March 28, 2014 Meeting Notes

meeting notesThis post is a little delayed.  Apologies for the slow follow up to the meeting.  Due to a number of different circumstances, this meeting had a smaller turnout of attendees and was basically combined with the EDST Department meeting.

Following are the main topic areas that were discussed and required follow up or next steps:

1. Genesis Overview – The faculty who were able to attend the Genesis presentation Wednesday, March 5th provided an overview and gave feedback on the session, Genesis as a student information database and inpout on the lesson plan format that is used within the Genesis system.  Dr. Devlin-Scherer. Dr. Carr, Dr. Daly and Dr. Peskin all provided their feedback.  If you were unable to attend the Genesis session or the Curriculum Revision meeting and would like more information, please feel free to contact one of those faculty members or stop by JH Room 434 for a Genesis folder/packet.

2. Alumni Survey – Final review and feedback on the Initial Programs and IDAT/SLMS Alumni Survey was requested from the faculty.  That input was included in a draft that was emailed to faculty on April 4th for final approval.  In the time between this meeting and posting of these notes, the surveys have been created in Qualtrics and are ready for electronic distribution to alumni who have graduated between 2010 and 2013.  We are waiting to receive alumni contact information from the alumni office and then they will be distributed.

3. Pass-Port Portals – A spreadsheet was distributed and discussed with those in attendance.  It included a starting point of what could be included in Portals 1, 2, 3 and 4 for each major and secondary education concentration.  The request was made that by the end of the Spring 2014 semester each program provide feedback and input as to what assessments should be included in each portal.  Specifically, Secondary Education was asked to identify key assessments for Portals 1 and 2 and ESED were to verify and validate Portals 1, 2 and 3.

4. Supervisor Training – There was feedback and a request from some faculty to look into providing training or an information session for the supervisors to ensure consistency and standardization of messaging and observations.  Some of the topics discussed as possible topics for inclusion in the session were classroom management, what to observe and look for at each field observation, how to communicate in a respectful, kind and supportive manner with interns, lesson plan approval and review, and a method for improving communication between faculty, supervisors and cooperating teachers.  Dr. Peskin, Dr. Mueller and Dr. Liberty volunteered to help coordinate this effort.

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.