The Portfolio Group

Our first portfolio meeting of this school year was last Wednesday and there was great turn out. Ron, Michael, Tim, Gayle, Cheryl, Allison, and myself (Donna was in Dallas, Janet got called to a grant meeting, and Jennifer had a parents meeting at her school) were all in attendance.

The meeting started with a modified connections. Allison had a great story and we were catching up with everyone's summer adventures (If you read the previous blog about China and Korea - everything turn out just fine).

The first item of business was going over the grant submission and how we are going to continue with the researcher grant. Brainstorming on the next steps focused on the question, "How we learn from other people?" The case studies were talked about and if each researcher was going to continue with their focus or because of the new school year change. Members talked about this idea (suggestions I remember, if you remember more please comment - my notes are sketchy in this area). Ron mentioned how we are learning from the English Language Arts specialist on incorporating more literacy into the arts curriculum. Michael talked about learning from the reflections of the computer camps, and Allison talked about learning from mentoring. Gayle also talked about the next steps that her high school is taking in teacher portfolios. Cheryl stated she has the same student that she will continue her investigation. I was talking about trying to make our work more public through the use of the blog.

Upcoming events for the group are the AATC presentation in Austin, TX. The group's presentation is Saturday at 11:15am. This works out especially well for those members who have a hard time getting off of school. The presentation will be a continuation of the Falling through the Cracks presentation given at the Annual AERA conference (see previous blog entries). Cheryl talked about the wonderful researchers who will be presenting and encouraged all members to attend as many days as possible.

Other upcoming presentations were also noted (see Houston A+ Challenge website). Cheryl is also working on possibly having Tom Barone speak about his book "Touching Eternity".

For next meeting: Each member is to bring one piece of new evidence of learning (could be based on the initial focusing question How we learn from each other?) and one piece of old evidence to share at the next meeting September 7, 2005 at 4:30 at the coffeehouse.

Please add in the comments because I am sure I missed items or add new thoughts.

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!

The meeting at Michaelann's place on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 went great with lots of planning, sharing, and more planning. Donna, Ron, Michael, Tim, Cheryl, Gayle (broken leg and all) and myself were all in attendance.

American Association for Teaching and Curriculum

The group started with the AATC presentation that in October. We confirmed that Michael, Michaelann and Ron will be representing the group. As well as Michaelann and Ron representing the work with the school group also. Michael will be doing the opening/introductions for the presentation and then talk about gender equity in the technology/science field. Ron will then present about cultural biases in the schools. I will then follow up with the inequities that the special education students and English as Second Language learners. There will be time for questions and answers.

(Michael has the power point slides for Ron and me. We will get together Friday night to go over the presentation before Saturday's presentation.)

Next Steps: Portfolio Presentation

Tim took the lead in planning the Next Steps presentation. He will post the morning session agenda. Some brief notes I have: Gayle will do the opening of the presentation. The group will then participate in a text-based discussion. Tim will then facilitate the process of creating a learning timeline. Focusing on the use of stories (narratives) and how teacher knowledge is storied.

Still working on the complete list of facilitators and presenters.

Afternoon Agenda

12:30 - 1:30
The participants will have the choice of attending three different types of sessions (2 of each will be scheduled).

Gayle is spearheading the 2 sessions doing a tuning protocol on teacher portfolios from Reagan High School. Each presenter will do two sessions.

Ron is spearheading the 2 sessions doing a charette or 5 whys protocol using 4 participants' work as the work.

Michaelann and Mari will handle the workshop areas. These areas will be used for the participants to continue their work from the morning, start working on the school stories, or just have question and answer sessions. This time is designed off the early sessions that got all of us involved and ‘sold' on the work.

1:30 - 1:45
Break

1:45 - 2:45
Repeat of above sessions

2:45 - 3:30
Participants will return to their original tables. The tables will first pair/share and then share whole group about their learning and commitments for their next steps.

Reflections of the day

We met at a new place this month, the Daily Grind on Washington (as suggested by Michael) it was a great change. Tim, Donna (and the girls), Cheryl, Ron and I had a fabulous meeting and sharing.

Old Business

Tim opened the meeting talking about the Next Steps agenda and the presentation. (See previous blog entry) We did discuss the agenda and modifications we would make if giving the presentation again. Overall the reflections were very positive.

Cheryl reflected on the AATC prtesentation, (see previous blog entries for powerpoint and meeting reflection) she relayed to the group that the presentation got rave reviews at the AATC Board Meeting and she had received calls from all over North America about the work we have been doing in Houston. She also told us about the great connections some of our UH friends had made through the conference.

