Understanding by Design 2012 Allen Parish March 12 & 13, 2012

Agenda  Monday  Welcome  Reflection and Needs  Unpacking Common Core  Methods and tools  Lunch  Moving the standards into Lesson Design  Levels of Thinking and Questioning  Incorporating Questioning into Lesson Design  Tuesday  Writing Units and Lessons  Lunch  Peer Review of Lessons

 Common core standards are not a curriculum.  Common core standards align well with Understanding by Design.  The process of unpacking standards is critical to understanding their implications for design, instruction and assessment.  Quality questioning leads to understanding and transfer. Understandings

 To what extent are the ideas of acquisition, meaning making and transfer embedded in the Common Core Standards?  If the state is going to hand us a curriculum, why unpack standards?  What makes a good question? A good teacher question? A good student question?  How might our assessments be affected by Common Core Standards? Questions

 Website for files Reflection questions:  Google Forms Google Forms  Google form results Google form results Welcome

“These Standards do not dictate curriculum or teaching methods.” -- The Common Core Standards Standards are not curriculum.

 Reading – Greater balance of literature and informational texts  Writing – Emphasis on informative/explanatory writing; argument and support; narrative  Speaking and Listening E/LA Standards

 Ten Anchor Standards and grade- level expectations organized by strand  College and Career Readiness Standards  Sample grade-level maps, units, assessment tasks and samples of student work E/LA Standards

 Emphasis on independent transfer: ”Students can, without significant scaffolding, comprehend and evaluate complex texts across a range of types and disciplines, and they can construct effective arguments and convey intricate or multifaceted information. Likewise, students are able independently to discern a speaker’s key points, request clarification, and ask relevant questions…” E/LA Standards

 The E/LA Standards are intended to apply in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.  They complement rather than replace content standards in those subjects. E/LA Standards

 Appendix A – contains supplementary material on reading, writing, speaking and listening; glossary of key terms.  Appendix B – consists of text exemplars illustrating the complexity, quality, and range of reading appropriate for various grade levels; sample performance tasks.  Appendix C – annotated writing samples E/LA Standards

Three-Minute Pause Meet in groups of to... summarize key points. pose clarifying questions post comments online.

Mathematics Standards  Focus on transferable ‘big ideas’ “…not only by stressing conceptual understanding of key ideas, but also by continually returning to organizing principles such as place value or the properties of operations to structure those ideas.” CC Mathematics Standards, p. 4

Mathematics Standards  Include eight Standards of Mathematical Practice along with content standards. Examples: 4.Model with mathematics 6. Attend to precision

“…the mathematics curriculum in the United States must become substantially more focused and coherent in order to improve mathematics achievement.... To deliver on the promise of common standards, the standards must address the problem of a curriculum that is a mile wide and an inch deep.” Mathematics Standards

Mathematics Standards “…That is, what and how students are taught should reflect not only the topics that fall within a certain academic discipline, but also the key ideas that determine how knowledge is organized and generated within that discipline. This implies that ‘to be coherent,’ a set of content standards must evolve from particulars … to deeper structures inherent in the discipline.” CC Mathematics Standards, p. 2

Three-Minute Pause Meet in groups of to... summarize key points. pose clarifying questions post comments online.

“These Standards do not dictate curriculum or teaching methods.” -- The Common Core Standards Standards are not curriculum.

A Model Curriculum Blueprint

Need to “Unpack” Standards Distinguish goal types: A, M, T Determine appropriate assessments

Three Types of Goals Acquisition of knowledge and skills Transfer of learning to new situations Meaning Making of understandings

Long-Term Transfer Goal “Students will be able to independently use their learning to…” An effective curriculum equips learners for autonomous performance …by design.

Transfer Goal – E/LA Students who are College and Career ready: Demonstrate independence. “Students can, without scaffolding, comprehend and evaluate complex texts across a range of types and disciplines, and they can construct effective arguments and convey intricate or multifaceted information.”

Transfer Goal – Writing Effectively write in various genres for various audiences and purposes (inform, explain, entertain, persuade, guide, or challenge/change things).

Transfer Goal – History/SS Use knowledge of patterns of history to better understand the present and prepare for the future. Critically appraise historical claims and analyze contemporary issues. Participate as an active and civil citizen in a democratic society.

Transfer Goal – World Languages Effectively communicate with varied audiences and for varied purposes while displaying appropriate cultural understanding.

Transfer Goals – Mathematics Mathematically proficient students: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Model with mathematics.

Three-Minute Pause Meet in groups of to... summarize key points. pose clarifying questions post comments online.

The “Inside Out” Method nouns and adjectives verbs standards Understandings and Essential Questions Assessments

Apply the “unpacking” method to one of the Anchor standards for Reading or Writing or one of the Mathematical Practices. Unpacking Standards

 Especially useful for mathematics  What is the overlap between the process (mathematical practices) and content standards The “Matrix” Method

Apply the “unpacking” method to one of the Anchor standards for Reading or Writing or one of the Mathematical Practices. Unpacking Standards

The “Top Down” Method Standards In order to meet the standard, students will need to understand that - In order to understand, students will need to consider such questions as -

Apply the “unpacking” method to one of the Anchor standards for Reading or Writing or one of the Mathematical Practices. Unpacking Standards

Common Core Standards Mathematics Model with mathematics.

