PROJECT OVERVIEW

Currituck County’s Curriculum Mapping

Project

Where are you in your knowledge?

4 Corners Activity

4 Corners

Elementary Level: I know about curriculum mapping , but have not had direct involvement in its planning or process development.

Middle Level: I have some knowledge of curriculum mapping and have had some involvement in its plan and execution.

High Level: I have applied knowledge of curriculum mapping and have experience in developing the process.

Graduation Level: I have knowledge, application experience, and can teach or share with others a way to plan and execute curriculum mapping.

Moving to the Next Level

In your group, discuss what is needed to enable you and others to move from your present level of understanding to the next level.

Chart a bulleted listShare with the group

Why are we doing this?

State InfluenceInitiative—Essential Standards/Common Core

Standards Adoption 2010-11: Current SCOS taught and assessed 2011-12: Current SCOS taught and assessed 2012-13: Common Core/Essential Standards taught

and assessed

Why are we doing this?

Local Influences:Focus on Developing Professional Learning

Communities Research by Rick DuFour and Robert Eaker Practice embedded in School Reform Models Practice embedded in NC Teacher and Principal

Standards and EvaluationResearch on Best Practiceshttp://www.allthingsplc.info/articles/articles.php

Professional Learning Communities

Essential/Guiding Questions for our PLCs

What do students NEED TO LEARN?What evidence will we gather to monitor student

learning—how will we know WHEN THEY HAVE LEARNED IT?

What will we do if/when students EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTY IN THEIR LEARNING?

What will we do to ENRICH THE LEARNING OF THOSE WHO DEMONSTRATE PROFICIENCY?

How can we use our SMART goals and evidence of student learning to INFORM and IMPROVE OUR PRACTICE?

PLC ESSENTIALS

COMMON Curriculum Goals (Aligned with SCOS)

COMMON AssessmentsCOMMON Planning and Collaboration

Common Goals + Common Assessments = Team Approach to teaching and learning

WHY DISTRICT MAPS and ASSESSMENTS?

How can we use our SMART goals and evidence of student learning to inform and improve our practice?

This critical question has implications for grade level improvement, school level improvement, and DISTRICT LEVEL IMPROVEMENT….

DESIRED OUTCOMES

Create DRAFT District Curriculum Pacing Guides for Core Subjects K-12

Create DRAFT Unit Plan Frameworks Create DRAFT Common Assessments

for Benchmarking Student Attainment of Goals

Begin the process for Continuous Improvement of Teaching and Learning

How Will We Get There?

WHO will or should HELP?

Selection and Invitation of Key Staff Members Strong teachers in the content area being mapped

Evidence based on principal recommendation Evidenced in data—student learning/growth results

Challenges Summer vacations/availability Continuity from one subject area to the next Funding for stipends

WHEN?

3-4 daysSubject specific weeks designatedOrder of subject development was

importantScienceSocial StudiesLanguage ArtsMath

What Process and Research Will Guide our Work?

Heidi Hayes Jacobs’ Work

Rubicon Atlas (online mapping tool)

“Understanding by Design” by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

K-W-L: Understanding by Design

KNOW WANT TO KNOW LEARNED

IN A NUTSHELL

HTTP://PREZI.COM/KFOHEANF8QO5/INTRO-UBD-IN-A-NUTSHELL/

Understanding by Design

K-W-L: Understanding by Design

KNOW WANT TO KNOW LEARNED

Understanding by Design

Beginning with the END

in mind…

Stages of Designing Effective Units

LT

OE

R

U

K

Q

CS

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

Understandings

Questions

ContentStandards

Knowledge & Skill

Task(s)

Rubric(s)

OtherEvidence

LearningPlan

The “big ideas” of each stage:

Assessment Evidence

Learning Activities

Understandings Essential Questions

stage

2

stage

3

Standard(s):

stage

1

Performance Task(s): Other Evidence:

Unpack the content standards and ‘content’, focus on big ideas Analyze multiple

sources of evidence, aligned with Stage 1Derive the implied learning from Stages 1 & 2

What are the big ideas?

What’s the evidence?

How will we get there?