New Learning

Ron brought his journal and his new work with the teacher as researcher group and his kids. He brought up a dilemma that many of us face in schools, communication. He struggles with communication among all the stakeholders in the system. He received some great suggestions and we will hear his results during the next meeting.

Tim talked about his changing role and moving into a more train the tainer model. He also talked about moving from one comfort zone to another and dealing with the new working context.

Cheryl had a great book review that she shared with the group. The reviewer took the schools that Cheryl had worked with and created these fabulous poems based on the school's reform work.

Donna brought her work she is doing at her church. She is looking at a way to create chronicles of the 50 years of the church and honor the stories of its members. The group talked about the digital storytelling project at UH and the NPR project. Donna was talking about having a central theme to the work.

I brought the artwork and daily work of one of my students. She has been doing great work and putting in lots of hours on her paperwork. I was curious as to her placement. The group gave me ideas and suggestions to investigate until next meeting time.

New Business

We discussed AERA and we have not heard yet, but the prospects are tight this year.

See everyone at the next meeting.

Happy Thanksgiving (late Canadian and early American)

We met at our new spot the Daily Grind. It has really great coffee selections and the cake is fabulous. Attending were Gayle, Allison, Tim, Ron and me.

We opened with a connections, Allison had a wonderful heart warming story to share that made us all aware of how much we have in our lives. Ron shared stories of trying to work in the system. Tim talked about the upcoming TAR meeting and I shared about the discpline in the classrooms, especially during a full moon. (Gayle I already used your 'wording' for misconduct slips and it was perfect)

Gayle asked for a consultancy on an upcoming decision she was contemplating. It was very divided among the group on what path she should consider. It was a great discussion and many different perspectives were brought out in the open. Gayle can't wait the hear your decision.

Allison brought us back to the opening theme and how we are working towards this "How can we learn from other people?"

Allison said she has been listening to others more.

Gayle said she is paying more attention to others' motives.

Tim was working with others to ask the right questions and how to ask the questions to not get answers you don't want.

Ron stated he was learning to work more collaborativey with others outside of the school environment.

I said that I have learned from others that just because you are meeting does not mean you are learning.

For next meeting - choose one area and gather as much 'data' as possible and we will look reflectively at it in December.

See everyone in December!

Meeting Wednesday, December 14th at the Daily Grind, 4:30-6:30pm. See everyone for some holiday cheer.

Due to the rain and the flooding that comes with it - the December Meeting was cancelled.

Ron and I were already at the Daily Grind and started working on this reflection sheet for our students. We would love to get some warm and cool feedback and some probing questions to help us before we give it to the kids in January.

Download file

In attendance were Gayle, Allison, Michael, Tim, Jennifer (Tim's niece) and me.

We had a great connections from inside the group and outside.

Jennifer, who attended high school in the north at one of the most written about high schools in professional learning communities, added an insiders view and a student voice as an added dimension to everything that has been written about the school. The part I found interesting was (1) the comment don't believe everything you read and (2) that the students that were 'regular' kids and did well in regular (all As) were never even in the top half of the class (because of all the additional weighted averages in the Advanced Placement classes) and these students were ignored by the administration. I think her perspective really has made me think - what would a student at my high school say about the school?

Allison shared her continuing saga with peers at her school, Gayle shared about decisions to take a fork in the road, Michael shared about the trials of grant writing and working on a common vision across venues, and I shared on working on the data for my students and why is it we concentrate only on cores when there are so many opportunities to impact achievement during the school day.

We then discussed the 'product' of the group that will be turned in to the funder. This is what we were discussing and it is ready for additional input. Each person in the group will produce 5 pages (8.5 X 11) that will be in rough draft for clarifying and probing questions at the 2/1/06 meeting. After that we will continue to develop and produce a product that represents our learning for the past two years around our proposal. The thought was that as a group we are working independantly, collectively and collaboratively. These various dimensions need to be reflected as well as - the group name "portfolio group" - so we should produce a portfolio from the group.

We also discussed the funding and professional development. Gayle is taking care of that.

Mark your claendars - Future meeting dates
2/1/06 - first draft of each member's 5 pages
3/8/06 - review of pages and continuing research
3/29/06 - tenative - finished 5 pages turned in for production into a portfolio
4/26/06 - Dinner meeting and share the finished group portfolio and our personal portfolios

Ron and Michaelann attended the 2/1/06 meeting at the Daily Grind. Cheryl was at a conference in Canada giving the keynote address.

