West Windsor-PlainsboroConnect-Ed Phase II Team

Jeff Grabell, Dutch Neck Elementary SchoolHeidi Wachtin, Millstone River School

Penni Bowen, Community Middle School Carolyn SooHoo, High School North

Rob Richard, Science Supervisor K-12

Where We’ve Been & Where We’re Going…

Summer 2009: Chemistry Mapping

What We Did:• Mapped K-12 Chemistry

Curriculum• Established our PLC

What We Learned:• Saw the big ideas and

connections across curriculum and grades

Chemistry Map…

Summer 2010: Summer Institute

What We Did:• Created and presented a mini-

BIM on “heat transfer”• Shared our Chemistry Maps

What We Learned:• Needed to improve outreach• Recognized a measuring tool was

needed

Summer 2010: Mapping Teams

What We Did:• Created and trained two new teams that mapped

Life Science & Astronomy• Aligned maps to new state standards• Added a new member (Carolyn) to our PLC

What We Learned:• Recognized challenge of mapping curriculum to

state standards

Maps…

Winter 2011: Mapping Revisions

What We Did:• Revised the chemistry map to align with the

new NJCCCS

What We Learned:• Science nerds never retire!

Spring 2011: Spring Institute

What We Did:• Presented mini-BIM “Perfections and

Discrepancies” • Presented Chemistry, Life Science and

Astronomy maps• Administered survey to measure

effectiveness of maps and institute

What We Learned:• Connected with enthusiastic, receptive

colleagues, eager to gain content and process knowledge

Summer 2011: Summer Institute & Map Completion

In Progress:• Preparing another institute• Preparing to map Physics and Earth Science curricula• Expanding outreach to administrators

Impact of Our PLC On Ourselves

• Developed awareness of K-12 flow of big ideas and where we fit in

• Enhanced content and process knowledge• Increased confidence in sharing BIT

On District• Exposed a number of colleagues to BIT• Created formal documents showing flow of big

ideas and connections with NJCCCS

Envisioning the Future

Conduct follow-up survey of institute participants and mappers

Analyze collected data Continue to foster vertical and horizontal

connections Export BIT to other disciplines Have BIT recognized as an integral part

of our district’s professional development

Testimonials…“Some colleagues and I attended a workshop this past Saturday regarding big ideas and how they flow through our curriculum in science…it was just AWESOME to get to have time to discuss and work on making sure everything we do matches up and there are no gaps.” 

“There is so much they modeled in terms of pedagogy and concept development that it re-inspired me to develop intentional lesson plans from introduction to wrap-up.” 

“I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed this workshop and how valuable all of us in attendance thought it was...is there any way we can incorporate more K-12 big idea planning into our PD next year?”