1. Teachers as Curriculum Designers
Thoughtful Education

2. Divergent Thinking Fluency Elaboration Flexibility Originality

3. Thoughtful Education www.schoolofeducators.com
Assumptions of Thoughtful Education
Improved instruction is the PRIME FACTOR in producing student achievement gains.
Professional Learning Communities are the SUREST and FASTEST path to instructional improvement.
Leadership begins with the recognition that we must eliminate the senseless things that divert time and attention away from the two elements most vital to school success—how we teach, which is best improved through focused teacher collaboration and what we teach—in Marzano’s words, “a guaranteed and viable curriculum.”

4. Think about a time you were involved in a creative process.
What was the process like?
What were your struggles?
What were your rewards?

5. Creativity is a Mess--- From a Mess to a Model
Generating Ideas
Forming Big Ideas/Concepts
Shaping Ideas
Refining and Polishing Finished Product

6. What makes writing a unit challenging and how can we simplify the process?
How is a thoughtful unit of study like play dough?
What are the parts of a thoughtful unit of study?
What is the difference between an activity planner and a curriculum designer?
As a teacher do you model questioning in four styles when working with your teachers?

7. In this box is a curriculum that teachers love to teach
Imagine a BOX.
In this box is a curriculum
that teachers love to teach
and students love to learn.
What would be in the box?

8. How would you improve on the design?
David Perkins
Director Project Zero, Harvard University
Knowledge by Design
Attributes
Purpose
Value
How would you improve on the design?

9. The focus on learning becomes the leverage for improved teaching.

10. Attributes
Purpose
Value
Improvements
Look at the unit on evolution. What can you learn from the design?

11. Standards Students www.schoolofeducators.com Learning Style Profiles
National
State
District
School
Learning Styles
Multiple Intelligences
Culture
Interests
Talents
Skills
Abilities
Learning Style Profiles
Research Based Strategies and Tools
Varied Assessment
Task Rotation, Comprehensive Menus
Graduated Difficulty
Hidden Skills

12. Foyer
Library
Kitchen
Know
Attitudes
Workroom Porch
Understand
Skills

13. Parts of a Thoughtful Unit of Study Be Like
Know
Parts of a Thoughtful Unit of Study
Be Like
Appreciation for the creative process and messiness of creativity.
Collaboration and Collegiality
Foyer
Think of a Time
Imagine a Box
Generating Ideas
Think Pair Share
Rank Order Ladder
Knowledge by Design
Library
Examining a Unit: Resource Evolution Unit
Thoughtful Curriculum Guide
Learning from Louie
Learning from Research
Learning from Examples
Principles
Five Easy Pieces
Workroom
Creating a Thoughtful Statement of Purpose
Jigsaw
Resource:
Thoughtful Curriculum Guide
Unpacking the Standards
Porch
How is writing a thoughtful unit like play dough?
Understand
Components of a design
Planning Your Unit
Step 1: Identify Your Purpose
Unpacking Core Content 4.1
Skills
Unpack the standards
Identify purpose

14. What can we learn from Louie?

15. Standards www.schoolofeducators.com SC-HS-3.5.1 Students will:
predict the impact on species of changes to 1) the potential for a species to increase its numbers, (2) the genetic variability of offspring due to mutation and recombination of genes, (3) a finite supply of the resources required for life, or (4) natural selection;
propose solutions to real-world problems of endangered and extinct species.
Species change over time. Biological change over time is the consequence of the interactions of (1) the potential for a species to increase its numbers, (2) the genetic variability of offspring due to mutation and recombination of genes, (3) a finite supply of the resources required for life and (4) natural selection. The consequences of change over time provide a scientific explanation for the fossil record of ancient life forms and for the striking molecular similarities observed among the diverse species of living organisms. Changes in DNA (mutations) occur spontaneously at low rates. Some of these changes make no difference to the organism, whereas others can change cells and organisms. Only mutations in germ cells have the potential to create the variation that changes an organism’s future offspring.
DOK 3

16. Standards
Students will describe patterns of human settlement in regions of Kentucky and explain how these patterns were influenced by physical characteristics (e.g. climate, landforms, soils, vegetation, bodies of water.
Students will describe how the physical environment both promoted and restricted human activities during the early settlement of Kentucky.
Students will use a variety of tools to explain significant events in Kentucky’s history.
Students will give examples of why people explored and settled Kentucky.