Ron and I discussed the rough drafts that each of us had brought for the portfolio group's portfolio that will be submitted at the end of this year's grant.

Ron posted an entry to the blog on work he has been doing in the classsroom with an intergrated curriculum.

Meeting adjourned at 4:50 pm.

Next Meeting 3/8/06; 4:30 pm at the Daily Grind.

Had a better one done and somehow deleted it.

Gayle, Tim, Ron, Donna (and the girls), Cheryl and Me were all in attendance. Gayle, Ron, Donna and myself shared artifacts of the pages we are working on for the portfolio. Cheryl and Tim also shared their progress and direction. The informal tuning protocol on the work helped give me a focus and a need to polish for the next meeting.

Pages are due March 29, 2006 - meeting at the Daily Grind.

We also discussed budgetary changes and sustainability of the group.

Have a great day!

Meeting this Wednesday at the Daily Grind. Portfolio pages are due. Tim has set up our meeting in April. Thanks Tim.

The Portfolio Group met at the State Grille on Wednesday, September 26, for our end of year celebration. Present were Cheryl, Michaelann, Ron, Gayle, Michael, Tim, Allison, Janet, and Donna.

Before dinner, we discussed several items. Here is a summary.

Budget
The remaining funds from the Teacher As Researcher Grant will be used as follows:
1) Cover AERA travel expenses for the two members who went
2) Purchase 6 tickets for the U of H Showcase of Stars
3) It is OK to purchase a projector for presentations

Be sure to turn in any outstanding receipts by the end of May.

Books
Tim and Cheryl have ordered books for us. We will all get a copy of Narrative Inquiry by Lyons and a selection of other titles. The books will be delivered at our meeting on May 18 and should help us deepen our work next year.

Proposal
Cheryl has written a proposal for continuing to fund the work of this group next year. It includes funding for meetings and travel to AERA. It also includes journals and high quality tape recorders to better record the work of our group. We also talked about ways to better utilize the blog. There were concerns that maybe a blog is too public for some of the conversations people would like to have between meetings so we can look into alternatives such as bulletin boards or listservs. However, it seemed like the main barrier to people writing more frequently was forgetting how to log in and just forgetting to check other members' entries and comment. I will work on getting us all "subscribed" to the blog so we get automatic email alerts when one of us posts.

Publishing Opportunity
We have accepted an offer to be discussants for a yearbook that Cheryl and Louise are editing. We will be writing an Overview and Framework as well as a Summary and Implications for a set of three articles about accountability. We are meeting on May 3 to brainstorm and outline and on May 18 to edit. Look for email reminders for exact time and place.

Showcase of Stars
Six of us will attend the Showcase of Stars at the U of H Hilton on May12, This is both an opportunity to show off our work as well as seek funding. Ron and Michaelann are working on a brochure and timeline to pass out. Ron will work on a display, and Tim will bring excerpts from our collaborative portfolio pages.

Our first meeting was Tuesday 9/19/06 at the Daily Grind. In attendance: Allison, Ron, Jennifer, Cheryl and Michaelann (Donna, Tim and Gayle sent their regrets).

Allison reconnected with the group and brought us up to speed at her school.

Jennifer shared the musings of her school and family.

Cheryl relayed information on her educational landscape.

Ron shared about the memory project he and his students are working on to share and learn about children all over the world.

Michaelann talked about her new classroom challenges and the introduction of austistic children into the classroom.

While the group reconnected a list of ideas was generated for possible topics for the travelling journals.

The journals distributed are as follows:

Keith Harring Journal - Special Needs Students - Ron
Gray Journal - Politics of Education - ????
Black Cover Journal - Reflective Practice - Michaelann
Buddha Journal - Leadership - Allison
Flower Journal - Relationships - ????
Blue/Map Journal - Culture/Climate - Gayle
Pink Circles Journal - Community - Jennifer
I feel... Journal - Emergent Issues - Cheryl
Dream Journal - Literacy - ????

Tim, Donna and Janet need to pick one of the three journals left for the next month. (Michaelann has all the journals left.)

Next meeting will be October 24th at 4:30pm - 6:30pm.

I am suggesting that we all read Action Research in Education by Ernie Stringer pages 1-61 (Chapters 1-3) and do a test-based protocol the next meeting. Group thoughts??

Don't forget to bring the traveling journals to the meeting. I am excited to read the thoughts of the group members and to continue to build our knowledge independently and cooperatively in the journals.

