Understanding Understanding (Part Deux) Professional Development Workshop: EU’s & EQ’s Session 2

“Education is an itch, not a scratch.” Enduring Understandings for the workshop: Participants will come to understand that… “Education is an itch, not a scratch.” Content and skills are the means while understanding is the end. By anchoring our courses/units with EU’s and EQ’s, we guide students in uncovering and constructing meaning that they can transfer to new settings, issues, and problems.

What do I want my students to understand at the end of the year? Why? ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS for the workshop: Participants will keep considering… What do I want my students to understand at the end of the year? Why? How can I craft learning goals to be relevant and meaningful for students, within and beyond my classroom?

Learning Outcomes for the Workshop: Determine learning priorities for one course by identifying and articulating overarching (yearlong) and topical (unit-level) EU’s and EQ’s. Document EU’s and EQ’s for at least one unit, to be shared with colleagues on May 20th.

Activity: 6 Facets of Understanding Read the section for your assigned facet (p.85-103) Create a poster that includes: Definition of the facet Example + non-example Why facet is important within and beyond your content area A task/activity/assignment you do in your course* that evokes this facet (e.g. bridge project, church visitations) Report Out *course you’ve chosen to focus on for these workshops Facet 1: Explanation (p.85-88) Facet 2: Interpretation (p.88-92) Facet 3: Application (p.92-94) Facet 4: Perspective (p.95-97) Facet 5: Empathy (p.98-100) Facet 6: Self-Knowledge (p.100-103)

Applying the Facets of Understanding to my Course Step 1: Identify and draft an Enduring Understanding that you want students to take away from your course as a whole. examples: “The strong do what they have the power to do, the weak accept what they must.” - Thucydides Good readers and thinkers interact with a text actively, critically, and creatively. To have power means to have voice, agency, and independence. Literature is a vehicle through which individuals– especially those who’ve been historically silenced– can become empowered by telling their stories. Characteristics of an EU: Big idea, enduring value beyond the classroom (CONCEPT vs. skill) Resides at the heart of the discipline (involves DOING the subject) Complex; requires uncoverage of abstract or often misunderstood ideas Offers potential for engaging students

Applying the Facets of Understanding to my Course Step 2-Test your EU for its depth with this prompt: When students have truly understood my EU, they will be able to … Explain … Interpret … Apply … Take perspectives of… Empathize with… Show self-knowledge in … *When an EU is rich and complex, it lends itself to all 6 facets! Adam models exercise with BAD vs. GOOD example e.g. Texas defeated Mexico and won independence in 1836. THEN model with actual EU from the unit. Model with my EU: To have power means to have voice, agency, and independence. Literature is a vehicle through which individuals– especially those who’ve been historically silenced– can become empowered by telling their stories. Explanation- explain how a particular novel we’ve read characterizes a historically oppressed voice that “takes back” power and identity through storytelling Interpretation – make inferences about the attitude of a narrator or writer by interpreting tone, character, point of view in a text. Analyze and interpret how a post-colonial text conveys untold stories/perspectives on a situation. Application- construct (thru writing or some other form) a personal narrative about a situation/moment in which you’ve felt oppressed, and reflect on the process of telling this story Perspective- make arguments or retell an event from perspectives of different characters represented in a text, using evidence. Discuss what each perspective focuses on, what each perspective might be missing. Consider how readers of different backgrounds (cultural, economic) might interpret and create stories differently, how storytelling by individuals can give advantage/power to certain groups, or disadvantage/misrepresent certain groups. Empathy- research and speak on behalf of a person/ group of people who have less power than you Self-knowledge- reflect on our own power and privilege– or lack thereof– and how it affects the way we read text and the world.

Homework Finish applying the facets of understanding to your one EU. Use the questions and facets to challenge and hone this “big idea,” which should anchor your course. Email your revised EU to Crystal and Adam by next Wed, March 11. Preview of March 18 (short) session: Overarching vs. Topical EU’s & EQ’s Examples and non-examples We will clarify the difference between overarching & topical EU/EQ’s in the next session. For now, do your best to think of big ideas you want students to take away from your course.