The Portfolio Group

Portfolio Meeting Minutes
The meeting at the Yale Coffeehouse on Wednesday, September 7, went great, lots of information, sharing, and learning. Donna (and the girls), Ron, Michael, Tim, Cheryl and myself were all in attendance.

The group meeting opened talking about the Next Steps: Portfolio presentation/workshop at the University of Houston Hilton as part of Houston A+ Challenge's series. The presentation will be from 8-4 (or around that). To design the best presentation the group first read over the reflections that were posted on Donna's Reflection blog from the spring presentation. Some of the comments that guided our design were "formatting the portfolio", "how to set up a teacher portfolio", Training on teacher portfolio or workshop for compiling ours would be wonderful", and "Having another session where we can bring our portfolios and have them looked at from other eyes so that we can obtain reflection from others".

The group then had a discussion on how to set up the day and what materials to use for the workshop. The group decided to extend the theory and the learning started at the Fondren Reforming Schools Summer Institute and the book that was used. The diagram of the triangle using focus and reflection and collaboration to increase student achievement (just an aside the diagram looks just like the Eisenhower espoused theory). This combination was the basis for our decision making in designing the day's schedule. The dialogue was great bouncing ideas around the table. The plan started with making in the morning and collaborating and reflection in the afternoon.

The agenda will be something like this:
Morning Focus: Interface between Curriculum and Theory
Text-based discussion (using either Teddy Aoke or other curriculum article -- Cheryl is making great suggestions for this)
Curriculum of Life Activity -- Tim is presenting this piece with his PowerPoint on his life learning moments.
The participants will then create their own Curriculum of Life timelines and begin writing one narrative in depth.
The group will then transfer the activity to the school and the timeline of learning moments in the school. (This can be campus based initiatives or classroom experiences -- whichever one the participant feels most comfortable doing)
Afternoon Focus: Building common vision and goals through Collaboration
There will be three rooms doing CFG protocols looking at different types of portfolios and at different stages of production.
1. A teacher portfolio (possibly from Gayle's school) and doing a tuning protocol on that piece.
2. A narrative in progress will be used with the Collaborative Assessment protocol to learn from each other.
3. The last room will be a Charette and the group brainstorming next steps for a participants work.

AATC Presentation
The meeting then turned to the presentation at the AATC in Austin the second weekend in October. The group read over the proposal and discussed ways to build off the past work presented at AERA (see previous blog) and continue to grow. Mike, Ron, Michaelann are confirmed presenting Tim and Gayle are 99.9% confirmed. Wondering if Janet will be participating? The following is a quick outline of the tentative presentation.
Introduction -- tracing the roots of the group
How the group has reinvented itself overtime
Falling through the Cracks book
The meat of the presentation will concentrate on "competing values of excellence and equity" As it stands right now the following members will produce 8 slides for the next meeting to be compiled into the PowerPoint for Austin.
Michael -- gender equity
Ron -- special education equity
Gayle -- dual language or teacher portfolios in creating excellence
Tim -- excellence in adult learning through the literacy coach and leveling the playing field for all students
Michaelann -- changing teaching styles to reach all students

Michael "volunteered" to man the computer and PowerPoint, Michaelann said she would put together a program, and Gayle has volunteered her high school to meet for the next meeting.

The group then proceeded to look at the evidence that was brought exhibiting old and new learning in our work.

Donna
Old -- The journal from NSRF featured an article by Donna on using the blog to intensify reflections.
New -- excerpt from the Houston A+ blog from a Fort Bend ISD FRSSI attendee. This piece reflected the processes that have been set up to promote community and reflect evidence of someone else's learning. Donna also pointed out how others are linking to her blog as evidence of building community.

Cheryl
Something old turning into something new - Cheryl talked about how a chapter that she agreed to write that was previously someone else's had changed in meaning for her when she found a way to make the chapter her own.
New -- Cheryl read the quote, "Teachers live out their curriculum in the classroom" along with another quote that brought us to a discussion on building relationships. We need to protect the space of the teacher. Donna interjected about looking at people with the right mindset and that we all have our own set of gifts and spiritual gifts.
Cheryl also pointed out the new Google Scholar website

Michael
New -- Working on an article about "time" and the lack of it. He shared a beginning to an article that he is writing about analyzing buzzwords, acronyms, and gobbledygook.

Tim
New -- he didn't read the blog.

Ron
Old -- K. a student from last year has popped back up and the new learning other departments are doing that Ron discovered last year.
New -- Asian cultural awareness. Ron has an AP student that is having a hard time at home because her culture does not value art as a major and can not understand the value. Ron discussed the educating of not only students about the opportunities in the arts but parents also.

Michaelann
Old -- I had an article published in Connections and this year I went back to teaching the constructivist methods to build relationships with the students as described in the article.
New -- After my recent trip to China I have come to understand that my students are not hungry for their education. Students at the village school were sleeping two and three to a bed and yet they were eager to go to school. The students kept all their worldly possessions in a grocery sack, yet they were interested in their education. How do we motivate to get the "hunger" back in our students?

The meeting drew to an end and the next meeting is scheduled for September 28, 2005 at Reagan High School. See everyone there!