2014 Summer Collaboration Grant Commitment Statement/Plan

District JHS Choral Teachers

SMART Goals Aligning with the Four Questions of a PLC:
1.Whatdowewantstudentstolearn?(alltobecompletedbystartofschool2014)
a.
b.
c.

d.
e.
f.

Wewillreviewandalignourcurricularbenchmarkstonewnational
musicstandards(tobereleasedJune2014).
Wewillrevisethescopeandcontentoftheadvancedcurriculum.
Wewillreviseandreleaseimprovedsummativeandcompanion
formativeassessmentsforbeginning,intermediate,andadvanced
notationalliteracycurricula.Editionstoassessmentswillbemadeon
thebasisof13yearsofcollectedstudentdata.
WewillstreamlinecurriculummapsonMasteryConnect.
Wewillcreatematerialsforeachcurriculumthatensurethat
notationalliteracyconceptsaretaughtincontext.
Wewilldesignateonecommonperformancepiecetobeperformedby
eachschoolatintermediateandadvancedchoralfestivalsinMarch/
April2015.Wewillcreatecommonlessonsthatreflectbestpractices
forteachingtheselectedrepertoire.

2.Howwillweknowifstudentslearnedthecontent?
a.

b.

c.

d.

80%ofchoirstudentswillshowproficiencyinmusicnotational
literacybycourseend(onesemesterforbeginning,fullyearfor
intermediateandadvanced).Proficiencywillbedemonstratedby
scoring70%orhigherontheposttestforeachappropriatecourse.
Forschoolswherefewerthan20%ofstudentsshowproficiencyon
thepretest,themodifiedSMARTgoalwillbetoshow60%
improvementinproficiencyinthechoirpopulationatthatschool.
ByAugust2014,wewillestablishadistrictwideschedulefor
administrationofcommonformativemidpointassessmentstoassist
inteacherpacing,targetingstudentsforremediation,anddistrict
widesharingofdata todiscussbestpracticesthroughouttheyear.
ByAugust2014,datacollectionperiodsfortheacademicyearwillbe
established.

3.Whatwillwedoifstudentsdonotlearnthecontent?
ByAugust2014,wewillorganizeadistrictwidesystemof
interventionsforstudentswhodonotmastercontentonformative
assessments.Thissystemofinventionswillberevisitedthroughoutthe
schoolyearforrevision.

4.Whatwillwedooncestudentslearnthecontent?
ByAugust2014,wewillcreateadistrictwidesystemofenrichmentfor
studentswhomasterthecontent(asevidencedbyperformanceoncommon
assessments).Thissystemofenrichmentwillberevisitedthroughoutthe
schoolyearforrevision.
Description of Artifacts
Revisedadvancedcurriculummapandbenchmarks
PLCteambenchmarksalignedwithnewnationalmusicstandards
Editedsummativepretestandposttestassessmentsforeachlevelfeaturing:
questionsadjustedtoalignwithimprovedscope
confusingquestionsreworded
superfluousquestionstakenout
improvedgraphics
Editedformativemidpointassessmentsforeachlevel(withsamefeaturesas
summativeassessments)
Activitiesthatwillaidintheteachingofconceptsincontext,includingbutnot
limitedto:
engagingworksheetswithrealisticmusicgraphics
PowerPointpresentations
literatureideaswithaccompanyingquestionsthatpromotecritical
thinking
2piecesofcommonliteraturetobetaughtthroughouttheyearandpresentedat
districtfestivals
Formativeandsummativeassessmentschedule
Datacollectionschedule
Districtsystemofinterventionsplan
Districtsystemofenrichmentplan
All materials will be available on our teams website choirplc.com as soon as
they are completed. The password for the Assessments page is choirplc.

2014 Summer Collaboration Grant Reflection

District JHS Choral Teachers
Whatdowewantstudentstolearn?
Howarewegoingtoknowiftheylearnedit?
OurPLCgroupisataSustainingLevel4atthistimewithregardstobothrubrics.
Westartedfouryearsagowithonlyavaguestatecorecurriculumandnocommon
assessmentsotherthanthedistrictfestivalsthatweattend.Wehavenowunpacked
standardsfornotationalmusicliteracyforthreelevelsofproficiency.Wehave
createdcomprehensive,summativepreandpostteststhathelpusdetermine
wherestudentsareatinthebeginningofthecourse,aswellastheprogressthey
haveindividuallymadebyyearsend.Wehavecreatednumerousformative
assessments,sixofwhich(percurricularlevel)weaimtoadministerinthesame
windowoftimesothatwecanmeettogetherasteacherstoanalyzedata,
brainstormstrategiesforreteachingandremediation,sharebestpractices,
encourageoneanother,andimproviseexistingmaterials.Weneedmoretimetoedit
thescope,sequence,assessments,andaccompanyingmaterialsforourcurricula,
particularlyouradvancedcurriculum.Wealsocontinuetoimprovetheassessment
toolandassessmentprocessforourdistrictfestival;thereisnotayearthatgoesby
thatwehaventexaminedtraditionsandpractice,choosingtoexperimentwith
someaspectofthefestivalcommonassessment.Thissummerweareespecially
interestedincreatingaformalsystemsofbothintervention(focusingonquestion3)
andenrichment(focusingonquestion4).