17. Research Behind Effective Unit Design
Built to Last
Five Easy Pieces
Research Behind Effective Unit Design
Madeline Hunter
Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe
Benjamin Bloom

18. dentify the standards, big ideas, key details.
etermine your essential questions.
stablish your assessment task and criteria.
lign instruction/assessment to diversity, research based strategies, and hidden skills.
equence the learning events.

19. Components of Thoughtful Curriculum Design
Identify your Purpose
A statement of purpose defines what you want students to know, understand, do, and be like.
A statement of purpose includes a set of essential questions that last over time and frame the learning.

20. What Essential Questions will frame the learning?
Knowledge
What specific facts, details, or vocabulary does the unit need to address?
Attitudes
What dispositions or attitudes does the unit instill in students?
Understanding
What big ideas and
themes need to
be covered?
Skills
What skills do students need to develop?

21. Components of Thoughtful Unit Design
Task Description
Assessment pulls together the various threads you have explored throughout the unit and provides students an equal opportunity to show what they know and apply what they have learned.
Clear expectations are defined through a rubric or scoring guide.

22. Assessment: How will students’ understanding be measured?
Task Rotation
Comprehensive Menus
Graduated Difficulty
Project Learning
Assessment: How will students’ understanding be measured?

23. www.schoolofeducators.com Standards Activity Strategy/Tool Product
Learning Style

24. Now, it is your turn to frame your unit of study.

25. Identify the framework for learning……
Knowledge
Attitudes
Understanding
Skills

26. What essential questions will serve as the foundation for learning?
Workroom Porch
What essential questions will serve as the foundation for learning?

27. Foyer
Library
Kitchen
Hook/Bridge
Resources
Assessment
Workroom Porch
Activities Reflection

28. Assessment: How will students’ understanding be measured?

29. How is a thoughtful curriculum like play dough?

30. Teaching, What Matters Most
Teacher Impact on Learning

31. What influences matter?
Teacher
Student
Home
Peers
Schools
Principals
What influences matter?

32. Leadership, teaching, and adult actions matter.
While it is true that demographic variables are directly linked to student achievement, it is also true that adult variables, including the professional practices of teachers and the decisions leaders make, can be more important than demographic variables.

33. The single greatest determinant of learning is NOT socioeconomic factors or funding levels---IT IS INSTRUCTION.
Mike Schmoker

34. Indisputable Evidence
What teachers do has six to ten times as much impact on achievement as all other factors combined.
Mortimer Simmons
The single greatest determinant of learning is
NOT socioeconomic factors or funding levels,
IT IS INSTRUCTION.
Mike Schmoker

35. Indisputable Evidence
Two teachers working with the same
socio-economic population can achieve starkly different results.
Different Results
In one class 27% of the students pass a state assessment. In another 72% of the students
will pass a state assessment.

36. Thoughtful Education
Three years of Effective Teaching accounts for an improvement of percentile points.
William Sanders
Assumptions of Thoughtful Education
Improved instruction is the PRIME FACTOR in producing student achievement gains.
Professional Learning Communities are the SUREST and FASTEST path to instructional improvement.

37. Thoughtful Education
The best teachers in a school,that is to say the top 1/3, have SIX TIMES more impact on student learning than the bottom 1/3.
Katie Haycock
Assumptions of Thoughtful Education
Improved instruction is the PRIME FACTOR in producing student achievement gains.
Professional Learning Communities are the SUREST and FASTEST path to instructional improvement.

38. There can be no improvement without the teacher.
Thoughtful Education
There can be no improvement without the teacher.

39. A successful, face to face team is more than just collectively intelligent. It makes everyone work work harder, think smarter, and reach better conclusions than they would have own their own James Solowreck

40. Why Professional Learning Communities?
Instructional Learning Teams ensure follow up and reflection on instruction and its impact on learning.
Instructional Learning Teams are results driven.
Instructional Learning Teams reinforce a focus on common essential instructional standards.
Instructional Learning Teams create the best kind of accountability—a commitment to people we know.
Instructional Learning Teams honor
and empower the intelligence
of teachers.

41. Imagine you are on a Learning Walk in your school.
What would be the general quality of instruction throughout the building?
What would be the level of student engagement be?
What would you see and hear?

