Expeditionary Learning Queens Middle School Meeting May 29,2013 Presenters: Maryanne Campagna & Antoinette DiPietro 1

Citywide Expectations Prepare: Set up to meet higher standards Ensure curricula in Pre-K-9 are aligned to the Common Core Standards in all content areas. (QI 1.1, 2.2) Schools should work toward closing curricular gaps during spring and summer 2013, whether through purchasing and integrating publisher-made materials or by adjusting current materials. Schools must provide dedicated time, resources, and support for reviewing and revising curricula, using Universal Design for Learning to ensure access for all learners.

Quality Review Indicator 1.1 Ensure appropriate, engaging, rigorous, and coherent curricula in all subjects accessible for a variety of learners and aligned to Common Core and/or Content Learning Standards. A)School leaders and faculty ensure curricula that are appropriate in all subjects aligned to CCLS and/or Content Standards, integrate the instructional shifts and align curricula across grades and subject areas to close the achievement gap and promote college and career readiness in all grades. B) Rigorous habits and higher order skills are emphasized in curricula and academic tasks are embedded in a coherent way across grades and subjects so that all learners, including ELLs and SWDs, must demonstrate their thinking. C) Curricula and academic tasks are planned and refined using student work and data so that individual and groups of students, including the lowest and highest achieving students, ELLs and SWDs, have full access to the curricula and tasks and are cognitively engaged.

Quality Indicator 2.2 Align assessments to curricula, use on-going assessment and grading practices, and analyze information on student learning outcomes to adjust instructional decisions at the team and classroom levels. A) Across the vast majority of classrooms, teachers use or create assessments, rubrics and grading policies that offer a clear portrait of student mastery of the school’s chosen key standards and curricula, thus providing actionable and meaningful feedback to students and teachers regarding student achievement. B) The school uses common assessments to create a clear picture of student progress toward goals and benchmarks across grades and subjects, track progress, and adjust curricular and instructional decisions so that all students, including ELLs and SWDs, demonstrate increased mastery. C) Across the vast majority of classrooms, teachers’ assessment practices consistently reflect the varied use of ongoing checks for understanding and student self-assessment so that teachers make effective adjustments to meet all students’ learning needs and students are aware of their next learning steps.

Quality Review Indicator 4.2 Engage in structured professional collaborations on teams using an inquiry approach that promotes shared leadership and focuses on improved student learning A) The vast majority of teachers are engaged in inquiry-based structured professional collaborations that has strengthened teachers’ instructional capacity (including CCLS integration), resulting in school- wide instructional coherence and increased student achievement for all learners. B) Teacher teams systematically analyze key elements of teacher work, including classroom practice, as well as assessment data and student work for students they share or on whom they are focused, resulting in shared improvements in teacher practice and mastery of goals for groups of students. C) Distributed leadership structures are embedded so that there is effective teacher leadership and teachers play an integral role in key decisions that affect student learning across the school.

Danielson’s Framework for Teaching: Component 1e, 3b and 3d 1e: Learning activities and Instruction designed to engage students and advance them through the content Materials and resources that are appropriate to the learning needs of the students Intentionally organized instructional groups to support student learning And a clear and sequenced unit structure to advance students’ learning. 3B High quality questions/prompts that cause students to think and reflect, to deepen their understanding and to test their ideas against those of their classmates. Discussion techniques that promote learning through discussion Teacher uses a range of techniques to ensure all students contribute to the discussion 3D There is clear assessment criteria that students are aware of and at the highest level had a hand in articulating Monitoring of student learning that is woven into the lesson Timely, constructive and substantive feedback that guides students to improve their performance. Student self-assessment and monitoring of progress

Periodic Assessment The DOE’s Periodic Assessment portfolio will continue to help schools transition to the Common Core and meet citywide instructional expectations by providing new assessments and technology for the school year. These new supports will include : Benchmark assessments aligned to Core Curriculum options in grades 3-8 Transition from Acuity to SchoolNet, an easy-to-use technology platform for assessment and instructional materials management, with data analysis tools

Expeditionary Learning The Curriculum : How it Works: Four 8-week modules, with 3 units in each, comprise a full year’s curriculum. Each module progresses in a standard sequence: Building Background Knowledge (Unit 1), Extended Reading and Research (unit 2), and Extended Writing (Unit 3). Modules are linked by “big ideas” and “guiding questions” that speak to both the standards and the content. 8

Expeditionary Learning Each module is anchored by one or more books- not textbooks or anthologies- that have been carefully chosen to take the guesswork out if selecting texts. All students read the same increasingly complex texts, and teachers are given lesson-specific strategies for meeting all students’ needs. Each module has 7 assessments-mid-unit, 3 end-of-unit and one culminating performance task that always involves writing from evidence. Science and Social Studies content reinforces literacy strategies across the disciplines. 9

The Curriculum contains… Curriculum plan Standards-aligned curriculum map Formative and summative assessments and end-of-unit performance task. Supported by…. Central texts from various publishers Recommendations for optional texts at multiple Lexile levels Embedded, authentic informational texts Plus these online supports: Classroom videos of CCLS- aligned instructional practices An archive of exemplary student work form all grade levels Teacher toolkits providing instructional strategies for literacy across the disciplines 10

Preparing for September 2013 Assess your Unit of Study for September using the assessment tool and the DOE rubric. Note the strengths and challenges against the CCLS Dimensions. Moving forward: Implementation of Current Units and Expeditionary Learning??? 11

Agenda for Elementary School Cohort Day 2: Next Steps… 12