The Unit Structure: A Crash Course Meeting the Needs of Struggling and Succeeding Students

An Organizational Approach Lessons that help students acquire & integrate new core knowledge Traditional Test Lessons that help students extend, refine & use knowledge Holistic Performance Assessment Logical progression of lesson plan objectives that increase in critical thinking levels

Understanding by Design, ASCD, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, 1998 Master teachers identify course or subject Unit Concepts within the framework of Team and Subject Outcomes. They use standards and their own experiences to articulate 10-12 major concepts that build upon what students know already and that challenge them to extend and deepen that knowledge; each concept becomes a “folder” for the many ideas within the unit. The language of Wiggins and McTighe is helpful in identifying folder concepts: Unit Concepts address essential questions and create enduring understandings. Science and social studies teachers often state their Concept as an essential question; others use major concepts that encourage enduring understandings. Whether a question or an understanding, the Unit Concept serves two purposes: to integrate smaller ideas (and standards) into the larger folder it represents; and, to identify what is most important in a course, rather than what is most interesting, recognizing that what is important can be made interesting with thoughtful instructional planning. Rarely do Concepts correspond to textbook chapter titles. One consideration of teachers that facilitates unit-level planning is recognizing the kind of Prior Knowledge that students bring to the Unit from their earlier educational experiences. Without such acknowledgement, high school biology courses simply extend the vocabulary of middle school life science courses and seventh grade language arts courses substantially repeat fifth grade experiences: misconceptions persist, students are bored and opportunities for engaging with thoughtful concepts are missed. Teachers who expect students to activate and build upon prior knowledge can then challenge students to extend and deepen their concepts and thinking.

Backward Design…teaching with the end in mind. Covering vs. Uncovering Many times teachers can rely heavily on a textbook to frame our curriculum. We choose instructional activities that will ensure that we “cover” all the information in the book. Problems with “covering” material Often leads to lower level understanding Material is most often delivered “pre-digested” by someone else, usually the teacher

Covering vs. Uncovering (cont’d) As teachers, we often assume that because we have connected all the dots, the students will see the overall picture. Unfortunately, the students often see the stars without seeing the constellation. Instead of covering the standards, we should seek to uncover the standards. Uncovering the standards forces students to use higher level cognitive skills to connect the dots which lead to the Big Idea we want them to understand.

The Big Idea Backward design focuses on defining the Big Ideas that we want our students to know before selecting the instructional activities for a unit Focusing on the Big Idea (or Enduring Understanding) forces us to really think about what “knowing” looks like Three basic parts to backward design Identify the results that we desire Determine what evidence supports that desired goals have occurred Design activities that will make the desired results happen

The Process We have outlined the goals that we desire as an Archdiocesan system of schools at the team/department level, the course level, and the unit level. We will begin thinking about what “knowing” the material looks like when we consider performance assessments and rubrics. We will select instructional activities that will lead our students to the Big Idea when we create our Unit Structure.

Unit Components Unit Goal Performance Assessment & Rubric A&I Lesson Plan Objectives Traditional Test E&R, UKM Lesson Plan Objectives Lesson Plans & Assessments Work in groups to make a graphic organizer or concept map that illustrates the relationship between these components. Be creative! Share as large group. (20 minutes total.)

Unit Structure: 5 Phases Description 3-5 Acquiring & Integrating LPs 3-5 lessons that help students acquire and integrate new knowledge and build toward at least a basic achievement of the Unit Goal Traditional Test Assesses the core concepts and skills and Unit Goal achievement at least at an unsophisticated level Extending & Refining LPs 1-3 lessons that help students extend and refine knowledge Using Knowledge Meaningfully LP 1 lesson that helps students use knowledge in a new, meaningful way Performance Assessment Holistically assesses student achievement of the Unit Goal I&I -E&R may consist of helping students integrate Unit Concept into the Course Narrative in sophisticated ways -Performance Assessment, which may or may not derive from the Using Knowledge Meaningfully LP, that assesses the Unit Goal achievement level by each student (I&I) in an academic or real-world situation.

