lf executive summary april 2014 ·...

The CISD Curriculum Department is dedicated to the success of all learners and is committed to excellence in teaching and learning. Collaborating with an incredibly talented instructional staff, the curriculum department focuses on research-‐based instructional best practices and works to provide a rigorous curriculum designed to ensure innovative, customized learning opportunities for all learners. The Learning Portrait provides common language regarding our beliefs for learning in Coppell ISD. This dynamic document serves as an anchor for the essential components of the why, how, and what education looks like in Coppell ISD.

Executive Summary

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The Learning Framework

A Work in Progress

for Conversation

and Further Development

Coppell Independent School District

September 2014

Table of Contents Preface ..................................................................................................... 5

Foreword ................................................................................................. 6

Chapter 1: Environment ........................................................................... 7

Chapter 2: Learner/Educator ................................................................... 8

Chapter 3: Curriculum Design ................................................................ 10

Chapter 4: Learning Design .................................................................... 12

Chapter 5: Assessment .......................................................................... 13

Coppell ISD Learning Framework – April 2014

Preface

The New Vision for Public Education in Texas In 2006, Dr. Turner, along with 35 other Superintendents, set out to declare their vision for the future of education. The result of their work is a visioning document titled, Creating a New Vision for Texas Public Education (Visioning Document). This visioning document serves as the philosophical underpinning of the work of the North Texas Regional Consortium, Texas High Performing Schools Consortium and Coppell ISD’s Operation Transformation. It has provided educators with a common vision and language that inspires the work of changing those things in education we know we can control to better meet the needs of our learners. Shortly after the Visioning Document was written, a group of principals worked together to help move this work from the abstract to the concrete. As a result, The New Vision for Public Education in Texas Implementation Rubric (Implementation Matrix) was developed to provide both central office and campus level administrators with a tool to self-‐assess the current state of the school organization on the journey of transformation and ascertain the critical steps that must be addressed to move farther towards the vision. The authors of the Implementation Matrix understood that for any organization to actualize a Level 4 in all areas of the Visioning Document, certain Preconditions for Success must be met in order to move forward. See example below. Article II: New Learning Standards Premise Preconditions for Success II.l Standards should result in

all students being committed and equipped to be competent lifetime learners, well-‐prepared for further formal education and to pursue multiple careers.

• Systemic, shared expectation for academic rigor and college/ life/work-‐ready learning for all students.

• Instructional procedures, guidance, and supports related

to scaffolding, differentiation, and interventions for equitable access to academic rigor and college/life/work-‐ready learning

• A professional development system that provides

teacher guidance in instructional scaffolding, interventions, and differentiation

The example provided above demonstrates the need for the CISD Curriculum and Instruction team to systematically communicate its expectations for the role of the learner/educator, environment, curriculum, learning design and assessment. The Learning Framework was designed to bring clarity of expectations for all CISD stakeholders in these identified areas. This document is a dynamic framework meant to grow and evolve with our transformation journey. The CISD Curriculum team hopes this is a document that inspires educators as well as scaffolds the understanding of constructivism and transformation of learning design.


Foreword

Constructivist Learning

The constructivist theory supports the idea that learning is an interactive process that includes one’s prior knowledge and experiences, problem solving, collaborative making meaning, and reflection. The educator facilitates learning by providing an environment that encourages participation and directs the learner’s path. This results in deeper understanding of concepts and the learner’s ability to apply new learning to familiar and unfamiliar situations.

We believe…

Learning is the lifelong process whereby the learner transforms information and experiences into knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes. Learning is not the transmission of knowledge. Rather, knowledge is the constructed result of the interaction between the learner's personal experiences, beliefs, emotions, and prejudices and the new learning experiences of the curriculum.

Constructivist Learning Is: Constructivist Learning Is Not

Learners inquiring and asking questions Educators standing and delivering knowledge

Learners making meaning by connecting prior learning to new ideas Educators making connections for learners

Valuing learner interest and learning styles in the learning process

Educators teaching a lesson in just one way regardless of individual learning styles in the classroom

Providing a variety of authentic experiences to foster connections between learning and the world in which the learner lives

Presenting knowledge in a manner that is disconnected from the learners’ world


Chapter 1: Environment Descriptor For learning to occur, the learning environment must be safe—physically, intellectually and emotionally. Every educator has a responsibility to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for all learners. The following five strategies (Academic/Learning, Physical/Virtual, Social/Emotional, Community and Support Structures) provide a framework for establishing such an environment. 1. Academic/Learning (Article I a, h; Article V h): Educators create a learner-‐centered environment in

which learners gradually construct their own meaning.

2. Physical/Virtual (Article I b, c, e, f, g): Educators design physical/virtual “classrooms” that include flexible use of space, technology, materials and time. Educators:

3. Social/Emotional (Article I g, h): Educators build appropriate and positive relationships which foster a mutual respect.

4. Community (Article I d, g, i): Educators engage families and the community in the life of the school.

5. Support Structures (Article V e, l): School district provides social systems that support educators within the district.


