designing curriculum for in-depth learning in science 1designing curriculum for in-depth learning

Designing Curriculum for In-Depth Learning in Science

1Designing Curriculum for In-Depth Learning

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Designing Curriculum for In-Depth Learning

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Lessons LearnedLessons LearnedCONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

Although there have been improvements in student performance in science, the task force has identified that students continue to struggle with developing a deeper understanding of scientific concepts.

Students need more practice in demonstrating and explaining, especially in writing, scientific concepts, and scientific processes.


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Teachers should provide a broader focus on scientific concepts and processes in a “big picture” sense and not overemphasize the parts of the scientific concepts and processes.

In other words, whole systems, such as the water cycle, must be taught so that students can explain the entire system starting at any given point within the system; otherwise, students can only explain the parts in isolation.


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As revealed through the data, common misconceptions still hamper students’ ability to demonstrate full scientific knowledge. Teachers should modify instruction to address these misconceptions, especially after classroom assessments reflect these misconceptions.


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To provide a conceptual framework to make sense of discrete facts and skills

To uncover big ideas of content

To engage students in inquiry

To promote transfer of learning

6Designing Curriculum for In-Depth Learning

Why Bother with Why Bother with Design?Design?

Understanding by Understanding by DesignDesign

A tool to build consensus about: The meaning of standards and

benchmarks Implications of the standards on student

learning Ways to monitor and evaluate progress of

all students in mastering the standards Instructional interventions needed to

promote maximum student achievement and organizational effectiveness


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Avoid the Twin Sins of Avoid the Twin Sins of Traditional DesignTraditional Design

Activity Based

What are students learning?

What’s the point?


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Avoid the Twin Sins of Avoid the Twin Sins of Traditional DesignTraditional Design

“Students march through a textbook, page by page in a valiant attempt to traverse all the factual material within a prescribed time.” (p. 16)

Coverage


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Just ask a student

What are you doing?Why are you being asked to do it?What will it help you do?How does it fit with what you have previously done?How will you show that you have learned it?

Designing Curriculum for In-Depth Learning 10

Learning for Learning for UnderstandingUnderstanding

Knowledge/Skills

Transfer Application Self-Assessment

Transfer involves determining what knowledge and skills are needed and adapting them to fit the situation.


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More efficient? More efficient?

Teaching specific topics or skills without making clear their context in the broader fundamental structure of a field of knowledge is uneconomical. Jerome Bruner, 1960


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Stages of Backward Stages of Backward DesignDesign


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Identify Desired Identify Desired ResultsResults

What are the established goals?

What understandings are desired?

What essential questions will be considered?

What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this instruction?


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Established GoalsEstablished Goals

Sunshine State Standards

Course descriptions

District curriculum guides

Specialized programs IB, AICE, etc.


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Big Ideas Explain Big Ideas Explain PhenomenaPhenomena

Model of the Atom—Physics

Periodic Law—Chemistry

Big Bang Theory—Astronomy

Plate Tectonics Model—Geology

Scientific Theory of Evolution—Biology

Wynn and Wiggins,1997


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Big IdeasBig Ideas Provide a conceptual focus

Provide breadth of meaning by connecting and organizing facts, skills, and experiences

Point to ideas at the heart of expert understanding

Require “uncovering” because it is not obvious, may be counterintuitive, or prone to misconceptions

Have transfer value across content and time


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Established Goals Established Goals


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Unpacking the Unpacking the StandardsStandards

Standard 5: Earth in Space and TimeThe origin and eventual fate of the Universe still remains one of the greatest questions in science. Gravity and energy influence the development and life cycles of galaxies, including our own Milky Way Galaxy, stars, the planetary systems, Earth, and residual material left from the formation of the Solar System. Humankind’s need to explore continues to lead to the development of knowledge and understanding of the nature of the Universe.

Standard 6: Earth Structures The scientific theory of plate tectonics provides the framework for much of modern geology. Over geologic time, internal and external sources of energy have continuously altered the features of Earth by means of both constructive and destructive forces. All life, including human civilization, is dependent on Earth's internal and external energy and material resources.

STANDARD 7: Earth Systems and Patterns The scientific theory of the evolution of Earth states that changes in our planet are driven by the flow of energy and the cycling of matter through dynamic interactions among the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, and biosphere, and the resources used to sustain human civilization on Earth.


