Unit Design for Curriculum North Scott High School Presentation by Chad Guge Social Studies Instructor

Introduction Part 1 –Explanation of how Unit Design developed Part 2 –Example of Unit Design for Sociology Part 3 –Comments on the significance of the Unit Design work

Part 1: Development of Unit Design Fall 2009-Spring 2010 –Unit Design was a part of the work done by the Instructional coaches at the high school with assistance from Bruce Bufe, AEA staff Fall 2010 –Unit Design became a part of high school’s initiatives for all staff members. Collaboration time and 2-hour late starts were committed to time to work on Unit Designs Fall 2011 –All staff members will have created Unit Design plans for each unit taught in all classes offered at NSHS

Part 2: Components of Unit Design Each unit design has six major components 1.Connection to Iowa Core Curriculum and developed Essential Understandings 2.Assessment Alignment 3.Teaching for Rigor and Relevance 4.Teaching for Learning Differences (Differentiated Instruction) 5.Explanation of How Unit is Student-Centered 6.Implementation of 6-Thinking Strategies Other components include… Unit Skills Vocabulary Used Use of Technology Resources Needed/Used

#1-Iowa Core Curriculum and Essential Understandings Iowa Core Curriculum –Aligns the ICC to each specific unit, showing exactly what is being covered in each unit Essential Understandings –Developed specifically to the topic the unit is covering –Gives both teacher/student guidance to what the “big ideas” are for the unit

#2-Assessment Alignment This section shows the alignment of both formative and summative assessments to the unit essential understandings and the ICC.

#3-Teaching for Rigor & Relevance Staff has been working on developing “Quadrant D” lessons for the past few years. This sections outlines those lessons, along with lessons for the other three quadrants

#4-Teaching for Learner Differences Also known as Differentiated Instruction, this also has been a focus of the high school staff over the past 3-4 years to differentiate within the classroom

*also can include Teaching for Learner’s Readiness…this unit Does not have any differentiation in this area

#5-Student-Centered Explanation This provides an explanation on how the entire unit (including activities, assignments, and assessments) allows for both student-centered instruction and learning opportunities

#6-Implimentation of 6-Thinking Strategies One of the newer initiatives for the high school, this section shows the connection of the curriculum in the unit and how the 6- thinking strategies can be used in the classroom

Part 3-Comments on Unit Design Benefits –Connects all the initiatives worked on over the past 5 years, and helps to ensure inclusion of those in ALL units taught by staff –Ensures that teaching is intentional. Eliminates information/activities/assessments that do not have connection to ICC, and at the same time ensures staff members focus on what they teach and how they teach it –Provides a new framework that can be “updated” yearly as new material/activities are added, and other material/activities are deemed unnecessary to the unit. –Provides a common curriculum that all staff members who teach same class sections can teach, and ensures staff members are covering the same material and assessing in the same way

Part 3-Comments on Unit Design Issues and Concerns –Staff members who teach several different classes (called “preps”) may have to write upwards of 25+ units within a year’s time –Some staff members may be the only one who teaches certain classes, which makes collaboration difficult at times –Concerns of changes being made between Iowa Core Curriculum and Common Core Curriculum –Concern of having continued collaboration time, and if additional time can be found.

Questions and/or Comments