1. Office of Education Improvement and Innovation
Instructional Learning Cycle:
Pre-Planning Phase: Part 1
Office of Education Improvement and Innovation
Instructional Learning Cycle: Pre-Planning Phase: Part 1

2. Pre-Planning Phase Individual Collaborative ILC Process Document
Outline
Pre-Planning Phase
Individual
Collaborative
ILC Process
Document
In this presentation we’re going to dig into the first two collaborative tasks of the Pre-Planning Phase of the Instructional Learning Cycle. We will also cover the Pre-Planning Phase section of the ILC Process Document.

3. Pre-Planning Phase
The ILC is not intended to be a checklist for an individual classroom teacher but rather a process to guide teachers through discussions about aligning assessments, learning targets and instruction. Although part of the process is implementation in individual classrooms, the success of the ILC is greatly enhanced by the collaborative tasks built into the ILC. There is added benefit to the ILC process if teachers who teach the same content and grade level can work together to plan for the assessments and instruction. However, cross grade level teams or cross content teams have found powerful ways to support each other’s thinking around teaching and learning during the ILC process.
We will cover the collaborative and individual tasks of the Pre-Planning Phase. There also is an ILC Process Document to help guide you through the entire process, and in this presentation we will cover the section of the document related to the Pre-Planning Phase.

4. Pre-Planning Guiding Questions
What do we want students to know and be able to do?
How will students demonstrate that they have acquired the essential knowledge and skills?
Before getting into the details, there are some guiding questions to keep in mind as you work through the Pre-Planning Phase of the ILC. If you’re unsure of how to answer any questions in the ILC Process Document or if collaborative conversations seem to be getting off track, you can use these guiding questions to help re-focus. The guiding questions for the Pre-Planning Phase of the ILC include:
What do we want students to know and be able to do?
How will students demonstrate that they have acquired the essential knowledge and skills?
How will we identify students who demonstrate proficiency, are close to proficient and far from proficient?
How will we identify students who demonstrate proficiency, are close to proficient and far from proficient?

5. Click on the document to download it for further review.
ILC Process Document
Click on the document to download it for further review.
First, let’s take a look at the ILC Process Document. Even once the process is second-nature to you, this document provides a way to track decisions and classroom data. Take a few minutes to review the format of the ILC Process Document and in particular the Pre-Planning section of the document. Although you may select a different instructional planning process, it would benefit you to become familiar with this document, because it does embed analysis and reflective questions that help guide the process.

6. ILC Process Document
What are we supposed to be teaching during the next 3-5 weeks?
What are the state standard(s) we will be addressing?
What learning targets from the identified state standard(s) will we emphasize during the next 3-5 weeks?
The five questions to be answered during Pre-Planning are:
What are we supposed to be teaching during the next 3-5 weeks?
What are the state standard(s) we will be addressing?
Based on data, what learning targets from the identified state standard(s) will we emphasize during the next 3-5 weeks?
How do we assess the identified learning targets?
How will we identify students who are proficient, close to proficient and far from proficient?
How do we assess the identified learning targets?
How will we identify students who are proficient, close to proficient and far from proficient?

7. Pre-Planning Phase Tasks
Let’s take a look at the collaborative tasks of the Pre-Planning Phase in more detail. There are three collaborative tasks that need to be accomplished during Pre-planning: identify an area of focus, align instructional components and plan the assessment. Each of the five questions in the ILC Process Document support one of these tasks.

8. Pre-Planning Phase Tasks
Heavily rooted in research from cognitive psychology
Effective instructional planning model
Phases and questions and actions within each phase should be completed in the order they appear.
The questions are purposely ordered as they are to align with the backward planning process developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe as part of their Understanding by Design framework. Understanding by Design is heavily rooted in research from cognitive psychology. Additionally, a significant amount of research has been done on the effect of the Understanding by Design framework on student achievement, and it has proven to be a very effective instructional planning model. So, to maximize the effectiveness of the ILC, the phases and the questions and actions within each phase should be completed in the order they appear. Note that it may take more than one meeting to complete all of the collaborative tasks of the Pre-Planning phase.
Sources:
McTighe, J. & Seif, E. A Summary of Underlying Theory and Research Base for Understanding by Design. Unpublished manuscript, 2003.
Wiggins & McTighe. Understanding by design: Professional development workbook, 2004.