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Earth and Space Earth and Space ScienceScience


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Earth Systems and Patterns

Changes in our planet Flow of energy and

cycling of matter Interactions among

the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, and biosphere

Resources to sustain civilization

Earth in Space and Time

Origin and fate of the Universe

Influence of gravity and energy on galaxies

Understanding the nature of the Universe

Earth Structures

Plate tectonics

Energy alters features of the Earth

Life depends on energy and resources

Unpacking the Unpacking the BenchmarksBenchmarks

Content Focus (Nouns and Adjectives)

Big Bang Theory Evidence

Stated or Implied Performances (Verbs)

Cite evidence used to develop or verify

SC.912.E.5.1 Cite evidence used to develop and verify the scientific theory of the Big Bang (also known as the Big Bang Theory) of the origin of the universe.


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SC.912.E.5.3 Describe and predict how the initial mass of a star determines its evolution.


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Initial mass of a star Evolution


Describe Predict how

Enduring Enduring UnderstandingsUnderstandings

What we want students to come to understand about the big idea/standard.

Full-sentence statements, not objectives

Give the content meaning

Connect the facts to the skills


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Big Bang Theory Evidence

Understanding

The Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe was developed and verified through scientific evidence.

SC.912.E.5.1 Cite evidence used to develop and verify the scientific theory of the Big Bang (also known as the Big Bang Theory) of the origin of the universe.


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Cite evidence used to develop or verify

Unpacking theUnpacking theBenchmarksBenchmarks

SC.912.E.5.3 Describe and predict how the initial mass of a star determines its evolution.


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Initial mass of a star Evolution

Understanding The initial mass of a star determines its

evolution.


Describe Predict how

Determining the Determining the Enduring Enduring

UnderstandingsUnderstandings

What does this benchmark really mean for this grade level or course?

What questions would we ask to determine whether the student has mastered the enduring understanding?

If we looked at a body of work by a student, what would we see that indicated the student has mastered this benchmark?

26SSS Science Regional Workshops May, 2008

Identify PrioritiesIdentify Priorities


Enduring Enduring UnderstandingUnderstanding

Represent big ideas having enduring value beyond the classroom

Reside at the heart of the discipline

Require “uncoverage” of abstract and often misunderstood ideas

Provides a clear focus to guide instruction.


Important To Know and Important To Know and DoDo

Knowledge Facts Concepts Principles

Skills Processes Strategies Methods


WorthwhileWorthwhile

Worth Being Familiar With Range of topics Related skills Resources

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How do you decide?How do you decide?Identify the desired results.

K-8—Big Ideas and Benchmarks9-12—Standards and Benchmarks

a. What are the enduring understandings that students will retain?

b. What important knowledge and skills must students master?

c. What worthwhile content might be examined in the course?31

SSS Science Regional Workshops May, 2008


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Classify statements by levels of understanding.

Atmosphere

Biosphere

Space Science

Geosphere

Hydrosphere


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Prioritize by Importance

1. Enduring Understanding2. Important to Know and

Do3. Worth Being Familiar

With

Designing Designing CurriculumCurriculum

At the heart of all uncoverage,

… is the deliberate interrogation of the content to be learned,

as opposed to just the teaching and learning of material.

Wiggins and McTighe

Understanding By Design, 2005


Curriculum Design Begins with…

Guides and Frames the Instructional

Decisions

Which leads to Essential Questions

Enduring Understandings

NGSSS Benchmarks

What is an Essential What is an Essential Questions?Questions?

Organize the course and corresponding units around Enduring Understandings and their Essential Questions

Important questions Questions that provide the focus and

direction for inquiry Questions that are used to make meaning

of learning activities


Essential Essential Questions…Questions…

Go to the heart of the discipline

How do scientists discover new knowledge?

How did life on Earth originate and develop?

Where did the atoms of the universe originate? What is their destiny?



Raise other important questions, often across subject-area boundaries

Why is the impact of humans on the Earth’s biosphere an increasing concern to the government?

How can solar power be captured more economically?



Recur naturally and are important enough to show up in several science units

What pattern of change is illustrated within…(the rock cycle, seasons, adaptation)?


Guidelines for Writing Guidelines for Writing

Essential QuestionsEssential Questions

Questions should be framed for maximal simplicity.

Questions should be worded in student-friendly language.

Questions should provoke discussion.

Questions should lead to larger essential and unit ideas.


Your TurnYour TurnTransform an Enduring Understanding into Essential Questions

that is appropriate for the student level.

