sisd social studies middle school summit by miguel a. rivera instructional officer for secondary...

SISD Social Studies Middle School Summit

By Miguel A. RiveraInstructional Officer for Secondary

Social Studies, Socorro ISD

Introductions• Miguel A. Rivera

– 7 years of Teaching– Former Social Studies Department Chair and Instructional Coach – SHS– U.S. History Professional Learning Community Team Leader (2 years)– Small School Academy Leader– Extensive Nonprofit, Community-Based, and Youth Development

Work including Evaluation, Data, and Program Development– Graduate Degree in Education Policy and Management– B.A. in History– Married for over 10 years– 3 Children – Ages 7, 5, and 1

Getting to Know the Audience• Speak to One Another– Answer the following questions

1. What’s your name?2. What school are you currently at?3. What do you teach?4. How long have you taught?5. What do you think makes you unique in this crowd of

educators?• Prepare to share out the information from your

colleagues

The Elephant in the Room

• Negative Experiences with Professional Development– Here and at other times; please discuss the following:

• What are some of the negative experiences you’ve had with professional development?

• What are some of the positive experiences you’ve had with professional development?

• What do you think would make professional development better?

Goals for this Summit• Re-Introduce Backward Planning• Introduce the Unit Plan• Access Different Tools: CSCOPE’s YAG and IFD• Pace for the 2nd Quarter• Develop an Assessment Calendar• Review 1st Quarter’s Unit Assessment Data• Plan 3 Weeks Worth of Lessons, including:– Framing the Lesson– Content and Language Objective

Guiding ourselves through principles – Principle 1

Pedagogy is a science that we must respect and useIf we don’t respect it and

strive for continual improvement, no one else will

We are the practitioners of pedagogy

Definition of pedagogy – the method and practice of facilitating another’s learning, especially an academic subject or theoretical concept

Guiding ourselves through principles – Principle 2

• There are only three things that are important to the learning process: – what you are trying to get students to learn; – when you want them to learn it; and – what you’re trying to get them to do in order to learn it

• These two concepts must be the focus of our instructional time – time spent in preparing, implementing, and reflecting about our instruction.

Guiding Ourselves Through Principles – Principle 3

• If it’s not in the Instructional Core, it doesn’t exist

Pedagogy as Science – The Instructional Core

David Hawkins’ Ideas on the “I, Thou, and It,” through Richard Elmore’s “Instructional Core”

Content

TeacherStudent

Continuum of Achievement/ Continuum of Achievement/ Improved LearningImproved Learning


• The state standards have changed (and become more rigorous), which means that according to the instructional core, the content has changed. This means that teachers must change what we do so that students can change what and how they learn

Content

TeacherStudent

Continuum of Achievement/ Improved Continuum of Achievement/ Improved LearningLearning


The state standards have changed (and become more rigorous), which means that according to the instructional core, the content has changed. This means that teachers must change what we do so that students can change what and how they learn through:– 1. Improved horizontal planning– 2. Working in teams to gather resources– 3. Maximizing instructional time with the students.

Principle 4 - Our Feelings about STAAR and the TEKS

• On a sheet of paper and in paragraph form, write a response to the following questions: – How familiar are you with your grade level’s updated Social Studies TEKS? Do

you feel you need to become more familiar with your grade levels’ updated TEKS? What do you feel would help you become more familiar with what will be tested on STAAR? Do you have any reservations about STAAR? (2 minutes)


Forget about “teaching” in the traditional sense of the word; it is now about facilitating students’ learning

Principle 4 - Our Feelings about STAAR and the TEKS

TABS

1980

TEAMS

1982

TAAS

1990

TAKS

2003

STAAR

2012

Inclusion of Students and

Subjects Tested

Source: State of Texas Instructional Leadership and Development Certification

Training

Level of Difficulty


Forget about “teaching” in the traditional sense of the word; it is now about facilitating students’ learning Advent of technology and the speed with which one can access information has

shortened students’ attention span Lectures become difficult Sitting in seats is difficult

Timing is VERY important for effective use of instructional time with the students

Electronic devices can be tools to learning, but they can also be a distraction, it’s all in HOW you use the devices Kids love to use the devices!

