Four Pillars of Plainwell Curriculum 1. Guaranteed Curriculum 2. Common Student Assessments 3. Data Management and Reporting System 4. Redefining School Improvement

What’s the Goal? All Students at Grade Level in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics

Four Pillars of Plainwell Curriculum 1. Guaranteed Curriculum 2. Common Student Assessments 3. Data Management and Reporting System 4. Redefining School Improvement

1 - Guaranteed Curriculum  Curriculum Maps  Time Bound When will this instruction happen and how much time will we need to do it?  Based on Common Learning Goals GLCEs Benchmarks Our Learning Goals

2 - Common Student Assessments  Written to the Learning Goals  Not every GLCE or Learning Goal can be assessed  Goals and Assessments are Constants  Texts, Resources, Activities are Variables  By Unit or by Marking Period

3 - Data Management and Reporting System  Tracks Assessment Results For individuals For class or grade as a whole - what content and skills have most students mastered and what goals have they not  Pinnacle Objective Tracker  Transforming Classroom Grading

4 - Redefining School Improvement  Old Paradigm: 3-5 Year Plans - Large - Global cumbersome, management nightmare no “buy in” or accountability vague goals that don’t drive instruction  New Paradigm: Continuous - Small - Local teachers of the same subject meet regularly use information from their common assessments and objectives to plan how to improve student achievement of their common learning goals

Curriculum Development and School Improvement Process – 7 steps 1. Review GLCEs, standards and benchmarks 2. Identify learning goals 3. Create Curriculum Maps 4. Develop common assessments for each unit 5. Analyze assessment results 6. Identify problem areas 7. Develop plans and strategies for problem areas

What’s Changed?  Decision on Content The Past – each individual teacher decided his/her content independently The Change – content set in curriculum maps w/ learning goals from state standards, content expectations, departments, grade levels (the guaranteed curriculum)  Decision on Assessments The Past – each individual teacher developed his/her own assessments (or gave none at all) based on whatever they happened to have taught that during the period The Change – teachers who teach the same learning goals, give a common assessment of those learning goals

What’s Changed?  Isolation becomes Teamwork The Past – Except for large, unwieldly, and infrequent goal committee meeting, teachers work in isolation The Change – teachers who teach the same learning goals, look at student results, and work with each other regularly; sharing their expertise, lessons, and strategies to improve student learning on the specific learning goals they all teach in common

What’s Changed?  School Improvement The Past – large, vague, multiyear goals that cannot address what is needed in each course to improve student learning The Change – small goals set by groups of teachers teaching the same content based on what our assessments show students need to learn better The Past – strategies are long term, vague, and don’t have wide spread commitment The Change – Teacher tested, locally proven lessons and ideas are just as valuable – maybe more – than published research (although both are important)

Where’s the Art of Teaching?  It’s there more than ever!  Your artistry and skill as a teacher is in… how you get students to master the learning goals how you motivate students to learn how you build a relationship with your students how you, with your colleagues, share, develop, and find resources to improve your students learning  But artistry is no longer deciding in isolation… the content of the course the summative assessments used to measure student progress on the learning goals or deciding not to work collaboratively in a grade or subject area team to improve student learning

Curriculum Maps Come First  Review GLCEs for each grade  Place in units  Group by topic  Align to text and other resources  Decide timeline  When?

Four Pillars of Plainwell Curriculum 1. Guaranteed Curriculum 2. Common Student Assessments 3. Data Management and Reporting System 4. Redefining School Improvement

Why? All Students at Grade Level in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics