Preparation Course for Curriculum Writers 2011 Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction

 Rationale for the current revision  Decision-making process that has led up to this training  Timeline of BVSD and state initiatives Part One :

The Colorado Department of Education (State) requires all districts to adopt curriculum aligned to the new Colorado Academic Standards by December Rationale for the current revision

The Colorado Academic Standards were finalized in December 2010 All contents. All grade levels.

Developed by Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center)

Why revise now? Districts review and align curriculum to Colorado Academic Standards by December 2011

Transitional Colorado Assessment Program Transitional Colorado Assessment Program and pilot of new summative assessment system

Features of the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program for 2012 and 2013: TCAP will maintain the same general blueprint as CSAP in terms of the overall test structure and content distribution. The TCAP will not test Colorado’s new personal financial literacy expectations or social studies. The TCAP will not test any content standards that have shifted grades and it will not test any new learning skills

Features of the State of Colorado accountability test 2014: Math, Reading and Writing to be tested every grade 3-11 Science to be tested once at elementary, once at middle, once at high Social Studies to be tested once at elementary, once at middle, once at high

Timeline Summer 2011 Debut of state revised assessment system All schools implement revised Curriculum Essentials Documents Revised Curriculum Essentials Documents made available for planning instruction BVSD Curriculum Essentials revised to align with state standards. Spring 2014 August 2012 Spring 2012 State deadline for alignment to standards December 2011

Decision process The following groups met to discuss options regarding format and sequence of revised curriculum documents. Curriculum Coordinating Council Principals Elementary Curriculum Council Secondary Content Curriculum Councils Members of these groups then gave input via an online survey.

Response Percent Response Count Adopt the format of the Colorado Academic Standards as is. 75.0%72 Keep the BVSD Curriculum Essentials Documents format, and incorporate language from the Colorado Academic Standards. 25.0%24 BVSD Survey of Curriculum Coordinating Council, Elementary Curriculum Council, Secondary Content Curriculum Councils, and Principals

Timeline for 2011 JanuaryMay June-JulySeptOctNovDec Board approval Board review Final document preparation Public comment Draft document preparation Final decision on sequence Discussions about sequence began with Curriculum Coordinating Council

 Intro to the new Colorado Academic Standards  21 st Century Skills in the new Colorado Academic Standards  Format of the Grade Level Expectations pages Part Two :

Key Differences in New State Standards vs. the Old Standards  Include Pre-K  Articulated by grade level for grades K-8  Standards are written for “mastery”  Integrate 21 st Century Skills

21 st Century Skills Critical Thinking and Reasoning (cause and effect, analysis, logic) Information Literacy (knowledge acquisition, source discernment, system management) Collaboration (synergy, team resourcing, leader ship for new knowledge) Self-direction (persistence, adaptability, work ethic, initiative) Invention (creativity, innovation)

Look at the pages from the Colorado Academic Standards that you have been given. Underline where you see evidence of the 21 st Century Skills Share with your table group. Which 21 st Century Skills did you see evidence of? In which components of the Standards did you find them?

Content Area Standard: Prepared Graduates: High School and Grade Level Expectations Concepts and skills students master: Evidence Outcomes21 st Century Skills and Readiness Competencies Students can: Inquiry Questions: Relevance and Application: Nature of the Discipline: Components of the Grade Level Expectations (GLE) Page

Content Area Standard: Prepared Graduates: High School and Grade Level Expectations Concepts and skills students master: Evidence Outcomes21 st Century Skills and Readiness Competencies Students can: Inquiry Questions: Relevance and Application: Nature of the Discipline: Components of the Grade Level Expectations (GLE) Page Match the definitions on the colored arrows to the corresponding components of the GLE page