9. Common Topic Beginning and End Dates
Identify Area of Focus
Identify Timeframe
Common Topic
Beginning and
End Dates
The first task that needs to be accomplished in Pre-Planning is to identify an area of focus. To do this, the teachers should first consider a common topic or skill that each person is going to be teaching over the next 3-5 weeks. For example, 3rd grade teachers may be focusing on reading comprehension or all of the Algebra I teachers may be working on graphing linear equations.
In some cases, it may make more sense to create a team of teachers from several grades or across subject areas that are working on the same skill, e.g., identifying the main idea from informational text. The team should be set up in a way that makes sense for your building and district configuration. Keep in mind that the teacher team DOES NOT have to consist of teachers who are teaching the exact same content area. While this may not seem ideal, the ILC process can be effectively implemented by an individual teacher.
Next, the teachers should identify the planned beginning and end dates for this topic. Generally, the timeframe should be 3-5 weeks in length. Less than that, and the selected area of focus may be too small, and longer than five weeks may mean the area of focus is too large. The identified timeframe will be the time period for your Instructional Learning Cycle.
3-5 Weeks

10. Align Instructional Components: Identify State Standards
Assessment
Instructional Strategies
Learning Targets
Next, the team will begin to gather the information needed to align the instructional components. Remember that the three components of effective instruction that must be aligned are learning targets, instructional strategies and assessment.

11. Align Instructional Components: Identify State Standards
What are the state standard(s) we will be addressing?
It is necessary to identify the state standards, because the learning targets that need to align with the assessment and the instructional strategies are derived from the state standards. Look at the topic selected in the previous task and determine which state standards will be addressed.

12. Align Instructional Components: Identify State Standards
TOPIC
State Standard 6
State Standard 4
Prioritize
You may find that the topic selected connects to several or many state standards. If the topic is connected to more than two state standards, you will find it useful to pare down the list to only one or two. But how do you do this? There are many standards and they are all important, but realistically how many teachers have ever been able to teach and assess all of the state standards in one year? Even with extended instructional time, there is just not enough time. So, the key is not to eliminate standards but to prioritize them.
State Standard 5

13. Prioritizing Standards
5.RI.3: Explain the relationship or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in text.
5.RI.5: Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.
Take a look at these two fifth grade Common Core reading standards:
5.RI.3: Explain the relationship or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in text.
And
5.RI.5
Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.
If you were prioritizing between these two, which one would you give higher priority? Why? In the absence of other prioritizing criteria, most teachers will prioritize the standards they know or like best, those for which they have existing materials and lesson plans and those that are most likely to appear on a state-mandated assessment (Ainsworth, 2013), but there are more effective criteria to use.
Source:
Ainsworth, Larry. Prioritizing the Common Core: Identifying Specific Standards to Emphasize the Most. Englewood, CO: Lead and Learn, 2013.

14. REAL Criteria for Prioritizing Standards
eadiness -
Knowledge and skills necessary for the next level of instruction
ndurance -
Knowledge and skills of value beyond a single test date
ssessed -
Likely to be assessed on state and national exams
In order to move toward the goal of improved student achievement, Kim Bailey (2011) created the REAL criteria to help prioritize standards. REAL stands for:
Readiness – Knowledge and skills necessary for the next level of instruction
Endurance – Knowledge and skills of value beyond a single test date
Assessed – Likely to be assessed on state and national exams
Leverage – Knowledge and skills of value across multiple disciplines
Standards that meet these criteria should be prioritized over standards that do not meet the REAL criteria. When prioritizing standards, all team members may not agree on the exact order of priority, but it is important that the entire team does agree on which standard or standards will be a priority that the entire team will focus on in this Instructional Learning Cycle.
Sources:
Ainsworth, Larry. Prioritizing the Common Core: Identifying Specific Standards to Emphasize the Most. Englewood, CO: Lead and Learn, 2013.
Bailey, Kim, and Chris Jakicic. Common Formative Assessment: A Toolkit for Professional Learning Communities at Work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2012.
everage -
Knowledge and skills of value across multiple disciplines