The journals distributed are as follows:

Keith Harring Journal - Special Needs Students - Ron
Gray Journal - Politics of Education - ????
Black Cover Journal - Reflective Practice - Michaelann
Buddha Journal - Leadership - Allison
Flower Journal - Relationships - ????
Blue/Map Journal - Culture/Climate - Gayle
Pink Circles Journal - Community - Jennifer
I feel... Journal - Emergent Issues - Cheryl
Dream Journal - Literacy - ????

I suggested that we all read Action Research in Education by Ernie Stringer pages 1-61 (Chapters 1-3) and do a test-based protocol the next meeting. I will bring the text rendering protocol if we have time.

New item: The proposal for continued funding was released and we need to work on that. A rough draft was sent to all members and voices will be melded on Tuesday.

Don't forget the focus of the portfolio group: Aesthetics and Literacy as Tools for Producing Accountability in Individual Practice.

November 28, 2006
Portfolio Group Meeting

In attendance were Gayle, Donna, Ron, Cheryl, Allison, Jennifer and me.

As with most of our meetings, we opened with Connections. Donna shared how the portfolio work and its structures were branching out into other parts of her life. She is even using portfolios in part of her personal work.

The traveling journals were shared and members gave brief overviews of some of the highlights in the journal they had this past month.

Gayle had the Relationships journal this past month. She shared how the journal was reflecting how relationships change over time. One quote that stuck in my mind was, "trusting relationships must be nurtured over time."

Donna has the relationship journal this month.

Ron had the Leadership journal. He highlighted his experiences in leadership through student teachers. He also pointed out that leadership doe not equal evaluator. The thought that some leaders talk the talk but do not walk the walk was discussed in the group. This brought the group to the realization that talking about leadership makes you look at your role and the possibility of leaders in and out of the classroom. The conversation then spun off into a conversation about "What is leadership?"

Cheryl has the leadership journal this month.

Donna had the Politics journal. Donna shared of her search to define politics and going back to Aristotle for the definition. Discussing politics, which means how we live together and make decisions together. She highlighted that there are three components to this -- relationships, power, and community. Donna reasoned that she picked articles and topics that were important to her.

She also had the group discussing how we need to look at other data (beyond AEIS, etc.) and tell more about the school. Tell/show more of the school through stories. She stressed the difference between telling a story and having people listen to the story.

Ron has the politics journal this month.

Allison had the special needs journal. She discussed how rules and policies change in schools and in school districts and how this affects the classroom. Allison shared stories from the journal.

Mari has the special needs journal this month.

Cheryl had the reflection journal. She discussed her journey through the reflection journal. Cheryl first responded to the past writer's thoughts and then moved the journal further in ideas and experiences. She pointed out how some professional have learned incompetence and this might come from the staff development that is imposed on professionals. The group then discussed what is our common place in the group. She also pointed out that in the beginning of the work teachers were treated as professionals.
The group discussed what have been the long-term effects of the reform movement.

Allison has the reflection journal this month.

I had the literacy journal this month. I highlighted the sections that really helped me work through the dilemma I was having in teaching traditional literacy to non-traditional learners in my classroom. I also wanted to highlight some of the breakthroughs I was having in the creation of fun and creative art with the students.

Jennifer has the literacy journal this month.

Tracking System of the Journals
Keith Harring Journal - Special Needs Students -- Ron -- to Allison -- to Mari
Gray Journal - Politics of Education -- Donna --to Donna -- to Ron
Black Cover Journal - Reflective Practice -- Michaelann -- to Cheryl -- to Allison
Buddha Journal - Leadership -- Allison -- to Ron -- to Cheryl
Flower Journal - Relationships -- Gayle -- to Gayle -- to Donna
Blue/Map Journal - Culture/Climate -- Gayle -- to Mari -- to Tim
Pink Circles Journal - Community -- Jennifer -- to Jennifer -- to Gayle
I feel... Journal - Emergent Issues -- Cheryl -- to Tim -- to Michaelann
Dream Journal - Literacy -- Tim -- to Michaelann -- to Jennifer

American Educational Research Association has accepted the proposal submitted by the portfolio group. The history of the group was discussed and the some of the major events in the group's memory.