Content Area Standard: Prepared Graduates: High School and Grade Level Expectations Concepts and skills students master: Evidence Outcomes21 st Century Skills and Readiness Competencies Students can: Inquiry Questions: Relevance and Application: Nature of the Discipline: Name of Content Area Topical Organization P-12 Concept and Skill thread students must master Concepts & skills indicating progress to PGC mastery Indicators of student mastery Promote critical thinking Relevant societal context Characteristics of Discipline

 Expectations for curriculum-writing  Next steps Part Three :

 Teachers writing curriculum documents will be compensated at curriculum rate ($24.58/hour).  The amount of budget available allows for 8 hours per teacher per course. Compensation :

 Each content area has an assigned a person to coordinate revisions. Deadlines for each content will be communicated by the person coordinating your content area. Deadlines :

 Templates will be provided for the following sections of the document: o Grade Level Expectation (GLE) page o Introduction/At-a-Glance page o Key Academic Vocabulary and Glossary Specifications for final products:

Content Area: NAME OF CONTENT AREA Standard: The topical organization of an academic content area. Prepared Graduate Competencies:  The P-12 concepts and skills that all students leaving the Colorado education system must have to ensure success in a postsecondary and workforce setting. High School and Grade Level Expectations Concepts and skills students know include: High School Expectations: The articulation of the concepts and skills of a standard that indicates a student is making progress toward being a prepared graduate. Grade Level Expectations: The articulation, at each grade level, the concepts and skills of a standard that indicates a student is making progress toward being ready for high school. What do students need to know? Evidence Outcomes21 st Century Skills and Readiness Competencies Students can: Evidence outcomes are the indication that a student is meeting an expectation at the mastery level. How do we know that a student can do it? Inquiry: Students actively observe and question, investigate, formulate evidence-based explanations, communicate and justify explanations, and reflect & refine ideas. Application of the Discipline in Society and Using Technology: Students demonstrate knowledge, skills, and concepts in real-world, relevant contexts. Nature of the Discipline: Students understand the characteristics innate to the discipline.

Course Description “ Free box ” (will differ among content areas) Topics at a Glance Assessments Introduction/At-a-Glance Template

Glossary of Terms Academic Vocabulary Standard 1: Standard 2: Standard 3: Standard 4: WordDefinition

 Please proofread your documents for spelling and grammar  Please follow the format (this is to maximize the efficiency of compiling the hundreds of documents that will be produced in a common format) Specifications for final products:

 If you are writing a document for grades preK-8 (not advanced), start with the Grade Level Expectation (GLE) pages from the Colorado Academic Standards  If you add anything to the GLE page, please highlight it yellow. Getting started… highlight it in yellow.

Course Description “ Free box ” (will differ among content areas) Topics at a Glance Assessments Introduction/At-a-Glance Template

 If you are writing a document for an advanced version of a standard course at middle level or high school, start with the Grade Level Expectation (GLE) pages from the standard level course. Getting started…

 If you are writing a document for an elective course, you will most likely not have pre-filled GLE pages to start with. Getting started…

 If you are writing a document for an elective course, it is recommended that you start by finding the Prepared Graduate Expectations that are relevant to your course. Getting started…

Content Area: NAME OF CONTENT AREA Standard: The topical organization of an academic content area. Prepared Graduate Competencies:  The P-12 concepts and skills that all students leaving the Colorado education system must have to ensure success in a postsecondary and workforce setting. High School and Grade Level Expectations Concepts and skills students know include: Evidence Outcomes21 st Century Skills and Readiness Competencies Students can:Inquiry: Application of the Discipline in Society and Using Technology: Nature of the Discipline: From the Colorado Academic Standards

 Example – who has an elective course that they are writing? Finding the Prepared Graduate Statements

 Next, list the Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) for your course = the concepts and skills of a standard that indicates a student is making progress toward being a prepared graduate. Example: “ Cells use passive and active transport of substances across membranes to maintain relatively stable intracellular environments.” Getting started…

 Next, list the Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) for your course = the concepts and skills of a standard that indicates a student is making progress toward being a prepared graduate. Example: “Stylistic and thematic elements of literary or narrative texts can be refined to engage or entertain an audience.” Getting started…