15. REAL Criteria for Prioritizing Standards
5.RI.3: Explain the relationship or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in text.
5.RI.5: Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.
Now let’s go back to the two ELA standards: from a couple of screens ago and prioritize them using the REAL criteria. 5.RI.3 seems to meet all four criteria—readiness, endurance, assessed and leverage, while 5.RI.5 meets only the readiness and endurance criteria.

16. Align Instructional Components: Identify Learning Targets
Based on data, what learning targets from the identified state standard(s) will we emphasize during the next 3-5 weeks?
STATE STANDARDS
ASSESSMENT
Once you have identified the state standards that will be the focus of the next 3-5 weeks, it’s time to derive the learning targets from these standards. Recall that a learning target is a statement of knowledge that identifies “what” students will be learning. The focus when writing assessments and planning instruction should be on the learning targets. A standard often consists of multiple learning targets. It’s important to break each standard down into its component learning targets that are clear to the student and to the teacher. Focusing on learning targets makes it easier to scaffold instruction, to adjust instruction on the fly and to identify gaps for re-teaching.
CONTENT
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

17. STATE STANDARD Learning Target 1 Learning Target 2 Learning Target 3
Unwrapping Standards
STATE STANDARD
Learning Target 1
Learning Target 2
Standards
Learning Target 3
State
Breaking a standard down into learning targets is also referred to as “unwrapping” a standard. Some districts already have a template for unwrapping standards. If your district does not have a template, we will present an easy to use template and process adapted from the work of Chris Jakicic as one possible option for you to consider.
Learning Target 4

18. Prep for Unwrapping Standards
Keep in mind that identifying the standards and then breaking down the standards into learning targets is the first step to ensuring that all of the instructional components, i.e., the learning targets, assessment and instructional strategies, are aligned.
The teacher team should work on this activity together. In preparation for unwrapping the selected standards, each standard should be written on flip chart paper or on the board for all to see. Also, identify one person that will be responsible for capturing the work and the agreed upon learning targets.

19. Unwrapping Standards – Key Words
Circle all of the verbs (Skills)
Underline all of the nouns (Concepts)
One of the key ways to identify learning targets that correctly reflect the standard is to use the same language used in the standards, particularly the verbs, in the learning targets.
The first step in unwrapping standards is to focus on key words. Look at your first standard, and do the following:
Circle all of the verbs. These identify the skills we expect the students to be able to do.
Underline all of the nouns. The nouns identify concepts they need to know.
Box any of the prepositional phrases. These provide context clues.
Source: Bailey, Kim, and Chris Jakicic. Common Formative Assessment: A Toolkit for Professional Learning Communities at Work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2012.
Box any of the prepositional phrases (Context clues)

20. Unwrapping Standards Example
Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers,
e.g., by using visual fraction models or
equations to represent the problem.
Let’s look at an example of breaking a standard down into learning targets. Read the following standard:
Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem.
First, circle the verbs. Then underline the nouns, which are usually objects of the verb. Finally, box the prepositional phrases.

21. Unwrapping Standards
Standard: Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem.
What will students do? (Verbs)
With what knowledge or concepts? (Nouns)
In what context? (Prepositional phrases)
Solve
Real world problems involving multiplication of fractions
By using visual fraction models
Real world problems involving multiplication of mixed numbers
By using equations
Now put the words that you circled, underlined and boxed into a table making sure to capture the various combinations of terms as necessary.

