October 18

Curriculum design todayTeaching as an Art AND Science

(Marzano)Function of technology in 21st

century curriculum

An engaging lesson must be designed as both an art AND a science

• REMEMBER: we must be aware of and access the correct science behind the learning that we design for kids

• Many educators are not familiar enough with assessment, grading, statistics (descriptive & inferential)

• Examples of correct science in teaching & learning:Use of analytic rubricsWhen/how to use checklistsKnowing what content validity isHow to derive a meaningful grade

As we have discussed, until 2002 (NCLB), educators really didn’t need to know/know how to….

Use a UBD template to design a unitInterpret 4sight, PSSA, and/or PVASS dataUse that data to inform their instruction in classUse technology as a tool to manage, search, and

design instruction Use multiple methods and strategies to engage

students in learning

Part of the SCIENCE demands understanding criteria & validity

We SHOULD evaluate student work using multiple criteria, which then represents a gradePencil and paper tests and quizzes are one form of

criteriaPerformance assessments – often lacking, non-existent,

poorly conceived, or weighted inappropriatelyThere is not necessarily 1 correct answer for most

performance assessmentsRubrics, using criteria, need to exist in order to judge

student work that is consistent and fair across all students

How MUCH criteria – that ultimately represents a student’s grade – should be used in a 9-weeks

grading period?

T/P/S: Consider how many “grades” should make up a student’s marking period? Also, consider the types of assessments that should be included in that marking period grade.

Rubrics

Rubric defined: a criterion-based scoring guide that uses fixed measurements and descriptions for each score point

Rubrics differentiate quality, performance, and/or understanding along a continuum

Checklists: used when assessing a yes/no, right/wrong, or present/absent sort of itemChecklists are good to use when assessing classroom

participation (includes active participation, behavior, attendance…), but these are NOT rubrics

Rubrics2 types of rubrics – holistic and analytic

PSSA open-ended response (holistic)Holistic

Provides an overall impressionYields a single score (Example: 4,3,2,1)No specific feedback to learner

AnalyticBetter than holisticDivides performance/product into traits or dimensions separatelyAre specific to the needs of the learner, and give specific feedback

to the learner

Rubrics

We must provide concrete answers to whether students understand – good rubrics do this

Wiggins & McTighe recommend using at least 2 traits/characteristics in the design of an analytic rubric

Assigning grades to criteria/rubrics Must be careful – giving grades to just about all pieces of work without

making clear the criteria and weight of criterion Not a good practice to average those criterion together – can skew what we

need to know about each learner’s needs This is why raw point scoring is more welcome; it breaks down categories

much better than a scaled or average score (just like how PSSA results break it out by anchor)

Validity

A very key component when designing appropriate assessments

Validity defined: Does the assessment measure what it is supposed to measure?

Refers to the meaning that we can and cannot properly make of specific evidence (including traditional tests & quizzes)

Invalid assessments:Teacher bias, a poorly written item, or another possible

explanation can make an assessment or part of it invalidIt is about our understanding of the results, not the test

itself

Validity

Several specific typesContent validity – appropriateness of items testedPredictive validity – can the test predict future

performance in the area that it is measuring?Face validity – the test measures what it is supposed

to measureConstruct validity – does the test measure the

constructs/theories/aptitude it’s supposed to measureConcurrent validity – scores on test related to other

existing measures of the same content or behavior

Check-in…

Based on what you’ve heard so far, what is/should be the principal’s function when it comes to reporting on student progress and making sure accurate assessments are occurring?

BREAK

A Research Finding – The primary way to engage students…

A guaranteed and viable curriculum is the #1 school level factor impacting student achievement.

-Marzano, What Works in Schools

An essential question…

To what extent do we have a coherent curriculum from the learner’s perspective?Think again about the extent to which

you believe that your school has a mission-based curriculum? Why or why not?

Planning and mapping helps in engagement of students…

We have to engage all learners… Remember who we have in our classrooms…

The Authentically Engaged Student

Intrinsically MotivatedEnjoys the task for its own sake

Eager to learnExceeds Expectations

Almost always performs perfectly

The Ritualistically Engaged Student

Extrinsically Motivated Parent Expectations

Pursuit of Other Goals Means to an End

Needs to be pushed to perform/succeed

The Passively Compliant Student

Motivation – driven by negative ReinforcementNeither Good nor Bad in schoolDoes “just enough” to “get by”Not a behavior problemOften, we may have a whole class of them –

hopefully none of us are this bad…

The Retreatist Student

Lack of MotivationNot Connected to School

Doesn’t ParticipateDoes not Bother Other Students

The Rebel

Hostile to LearningOpenly Questions RelevanceOpenly Opposes Authority

VerbalNon-Verbal

Intrudes on the Rights of OthersWe all have a few of these kids in our schools

Characteristics of Schools That Engage Learners

Sound relationshipsHigh expectationsData-driven decisionsAccountabilityArticulated curriculumRigorous and relevant instructionPersonalized learningPartnershipsSchool ClimateLeadership

Another HUGE Way to Engage Students

Using Technology as Learning Tools

WEB 2.0 RESOURCES DEFINEDWeb 2.0 defined some more…Wikis – what are they?

You can create your own FREE using Wikispaces

Googledocs – what is it?Social Networking/Bookmarking

Facebook, MySpace, Youtube, etc.Communicating with Students via Secure Texting

Other Technology Learning Tools

Ex 1Ex 2

http://www.sumdog.com/http://www.khanacademy.org/http://moodle.ltsd.k12.pa.us/course/category.php?id=7http://www.studyisland.com/

Ex 3Ex 4Ex 5Ex 6

http://www.spellingcity.com/http://www.storylineonline.net/http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/

Using Technology as Learning Tools – Examples Teaching & Learning

Writing Blog Science site 1 SCIENCE SITE 2 Marzano’s Classroom Instruc

tion that Works Wiki Media Production Blog The Connected Classroom

Might be the best “hub” of resources for classroom teachers

Web 2.0 site ALL MY FAVS

Web Resources of Importance SERI (SPECIAL ED) Graphic Organizers MOODLE Yacapaca - FREE on-line

assessment tool for teachers Can search for,

create, edit, and copy tests/quizzes – can do item analysis automatically

Implementing Curriculum MappingIdeally, a common template should be

used by all in order to sustain cohesiveness and coherence so that…Any two or more teachers, teaching the

same course, have the same maps that are horizontally articulated

A teacher also knows for a fact what is being taught before and after the given grade level / content of a given course (vertical articulation)

For next time…

Come with a good idea of what your final project curriculum initiative might look like in addition to reading for next time