Earth Systems Science Meeting

I attended the weekly Earth Systems Science meeting. I attended the meeting with my match up
teacher, Lisa. The meeting was held in one of the science classrooms during a lunch period. The meeting
is held once a week to discuss where each class sits in the curriculum, whether there are questions and
concerns about what the teachers are assigning and what activities they are doing in class. The teachers
bounce ideas off of one another as to how some of the content should be explained. This is also a time
where concerns are raised as to whether the students are understanding the content or if they are
struggling.
Lisa and I walked into the room with three other teachers and the ESS department head, Dan.
Lisa has expressed to me that he writes all the assessments, assignments and rubrics. That day we were
going to discuss whether everyone was on track to administer the Hydrosphere quiz, or whether people
needed more time going through content with their classes. Lisa expressed in the meeting that we were
on track and that we were going to give the students the quiz when they had initially planned it. We also
discussed the lab the students were about to complete and the rubric that was going to accompany it.
Because I was teaching that day the kids were to do the lab, I offered to complete the rubric. Lisa
allowed me to and told me that we should bring it to the meeting and show everyone to see what they
thought. It turned out great! Everyone was really enthusiastic about my rubric and as a result they
decided to go with the rubric I had created for the lab!
It was a great feeling to feel as if I was one of them. I was not just a student from CSU observing
a meeting! I was giving input and being asked for input. Collaboration felt great! I felt like I was making
an impact. During the meeting the other teachers would even ask me how I felt a certain lesson went
with the students and if I felt that anything could be changed. Dan is great and he is a great peer for
them to have around. Dan takes the initiative to set the meetings up and produce all the material for the

teachers to use in their class. I am hoping that this type of environment is available at the school I teach
at. And if not, I hope that my peers are receptive enough to want to collaborate and develop a great
curriculum for our students. After all, the students are the most important factor in all of this!