Transcript Framework for High Performing School Systems

West Virginia Achieves
Professional Development Series
Volume XII
Standards-Based Lessons and
Unit Designs
West Virginia Department of Education
Mission
The West Virginia Department of Education, in conjunction
with the Regional Education Service Agencies and the Office
of Performance Audits, will create systemic conditions,
processes and structures within the West Virginia public
school system that result in (1) all students achieving
mastery and beyond and (2) closing the achievement gap
among sub-groups of the student population.
Robert Hutchins
The Conflict in Education in a Democratic Society
“Perhaps the greatest idea that America has given the
world is education for all. The world is entitled to
know whether this idea means that everybody can be
educated or simply that everyone must go to school.”
What We Know…
An emerging body of research identifies characteristics of
high performing school systems.
These school systems have made significant progress in
bringing all students to mastery and in closing the
achievement gap.
These systems share characteristics described in The West
Virginia Framework for High Performing Schools.
HIGH PERFORMING SCHOOL SYSTEM
SYSTEMIC CONTINUOUS
STUDENT/PARENT SUPPORT
SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS
INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES
CURRICULLUM MANAGEMENT
IMPROVEMENT PROCESS
CULTURE OF COMMON BELIEFS & VALUES
Dedicated to “Learning for ALL…Whatever It Takes”
What’s Different About StandardsBased Instruction?
1. Shared responsibility among district,
school and teachers
2. Approach focus is on using content
standards to…
•
•
determine curricular priorities and “big
ideas”— the standards
determine methods of student assessments
that provide evidence of learning
• design lessons that stem from the
standards and student assessments
Activity
What’s wrong with this picture?
Coverage teaching
getting through the textbook
Activity-oriented teaching
with no how or why
The content is either too big or too small.
What is
Understanding By Design?
A unit/lesson design process
• Created by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
• Referred to as “backward design”
Is Understanding by Design really a
better way?
Two key components of UbD area focus on
• depth of understanding
• evidence that students have attained
understanding
Jay McTighe’s Basic Beliefs
• Facts don’t transfer; concepts do.
• Big ideas provide the conceptual velcro
of instruction.
• Assessments should promote learning,
not just measure it.
• Assess what is valued, not just what is
easiest to do.
Just what is “understanding”?
• How do you know when you’ve “got it”?
• How do you know when your students
have “got it”?
What key words have you used
to define understanding?
Six Facets: The Foundation of Understanding by Design
How do we know when we
understand ?
Explanation
The how, what, where and why you do what you do …
supported by theory
What might happen if …?
How might we prove …?
Interpret
Make meaning of text and events, use patterns to
develop meaning or significance
What are the implications of …?
Why does this matter?
Application
Solve a problem … use old information in a new
situation to accomplish a purpose
How could we use … to overcome …?
How and when can we use this
knowledge or process?
Perspective
To seek understanding from insightful points of
view using a variety of vantage points
What could be a different point of
view about …?
What are other possible
reactions to …?
Empathy
Make sense of unfamiliar information by getting
inside another person’s feelings and views
How might … feel about …?
What would it be like to walk in …’s shoes?
Self-knowledge
Wisdom to know the limits of one’s knowledge
What are my “blind spots” about …?
How are my views shaped by experiences
habits and prejudices?
How does
Understanding by Design
work?
3 Stages of UbD
Stage I
identify desired results
Stage II
determine acceptable evidence
Stage III
plan learning experiences
Design Tip
The order of the process is
everything.
Stage I – Desired Results
Decide what knowledge and skills
for each standard look like at the
end of instruction.
Stage II – Assessment Evidence
Develop assessments that will
measure the desired results from
Stage I.
Stage III – Learning Plan
Sequence instruction from the end of the
unit to the beginning.
Design instructional activities that will
ensure student performance is at
mastery and above.
Did that just sound like CSO
terminology?
Absolutely!
Understanding by Design and the West
Virginia Content Standards, Objectives
and Performance Descriptors work
exceptionally well together.
A Closer Look at Stage I—
Desired Results
• The Content Standards are “big ideas”. They are
essential to the curriculum.
