Essential Common Outcomes

1District PLC/Curriculum Team2009-2010

To provide a liaison between the PLC teams and the Admin SIPPLC teamRevise and align K-12 curriculum to established standards and local essential learningsReceive training and support on PLC concepts2PLC/Curriculum Team Vision

Essential Learnings & K-12 CurriculumSMART Goals3PLC Goals 2009-2010

3Strong district-wide effort to implement Professional Learning Communities as a vehicle for improving schools and increasing communication between teachers at each grade level and content area.4Commendation

Develop and utilize a comprehensive K-12 curriculum and assessment system that provides consistent data to monitor progress at the student, building, and district levelEstablishing common languageContinued development of essential learnings5Recommendations

Examine curricular content and articulation between grade levels and schools to ensure that instructional practices are systematically implementedArticulate curriculum and clarify connections among the essential learnings K-12They cannot be developed in isolation at the building level only or content area6Recommendations, cont.

Provide a schematic of the Beatrice PLC for teachers. Provide a systemic communication system to keep teachers informed of new and developing initiatives emerging from the PLC process.Establish district terminology to be used in PLC conversations about curriculum, assessment, data, and school improvementProvide oversight and support to building PLCs to ensure collaboration and continuous improvementCommon focus that can drive curriculum, assessment and school improvement7Recommendations, cont.

Written Curriculum Aligned to Standards, Assessments, and Instructional MaterialsInstructional Practices that Challenge and Support All StudentsAssessments that Improve Student LearningLeadership for LearningPlanning for LearningProfessional Development that Addresses Student LearningDistrict Supports Student LearningHighly Effective Schools8

The critical skills, knowledge, and dispositions each student must acquire as a result of each course, grade level, and unit of instruction. 9Essential Learnings--BPS

Collaborative study of essential learning promotes clarity.Collaborative study of essential learning promotes consistent priorities.Collaborative study of essential learning is crucial to the common pacing required for formative assessments.Collaborative study of essential learning can help establish a curriculum that is viable.Collaborative study of essential learning creates ownership of the curriculum among those who are called upon to teach it.10Clarifying What Students Must Learn

Given the limited time you have with studentsyou cant do it allyou must choose the essential.

What knowledge and skills must I impart to my students this year so that they will enter next years class with confidence and a readiness for success?This helps establish prior skills/knowledge11What is Essential?

In addition to providing time for instruction and effective collaboration, leaders must also conserve the time of classroom teachers by helping them focus on those academic content standards that are most important.Doug Reeves,2006 p.10512Saving TimeAll standards must be taughtWhich ones are crucial for student success?Which other ones can be given less emphasis taught and assessed as they relate to the concepts and skills within other essential learnings?

One way to think about essential learnings--a prioritized subset of state standards.PLC - Essential Learnings - 18th Gen. 0813

Separating essential from the peripheral

Endurance are students expected to retain the skills/knowledge long after the text/task is completed?Leverage is this skill/knowledge applicable to many academic disciplines?Readiness/Prerequisite is this skill / knowledge preparing the student for success in the next grade/course?14Criteria for Identifying Essential Learnings

Determining what is most essential15Enduring understandingImportant to know and doWorth being familiar withWhat are the prerequisite knowledge and skills students need to have in order to demonstrate successful learning? (Prior skills needed)

What are the knowledge and reasoning skills students need to have in order to demonstrate successful learning of the essential learning? (Content & Skills/Example of Rigor)

Are students able to articulate the desired learner objective? (Assessment & Example of Rigor)16Deconstructing Essential Learnings

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Local, state, and national standardsRecommended standards from professional organizationsCurrent district curriculum guideswish lists of essential learnings from teachers at the next gradeData from district, state, and national assessmentsTextbooksStandards and recommendations on 21st century learning 18What should we use???

Common pacing is a prerequisite for common formative assessments, which are some of the most powerful tools for improvement available to a school.DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Many. 200619

Determine essential learnings for your students, by the end of unit/course/grade.Current local standards; state/national standards; and other resourcesHabits and attitudeExplore broad units of study.Prerequisite knowledge and skills needed to achieve goalsDevelop a working curriculum map.Specific skills/contentAssessments that measure progress/masteryMonthly goals/quarterly goals

20Mapping Units of Study

Review current essential learnings in your PLC teamReview local/state/national standards for your areas that apply to your grade level/courseLet Summer know by September 9th if you need help obtaining theseEdit/Revise essential learnings for each courseChoose at least one course for which your PLC will begin to build the curriculum guide during 09-10 (see example)By September 30th, send Summer copy of each of the reviewed/revised essential learnings for every coursesend via email in a Word document listing only the essential learnings. Summer will pull these together in a matrix and return for use in your October PLC. During your October PLC, please review the K-12 alignment matrix and create questions that can be reviewed in small groups of K-12 staff at the October 22nd PLC/Curriculum Committee meeting.

21Next StepsCurriculum Alignment

Review current common assessments in relationship to student performance and essential learnings/proficiency and edit/revise as neededMake sure teachers have the up-to-date assessments (Elementarysend copies to Student Programs)(MS/HSfor district assessments, send copies to Student Programs)Determine assessments that need to be developed to measure essential learning proficiency

22Next StepsCommon Assessments

During PLC work, determine what assessment data team currently has, what data can be obtained from Student Programs or other sources, and what data do we not currently collect but should (and suggestions on how we best do this).During October PLC, work with data collected to create/modify SMART goals set by team23Next StepsData Analysis & SMART Goals