Lesson Plans that Benefit All, Especially Struggling, Students Phase Description Acquiring & Integrating LPs The first 3-5 lessons help all students acquire and integrate new knowledge focus clearly and without distraction on the Unit Goal build toward at least a basic achievement of the Unit Goal Traditional Test Assesses core concepts and skills and Unit Goal achievement at least at an unsophisticated level Instructional activities in these Lesson Plans also benefit All, Especially Struggling, Students: The first 3-5 lessons often begin with teacher-centered activities include teacher-directed pair/group assignments include systematic formative assessments move students from teacher-reliance to self-reliance may include some tiered in-class and HW assignments at Basic, Proficient, and Advanced levels

Purpose of the Traditional Test Assess the Unit Goal via knowledge and skills from the Acquiring and Integrating lesson plans Inform the teacher and student about areas for improvement Emphasize knowledge that is at least “Important to Know”

Test Components that Benefit All, Especially Struggling, Students Assess Unit Goal achievement at different levels of sophistication Focus on the Unit’s “Knowledge Important to Know” Begin with questions that instill confidence in students A comfortable test length Focus on content rather than reading Begin with unsophisticated before sophisticated questions. Used Tiered questions Gauge time so that all students can finish the main sections and at least attempt the more complex sections

Lesson Plans that Benefit All, Especially Succeeding, Students Phase Description Extending & Refining LPS UKM LP 1-3 LPs after the Traditional Test challenge all students to deepen or broaden their thinking about the Unit Concept often use tiered assignments with Basic, Proficient, and Advanced questions offer failing students additional chances to show Unit Goal achievement academic or real world use of Concept Performance Assessment Assesses Unit Concept attainment in a holistic manner, often requiring student decision-making These lessons Begin with an efficient review of TT questions on core concepts and Goal achievement, often done by pairs with class discussion for confusions. May include some direct-instruction, but are more student-directed Include appropriate products to hold students accountable Often use pairs and group working on tiered assignments Both E&R LP Assessments include a BASIC Goal level question to allow failing students further opportunities to demonstrate Goal achievement The UKM LP may be the basis for the Performance Assessment

Extending & Refining Lesson Plans Lesson Plans following the Traditional Test Generally Student-centered to develop self-reliance Challenge succeeding students to engage with sophisticated instances of the Unit Goal and Concept Allow failing students to revisit and meet the Unit Goal The most unique and effective element of the Unit Structure is that units do not end with the Traditional Test, but extend the Unit to allow failing students to meet the Unit Goal and succeeding students to be challenged. This requires moving more deeply to extend knowledge or refine existing knowledge. These lesson plans are often skewed toward group work and differentiated instruction.

Extending and Refining Knowledge “Extending” takes knowledge beyond its current context Knowledge related to new contexts or future Units “Refining” takes existing knowledge deeper Knowledge from A&I Lesson Plans Knowledge from previous Units Examples to Follow.

Common Extending and Refining Activities Differentiated Group Work Comparing and Contrasting Error Analysis Induction/Deduction With clear directions and accountability through collecting focused and timely products, pairs and groups of students can engage in these activities that build upon the fact that students have acquired and integrated the web of core concepts and skills of the unit. Additional new knowledge may be introduced to deepen or broaden the pre-Traditional Test knowledge, and that may require additional direct instruction on the part of the teacher. However, the purpose of these Lesson Plans throughout the year is to increasingly shift responsibility from students to teachers. Well-planned E&R LPs move students toward self-reliance by expecting pairs and groups to think independently and not look to the teacher for answers.

Using Knowledge Meaningfully Answers the question – “Why is this important to learn?” Situates knowledge in real life or meaningful applications Often leads into the Performance Assessment Almost entirely student-centered Examples: Science – Pond water analysis behind the school History – Creating a history blog on oral histories of WWII veterans Elementary Math – Converting recipe cards to make a double or half batch of cookies Religion – Planning a liturgy as a class Foreign Language – Writing a shopping list and having a short dialogue with a “grocer” PE – Playing a zone defense on the basketball court English – Writing a poem of choice Elementary – Identifying different members of a community; Outlining a Christmas List ACE Collaborative 2012

Performance Assessment Purpose: To provide a culminating, holistic unit assessment in which students demonstrate achievement of the Unit Goal through performance of a task. Basis: Students with different learning styles can demonstrate achievement in a holistic way that differs from the typical Traditional Test.

Constructing Performance Assessments Projects and presentations are only performance assessments if: They allow students to demonstrate achievement of the Unit Goal The performance at the level of the Unit Goal is attempted independently & individually (I&I) and on previously unseen material Younger students and ELLs may benefit from scaffolds and graphic organizers Good performance assessments often allow students to make decisions about the content

Some Helpful Resources www.acecollaborative.org www.Rubistar.4teachers.org http://www.engageny.org/common-core-curriculum-assessments http://www.corestandards.org/ Google Your key word + Performance assessment Performance task Authentic assessment