal dept presentation - Gerry - 3 week physics modeling course - watch master modeling teachers conduct physics modeling and AP Institute for Physics 1 Kim - AP Bio Institute - interactions with other faculty, learned about the new curriculum and AP Bio labs - incorporating active and inquiry based activities, encouraging students to design research labs, etc. Paul - Andrew and Paul collaborating on a project - NGSS alignment - look at curriculum and biology through the lens of NGSS and common core. Content of the course - rubric, etc. Washington DC with people who created rubric - does it really hit the national standards? Reevaluating assessments - drive instruction to succeed on assessments. Fawzia - AP Chem Institute - how the exam has changed saw the new exam - week long institute, a lot of the changes did not change the course/content very much. Need to seriously change how the course is being taught. Increase in the number of times that students need to explain - every single part they have to explain and justify their answers. 2 year course - Honors first year, AP second year - honors still has the same content but on top of it that students have a better understanding. Physically write on paper and explain. Gerry - AP Physics 1 - same things, deeper MC questions, more expansive Kimberly - increase in the number of times that the students need to explain, justify, etc. graphs, models and stats. More important now then ever - to align with the math department - APES exam is changing in that way as well 5 math teachers meeting period 4 to design the math hybrid course. i. Science Ramifications – All Students will take Phy-9
 * 1) Looking Ahead – Important Dates to Note
 * 2) Happy Birthday Fawzia – Sat, Sept 06
 * 3) Back to School Night(s) – Wed, Sept 10th (11th/12th) & Tue, Sept 16th (9th/10th) - If need help with presentation see Robb or mentor. Parents do not have access to Canvas anymore - in regards to handouts
 * 4) NSTA / CSTA / CUE / ISTE (Refer to Calendar) - NSTA national is Chicago, ISTE - Philadelphia
 * 5) Birthdays and Biohazard Collaborations (BioHaz “Host” Schedule)
 * 6) Next Department Meeting – Thursday, September 25
 * 1) NSTA Long Beach
 * 2) December 4 – 6, 2014 (Registration is Open)
 * 3) Budgets will Cover Convention PD costs so Plan Accordingly
 * 4) Accepted Proposals
 * 1) Professional Development Plans (Due Friday, October 17, 2014)
 * 2) PD Template
 * 1) Summer Sabbatical Recipient Reports (Quick 1 - 2 Minute Synopsis)
 * 1) Recent (& Future) Findings for AP Physics, Chemistry & Biology Exams
 * 2) Physics – Mike / Gerry
 * 3) Chemistry – Fawzia
 * 4) Biology – Paul / Kimberly
 * 1) Department Goals for 2014-15
 * 2) Prepare for switchover to 7-period schedule (“It’s going to happen”)

Physics subgoup - not much will change, only that more sections will be added. All freshman will be taking a physics course - technology being used across the curriculum. Chemistry students can now jump right in.

ii. Work Closely with Math as the Hybrid Course Evolves
 * 1) Currently 260”ish” of 315 are enrolled (81%)
 * 2) How will Physics-9 change in ’14-‘15? More focus on skills?
 * 3) How will other science courses change ’14-’15 (and beyond)? How will this effect other class with all taking Physics 9

Math alignment meetings - Emily and Allen Martin, will not be meeting every day, a few times a week. CC Gerry on email with Allen, to dig for meeting times. Huge to have liaison with the math department. Someone to be there to hear and observe what they are doing. I think if they just know what we are doing - what a freshman is doing in physics. Have them visit science classrooms and see what is going on.

i. Active? Patterns? Modeling? Sharing techniques in teaching - modeling next week (patterns approach to teaching meeting, etc.) - Look at science dept statement of purpose - refine if needed Robb - environment engineering, day long challenges and get after it - day long projects have been a good thing. Condensing challenges and making more of them. Lee - spent time going through old curriculum - "ticket back to class" - reflective piece from last class/lab. Pre game plan - open up lab books and see what they did last class to get minds set back into physics. Eddie - pair up with one another - "line-up" - engagement tool to immediately assess what they do/don't know. Have them start to have scientific discussions with scientific language. Flipping curriculum with videos, active class and problem solving.
 * 1) Explore Pedagogical Techniques and Share
 * 1) Refine the Science Department Statement of Purpose
 * 2) Purposeful Lesson Planning Allowing Time for Student **Reflection**
 * 1) Modify, Create or Steal FIVE new activities – //share one//

Andrew - underwater robotics Craig - nature of science, teach explicitly, new nature of science activity - black box activity - theory or law of the block. Two wax blocks with tin foil in between. Light does not pass through. Model for scientific thinking. Andrey - relationship with Vatican/Keck observatory - take class out to Tuscon to watch vatican observers on mountain. U of A - look at mirror lab. De-emphasizing planetology, and cosmology instead. Mike - guided problem solving, narrative of why they move, free body diagrams, etc. Structure that has them describe steps and processes. Gary - oceanography, more hands on approach - planning and sifting through curriculum. Fawzia - shorten labs, and have the students have more lab experience in HChem. AP labs in one day, assign pre-lab for homework, and then lab with an inquiry portion. Paul - nature of science activities, one per quarter. Looking for patterns and relationships. Petals around a rose. Students address the question of why study the subject (biology). Gerry - board meetings - white board meetings and committee meetings

Kimberly - mini poster - having the students present lab data on mini-posters, peer review and revision, asking questions, developing an environment of uncertainty and questioning. Jello enzyme activity (how pineapple effects jello) - design experiment to test rate and effects of enzyme of jello.
 * 1) 7-Period Discussion
 * 2) Junior & Senior “extra period”
 * 3) Professional Learning Communities