Subject:Grade Level:Unit Title:

Timeframe Needed for Completion:Grading Period:

Big Idea/Theme:Understandings:Curriculum Goals/Objectives: Essential Questions:

Essential Skills/Vocabulary: Assessment Tasks:

Integration Opportunities:

IDENTIFYING: THE BIG IDEAS/THEMES

Stage 1

Big Ideas

Broad and abstractConceptual lensRepresented by one or two wordsUniversal in applicationTimeless—carries through the agesRepresented by different examples

that share common attributes

Finding the Big Ideas in CC/ES

Organization of Common Core/Essential Standards lends itself to these “Big Ideas”

Strands or Clusters HELP to determine focus

Within Strands or Clusters there are “Big Ideas” and “Themes” that can be unified for the unit framework

Big Ideas in Science: Examples

Natural Phenomena Causal Explanations Systems, Order, Organization Change, Constancy, Measurement Form and Function Equilibrium/Balance Systems and Interactions Models

Some questions for identifying truly “big ideas”

Does it have many layers and nuances, not obvious to the naïve or inexperienced person?

Can it yield great depth and breadth of insight into the subject? Can it be used throughout K-12?

Do you have to dig deep to really understand its subtle meanings and implications even if anyone can have a surface grasp of it?

Is it (therefore) prone to misunderstanding as well as disagreement?

Are you likely to change your mind about its meaning and importance over a lifetime?

Ways to find Big Ideas

Review the standards’ text andCircle recurring nouns to identify ideas

(underline verbs for tasks)Compare with list of transferable conceptsAsk questions about a topic/standard (Why

study..? What’s transferrable about…? How would…be applied in the real world?)

Generate ideas related to suggestive pairs (light & shadow; matter & energy; sum & difference)

Affinity Activity

Read Essential Standards for the grade/course at your table

Use sticky notes to record “concepts” or “skills” reflected in the standards.

Use one sticky note per concept/ideaWork as a team to organize the concepts

into similar groupings (sticking on chart paper)

Name the groupings with a Title

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONSESSENTIAL

UNDERSTANDINGS(LEARNING TARGETS)

Stage I

Essential Questions

In the words of Grant Wiggins…

http://www.authenticeducation.org/bigideas/nj_videos/eq.html

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

GREAT THOUGHT PROVOKING OPENERS

GUIDES the UNIT DELIVERY

OPEN ENDED ASSESSMENT TOOL

Essential Questions used in teaching

Role of Essential Questions: Asked to be argued Designed to “uncover” new ideas, views,

lines of argument Set up inquiry, heading to new

understandings Deepens understanding Leads to more questions Helps to organize material

Sample Essential Questions:

What makes wounds heal in different ways?Why is asthma so prevalent in poor urban

communities?What keeps things from rusting, and why?How do chemicals benefit society? Are animals essential for man’s survival?How do scientists find out about objects, living

things, events and phenomena?What does it mean to be living?How do living things adapt to the environment?

Sample Essential Questions:

What makes a great story?Why is communication/reading important?How do authors use words to create

images?Does a good read differ from a ‘great book’?

Why are some books fads, and others classics?

What does an independent reader look like?What do good readers do?How can the way a story is structured help

me to read with understanding?

Sample Essential Questions

Science How do chemicals benefit society? Are animals essential for man’s survival? Explain.What must a scientist do in order to research something? How do scientists find out about objects, living things,

events and phenomena?What does it mean to be living?How do the parts of living things help them survive?How does studying cycles help us to understand natural

processes?How do living things adapt to the environment?How can we safeguard our environment?

Central to Teaching and Understanding

Our goal in designing district units and pacing guides is to provide a guide and minimum standard for curriculum delivery.

ALL students should be taught at the higher level of Bloom’s.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a key tool to assist in understanding Essential Questions, Essential Skills, and Assessment Tasks.

BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMY

CreatingCreatingGenerating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing thingsDesigning, constructing, planning, producing, inventing.

 EvaluatingEvaluating

Justifying a decision or course of actionChecking, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting, judging

  AnalyzingAnalyzing

Breaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationshipsComparing, organizing, deconstructing, interrogating, finding

 ApplyingApplying

Using information in another familiar situationImplementing, carrying out, using, executing

 UnderstandingUnderstanding

Explaining ideas or conceptsInterpreting, summarizing, paraphrasing, classifying, explaining

 RememberingRemembering

Recalling informationRecognizing, listing, describing, retrieving, naming, finding

 

Enduring Understandings

In the words of Grant Wiggins…

http://www.authenticeducation.org/bigideas/nj_videos/eq.html

Understandings, defined:

They are... specific generalizations about the “big ideas.”