Assignments for the next meeting:
- Allison -- sketch the evolution and development of the School Portfolio Group of Teachers since 1998;
- Tim - describe the major urban context and the reform movement which form the backdrop of our shared work;
- Donna - introduce knowledge communities (_____, 1995a, 1995b) as the natural forms of community that teachers appear to form and/or make;
- Michaelann - discuss the risks of "pseudo-community" (Wineburg & Grossman, 2005) and the rhetoric of "professional learning communities" (DuFour, 1998, 2004);
- Cheryl and Gayle - illuminate how a professor worked alongside the teachers in a manner consistent with what Schwab (1983) would have university professors do;
- Jennifer and Ron - offer a fine-grained account of instances where teachers' knowledge was developed and expanded in community as well as instances when the group dynamics changed and members interacted in perfunctory ways;
- Cheryl and Gayle - address a major gap in the literature concerning the conditions and activities that foster teacher growth in community (_____ & Ross, in press).

Each person or group should have at least 3 or 4 slides and or a couple of pages ready for discussion at the next meeting.

The book discussion was tabled due to time and a discussion ensued on how to make better use of our time in between meetings. The blog was mention, a few members were hesitant to the use of the blog, and email discussions and which email addresses to use was discussed. The decision was made to try to use a reply all method in email to discuss the two book chapters.

Next Portfolio Meeting is January 16, 2007 at Gayle's school. Note time change: 4:00 -- 6:30pm.

Do not forget that the TAR mandatory meeting is Tuesday December 5, 2006 at Gayle's school 4:30 to 7:00.

Tracking System of the Journals (best I know as of 5/13/07)

Keith Harring Journal - Special Needs Students -- Ron -- to Allison -- to Michaelann – to Gayle
Gray Journal - Politics of Education -- Donna --to Donna -- to Ron – to Cheryl – to Tim
Black Cover Journal - Reflective Practice -- Michaelann -- to Cheryl -- to Allison – to Ron – to Ron
Buddha Journal - Leadership -- Allison -- to Ron -- to Cheryl – to Donna – to Michaelann
Flower Journal - Relationships -- Gayle -- to Gayle -- to Donna – to Tim – to Cheryl
Blue/Map Journal - Culture/Climate -- Gayle -- to Mari -- to Tim – to Jennifer – to Jennifer
Pink Circles Journal - Community -- Jennifer -- to Jennifer -- to Gayle – to Gayle – to Ron
I feel... Journal- Emergent Issues -- Cheryl -- to Tim -- to Michaelann – to Allison
Dream Journal - Literacy -- Tim -- to Michaelann -- to Jennifer – to Donna – to Donna

It has been a long time since updating the portfolio blog. Since the last time we have had meetings and planning sessions for the presentation American Educational Research Association Conference in Chicago.

The presentation went fabulous. We had a nice mix of people and had some good questions to push my thinking and that of the group. The presentation was digitally recorded so that we can reflect on the both the quality of the presentation and questions from the audience.

The final session of the group will be May 15th.

Our first meeting of the 2007-2008 school year will be 9/11/07 at 3:45pm at Gayle's school.

Please bring your traveling journal. The topics so far are:

Allison - What Works in Schools

Donna - Community

Michaelann - School Leadership

Cheryl - Reflective Practice

I also will bring copies of last year's journals, books, and our portfolio copies.

See you then.

In attendance: Michaelann, Ron, Donna and Cheryl

Each member gave an overview of the traveling journal that they had been writing in over the past month.

I had the Reflections journal – I talked about how I was continually on the search for time. How that quest is affecting/effecting my life and commitments.

Ron had the School Leadership journal – he talked about how bureaucracy raises people to the level of the incompetence. He also shared a moving story of a senior student who was falling through the cracks and how he intervened on the student’s behalf and the successful conclusion.

Donna shared he work in the Students First journal – she shared her reflections on articles and her perspective as a parent and community member. A question was raised, whose students should be first? Donna continued with additional newspaper articles and her point of view on those articles.

Cheryl was writing in the Community journal – she shared her way of reading and re-reading the previous author to build and reflect as a means of priming the pump for writing. The diverse perspectives and roles that Cheryl has in the educational community add to the depth of her interpretations of major issues.

Traveling Journal log
Michaelann – Students First
Ron – Community
Cheryl – School Leadership
Donna – Reflection

The second half of the meeting was each member sharing the threads that were emerging from last year’s journals.

We settled on the following action for next meeting. Using the four threads of process, group dynamics, stories, and other --- affix post-it notes (which include the journal name and page number) and delve into each journal. The post-its will then be used to do a large affinity map for the November meeting.

Meeting November 27th.