Chapter 2: Learner/Educator Descriptor Every learner is an educator. Every educator is a learner. Learner Learners are diverse individuals bringing with them prior experiences, skills and mental models that influence beliefs, emotions and prejudices as they continuously construct meaning. Desiring to grow in knowledge and skill, learners question, connect, process and reflect. With an innate sense of curiosity, learners wonder, dream, imagine and create. Learners advocate for their own understanding. Educator Educators facilitate learning by providing an environment that encourages responses and directs the learner’s path. Educators design learner-‐centered experiences and monitor learner progress, while providing specific feedback to the learner. Educators communicate clearly and hold high expectations for every learner.

Strategies for Facilitating Learning 1. Designing and Facilitating Constructivist Learning Experiences (Article II l): Educators design authentic

learning experiences that bridge learners’ prior understandings and new ideas

2. Assessing and Providing Feedback (Article III a-‐m): Educators provide feedback that is accurate, fair, specific and timely.

3. Responding to Learners (Article II k): Educators establish a positive relationship with each learner in order to understand the background experiences, learning preferences, interests, culture and supports needed to ensure successful learning

4. Embracing Diversity (Article Id, h; Article II d, e): Educators create environments and design learning experiences which capitalize on diversity (race, ethnicity, socio-‐economic status, gender)

5. Operating within a Growth Mindset (Article II d): Educators embrace the belief that one’s qualities, including intelligence, are things that can be cultivated through effort; that a person’s true potential is unknowable and future accomplishments cannot predicted

6. Incorporating International Mindedness (Article II c): Educators foster the development of responsible global citizens and value the world as the broadest context for learning.

7. Employing Brain-‐Based Strategies (Article I a, c; Article II d, e, f): Educators design learning integrating engagement strategies based on how our brain works

8. Leading (Article III k): Educators as leaders mobilize, energize and empower others to improve individual and group performance


Strategies for Learning 1. Employing Habits of Mind (Article II l): Educators guide learners to develop thinking dispositions when

confronted with problems for which the solutions are not immediately apparent. • Persisting • Managing impulsivity • Listening with understanding and empathy • Thinking flexibly • Metacognition • Striving for greater accuracy and precision • Questioning and problem solving • Applying past knowledge to new situations • Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision • Gathering data through all senses • Creating, imagining, innovating • Taking responsible risks • Thinking interdependently • Remaining open to continuous learning

2. Advocating for Self (Article III j): Learners drive their educational path and pursuits (self-‐

determination) and to advocate for resources necessary to customize and personalize a plan for success (self-‐advocacy)

3. Integrating Opportunities for Fluency: Educators design opportunities within scaffolding learning design for learners to practice newly acquired knowledge and skills. Learner automaticity allows for increased efficiency to access and engage in more rigorous and complex tasks and experience because learners are able to retrieve “foundational skills” quickly and accurately with minimal effort.


Chapter 3: Curriculum Design

Descriptor Curriculum design involves weaving together the basic elements of content, skills, and assessments. District CISD curriculum directors define the learning standards (TEKS) and enduring understandings/questions, essential/guiding questions, and recommend performance assessments to measure learner mastery. Curriculum directors work with groups of educators to create the essentials of the curriculum needed for educators to design learning. Curriculum should be reviewed and revised regularly for relevance and alignment. Educator The curriculum provides essential guidance for educators in designing learning experiences that are responsive to the needs of each learner. Educators have the flexibility to design assessments and learning experiences, shuffle, and compact curriculum.

District Curriculum Design: Working with Standards

1. Beginning with the End in Mind: Learning standards (TEKS) are identified expectations of learning stating what learners should know and be able to do. The primary goal of curriculum design is working with standards to derive the concepts from which deeper understandings can occur, rather than reducing learning to remembering isolated, random knowledge and skills.

Educator Curriculum Flexibility: Sequence and Pacing of Standards

2. Curriculum Organization: Once the learning standards (TEKS) and enduring understandings and essential questions have been defined, and the performance assessments are recommended, educators have the flexibility to then “shuffle” these learning outcomes (TEKS) around, horizontally and/or vertically, and categorize them in a meaningful way. 3. Curriculum Compacting: Educators have the flexibility to allow learners to advance past learning outcomes (TEKS) they have already mastered. It is crucial to use well-‐designed formative assessments to gather evidence of their mastery of learning outcomes to determine how the curriculum should be compacted.

Strategies for Curriculum Design: Working with Future-‐Ready Learning Outcomes Developing the Whole Child: Identifying and Implementing Future-‐Ready Learning Outcomes Future-‐ready learning outcomes are identified outcomes that are not included in the standards for the required curriculum, yet they are crucial for preparing learners for success and should be embedded in every content area. These outcomes include the thinking, interaction, and other “soft” skills learners need to develop and are sometimes referred to as “21st century skills.”


