Curriculum Revision Meeting Notes January 24, 2014

meeting notesThe Curriculum Revision meeting held on January 24, 2014 was focused on taking a step back and evaluating questions proposed by Dean May to refocus and consider where we are,  how we got here and how to strategize where we are going.

The following are the questions provided as a prompt for faculty to discuss:

How has the job of teachers changed in the past ten years?

What have our programs done to address those changes?

• Were the things we did strategic and comprehensive or good patch work?

Do you think that students could explain the relationship between courses in the program?

Do they experience them as developmental interrelated pieces or as distinct, somewhat connected events? Where can a student, faculty member or reviewer find information explaining our programs?

As individual faculty, and as program faculty, what do you wish you could include or do differently that you have not figured out how to?

How has the answer to the question posed over a year ago–what should students be doing in the field when not teaching a lesson–been addressed?

• Would students be able to answer the question? Could they answer why we think the field experience is important beyond the lessons taught?
• Would the expectation be known to supervisors? In writing somewhere?
• How does that nonlesson learning in the field get processed, used, tied back to classes?

What is your greatest fear when thinking about curriculum updates in response to the educational landscape today?

This document has the questions along with comments/feedback from the meeting.

Genesis Software Overview – Student Data and How to Use it to Inform Instruction – March 5th at 2pm

genesisOne of the results of the Technology Advisory Committee SHU hosted in January was feedback that new teachers are not familiar with the data that is available to them and how to use that data to better inform their instruction and improve student learning.

As a result, we reached out to Genesis, a Web-Based Student Information System for New Jersey Schools, to come to SHU and demonstrate their software and system.  This will enable us to better understand what data our students will have access to when they are hired in the field.

This document provided an overview of what the Genesis Student Information System is and what data is collected and can be evaluated in the system

Jan Russak, the Chief Technology Officer at Genesis will be coming to CEHS on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 2pm to provide us with a look into Genesis.  The information she will be providing will help answer some of the following questions:

– What is a modern (circa 2014) Student Information System and what can it contain & do?
– How does the information get there and who maintains it?
– What information does the State of NJ collect (NJ SMART) and how can a Student Information System provide it?
– What tools do teachers have access to?
– Security, student data and personal responsibility
– How can you use what you have access to to inform your teaching and interactions with your students?

This is the first step in building a relationship with Genesis.  Ultimately, we would like to develop a partnership where we are able to provide access to Genesis accounts and data that is available for use in the teacher preparation courses.

Please join us on Wednesday, March 5th from 2:00-3:30 in the 4th Floor Media Lab.