They summarize the key meanings, inferences, and importance of the ‘content’

can be framed as a full sentence “moral of the story” – “Students will understand THAT…”

Require “uncoverage” because they are not “facts” to the novice, but unobvious inferences drawn from facts; easily misunderstood

6 Facets of Understanding

Explanation (justification)Interpretation (tell meaningful

stories/translations)Application (use and adapt to new)Perspective (see from a different point of

view)Empathy (walk in another’s shoes)Self-Knowledge (reflection)

From Big Ideas to Understandings

An understanding is a “moral of the story” about the big ideas

What specific insights will students take away about the the meaning of ‘content’ via big ideas?

Understandings summarize the desired insights we want students to realize

Examples of Enduring/Essential Understandings

Systems change over time as they adapt to different inputs.

Change is one part of a system that can cause a different outcome.

Each part of a system has a defined role and function. The scientific method and technology allow us to

gather data, analyze results, draw conclusions to solve problems.

The universe is made of matter and energy, which is continually being changed and transferred throughout the Earth and Universe.

Activity (part I)

Look at the clarifying objectives related to one cluster from your Affinity Diagram

Record the Title for the “cluster” Develop a question or two that illustrates the “Big Idea” and could get to the heart of what we want students to discover or uncover during their learning.

Record on chart paper

Part II Exercise: Understandings

From the “Big Idea” and Essential Question in one cluster from your diagram:

Determine the UNDERSTANDINGS students should uncover throughout and by the end of the unit. (Learning Targets)

•VIEW THE ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS POSED (ARE THEY BROAD AND THOUGHT PROVOKING?)•VIEW THE ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS (ARE THEY ENDURING AND TRANSFERRABLE?)•COMMENT OR POST QUESTIONS

Gallery Walk

Subject:Grade Level:Unit Title:

Timeframe Needed for Completion:Grading Period:

Big Idea/Theme:

Understandings (Learning Targets):Essential Questions: Curriculum Goals/Objectives:

Essential Skills/Vocabulary: Assessment Tasks:

Integration Opportunities:

Working on the Work….

For each Theme/Big Idea created in the first activity:

Create Essential Questions Determine the Essential Understandings List the Curriculum Standards/Clarifying Goals

associated with the Theme/Big Idea Identify Essential Skills and Vocabulary

Subject:Grade Level:Unit Title:

Timeframe Needed for Completion:Grading Period:

Big Idea/Theme:Understandings:Curriculum Goals/Objectives: Essential Questions:

Essential Skills/Vocabulary: Assessment Tasks:

Integration Opportunities:

THANKS FOR COMING BACK!

Day 2

What How Who Time

Day 1 Reflections/3-2-1 Reveals PresentGroup Sharing

SandyTeam

Members15 minutes

Review of ContentBig IdeasUnderstandingsEssential Questions

Present SandyPam 15 minutes

Review Feedback/Revise and Complete Stage 1 on Units from Day 1

ReviewGrade Level Group Work

SandyPam 30. minutes

10 Minute BREAKStage 2:Assessment Tasks

PresentGenerate

SandyTeam Members 30 minutes

Working on the UnitsReview

Grade Level Group Work Team Members 90 minutes

11:30ish LUNCH (45 minutes)

Working on the Units (continued)Grade Level Group Work Team Members 2 hours

Sequencing the Units/At a glance Pacing Chart

PresentGrade LevelGroup Work

SandyTeam Members 30 minutes

Debrief Day 2Discuss Team Members 10 minutes

Evaluation +/∆ Team 5 minutes

Positives Things to Reconsider ∆

Time to Collaborate/Teamwork It was a good pace! Teacher helping out having

participated last week Easy integration and collaboration Working with someone I know High time on task Ease of understanding expectations Something to use this year/product

work Being part of the big picture BREAKFAST!/Healthy food choices Temperature was good Smooth day Have an understanding of what

needs to be done Professionally treated Working on the computer

Need more time Could have used last year’s

materials Chilly room! More frequent breaks Sat for a while this morning Accountability for all? Technology—when not working Getting started Less introductions—let’s get

busy! Confused at first as to how it

would all come together Lacked some resources Break down middle group

better

Day 1 Reflections

Pleasant Surprises Points to Clarify Great people to work with! Accomplished a lot! Cooperation (across the board) Lunch Positive climate (mood and

temp) Seeing/hearing others ideas Fun/Relaxed environment Questions answered/assistance Template provided/Word Good instruction Review of Blooms’ Getting a head start Time flew

Assessment changes? Will this be mandated for all? What if our timeline for Science and

SS doesn’t match the reading guide? Making common assessments? Are they expected to be complete for

all by the end of the week? How detailed do “Understandings”

need to be? How is this being posted/shared? Will we do the same for Social

Studies? Why weren’t last year’s materials

used? Will someone go over our work and

make changes? Am I doing this right? How will results of district

assessments affect instruction? Is Early College using same maps?

