Strategies to Improve Content Enhancement Keriann Ford

What is Content Enhancement? According to researchers at the University of Kansas, "content enhancement is an instructional method that relies on using powerful teaching devices to organize and present content in an understandable and easy-to- learn manner. Teachers identify the content that they deem to be most critical and teach it using powerful teaching routines that actively engage students." How we as teachers can organize, reorganize, and support the content itself so students can learn. The idea of content enhancement is to make content more accessible to students.

UDL A large part of content enhancement is Universal Design for Learning. The Mathematics eText Research Center is currently studying the use of technology, e-texts, and the principles of universal design for learning to enhance the accessibility of mathematics texts. Take a look at this video… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDvKnY0g6e4 Think: Pair: Share:

The Challenge Many students have difficulty with: Relating new information to known information. Seeing the "big ideas" among the details. Translating the "big ideas" into words, phrases, and concepts that make sense to them. Identifying the structure of information. University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning 2002

Responding to the Challenge The Unit Organizer Routine helps students to: Relate unit content to previous and future units and to bigger course ideas. Understand the main idea of the content through the use of a meaningful paraphrase of the "big idea" of the unit. See the structure of the unit's content. Focus attention on important relationships in the content of the unit. University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning 2006 University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning 2002

Features of Content Enhancement Sets the purpose for learning Breaks down complex concepts Improves storage of large amounts of info Engages students in student/teacher instructional process Provides a visual map of previous lessons to present and future lessons Links new content to prior knowledge Guides learning effectively and efficiently Turns abstract concepts into a visual map Teaches analysis, conclusions and problem solving Focuses on essential information Organizes information meaningfully

Content Enhancement Routines: Planning for Instruction The Course Organizer Routine The Lesson Organizer Routine The Quality Assignment Routine The Unit Organizer Routine

Course Organizer (C-O-U-R-S-E) Cue Course Questions Outline Critical Concepts and Units Uncover Community Principles Reveal Learning Rituals Share Performance Options Explain Course Standards

Unit Organizer Create a Contect Recognize Content Structures Acknowledge Unit Relationships Frame Unit Questions Tie Content to Tasks  The Unit Organizer Routine is used to plan units and then introduce and maintain the big ideas in units and show how units, critical information and concepts are related. Research results showed that when the teachers used the Unit Organizer Routine, understanding and retention of the information by low-achieving students, students with learning disabilities, and average-achieving students improved substantially over baseline as reflected in unit test scores and in scores on unit content maps and explanations of these maps

The Unit Organizer Sectionalism The Causes of the Civil War Leaders Elida Cordora NAME DATE BIGGER PICTURE LAST UNIT /Experience CURRENT UNIT NEXT UNIT UNIT SELF-TEST QUESTIONS is about... RELATIONSHIPS UNIT UNIT SCHEDULE UNIT MAP 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 8 The roots and consequences of civil unrest. The Causes of the Civil War Growth of the Nation The Civil War Sectionalism pp. 201-236 1/22 Cooperative groups - over pp. 201-210 1/28 Quiz 1/29 Cooperative groups - over pp. 210-225 "Influential Personalities" Project due 1/30 Quiz 2/2 Cooperative groups - over pp. 228-234 2/6 Review for test 2/7 Review for test 2/6 Test Areas of the U.S. Differences between the areas Events in Leaders across the U.S. was based on emerged because of became greater with was influenced by descriptive cause/effect What was sectionalism as it existed in the U. S. of 1860? How did the differences in the sections of the U.S. in 1860 contribute to the start of the Civil War? compare/contrast 1/22 What examples of sectionalism exist in the world today?

The Unit Organizer Sectionalism The Causes of the Civil War Leaders NAME DATE The Unit Organizer SELF-TEST QUESTIONS NEW UNIT Expanded Unit Map is about... 9 10 How did national events and leaders pull the different sections of the U.S. apart? The Causes of the Civil War Elida Cordora 1/22 Sectionalism pp. 201-236 was based on the developed because of North South West Social Differences Political Economic Areas of the U.S. between the areas -Henry Clay -Stephen Douglas -Zachary Taylor -Harriet Beecher Stowe -Douglas Filmore -John Brown -Jefferson Davis -Abraham Lincoln such as was influenced by Leaders of change became greater with Events in -1820 Missouri Compromise -1846 Mexican War -1850 Compromise of 1850 -1850 Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 -1852 Uncle Tom's Cabin -1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act -1854 Republican Party formed -1854 Bleeding Kansas -1857 Dred Scott Case -1858 Lincoln Douglas Debates -1859 John Brown's Raid -1860 Lincoln Elected -1860 South Carolina Secedes -1861 Confederacy formed which included the and included