 Next, complete the components of the Grade Level Expectation page for each GLE o Evidence outcomes o Inquiry Questions o Relevance and Application o Nature of the Discipline Getting started…

Content Area: NAME OF CONTENT AREA Standard: The topical organization of an academic content area. Prepared Graduate Competencies:  The P-12 concepts and skills that all students leaving the Colorado education system must have to ensure success in a postsecondary and workforce setting. High School and Grade Level Expectations Concepts and skills students know include: High School Expectations: The articulation of the concepts and skills of a standard that indicates a student is making progress toward being a prepared graduate. Grade Level Expectations: The articulation, at each grade level, the concepts and skills of a standard that indicates a student is making progress toward being ready for high school. What do students need to know? Evidence Outcomes21 st Century Skills and Readiness Competencies Students can: Evidence outcomes are the indication that a student is meeting an expectation at the mastery level. How do we know that a student can do it? Inquiry: Students actively observe and question, investigate, formulate evidence-based explanations, communicate and justify explanations, and reflect & refine ideas. Application of the Discipline in Society and Using Technology: Students demonstrate knowledge, skills, and concepts in real-world, relevant contexts. Nature of the Discipline: Students understand the characteristics innate to the discipline.

 Finally, complete the Intro/At-a-Glance page and Academic Vocabulary/Glossary pages Getting started…

Elementary – practice creating Topics at a Glance from the GLE pages and editing the course description (use handout/go online) Secondary courses covered by standards - practice creating Topics at a Glance from the GLE pages and editing the course description (use handout/go online) Elective courses – practice finding Prepared Graduate Competencies and brainstorming GLEs (use handout/go online) Give it a try…

Next Steps : Timeline for 2011 JanuaryMay June-JulySeptOctNovDec Board approval Board review Final document preparation Public comment Draft document preparation Final decision on sequence Discussions about sequence began with Curriculum Coordinating Council

Questions?

Advanced Courses

What are your best hopes and worst fears?

Advanced Courses What are you currently doing to make your advanced course deeper and more complex than the standard course?

Definitions: “Acceleration” – Skipping courses to access higher grade level content earlier. For example, taking Algebra I as an 8 th grader. “Advanced” – Advanced courses go beyond the curriculum expectations of a standard course offering. For example, Biology versus Advanced Biology.

Clarifications: Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses are determined by national curricula. In BVSD, we have courses that are not AP or IB, but which have the title “Advanced.” BVSD does not have courses identified as “Honors”. Honors is a course identifier from several years ago that schools should no longer utilize.

Building our own common understanding of “advanced” Please read the two brief selections from the book Content-Based Curriculum for High-Ability Learners by VanTassel-Baska and Little

Discuss these questions with a partner: 1.What does it mean to “make more advanced curricula available at younger ages?” 2.What should be the role of curriculum documents in differentiating learning for students with advanced academic needs? 3.What are the challenges and opportunities regarding state standards and their relationship to the curricula for advanced courses?

Criteria for Advanced Courses: Purpose: To inform the work of the curriculum writing teams who will be aligning CED to the new standards and developing CEDs for courses that do not currently have them, including advanced courses. Audience: Curriculum writing teams who have been trained specifically to write advanced course curricula.

Advanced Course Descriptor: Purpose: To provide a broad definition of an advanced course in the BVSD, one that can be applied across all contents and grade levels. This definition will be our public statement of what advanced courses look like in BVSD. This definition will be imbedded in the CED for all advanced courses. Audience: Anyone reading a CED.

Examples: Advanced Biology – draft GLE page Advanced Algebra II – draft GLE page How do the extensions on these pages provide additional depth and complexity without introducing content from high level courses?

Practice: Go to the State Standards online and find a GLE page that would be in the standard level of the course for which you are writing an advanced curriculum. How would you add extensions to this GLE?

Questions?