The School Board of Escambia County, Florida, convened in Special Meeting at 9:30 a.m., at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, 40 South Alcaniz Street, Pensacola, Florida, with the following present:

Chair:  Ms. Linda Finkelstein                                

Vice Chair:  Mrs. Cary Stidham

Board Members:  Mrs. Carissa Bergosh

Mr. Ronnie L. Clark (was not present)

Dr. John DeWitt

School Board Attorney: Mr. Francisco M. Negron, Jr. (was not present)

Superintendent of Schools:  Mr. Jim Paul

(NOTE:  Mr.Ted Kirchharr, Assistant Superintendent for Operations, Mrs. Barbara Linker, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Business Affairs, Mr. Don Manderson, Director of Instructional Technology, and Dr. Alan Scott, Director of Secondary Education, were also in attendance.) 

I.  CALL TO ORDER

 Ms. Finkelstein called to Special Meeting to order at 9:35 a.m.

II.  ADOPTION OF AGENDA

 There being no objection, the agenda was adopted by unanimous consent.

III. PRESENTATION BY INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN AND MACHINE COGNITION    

 Mr. Alberto J. Canas and Dr. Joseph D. Novak, representatives of the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), gave a demonstration of a “concept mapping software” called CMap, that could be used as a classroom tool for both elementary and secondary students and teachers.  They explained that “concept maps,” used for organizing and representing the knowledge on an individual, are constructed by arranging hierarchically, concepts enclosed in circles or boxes connect to each other by lines, with words written on the lines to indicate the relationship between the enclosed concepts.  They believed that the construction of “concept maps” engages the method of meaningful learning, as opposed to rote learning, by representing the relationship between concepts rather than a series of information to memorize and is effective in identifying both valid and invalid ideas held by students.  They advised that the CMap software program was freely available to nonprofit organizations for educational use.

The Superintendent left the meeting at 10:45 a.m., at the conclusion of the presentation.

After their presentation, Mr. Canas and Dr. Novak, responded to questions and comments posed by Board Members and other attendees, regarding the CMap program and the issue of “concept mapping.” 

IV.  ADJOURNMENT

Prior to adjournment, the following issue was addressed:

 Agreement for Legislative Consulting Services between the School Board of Escambia County, Florida and Mixon and Associates

(NOTE: This issue was previously discussed at the January 27, 2003 Special Meeting.)  After brief discussion, the Board collectively agreed to add the item “Agreement for Legislative Consulting Services between the School Board of Escambia County, Florida and Mixon and Associates,” to the February 7, 2003 Special Meeting agenda.

There being no further business, the Special Meeting adjourned at 11:25 a.m. 

Attest:                               Approved:

______________            _____________

Superintendent                  Chair