October 4

Teaching for UnderstandingCoverage vs. UncoverageDeveloping new courses & unitsDesign entry points using UBD

frameworkCommon core, Keystones, Classroom

Diagnostics overview

Teaching for Understanding

“The act of teaching (direct instruction – talking, professing,

informing, telling) is only one aspect of causing learning… The

design…is as important and perhaps more important than any articulate

sharing of our knowledge.”

Teaching for Understanding

Perhaps we need to consider how to re-invent good teaching and learning

Coverage vs. Uncoverage

• Moving from coverage to uncoverage will continue to be a challenge for educators• Uncoverage is not a type of teaching• Uncoverage – method, model, experience,

or idea that makes learning tangible, real, relevant, or prepared for future experiences• Socratic questioning 1• Socratic questioning 2• Litany of many other strategies to evoke student

response and higher order thinking

Coverage vs. Uncoverage

• Do you think that a coverage model has brainwashed our existing parents and

students?• Explain why or why not.

Coverage vs. Uncoverage

• Kids & parents have come to expect a coverage world in school• Remember! Parents experienced a coverage

model too!• Parents and kids believe this is the way

to prepare kids for college and the world – NOT SO in many respects!• They want their tickets punched (GPA,

high grades, involved in everything to look GOOD ON PAPER…

Coverage vs. Uncoverage Breadth, not depth

• Surface details• Leaner believes everything

is of equal value (facts, with no hierarchy).

• Recall and lower order thinking the norm.

Use rationalized by teachers To meet standards To use textbooks Testing

“An understanding cannot be ‘covered’ if it is to be understood.”

Finding something important in what may be not obvious

To draw out child’s experiences through relevant examples

To allow students to uncover how they understand something that they previously didn’t know or agree on

We must teach kids how to THINK and NOT recall facts in meaningless ways!

Bringing big ideas to life in the classroom is goal everyday

Uncoverage is vital Kids need to play, act, manipulate, research and

interact if they are to understand and use at high levels• Technology may be a great way to accomplish this!• Teaching social studies exclusively through a blog• Smart board tools• Lots of other key technology resources

Direct Instruction & Coaching Facilitation & guided inquiry

• Discrete knowledge• Facts• Definitions• Obvious information• Concrete information• Predictable result• Discrete skills & technique• Rules & recipes• Literal information

Concepts & principles Systemic connections Connotations Irony Symbolism Counterintuitive

information Anomaly Strategy (using judgment) Invention of rules &

recipes

The Design Process

Using a template, you can really begin anywhere in the design

Sometimes, beginning with an existing unit and plugging it into the UBD template is easier

When designing NEW topics or units of study, use a UBD template

Authors identify 6 primary entry points that impact design and instruction

“Doorways to Design” Begin with content standards

Look for key nouns in standardsIdentify key knowledgeWhat EQs flow from/point to standard(s)?Consider key verbs – blueprints for assessmentsList activities that will develop their ability to

understand the big ideas Begin by considering desired real-world applications

Clarify larger purposes of unitHow can you put it to use if it is mastered?Identify for them the specific, complex, real-world

tasks

“Doorways to Design”Begin with a key resource or favorite activity

Start with an engaging activity (thought-provoking experience or simulation, etc.)

Ask them to consider “Why does this matter?”Clarify EQs that will point to those ideasIdentify skills, facts, understandings that the activity is

meant to yieldBegin with an important skill

In what venues/ways would the important skill come in useful or necessary?

Identify content standards that refer to the skillsIdentify big ideas and EQs that support the skills

“Doorways to Design”Begin with a key assessment

Using the PSSA as example, clarify goals for why the assessment exists.

Identify the standards that address the goalsRelate the big ideas required to pass the test

Begin with an existing unitUsing traditional lesson plans/assessments, place them into

template and look for alignmentWhat is missing? How would you revise a current unit/lesson

plan?Focus on big idea development and long-term goals related to

the standards

Common Core and Keystones:

Common Core Standards

What do you know about the new Common Core Standards.

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

Adopted by State Board of Education on July 1, 2010Goal: Establish a K-12 Approach of Standards Leading

to College and Career Readiness• Alignment of the PA Academic Standards to Common Core

State StandardsCommon Core State Standards for

English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects

Mathematics• Effective Implementation by July 1, 2013

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

Aligned with college and career expectations• Clear, understandable, and consistent• Rigorous content and application of knowledge through

higher-order skills• Informed by other top-performing countries so that all

students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society

• Evidence-based• Partnered with the Standards Aligned System (SAS)

What will these Common Core State Standards mean for students?

Will embed and address the college and career readiness needs that currently are not discussed in our PA standards.

Content and skills will be assessed in each course directly after completion of the course through the Keystone Exams, not only in eleventh grade through the PSSA assessments.As a result, students will see better relevancy due to the

immediacy of the assessment.Will prepare students better for a post-secondary

experience.Two-thirds of all jobs require some form of post-

secondary education.

KEYSTONE EXAMS - when they finally become law…End-of-course assessments designed to assess proficiency

in Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Literature, English Comp., Biology, Chemistry, U.S. History, World History, and Civics & GovernmentNow become final exams typically seen in HS courses

Used to determine Adequately Yearly Progress (AYP) at HS level

Replaces PSSAs in 11th gradeAligns assessment with teacher instruction in a timely

mannerPSSAs still remain in grades 3-8Becomes a new graduation requirementAligned and supported by SAS and Common Core

Project-Based Assessment

A student who does not achieve proficiency on a Keystone Exam after two (2) attempts will be eligible to complete a project-based assessment.

Projects will be:Aligned with Keystone Exam modulesDeveloped by the department and administered

by school staffScored by regional panels of educators

Graduation RequirementsSchool district graduation policies must at least

include:

SAS Projects Due1. Rubric to be used: Formal Oral Pres.

Rubric2. You do not necessarily have to use PP or

handouts3. Length of presentation – no necessary

maximum or minimum, but plan on about 10 minutes for each team

For next time…