A Professional Development Program for Middle School Earth Science

What is ESBD? –A year-long program of professional development for middle school teachers based on UbD. –Created by TERC and the American Geological Institute with funding from NSF.

Why do we need ESBD? TIMSS NAEP NCLB “A Private Universe” “How People Learn” “Looking Inside the Classroom”

TIMSS US textbooks are fragmented and “not rigorous by international standards” “most US books do not develop lengthy ‘strands’ focusing on a topic but are composed mostly of many short ‘strands’

ESBD Goals Teach for deeper, enduring understanding Teach to the big ideas using an Earth systems approach Use visualizations and satellite imagery to promote student understanding

Enduring Understanding Based on the Understanding by Design (UbD) approach by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

We assume that... The goal is understanding. Understanding is difficult to get. Deliberate design helps build understanding.

ESBD Program Components Two week summer institute Fall & Spring conferences Year-long mentoring Online curriculum planner Web site resources & support

What Teachers Do in ESBD: Create an Earth science unit Implement their unit Mentor a peer through the process Reflect and share their ESBD experience with colleagues

Teachers as Designers... Select what to teach Design assessments Align instructional strategies

Three Stages of Design Stage 1: Identify desired results Stage 2: Determine acceptable evidence Stage 3: Plan learning experiences Also known as Backwards Design

Stage 1: Identify desired results Identify the enduring understandings. Formulate the essential questions. Identify the likely misconceptions.

“A mile wide & an inch deep”

“Less is more.”

1—Worthy of Enduring Understanding 2—Important to Know and Do 3—Worth Being Familiar With Other Content

The 4 Filters Wiggins and McTighe offer 4 filters to help select ideas and processes that are worthy of enduring understanding.

Filter 1: Does the idea have enduring value beyond the classroom?

Filter 2: Does the idea reside at the heart of the discipline?

Filter 3: Does the idea require uncoverage?

Filter 4: Does the idea offer potential for engaging students?

Stage 2: Determine acceptable evidence Develop a suite of assessment tools to continually monitor understanding. Create a performance assessment.

Stage 3: Plan learning experiences Align learning experiences with Stage 1 and 2 using WHERE.

Emphasize an Earth Systems approach.

Utilize Scientific Visualizations.

Teachers Use the Online Unit Planner to Design a Unit

Post-Institute Mentoring

Fall Teacher Conference Teachers refine their units and Prepare to teach.

Teaching the Unit

Peer-to-Peer Visits

Winter Conference

How Have Teachers Changed? Think back to how you approached teaching and learning before this workshop and how you approach it now. Describe how your current practice and philosophy of teaching and learning compares with one year ago...What is the most important change that occurred through the ESBD process?

“I have always looked for activities that are fun and engaging but I have never really looked at exactly where it is leading me/us. By developing a unit “backward”, I know where I want to go. I can then look at each activity closely and see if it is leading me there.” B.S. in geology, 3 years teaching

“I have done essential questions and performance assessment in the past. This process was much more structured and forced me to keep everything connected... I also choose activities much more carefully and with purpose.”

“My assessments were more thoughtful and linked to enduring understandings. I found myself really trying to understand where kids were at in their thinking and “re-teaching” on a much more regular basis.” MS in Ed, 6 years teaching

“I used to do a lot of experiential learning, believing that the kids were getting something because they were having fun.. Designing the experiences with the understandings in mind changes the focus— I am still interested in following what children want to explore, but I am keeping more on task by doing things that will lead to understanding.” BA & MA in English, 20 years teaching

“One year ago I was a very different teacher than I am now... when I would design a unit I would sift through a bunch of learning activities and put them together. Only towards the end of the unit would I think about assessment. Today I feel that my teaching and curriculum design is much more focused on student learning. All the learning experiences and assessments I pick have a purpose and relate to something else: there‘s continuity in my teaching. The most important change for me is that my teaching and my student’s learning is driven toward a goal rather than being arbitrary.” BS in Geology, 3 years teaching

“I already understood the UbD process very well coming into the workshop- having taken a few courses. This workshop really helped me to practice the information I had learned... I had not made a lot of use of computer visualizations and the support around this aspect of ESBD helped me out a lot. I am also more mindful now of checking in with my students on their learning as we go along – looking at misconceptions more, asking for more reflections from the students and trying more formative assessments along the way so they and I can check in on the level of understanding.” MS in Ed, 18 years teaching

Key elements of success: Design for less coverage in more depth. Design backwards. Aim for deep and enduring understanding. Get and keep students’ interest. Give students a roadmap to the unit.

Key elements of success: During the unit, assess often and use the results to modify teaching. Assess for student preconceptions and use the information to guide teaching. Stay focused and “on message” as the unit unfolds.

The ESBD Package for Staff Developers Available Spring ESBD Handbook –Detailed session plans for Summer Institute and 2 Workshops. –Black-line Masters –Mentoring Guide

The ESBD Package Resource CDs –PowerPoint Presentations for Workshops –High-bandwidth Visualizations for Teaching

The ESBD Package ESBD Web Site Tools –Online Unit Planner –Earth Science Resources –Online Application Process –Online Project Directory –Implementation Resources

Dr. Harold McWilliams, Principal Investigator & Project Director, TERC Dr. Ann Benbow, co-Principal Investigator, American Geological Institute Dr. Carla McAuliffe, TERC Dr. Jeffrey Lockwood, TERC Maxine Rosenberg, TERC Dr. Tamara Shapiro Ledley, TERC Craig Warheit, TERC Matt Hoover, American Geological Institute Samantha Genier, Teacher Consultant Anne Jones, Teacher Consultant Mark Murphy, Teacher Consultant Project Staff