Required Standards

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are the state standards learners should know and be able to do. The TEKS are required curriculum in PreK-‐12. http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148 College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) are core content and cross-‐disciplinary standards focusing on strong foundational knowledge and intellectual skills necessary for success in postsecondary education and the workforce. The CCRS are required curriculum in grades 9-‐12. file://localhost/ http/::www.thecb.state.tx.us:collegereadiness:crs.pdf English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) provide English language proficiency level descriptors and learner expectations for English language learners. The ELPS are required curriculum in K-‐12. http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074a.html#74.4 Advanced Placement (AP) Standards are standards identified by the College Board for all AP courses. http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/descriptions/index.html International Baccalaureate (IB) Standards are internationally accepted standards used for learners enrolled in the IB Diploma Programme. http://www.ibo.org/diploma/curriculum/


Chapter 4: Learning Design Descriptor Educators design constructivist experiences and facilitate the learners’ conceptual development and deep understandings as they construct meaning of their world. Learners are engaged in active learning by thinking together, thinking critically, communicating their thinking, representing their thinking, and reflecting on their thinking. Inquiry-‐based instruction is a learner-‐centered and educator-‐guided instructional approach that engages learners in investigating authentic questions that the learners choose within a broad thematic framework. Inquiry-‐based instruction complements traditional instruction by providing a vehicle for extending and applying the learning of learners in a way that connects with their interests. Learners acquire and analyze information, develop and support propositions, provide solutions, and design technology and arts products that demonstrate their thinking and make their learning visible. Inquiry-‐based learning places learners at the helm of the learning process and educators in the role of learning facilitator or coach.

Inquiry-‐Based Unit Design CISD supports two inquiry-‐based unit design approaches: Understanding by Design (UbD) and Project-‐Based Learning (PBL).

1. Understanding by Design (UbD) The UbD Model of instruction is a tool used for educational planning focused on “teaching for understanding”. The emphasis is on "backward design", the practice of looking at the outcomes in order to design curriculum units, performance assessments, and classroom instruction. This model promotes learners’ deep understanding of concepts and emphasizes "six facets of understanding", which include learners being able to:

• explain • interpret • apply

• have perspective • empathize, and • have self-‐knowledge about a given topic

2. Project-‐Based Learning (PBL) Project-‐based Learning is a systematic method of instruction that engages learners in learning important knowledge and 21st century skills through an extended, learner-‐influenced inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully design products and learning tasks. The PBL process includes:

• driving question(s) • entry event or launch • knows and need-‐to-‐knows • social contract(s)

• scaffolding experiences • critical friends protocol • rubric(s)


Chapter 5 Part 1: Assessment

Descriptor Assessment promotes learner success when used intentionally to uncover each learner’s level of mastery and to determine the next steps in instruction. In the process of assessment, educators regularly check for understanding through systematic monitoring. A solid assessment process ensures that educators, learners, and parents have an understanding of where each learner is along the continuum of content and skill mastery. Assessments, when considered as a product (e.g., portfolios, multiple-‐choice tests, constructed response items, and performance assessments) provide a measure of mastery which typically occurs at the end of instruction. Assessment informs multiple aspects of learning, including differentiation of instruction, mild or intensive interventions, and placement decisions. To this end, assessment provides valid and reliable qualitative and quantitative data, which improves the learning of each individual. The goal of a comprehensive assessment program is to provide a balance between formative and summative assessment. When used formatively, assessments provide a means to assess FOR learning while learning is taking place. Summative assessments, assessments OF learning, provide a means for educators, learners and parents to identify mastery of learning outcomes at a culminating moment, such as the end of a unit, grading period or semester.

Assessment Strategies 1. Designing Sound Assessments: Educators align and design assessments to standards, learning

outcomes, and cognitive rigor of instruction to identify if learners are meeting the expectations of the curriculum.

2. Using Assessments for Formative Purpose: Educators use quantitative and qualitative data, acquired

through formal and informal means, to determine where the learner is, where the learner should be, and how to move the learner forward on the learning continuum.

3. Assessing for Summative Purpose: Educators use assessments for summative purposes as a means for

the measurement of learning, effectiveness of instruction and the alignment of the curriculum. The summative assessment process evaluates and communicates performance at established times.


Part 2: Grading Beliefs & Practices Descriptor Grading is a process of quantifying measured learning based solely on academic achievement. Consequently, grading is one form of feedback and communicates learner progress toward mastery of standard(s) and/or learning outcome(s). This process must be accurate, fair, specific and timely. These are the criteria for effective grading practice.

Grading Beliefs

• Grades communicate learner achievement relative to standards. • Grades clearly reflect a learner’s growth rather than average performance. • Behavior and academic achievement are reported separately.

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Grading Strategies

In designing learning experiences for learners, learning is the ultimate goal. Effectively measuring learning is the driving force behind our grading beliefs. Grades should be a measurement of what a learner has mastered and should reflect the depth and complexity of knowledge attained. Grades should not be punitive. The methods an educator utilizes to assess learners can either set them up for success or set them up for failure.

lf executive summary april 2014 ·...

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