1. CURRENT UNIT 2. LAST UNIT 3. NEXT UNIT 4. BIGGER PICTURE Information is listed to help students see how the current unit is related to other units an to course ideas. 1. CURRENT UNIT 2. LAST UNIT 3. NEXT UNIT 4. BIGGER PICTURE The Unit Organizer Elida Cordora NAME DATE BIGGER PICTURE LAST UNIT /Experience CURRENT UNIT NEXT UNIT UNIT SELF-TEST QUESTIONS is about... RELATIONSHIPS UNIT UNIT SCHEDULE UNIT MAP 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 8 The roots and consequences of civil unrest. The Causes of the Civil War Growth of the Nation The Civil War Sectionalism pp. 201-236 1/22 Cooperative groups - over pp. 201-210 1/28 Quiz 1/29 Cooperative groups - over pp. 210-225 "Influential Personalities" Project due 1/30 Quiz 2/2 Cooperative groups - over pp. 228-234 2/6 Review for test 2/7 Review for test 2/6 Test Areas of the U.S. Differences between the areas Events in Leaders across the U.S. was based on emerged because of became greater with was influenced by descriptive cause/effect What was sectionalism as it existed in the U. S. of 1860? How did the differences in the sections of the U.S. in 1860 contribute to the start of the Civil War? compare/contrast 1/22 What examples of sectionalism exist in the world today?

The Unit Organizer Elida Cordora NAME DATE BIGGER PICTURE LAST UNIT /Experience CURRENT UNIT NEXT UNIT UNIT SELF-TEST QUESTIONS is about... RELATIONSHIPS UNIT UNIT SCHEDULE UNIT MAP 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 8 The roots and consequences of civil unrest. The Causes of the Civil War Growth of the Nation The Civil War Sectionalism pp. 201-236 1/22 Cooperative groups - over pp. 201-210 1/28 Quiz 1/29 Cooperative groups - over pp. 210-225 "Influential Personalities" Project due 1/30 Quiz 2/2 Cooperative groups - over pp. 228-234 2/6 Review for test 2/7 Review for test 2/6 Test Areas of the U.S. Differences between the areas Events in Leaders across the U.S. was based on emerged because of became greater with was influenced by descriptive cause/effect What was sectionalism as it existed in the U. S. of 1860? How did the differences in the sections of the U.S. in 1860 contribute to the start of the Civil War? compare/contrast 1/22 What examples of sectionalism exist in the world today? 5. UNIT MAP A Unit Paraphrase of the big idea of the unit and a Content Map are used to show students how to think about and structure the information in the unit. University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning 2006

A list of relationships that reflect The Unit Organizer Elida Cordora NAME DATE BIGGER PICTURE LAST UNIT /Experience CURRENT UNIT NEXT UNIT UNIT SELF-TEST QUESTIONS is about... RELATIONSHIPS UNIT UNIT SCHEDULE UNIT MAP 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 8 The roots and consequences of civil unrest. The Causes of the Civil War Growth of the Nation The Civil War Sectionalism pp. 201-236 1/22 Cooperative groups - over pp. 201-210 1/28 Quiz 1/29 Cooperative groups - over pp. 210-225 "Influential Personalities" Project due 1/30 Quiz 2/2 Cooperative groups - over pp. 228-234 2/6 Review for test 2/7 Review for test 2/6 Test Areas of the U.S. Differences between the areas Events in Leaders across the U.S. was based on emerged because of became greater with was influenced by descriptive cause/effect What was sectionalism as it existed in the U. S. of 1860? How did the differences in the sections of the U.S. in 1860 contribute to the start of the Civil War? compare/contrast 1/22 What examples of sectionalism exist in the world today? 6. UNIT RELATIONSHIPS A list of relationships that reflect the central ideas of the unit are provided so that students can look for these relationships as the content of the unit is learned. University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning 2006

7. UNIT SELF-TEST QUESTIONS The Unit Organizer Elida Cordora NAME DATE BIGGER PICTURE LAST UNIT /Experience CURRENT UNIT NEXT UNIT UNIT SELF-TEST QUESTIONS is about... RELATIONSHIPS UNIT UNIT SCHEDULE UNIT MAP 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 8 The roots and consequences of civil unrest. The Causes of the Civil War Growth of the Nation The Civil War Sectionalism pp. 201-236 1/22 Cooperative groups - over pp. 201-210 1/28 Quiz 1/29 Cooperative groups - over pp. 210-225 "Influential Personalities" Project due 1/30 Quiz 2/2 Cooperative groups - over pp. 228-234 2/6 Review for test 2/7 Review for test 2/6 Test Areas of the U.S. Differences between the areas Events in Leaders across the U.S. was based on emerged because of became greater with was influenced by descriptive cause/effect What was sectionalism as it existed in the U. S. of 1860? How did the differences in the sections of the U.S. in 1860 contribute to the start of the Civil War? compare/contrast 1/22 What examples of sectionalism exist in the world today? 7. UNIT SELF-TEST QUESTIONS Questions that students can use to check understanding of the big ideas and relationships in the unit are listed. University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning 2006

Lesson Organizer Routine Consolidate Goals Review Knowledge Assemble a Visual Anchor Describe & Map the Content Link to Students’ Lives Explore Questions and Tasks

The Cue-Do-Review Sequence Students that the routine will be used. The teacher announces the Unit Organizer and explains its use. Do The routine. The teacher and class collaboratively construct the Unit Organizer Review The information and process. Information presented in the Unit Organizer is reviewed