Present: Cheryl, Gayle, Donna and Michaelann

Topics:
Re-inviting and re-kindling past members to re-collaborate: Tim, Allison, Paul and Ron (on an in-school basis)

Re-do Norms and ground rules with new combination of people.

Dates for next Meeting for the semester – Tuesdays are best

Deadlines approaching for group commitments:
March:
Nona Lyons book chapter – Cultivating and Scaffolding Reflective Practice
Outline:
Opening
Individual Portfolios
School Portfolios
Individual Journals
Traveling journals
Synthesis with reflective practice
Closing
Possibly add in use of CFG protocols

Can use as a foundation Craig’s three existing portfolio papers
(Craig to bring copies next Meeting)

Thoughts:
Building a community is a foundational piece
People do get better at reflection
Use chunks from previous proposals
Use pieces from previous AERA pieces (Michaelann to bring copies to next meeting)
Ron’s Journals – Cheryl has these
Student traveling journals – Ron and Michaelann have

Cheryl – paper on Lanier about one teacher coming full circle – curriculum maker vs. curriculum implementation

For Nona Lyon’s chapter we need to brainstorm different exemplars

Accountability in student journals

IP – Gayle from Reagan work vs. IKE PDAS
SP – Donna and Janet (old chapter), Allison Drew, Paul and Michaelann IKE
IJ – Tim and Ron
TJ – Donna, Michaelann and Ron link to student journals
Work on draft for December 18th meeting at Wilson at 3:30pm.

Traveling Journals:

Students First – Gayle
Community – Michaelann
Cheryl – Leadership
Donna – Reflective Practice

Each person gave a quick overview of the work they had been doing in the journals

AERA Paper – Traveling Journals:
20 pages or more

Themes –
Running into Boundaries
Incompetence and overworked and over stressed
Bumping into the Compliance culture

For December Meeting:
Traveling Journals Paper has these three items:
Theme:
Process:
Product:
(Per areas individually discussed)

{Theme: Collaboration; Process: idea of traveling journals; Product: Group journals and student journals}

Remember the value of making connections

Homework for DECEMBER 18, 2207
Brainstorm ideas for Lyons chapter based on your assignment
Have traveling journal entries pulled and copied for you section of AERA paper.

You control your destiny

The meeting was attended by Cheryl, Paul and Michaelann.

The work started with lots of information. Cheryl brought articles to help us with terms and alignment. Michaelann brought the copies from past powerpoint presentations at AERA and the group found lots of material to include in the chapter. The upcoming chapter and presentation are going to require more time than in the past.

The small group there worked on reading the section Cheryl had written and bringing Paul back into the portfolio group process. Paul's work around the state has really help to promote the teacher group/critical friends approach embraced by the portfolio group. Michaelann talked about the receiving a replication grant for the work at her school with CFGs.

The sharing of information and process thinking will help the writing process.

Future dates:
January 21, 2008 - at the university - all day writing (8-4)
January 31, 2008 - Regular meeting - 4:00pm
February 21, 2008 - Regular meeting - 4:00pm
March 13, 2008 - Regular meeting - 4:00pm

The decision was made to have a mini-writing retreat on MLK day at the university to have access to resources and a group block of time.

(Tim and Donna, I have your information I will get it to you after the holiday.)

Have a Happy Holiday!

Our April meeting went very well. Even though the group was small, the work was fabulous. The Lyons' chapter is very close to the first draft being out the door.

Donna did some of the proof reading, Paul and I have been putting in most of the example writing, not previously published, and Cheryl the literature and smooth factor.

We have been working fairly well as a team and the writing partnership between Paul and I is back in full swing.

Great job everyone.

PS. First draft has been sent to editors and reviewers.

In attendance: Paul, Cheryl, Donna, Tim, and Michaelann

The traveling journals are being held by Donna - Community, Cheryl - Leadership, and Paul has the other.

AERA feedback: Janice Huber said that our traveling journals are the closest thing to Lugones concept of world traveling.

Donna presented part of the presentation to her class at UH and it went well, we have to consider all presentations and the confidentiality of all people.

This summer we will receive feedback from Nona on the chapter and will have to addr4ess those and relook at the comments that Donna suggested in rearranging the chapter.

We have a proposal at the AATC conference pending in Austin, consider AERA presentations: Tim/Donna spearhead one on the TAR/CART work, one on the Reflection chapter, and one on the CFG work at Eagle.

Each person is going to start their world-traveling journal (literally) this summer and then we are going to exchange them and see what themes emerge, rather than assigning themes.

Have a great summer.