42. In an extensive research study conducted by 24/7, 2005 of 1,500 classrooms here is what was observed:
Behaviors
Percentage
Evidence of clear learning goals/objectives 4%
Worksheets
52%
Lecture
31%
Monitoring with no feedback
22%
Use of high yield research based instructional strategies 2%
Communication rich environments with writing and rubrics
Fewer than half the students engaged
82%
Bell to bell learning
Less than 1%

43. What is going on in your school?
How does this compare to a Thoughtful Classroom?
Behaviors
Percentage
Evidence of clear learning goals/objectives 4%
Worksheets
52%
Lecture
31%
Monitoring with no feedback
22%
Use of high yield research based instructional strategies 2%
Communication rich environments with writing and rubrics
Fewer than half the students engaged
82%
Bell to bell learning
Less than 1%

44. Moving from an Instructional Leader to a Learning Leader.
Rick DuFour

45. There are particular leadership actions that show demonstrable links to improved student achievement and educational equity.

46. Inquiry: the degree to which school leaders analyze the underlying causes of deficiencies and successes in student achievement and equity.
Successful inquiry attributes the causes to adults in the educational system—teachers, school leaders, and policymakers.
Unsuccessful inquiry attributes causes to students. In other words, “blame the victim” is not only morally reprehensible but statistically untrue.

47. Implementation: the degree to which the specific elements of school improvement processes are implemented at the student and classroom levels. Effective implementation is a continuous variable in which leaders recognize that there are degrees of successful implementation that are subject to quantitative and narrative description.

48. Monitoring: the degree to which a school self assesses their own progress in reaching school goals. Plans without monitoring are little better than wishes upon stars. It is important to distinguish carefully between appropriate and insightful monitoring and monitoring that equates to a compliance drill for external authorities.
Assessment and reflection is designed to improve teaching and learning, provide immediate feedback for students and teachers, and focus on specific objectives.

49. The focus on learning becomes the leverage for improved teaching.

50. What percentage of your students are academically successful?

51. Do you know the names, faces and stories of those who will not be successful at the end of the year?

52. What do Learning Profiles look like?
Are you using profile data to support student learning?

53. What Matters Most… From Planning to Performance

54. What Matters Most… From Planning to Performance
Implementation
Monitoring

55. Frustration Burnout Enthusiasm Overload Commitment Low
Low Implementation No Implementation
Enthusiasm Overload
Commitment
High Implementation Little Implementation
Amount of Resources, Time, Focused Support Available to the New Initiative
High
Low High
Number of Old, Continuing, Pending and New Initiatives

56. Weeding the Garden Every school has weeds.
The gardener must continuously remove the weeds in order to ensure a healthy garden.

57. Learning Leaders must be ever vigilant for persistent weeds with deep roots in the academic garden.

58. What is Leadership?
Leadership is the continuous engagement in moving individuals and organizations from their present state to an ideal state.

59. To lead learning means to model a “learner-centered” as opposed to “authority centered” approach to all problems, inside and outside the classroom.

60. Tools for Schools: A Learning SWEEP

61. Imagine a Box….not Pandora’s Box, but a box that would provide answers your school has been searching for in your quest for school improvement.
What would go in the box? .

62. Meet Dennis Mitchell, a
Learning Leader

63. S W E P
Inquiry Focus:
What does reading instruction look like and sound like in our school?
How can we improve reading instruction and student learning?
Are students’ learning styles addressed so as to provide equal opportunity to learn? .

64. elect a focus and collect three consecutive days of work.P
elect a focus and collect three consecutive days of work. .
Reading Class

65. ork on the work, analyze the work using criteria.P
ork on the work, analyze the work using criteria. .
Reading Class

66. Mastery Learning Style
Task: After reading “Titanic Found” draw a picture and write a summary of the text.
Summarizing
Recall
Creating Visuals
Mastery Learning Style

67. S W E P xamine teaching practices and students’ learning. .
What patterns emerge?
What questions need answering?
What are our greatest needs?
What are the implications?
xamine teaching practices and students’ learning. .

68. S W E P . . valuate and assess what is working, what is not.
What are we doing well?
What do we need to do MORE of? . .
valuate and assess what is working, what is not.

69. S W E P
Goal Action Dates Expected Outcome Results .
lan a course of action for reaching school improvement goals.

70. What can a school learn from a SWEEP?
How might this information bring about improvement in teaching and learning?
How is this data different from the type of data you presently use?