3-2-1 Reveals

Stages of Designing Effective Units

LT

OE

R

U

K

Q

CS

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

Understandings

Questions

ContentStandards

Knowledge & Skill

Task(s)

Rubric(s)

OtherEvidence

LearningPlan

The big idea for Stage 2

The evidence should be credible & helpful. The assessments should –

Be grounded in real-world applications, supplemented as needed by more traditional school evidence

Provide useful feedback to the learner, be transparent, and minimize secrecy

Be valid, reliable - aligned with the desired results of Stage 1 (and fair)

6 Facets of Understanding

Explanation (justification)Interpretation (tell meaningful

stories/translations)Application (use and adapt to new)Perspective (see from a different point of

view)Empathy (walk in another’s shoes)Self-Knowledge (reflection)

Assessment of Understanding via the 6 facets

You really understand when you can: explain, connect, systematize, predict show its meaning, importance apply or adapt it to novel situations see it as one plausible perspective among others,

question its assumptions see it as its author/speaker saw it avoid and point out common misconceptions,

biases, or simplistic views

For Reliability & Sufficiency:Use a Variety of Assessments

Varied types, over time:authentic tasks and projectsacademic exam questions,

prompts, and problemsquizzes and test itemsinformal checks for understanding student self-assessments

Reliability: Snapshot vs. Photo Album

We need patterns that overcome inherent measurement error

Sound assessment (particularly of State Standards) requires multiple evidence over time - a photo album vs. a single snapshot

Formative Assessment

A process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning, which helps student improve their achievement of intended outcomes.

Questioning Discussing Learning Activities/Projects Conferences Interviews Student Reflections

Formative Assessments

Are assessments found at the classroom level and happens in short intervals/cycles.

Formative Assessments:Not graded or used in accountability systemsFeedback is DISCRIPTIVE in nature so the

student knows what exactly is needed for improvement.

Scenarios for Authentic Tasks

Build assessments anchored in authentic tasks using GRASPS: What is the Goal in the scenario? What is the Role? Who is the Audience? What is your Situation (context)? What is the Performance challenge? By what Standards will work be judged in the

scenario?

SPS

GRA

Summative Assessments

Summative assessments are found at the classroom, district, and state level and can be graded and used in accountability systems.

Summative assessments are:Used to evaluateUsed to categorize students in comparison to

others

Summative Assessments

Summative Assessments provide evidence of student competence or program effectiveness.

Selected Response Items (T/F, MC, Matching)Short Answers (Fill in/ 1-2 sentence

response)Extended written responsePerformance Assessments

Formative vs. Summative

ONE is NOT BETTER THAN THE OTHER

Both are essential to student learning when the information gathered is used to inform

students, teachers, and parents of progress.

It is ALL about the TIMING and the USE of the assessment.

Check-up vs. Autopsy

WHERE DO BENCHMARK ASSESSMENTS FALL?

ARE THEY FORMATIVE?ARE THEY SUMMATIVE?

So….

OUR DEFINITION:“QUARTERLY” WRITING OR

MULTIPLE CHOICE ASSESSMENTS BASED ON PREVIOUSLY TAUGHT

SKILLS OR OBJECTIVES USED FOR INFORMING INSTRUCTION AND

FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION

Benchmark Assessments

Sample Assessments

Write to explain how your body moves (bones and muscles working together).

Using voice thread, explain why your skin protects your body

Create a fictitious animal using your knowledge of the classifications. Provide appropriate habitat and at least 3 adaptations that enable your animal to survive in that environment; include a food chain

Research a threatened/endangered animal from North Carolina

Create a zoo habitat appropriate for a new animal of your choice

More Samples…

“25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated classroom”

Write AboutsQuick Writes3-2-1 SummarizerFact StormingNoting What I’ve LearnedUnit CollageFoldableInteractive NotebookVocabulary Quizzes

Subject:Grade Level:Unit Title:

Timeframe Needed for Completion:Grading Period:

Big Idea/Theme:Understandings:Curriculum Goals/Objectives: Essential Questions:

Essential Skills/Vocabulary: Assessment Tasks:

Opportunities for Integration:

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTSINTEGRATION OPPORTUNITIES

RESOURCESAT A GLANCE PACING GUIDES

Day 3

Positives Things would be better if… Accomplished established goals for

the day Learning a lot! Very productive Feedback from peers and written

feedback was helpful Lots of time to tweak what needed

fixing (PtP—good) Great session Change of agenda to allow more

time to work Time to work Finished! New websites from others Glad to be moving onto assessments Feeling really good about this

process! Thanks for time to complete

frameworks

Not sure about assessments Soft music would be nice Afternoon snack Challenging process—

noticed things in SCOS that I’ve seen and noted that I’ve added things that are not there

None—you made the change to work in the afternoon instead of moving on to assessments

How can we get new passwords for ClassScape?