Example:

Circulation patterns in the oceans are driven by density differences and wind


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What effect does wind and ocean density have on the ocean currents?

ORA cargo ship dumped thousands of rubber duckies into the Pacific Ocean. How did the rubber duckies end up across the world in the

Atlantic Ocean?

BreakBreak


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How long have you know about Understanding by Design?

Have you attempted implementation of UbD or parts of UbD in your district?

Duval’s Curriculum Today

Working towards implementing an Understanding by Design format in all science curriculum since 2003

Design curriculums to have 3 stages Stage 1: Identifying the Goals Stage 2: Assessments Stage 3: Daily lesson planning

Primary focus started on Stage 1

Development of Stage 2 and Stage 3 was dependent on the Stage 1 product

Experienced Teacher

Madge Nanney Middle school science teacher-- 19

years Masters of Education National Board Certified Teacher

Early Adolescence/Science Department Chair/Teacher Leader

Traditional Lesson Traditional Lesson PlanningPlanning

Standards

Curriculum + Textbook

Lesson Plans

Assessments


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Former District Former District CurriculumCurriculum

District Performance Standards

The student: explains the source of energy that creates weather patterns and how heat moves

through the atmosphere through the use of a thermometer. SC.A.2.3.3, SC.B.1.3.3

illustrates and labels the relationship of the Earth to the Sun during the summer and winter seasons. SC.H.1.3.5, SC.A.2.3.3, SC.B.1.3.3

uses sunlight or output from a lamp to heat water and soil and compares results with those of classmates. SC.H.1.3.4, SC.H.1.3.5, SC.A.2.3.3, SC.A.1.3.1

illustrates the positions of atoms in a solid, a liquid, and a gas and describes the differences in the movement of the atoms in each phase and the variation of those movements with temperature. SC.A.1.3.3, SC.A.1.3.4

predicts how warm air and cold air masses interact based on observations of a warm and cold water experiment. SC.H.1.3.4, SC.H.1.3.5, SC.B.1.3.5

describes the history of hurricane tracking and how technology has improved humankind's ability to predict probable landfall sites. SC.H.1.3.1


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Uncovering MisconceptionsWhat causes earthquakes?

Pre-Conception Quiz

“Earthquakes are caused by plants that hold the earth together.”

“The thing that causes earthquakes are the atmosphere forming clouds to make a earthquake.”

“The moon might be the cause of earthquakes. I don’t know.”

Post-Conception Quiz

“The plates move together against each other”

“Plate movement”

“Plates that move.”

Teacher Teacher TransformationTransformation

Made a clearer connection between the standards and daily lessons Enduring understandings, essential questions, knowledge and skills became the pathway to lesson planning.

Helped me to identify effective classroom materials and activities.

Enduring understandings and essential questions act as a filter for activities and investigations.

Broaden my perspective of assessment to guide instruction.

Pre-conception quizzes to reveal student misconceptions

Effective integration of technology to improve student learning.

Web-based visualizations and real-time data.


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Novice Teacher

Amanda K. Wilson 1 year teaching experience Second Career Educator Biology major - New content Challenged Urban school Participated in ESbD summer 2005

Prior to ESbD

Modeled how I was taught

Day by day teaching

Never heard of a performance task

Never heard of a Reflection (self knowledge)

Text, text, text….. Inquiry, what’s that?

Student Misconceptions… really?????

Students learn because that’s what students do, Right????

Recall of information is sufficient

Teacher Transformation

Unit planning vs. Day to Day

Inquiry vs. Text only

Reflect on my teaching processes

Real life connections

Performance Tasks

Integration of Technology

Acknowledge student misconceptions

change

As a novice teacher. ESbD gave me a foundation for teaching,

that philosophically made sense to me.

Lesson Learned

Teachers Reflective Collaborative

District Working towards a common focus Alignment of goals, assessments, and

instruction

Potential for District

Quality Teacher Professional Development

Science Office/District Growth

Personal Leadership Growth/Teacher Leaders

Further Information

Margaret Hayden [email protected]

TERC [email protected]


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Alice, speaking to Cheshire Cat:

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where,” said Alice.

“Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 1865


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“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“—so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh, you’re sure to do that” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 1865

designing curriculum for in-depth learning in science 1designing curriculum for in-depth learning

Documents

indepth learning slide

designing curriculum

transfer of learning

indepth learning10 slide

student learning ways

students ability

scientific processes

scientific knowledge