September 12 Introductions & Syllabus Class logistics: breaks, food, technology, class meeting times Email: Check Wilkes and school email Purpose of Course: Use best practice and research to drive course This class will likely challenge your assumptions , opinions, beliefs, and practices
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September 12 Introductions & Syllabus Class logistics: breaks, food, technology, class meeting times Email: Check Wilkes and school email Purpose of Course:
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September 12 Introductions & Syllabus Class logistics: breaks, food, technology,
class meeting times Email: Check Wilkes and school email Purpose of Course: Use best practice and
research to drive course This class will likely
challenge your assumptions, opinions, beliefs, and practices
A mission-driven approach to schooling drives everything… “Without a constant focus on teaching
that is meant to culminate in meaning and transfer, schooling will likely remain mired in timeless, unexamined habits and rituals, and limited by incoherent practices and structures.”
Jay McTighe, Schooling by Design
A mission-driven approach to schooling drives everything… The focus of schools today ought to
be how to make sense of learning in order to have kids lead better lives out of school – to apply lessons to later challenges.
A mission-driven approach to schooling drives everything…
Wiggins & McTighe… For the most part, traditional curriculum and views of
teaching: dysfunctional Content mastery is not the ultimate goal. It is a by-
product of a successful, holistic education. Standards = the building code Content and skills = architect’s blueprint Learning experiences & activities = building of home Formative assessments = codes officer inspection
during process of building home (framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc.)
Summative assessment = final inspection from owner and codes officer
Turn to the person next to you and discuss for 2 minutes…
Why have well-intentioned, skilled, hard-working educators often lost sight of the ultimate goals of schooling? Why do our
students not end up understanding or being ‘proficient’ and being bored by school?
Why does it often appear as though one reform initiative after another often falls short and/or
fail?
Successful reform depends on…
Each individual educator (teachers and administrators) breaking a long-standing
practice of habits and attitudes that for at least a century has held schools back from entering
a new era.
“Many teachers, acting in good faith, have been led to believe incorrectly that their job is to march through content and to test for low-level knowledge and discrete skills (though that is not even what most state standards
expect.” - Wiggins & McTighe
Sharing of pre-assignment…
Please share what you chose to reflect on in the letter/email sent:1. Trends/initiatives in your school: Has much
has changed based on what you found?
2. Assessing your own instructional planning and delivery.
Trends / Initiatives in Teaching and Learning
Results of student performance on various assessments has dictated many (if not all) trends
This information has led to state and federal policy changes and laws enacted TIMMS study Nation at Risk
Flavor of the Year (often accompanied by grants & incentives) is a concept very familiar to us as educators in order to meet policy changes
“We have to teach to the test…” Many suggest there is little to no time for
in-depth, engaging instructionThis is why some schools that have
gone to block scheduling have failed. Instead of going deeper with concepts, some just taught more of the same in the same teacher-directed manner.
This is a large reason why people abhor testing, but it’s also a reason to make more excuses to not teach differently
“We have to teach to the test…”
It’s not just about the test scores Test scores are a by-product of rigorous,
relevant, engaging instruction In the worst case scenario, struggling schools
may only be able to meet the minimums that a test like the PSSA tests
Even struggling schools (low SES, black, Latino, high IEP #’s) depend on rigorous, relevant curriculum and instruction Giving kids more of the same and expecting
better results is lunacy
“We have to teach to the test…” Goal of curriculum
To design curriculum coupled with instruction that is engaging, relevant, and rigorous that students find purposeful
“UBD provides a way in which a focus on big ideas, robust assessment, and a focused and coherent learning plan makes it likely that state standards are addressed and met.”
Turn to someone else. Talk about how you feel pressured to cover content in your classroom.
(3 min.)
Misconception #2: “We have to cover too much content…”
Based on the assumption that teaching to minimum state standards AND “other content and skills” are exclusive. They are NOT.
Coverage vs. uncoverage Textbook NOT the curriculum; it is a resource
Not totally the case when you think of Guided Reading, Everyday Math, & other spiral curricula
“We have to cover too much content…”
“…The need to cover is typically based upon two implicit assumptions…: (1) if I ‘teach it,’ it will be adequately learned
for tests (2) if I don’t address it in a didactic way, it
won’t be learned.” Teachers cite stress from principals, etc.
to teach the required course
Misconception #3: “This work is too hard and I just don’t have the
time…” No one ever has enough time Perhaps we are not using time to prepare
wisely Teaching is really hard (If you do it right) Time is required ideally UPFRONT, and
with the right technology and resources, we can make better use of time
“This work is too hard and I just don’t have the time…”
Today’s classroom requires collaboration with others to design the best possible learning environment
Professional development needs should be based on what each NEEDS and NOT a one-size fits-most manner
Professional development calendars: All P.D. for given year projected in advance so all
stakeholders can plan effectively
“This work is too hard and I just don’t have the time…”
Time consuming work is NOT a bad thing Most jobs of importance take time to do “We have found that most educators have
a paradoxical resistance to learning – especially teachers used to working alone and thinking that smooth control of all that happens in their space…is what matters most.”
T/P/S: 1 minute How does preparing kids for a 21st century
world require looking at how we design teaching & learning?
Curriculum, instruction, assessment, & testing are directly linked together.
We must work “smarter” to align all of it Technology and best practice in
curriculum mapping is perhaps the best way to achieve desired goals
If we don’t so something differently, we continue to place our kids further behind other industrialized nations and the global economy