Day 2 Reflections

Agenda Day 3

Start ups– Ground Rules; AgendaReflect on Day 2Review Assessments: Formative vs.

SummativePass the Paper—Peer FeedbackWOW—complete frameworks for each “Big Idea”LunchWOWDebrief Day 3 +/

Pass the Paper Feedback

Working as partners/teams, examine some of the units designed during yesterday and today’s sessions.

Provide feedback through questioning—Does this understanding match the goal?Is/Are the essential question(s) broad/deep enough

to spark inquiry?Will the timeframe be sufficient?

Pass the paper to the next team.

COMPLETE AND/OR REVISE:

BIG IDEAS/THEMECURRICULUM GOAL/OBJECTIVE

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONSESSENTIAL SKILLS/VOCABULARY

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT SUGGESTIONSINTEGRATION OPPORTUNITIES

Work on the Work

Pacing Guide “At a Glance”

Once unit frameworks have been devised, organizing them in a progressive sequence and assigning a time frame is easy

If sequence or time allotted to the unit frame needs to be adjusted, it can be through the feedback process

COMPLETE AND/OR REVISE:FRAMEWORK COMPONENTS FOR EACH UNIT

CREATE “AT A GLANCE” PACING GUIDEDEVELOP COMMON BENCHMARKS

Work on the Work

Debrief Day 3

Where are you in the process?What do we need to adjust to tomorrow’s

agenda?

What worked for you today?What needs to be considered for

improvement?

FINAL DAY!

Day 4

AGENDA

Review Feedback from Day 3

WHEN should assessments be given?

Work on the Work (Assessment Generation/Refining Units)

LUNCHWork on the Work (Assessment Generation)

Evaluation and Next Steps (2:30)

When should they be given?

Looking at the school calendar for next year, when would you propose that the assessments be given in order to provide feedback to teachers and students?

Should there be one designated day? Or should there be a window?

What other options should be considered?

Benchmark Assessment Tools

Benchmarks for all Core Areas ClassScape for “EOG/EOC tested”

subjectsEdTech “Build My Test” solution for

all others

COMPLETE

BENCHMARK ASSESSMENTS

Work on the Work

Using the Frameworks

LT

OE

R

U

K

Q

CS

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

Understandings

Questions

ContentStandards

Knowledge & Skill

Task(s)

Rubric(s)

OtherEvidence

LearningPlan

How Will We Get There?

Stage 3 big idea:

EFFECTIVE

and

ENGAGING

Stage 3 – Plan Learning Experiences & Instruction

A focus on engaging and effective learning, “designed in”What learning experiences and instruction

will promote the desired understanding, knowledge and skill of Stage 1?

How will the design ensure that all students are maximally engaged and effective at meeting the goals?

L

Think of your obligations via W. H. E. R. E. T. O.

“Where are we headed?” (the student’s Q!) How will the student be ‘hooked’?What opportunities will there be to be equipped,

and to experience and explore key ideas?What will provide opportunities to rethink, rehearse, refine and revise?

How will students evaluate their work?How will the work be tailored to individual needs,

interests, styles?How will the work be organized for maximal

engagement and effectiveness?

WHE

ER

L

TO

Next Steps– Planning Daily Lessons

BOY Workdays…

Meeting with GL/Department PLCs

Develop Lesson Plans

Provide Feedback on pacing/unit guides

Meet again as group (Summer Revisions)

Continuous Improvement

Process presented to administrative team Agreed upon expectations and rolesShared information through Convocation

Conference and Grade Level/Department meetings

Postings to our websiteUpdates through monthly C & I meetingsPLC work to collect feedback throughout the yearCollection of feedback and used following

summer to revise pacing and frameworks

Turn and Talk

What will you take away from today’s session that will help you in your district?

What questions do you still have?

Feedback:

What worked for you today?What would have made it better?