Mathematicians create models to interpret and predict the behavior of real world phenomena. Mathematical modeling Mathematical models have limits and sometimes they distort or misrepresent. ‘Big Idea’ Understandings :

 How can we best model this (real world phenomena)? Mathematical modeling  How reliable are its predictions? Essential Questions :  What are the limits of this model?

Unpacking More Standards

 Math Design Collaborative   Formative Lessons   Sample Questions  Areas/mathematics/K-12-Curriculum-Framework Areas/mathematics/K-12-Curriculum-Framework Math Resources

Recess

Questioning in the Classroom

 Higher-level questions are essential to facilitating conceptual understanding. The inquiry process is facilitated by skillful questioning and provides students with the opportunity to become independent thinkers who master their own learning. Steps to the Inquiry Process

Level One: The answer can be found in the text (either directly or indirectly) Very concrete and pertains only to the text. Asks for facts about what has been heard or read Information is recalled in the exact manner/form it was heard COSTA’S LEVELS OF QUESTIONING

Level Two:  The answer can be inferred from the text.  Although more abstract than a Level One question, deals only with the text  Information can be broken down into parts  Involves examining in detail, analyzing motives or causes, making inferences, finding information to support generalizations or decision making  Questions combine information in a new way COSTA’S LEVELS OF QUESTIONING

Level Three:  The answer goes beyond the text.  Is abstract and does not pertain to the text  Ask that judgments be made from information  Gives opinions about issues, judges the validity of ideas or other products, justifies opinions and ideas COSTA’S LEVELS OF QUESTIONING

LEVEL ONE: Define Describe Identify List Name Observe Recite Scan COSTA’S LEVELS OF QUESTIONING LEVEL TWO: Analyze Compare Contrast Group Infer Sequence Synthesize LEVEL THREE: Apply Evaluate Hypothesize Imagine Judge Predict Speculate

Gather and Recall Information (Gathering/Input) Ask Level 1 questions to identify what students know about the problem or question and connect to prior knowledge. What do you know about your problem? What does __________mean? What did you record from your class notes about ____? What does it say in the text about this topic? What is the formula or mnemonic device (ex. P-E-M-D-A-S) that will help you identify the steps necessary to solve the problem? Sample Questions Level 1:

Make Sense Out of Information Gathered (Processing) Ask Level 2 questions to begin processing the information gathered, make connections and create relationships. Can you break down the problem into smaller parts? What would the parts be? How can you organize the information? What can you infer from what you read? Can you find a problem/question similar to this in the textbook to use as an example? What is the relationship between ______ and ______? Sample Questions Level 2:

Apply and Evaluate Actions/ Solutions (Applying/Output) Ask Level 3 questions to apply knowledge acquired and connections made to predict, judge, hypothesize or evaluate. How do you know the solution is correct? How could you check your answer? Is there more than one way to solve the problem? Could there be other correct answers? Can you make a model of a new or different way to share the information? How do you interpret the message of the text? Is there a real life situation where this can be applied or used? Can you explain it in a new and different way? Could the method of solving this problem work for other problems? How would you teach this to a friend? Sample Questions Level 3:

 SL Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one- on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

 a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well- reasoned exchange of ideas. (A)  b. Work with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and decision- making, set clear goals and deadlines, and establish individual roles as needed. (A)  c. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives. (M)  d. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task. (T) Speaking and Listening—Gr

 Students initiate and participate in an independent conversation (write own questions, own discussion leaders, own progression / monitoring) incorporating original text(s), essential questions of the unit, as well as outside text, self, world connections, to arrive at new perspectives based on synthesis of multiple viewpoints.  (Socratic seminar—panel—round table—fire lane)  Must end in some kind of reflection that encapsulates new learning. T

 Practice generating levels of questions with a text.  “There are different types of questions and some will elicit deeper and more thoughtful response than others.”  Practice posing questions and responding to different opinions  “Successful questioning in a conversation requires listening, probing, agreeing/disagreeing, and extending thinking.”  Criteria for successful conversation  “Successful conversations test and extend original thinking. They allow everyone a voice. They assume value in alternate opinions.”  Debrief—this has elements of meaning making and transfer M

 Conversation skills / Listening  Understanding roles in discussion  Generate questions—Costa’s Levels  Preparation—Reading, research, etc.  Modeling conversation A

 Before the lesson  Study lesson to identify CCSS-aligned content and instruction.  Read and analyze identified text; identify standards, questions to ask, potential areas of difficulty for students, possible scaffolds  During the lesson  Observe/monitor and provide written or oral feedback  After the lesson  Engage teachers individually in formal reflection on the lesson (i.e., Examine the CCSS-aligned practices (What did the lesson do? What did the lesson not do?) What went well? What could be improved?)  Engage entire faculty in reflection/discussion; ask individual teachers to demonstrate understandings for colleagues  Gather examples of CCSS-aligned student assignments and student work Model Lesson Pilot Suggested Steps