• There are other “big ideas,” too.
• The “big ideas” are the basis for Stage I—
Desired Results
• Let’s look at the next slide to help you
decide what is a “big idea.”
UbD Clarifying Content Priorities
Worth being
familiar with (e.g.
nice to know if
time permits)
Important to know
and do (e.g.
objectives, skills)
Enduring
understandings
(e.g. standards)
What are “enduring understandings?”
• What do you want the students to take with
them when they leave your class?
• What are the knowledge and skills you want
them to have?
Write this as a statement, and it is an
“enduring understanding.”
What are “essential questions?”
Essential questions are thought-provoking
questions that cause students to think about
the “desired result” or “big idea”.
Rarely will essential questions be
answered with a “yes” or “no”.
Stage I Checklist
 Is it a big idea?
 Does it reside at the heart of the discipline?
 Does it require uncoverage?
 Does it have the potential for engaging
students?
All of the above can lead you to
determine the Desired Results
for student learning
This is a good time for an
example
We’re going to look at the Standard and Objectives for
this part.
We are just going to concentrate on figuring out the “big
idea.”
We are going to relate this in terms of what we want
students to know and be able to do.
What’s next?
Stage II requires us to figure out what type of
student assessments to use.
What types of assessments, both formal and
informal, will give us the evidence that the
students understand?
What helps you do this part of the task?
What is meant by formal and informal?
Let’s talk about formal and informal
assessments
Formal Assessments—usually standardized,
timed, may be norm-referenced or criterionreferenced test
– WESTEST
– President’s Physical Fitness Test
– NAEP
– West Virginia Writing Assessment
– Woodcock-Johnson Reading Inventory
Let’s talk about formal and informal
assessments
Informal Assessments—ongoing check for
understanding, teacher-made, varied and
designed to meet individual student needs
–
–
–
–
Paper-pencil tests
Portfolios
Daily grades
Student performances and products
What Kind of Assessments Do We
Want?
•
•
•
•
•
Provides variety
Provides ongoing assessment
Provides a snapshot
Creates an album
Provides choices along a continuum
Where do I go to find help with
determining the “acceptable
evidence”?
You go back to the CSOs.
Only this time, look to the Performance
Descriptors.
Remember, to focus on Mastery and
Above.
Assessment Evidence Tips
You want to evaluate…….
• What is important?
• What is the alignment to the desired results?
• What is relevant and valid – not what is easiest to
grade?
• What manner are the needed answers given?
• What format variety is available that will enable the
creation of a photo album?
Stage III—Write the Learning Plan
1. Align the activities to the
assessments and desired results.
2. Sequence the plan in a logical
fashion.
3. Revise as needed.
4. Structure as Not totally linear.
Let’s review the
Understanding by Design
planning process.
Design Tip
The order of the process
is everything.
Stages
I. Desired Results—What do you want the
students to learn for the “long haul”?
II. Assessment Evidence—How will you know that
they have “got it”?
III. Learning Plan—What types of instruction,
learning experiences and student activities will
you use?
Standard Template
Let’s move on to what is referred to as the
Standard Template.
Do you see the three stages?
What has happened within the three
stages?
Stage I—Desired Results
Sub-sections
•
Established Goals
•
Understandings
•
Essential questions
•
Students will know …..
•
Students will be able to do……
Stage II—Assessment Evidence
•
Performance Tasks
•
Key Criteria
•
Other Evidence
Stage III—Learning Plan
•
Multiple formats and media
•
Opportunities to rehearse, revise and
refine
•
Inclusion of activities that meet students’
different needs and interests
Don’t Get Nervous!
I know what you’re thinking…
• “I cannot possibly do a plan like this
everyday for every subject.”
• Remember the slide about the order of
the process?
• Where do we go from here?
To Learn More About UbD….
Consider the following resources:
• Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay
McTighe; ISBN 0-87120-313-8
• Understanding by Design Study Guide by Grant
Wiggins and Jay McTighe; ISBN0-87120-386-3
• Understanding by Design Professional Development
Workbook by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe; ISBN
0-87120-855-5
All are available from www.ascd.org