22. Learning Targets Identified!
Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem.
Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions using visual fraction models
Solve real world problems involving multiplication of mixed numbers using visual fraction models
Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions using equations
Solve real world problems involving multiplication of mixed numbers using equations
From the table you can then write your learning targets. In this example, although the standard is only one sentence long, it can be unwrapped into four learning targets as shown on the screen. When you are unwrapping standards, it may seem like you’re breaking standards down into learning targets that are too small, but don’t be tempted to combine them! If you combine them, you may inadvertently forget to explicitly teach part of the standard. For example, solving these problems using visual fraction models is a different skill than solving them using equations. Just because you teach one doesn’t mean the student automatically knows how to do the other! Also, if you start combining the learning targets too soon, it will be difficult to identify what challenges the students are having and to adjust instruction appropriately. Is it the real world part? Is it the equations? Is it the visual fraction models? Keep in mind that you will be sharing these learning targets with students, so write them using “student-friendly” language. #1 #2 #3 #4

23. Implied Learning Targets
How to solve basic problems involving multiplication of fractions using visual fraction models, i.e. not a real world problem
Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem.
3/4 X 2/3
Understand what a mixed number is
In addition to the learning targets derived directly from the standard, you should also consider any implied learning targets to inform your scaffolding. For example, one of the implied learning targets in this standard is that students know how to solve basic problems involving multiplication of fractions using visual fraction models, i.e., not a real world problem. If your students do not know how to do this or don’t know what a mixed number or visual fraction model is, you will need to teach these skills before working on these learning targets. The implied learning targets are important for scaffolding the depth of learning of the standard. These implied learning targets are often foundational knowledge and skills that students need to know before they can be successful with the learning targets identified from the standards. In the next step when the pre-assessment is created, the implied learning targets may need to be assessed to determine if your students understand those foundational skills.
Understand what a visual fraction model is

24. Learning Targets Learning Target Share
Focusing on learning targets helps teachers with instruction, but keep in mind that learning targets are meant to be shared with the students! The students need to know what is expected of them in specific terms. Providing information such as “you’ll have to write a story” or “you need to know how to multiply” is too vague. This type of vague information doesn’t help you design an effective lesson and it doesn’t help the student understand the expectations either. Your goal should be for all students to achieve the learning targets and thereby meet the standards. This is much easier to accomplish when the students know the learning targets too! One of the key ways to connect standards and learning targets for yourself and the students is to use the same language for both of them, and as noted earlier, the learning targets should be written in a student-friendly manner! The same language should also be used on assessment items. Assessment is what we’ll cover next in Part 2 of this presentation.

25. Review
You must answer each question in the review before you can continue to the last slide of the presentation
On the next slide you will be presented with a series of questions to review the content from this presentation. Once you begin the questions, you must answer them all before you move on. After completing the review, you will continue to the final slide of this presentation.

26. Question 1:
The ILC Process Document provides a way to guide conversations, track decisions, and collect classroom data.
True or False
True

27. Question 2:
There are three collaborative tasks for the Pre-Planning phase. They are . . .
Identify an area of focus, align instructional components and plan the assessment
Identify an area of focus, plan the assessment, and administer the assessment
Align instructional components, plan the assessment, and analyze student results
Align instructional components, plan the assessment and administer the assessment A

28. Question 3: The timeframe of a common area of focus should be . . .
1-2 weeks
2-3 weeks
3-5 weeks
5-9 weeks C

29. Question 4:
Place the following components in the proper order in which they should be completed.
This will be a drag and drop interaction where they have to place the items in the proper order.

30. Question 5:
The acronym REAL for prioritizing standards stands for. . .
Readiness, Exams, Assessed, Link
Ranked, Exam, Assessed, Leverage
Ranked, Endurance, Assessed, Link
Readiness, Endurance, Assessed, Leverage D.

31. Question 6: Each standard consists of only one learning target.
True or False
False

32. Conclusion
This presentation covered the first two collaborative tasks in the Pre-Planning Phase of the Instructional Learning Cycle. We also introduced the ILC Process Document to help guide you through the process. In Part 2 of this presentation, we’ll cover the third collaborative task—assessments—and the individual tasks that are part of the Pre-Planning phase of the Instructional Learning Cycle.