1. Mastery-Based Learning:
Content Area Competencies and Performance Indicators
March 21, 2016

2. Today’s Facilitators Richard Therrien, K-12 Science Supervisor
Dan Liebert, Senior Associate, GSP

3. SESSION
OUTCOMES
Explain the rationale, process and timeline for this work

4. SESSION
OUTCOMES
Review and provide feedback on draft competencies to align them with the most foundational, enduring and high-leverage concepts and skills of our discipline

5. TODAY’S
OUTCOMES
Identify remaining questions and implications for next steps

6. Today’s Agenda: Introductions and Overview Context and Background
Review of Drafts and Feedback
Feedback, Closing and Next Steps

7. WHAT
create a set of content area graduation competencies (5-8 total) and performance indicators (no more than 5-10 per competency)
that represent the most critical skills/knowledge of our discipline--what all students need to know/be able to do to be successful after High School
the indicators describe in more detail what each competency looks like--the components.

8. WHY
to define clear, common outcomes for all New Haven students (regardless of what high school they attend or from which they graduate)
because having clear, common learning expectations encourages a portfolio of schools where teachers and students design different learning paths (personalize learning) and still achieve equitable results for all students
because personalizing learning helps increase student engagement and ownership
Important to remember WHY we are doing this work as a district group rather than having the schools ready to pilot do this on their own/individually.

9. WHAT NEXT?
Feedback received today and from schools will be incorporated into a revision.
These competencies and indicators will inform District curriculum and assessment
MBA, NHA, HSC, Sound and Co-op will implement specific aspects of Cross Curricular and/or Content Area Competencies starting next fall, with support from GSP coaches.
Some other schools may be exploring aspects of mastery based learning; these schools should be developing an implementation timeline with the district and GSP coaches.
Ideally, we get all feedback by April break and we revise shortly after that.
I would expect there might be questions/concerns about the last 3 bullets—who has to use these, how, starting when, etc.
Because these are built from state and national standards, they are just a condensed version of what teachers are already using to guide instruction.
It’s also important to note that using standards to guide instruction and assessment is NOT the same thing as standards based grading.

10. Stages and Tasks of Mastery-Based Learning
Standards
Reflection + Refinement
Performance Indicators
Supports/Interventions
Scoring Criteria
Reporting, Reflection, Refinement
Reporting Learning
School-wide Planning
Curriculum Mapping
two key points:
—this slide is a chance to talk about how standards then inform planning, instruction and assessment
—people like to jump to grading and reporting questions. Focus on the importance of moving around the circle top right to top left—top 2 quadrants are structural, bottom two are instructional. Bottom two really support top two and will determine if they succeed
Scoring-with criteria
Designing Summative Task
Instruction, Feedback, Evaluation
Design for Learning
Students attempt Summative Assessment
Unit Design
Supports/Interventions
Instructional Design
Formative Assessment
Instruction

12. Graduation Competency
We can also think about the relationship between standards as a matter of grain size. Your state and local context will determine the terms you use.
Performance Indicator
Learning Target

13. COMPETENCIES
define the most foundational, enduring, and high-leverage concepts and skills within a discipline.

14. Foundational Lens:
To what extent is this statement at the heart of understanding the content area?
To what extent does it align with national & state standards?
Graduation competencies identify the important ideas and core processes that are central to the content area. A strong graduation competency states in a clear, descriptive way what is important to understand and do in the content area.

15. Endurance Lens:
To what extent does this statement provide students with knowledge & skills that will be of value beyond a particular point in time (ie: test, unit)?
A graduation competency has utility beyond a particular point in time. It is transferrable to new situations and has lasting value beyond the classroom. A strong graduation competency requires students to develop skills and knowledge that will endure throughout a student’s academic career, professional and civic life.

16. Leverage Lens:
Will this provide knowledge and skills that will be of use as a student advances in this discipline?
Will this provide knowledge and skills that will be of use in multiple disciplines?
A strong graduation competency has cross content connections. Students are able to transfer skills and knowledge to new situations. Graduation competencies help to focus instruction so that over time students build on previous learning and have multiple experiences in which to transfer learning along the way.

17. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
describe the skills and knowledge that are component parts of the competency in measurable terms.

18. Competencies & Indicators:
are aligned with state and national standards
describe knowledge and skills that can be transferred across content topics or content areas
require and encourage higher order thinking

19. Review and Feedback In small groups: Read and review the draft
Discuss each competency and provide feedback in the chart provided.

20. EXIT TICKET What was useful/helpful about today’s work?
What was challenging about today’s work?
What questions do you still have?

21. Next Steps
drafts will be sent out to schools, feedback collected by April break.
Revisions will be made in April and then scoring criteria will be drafted April to June.

22. THANK YOU! 482 Congress Street, Suite 500 Portland, ME 04101
greatschoolspartnership.org
THANK YOU!