Transcript Creating Relevance in Bristow Schools

Creating Rigor and Relevance in
Garden City Public Schools
Refining Instruction and
Assessment
Changing Education Paradigms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
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critical thinking and problem solving;
collaboration and leadership;
agility and adaptability;
initiative and entrepreneurialism;
effective oral and written communication;
accessing and analyzing information; and
curiosity and imagination (pp. 21–22).
“It’s time to hold
ourselves and all of our
students to a new and
higher standard of
rigor.”
--Tony Wagner
How do we change?
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Rigor/Relevance Framework
Authentic Tasks
Argumentation
Informational Texts
Technology
Relationships
New CCSS require a new kind of teaching.
“Educators will need to understand how to
teach less material than is usually found in
America’s overcrowded curriculum, and teach
it at deeper levels than ever before. . . . The
skills and information they contain will have to
be applied in real-life situations, not merely
learned.”—Willard Daggett
Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment
Content, Process, and Product
must interrelate and reinforce each
other because if assessment
becomes the sole goal, the test
itself becomes a barrier to high
levels of student achievement.
However, if curriculum, instruction, and
relevant learning become the focus,
the tests will take care of
themselves.
Education must increase students’
understanding
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Of globalization
Of technological advancements
Of how what they learn in one class relates
to another
Of how what they learn applies in the world
outside of school.
Instruction in highly successful
schools . . .
enables students to know
what to do when they don’t
know what to do.
The Rigor/Relevance Framework
 Directs
curriculum, instruction, and
assessment
 Based on a continuum of
knowledge (Bloom’s Taxonomy)
and on the Application Model
created by the International Center
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcD
GpL4U
The Knowledge Taxonomy
Describes increasingly complex ways
that we think
 Low end :
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and recalling or simply locating it
 High end:
combining pieces of
knowledge (assimilation)
RIGOR IS . . .
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Scaffolding thinking
Planning for thinking
Assessing thinking about content
Recognizing the level of thinking
students demonstrate
• Managing the teaching/ learning
level for the desired thinking level
Rigor is not about subject matter but
“process skills.”
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Don’t define rigor by more facts, more
definitions, more theories, more vocabulary
words, longer essays, etc.).
Students at any age can develop process skills.
K-12, ask,
“What do you think?”, “Why?”, “How would you
respond to ______?”, “How might you solve that
problem?”
Rigor is not. . .
• More or harder
worksheets
• AP or honors courses
• The higher level book in
reading
• More work
• More homework
The Application Model
Describes putting knowledge to USE
 Low end: knowledge acquired for its
own sake
 High end: solving complex, real-world
problems and creating projects,
designs, and other works
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A Relevant Lesson Answers
What
am I learning?
Why am I learning it?
How will I use it?
Add Relevancy to Any Learning
Compare Learning to …
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Student’s life
Family’s life
Student’s community and friends
Our world, nation, state
World of work
World of service
World of business and commerce that we
interact with
Add Relevancy to Any Learning
Using Real World Examples
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Moral, ethical, political, cultural points of view
and dilemmas
Real world materials
Internet resources
Video and other media
Scenarios, real life stories
News -periodicals, media
Quadrant A: Acquisition
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Teachers work; students are passive learners.
Quadrant A represents simple recall and basic
understanding of knowledge for its own sake.
Students gather and store bits of knowledge and
information that they are expected to remember.
BUT, Students cannot perform at Quadrant B
and D levels without first mastering Quadrant A
skills and knowledge
Quadrant B: Application
Students do real-world work, using acquired
knowledge to
 Solve problems
 Design solutions
 Complete work
 Apply knowledge to new and unpredictable
situations
Quadrant C: Assimilation
Students are required to think in complex ways to
 Analyze and solve complex problems
 Compare and contrast
 Create unique solutions
 Evaluate others’ ideas
Assimilation represents more complex thinking, but
still knowledge for its own sake.
Quadrant D: Adaptation
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Students must think and work.
Teacher-centered instruction shifts to
student-centered learning.
They apply acquired knowledge and skills to
new and unpredictable situations.
Students create solutions and take actions
that further develop their skills and
knowledge.
Our Goal
Work in Quadrants B and D as
much as possible to prepare
students for the more
demanding standards
and assessments
of CCSS.
To become lifelong learners, problemsolvers, and decision-makers,
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Quadrant B and D skills are required. In
effect, our students need to know what to
do when they do not know what to do.
The Rigor/Relevance Framework provides a
structure to enable schools to move all
students toward that level.
In which quadrant of the R/R Framework
would the student be working?
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Name the planets in the solar system.
Use a manual to understand and operate an appliance.
Be able to make voting decisions
Understand nutritional requirements and make appropriate
decisions while grocery shopping.
Analyze the mechanics of a bicycle in terms of how several
machines act together to make it work.
Best Strategies for Quadrant A: Acquisition
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Guided Practice
Lecture
Memorization
Demonstration—Teachers
Video
Literature
Graphic organizers for notes
Instructional technology, games
Best strategies for Quadrant B: Application
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Cooperative Learning –Group Discussion
Demonstration -Student
Instructional Technology -Games
Problem-based Learning
Project Design
Simulation/Role Playing
Work-based Learning
Best strategies for Quadrant C: Assimilation
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Brainstorming
Group Discussions
Inquiry
Instructional Technology
Research –Literature –Writing
Socratic Seminar
Teacher Questions
Best strategies for Quadrant D: Adaptation
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Project Design
Group Discussions
Simulation/Role-playing
Socratic Seminar
Teacher Questions
Work-based Learning
Internships
Quadrant A: Ask questions to recall facts,
make observations or demonstrate
understanding
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What is/are__?
What did you observe__ ?
What else can you tell me__?
What does it mean__?
Where did you find that__?
Who is/was______?
In what ways______?
How would you define that in your own terms?
What did/do you notice about this ______?
What did/do you feel/see/hear/smell ______?
What do you remember about ______?
Quadrant B: Ask questions to apply or relate
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How would you do that?
Where will use that knowledge?
How does that relate to your experience?
How can you demonstrate that?
What observations relate______?
Where would you locate that information?
Calculate that for _____?
How would you illustrate that?
Who could you interview?
How would you collect that data?
How do you know it works?
Can you apply what you know to this real world problem?
How do you make sure it is done correctly?
Quadrant C: Ask questions to summarize,
analyze, organize, or evaluate
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How are these similar/different?
How is this like______?
What's another way we could say/explain/express that?
What do you think are some reasons/causes that _____ ?
Why did ______ changes occur?
How can you distinguish between______?
What is a better solution to______?
How would you defend your position about______?
What changes to ______ would you recommend?
What evidence can you offer?
How do you know?
Which ones do you think belong together?
What is the author’s purpose?
Quadrant D: Ask questions to predict,
design, create
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How would you design a ______ to ______?
How would you compose a song about______?
How would you rewrite the ending of the story?
What would be different today, if that event occurred?
Can you see a possible solution to______?
How could you teach that to others?
Which resources would you use to deal with______?
How would you devise your own way to deal with______?
What new and unusual uses would you create
for______?
Can you develop a proposal which would______?
How would you do it differently?
Our students must have . . .
time and opportunity to develop
and apply habits of mind as they
navigate sophisticated and
reflective learning experiences.
“In times of change, the
learners inherit the earth,
while the learned find
themselves beautifully
equipped to deal with a world
that no longer exists.”
~ Eric Hoffer”