We can either hate them, or use them to our advantage


• You can’t get students to higher levels of rigor without keeping students engaged Kagan is being introduced and implemented by the district in this coming year and

we’ve incorporated some strategies Kagan focuses on cooperative learning through engagement in the classroom through

a structured format

Principles of Kagan:• P – Positive Interdependence• I – Individual Accountability• E – Equal Participation• S – Simultaneous Interaction

Pedagogical Strategies – Principle 6

• Brainstorm a list, individually, of all the strategies that you use in the classroom and what you call them by name; list them down the left-hand side of your paper

You have 2 minutes to brainstorm as many strategies as possible

Pedagogical Strategies – Principle 6 - List of Strategies

o Lecture o Mind mapping o Thinking maps o Direct questioning o Student presentations o Classroom competitions o Small-group questioning o Case studies o Brainstorming o Assessment review

o Quickwrites o Outlining o Document-Based Question development o Categorizing based on Social, Political, Religious, International, Technological and Economic Issues o PowerPoint games for academic language development

o Use of video and audio media o Development of screenplay o Filming of screenplay o Role-playing o Peer evaluation o “Question of the day” questioning o Cornell note development o Multiple-choice quizzing o Characterizing of historical eras o Interactive ActivExpression use o Verbal political cartoon analysis


• We can only do with the students, what we can, when we’ve got them• Assumption: as we work toward horizontal alignment and vertical

alignment, we must focus on what we have control over – instructional time

Use our planning time effectivelyUse our implementation time effectivelyUse our reflection time effectively

Use of Instructional Time – Principle 7

• Answer the following questions in your teams: Are planning time and reflection time ingrained into your school schedule? What are the objectives of those planning and reflection times? Is the time used wisely in the endeavor to meet those objectives? Are the objectives effectively met? What level of mutual buy-in and accountability exists between colleagues?

• You have 5 minutes for the discussion.

Guiding Ourselves Through Our Principles – Principle 8

• There can be no vertical alignment without horizontal alignment you are primarily responsible for what you do in your schools;

• We will be accountable to each other once we’ve bought in

Guiding Ourselves Through Our Principles – Principle 8

Backward Planning – An Extensive Process

Understanding of STAAR Student Expectations

Development of Pacing (YAG , SISD Social Studies YAG

and District Calendar)

Unit Plans – Breakdown of SEs,

Academic Language, and Others

Development of Common Unit Assessments

Development of Common Recovery

Documents

Development of Common Lessons

Development of Common

Academic Tasks

Unit Plans – What we’re going to teach

• Tool – to get acquainted with TEKS and SEs– to ensure lesson planning is focused– to ensure students are learning appropriate

information and skills– to ensure that the appropriate information is being

assessed– To develop strategies for the classroom to ensure that

students’ learning needs are being addressed


• Components– Unit Name– Enduring Understanding– Concepts– Topic/Take-Aways– Unit Academic Language– Social Studies Language– Assessment Language– Guiding Questions (and Root Questions)


• Look at the Unit Plans for 8th Grade Social Studies– What strikes you about the Unit Plans?– What are some of the things you like about the Unit Plans?– What are some of the things you may not like about the Unit

Plans?– What are some questions you may have about the Unit Plans?– How do the Unit Plans coincide with the Instructional Focus

Documents developed by CSCOPE?– Can you see yourself developing Unit Plans for your team and

your students?









Documents



Academic Tasks

Middle School Social Studies YAG 2nd Quarter – When We’re Going to Teach it

• Tool to– Develop a flexible common pacing based on SEs– Stay on track with pacing for common unit

assessments– Ensure more Focused Lesson Planning– Coincide what happens in the classroom with

what happens in the District Calendar– Prepare for changes/adjustments as necessary

Putting it Together

• You will now have approximately 30 minutes to begin putting together your Middle School Social Studies Year-at-a-Glance based on:– Your IFD and/or Unit Plans– Common Assessment Dates (3 minimum, but

dependent on policies)– Approximate Pacing Based on TEKS, but more

specifically SEs









Documents



Academic Tasks

Common Assessment – How we will assess them

• If Planning Correctly, – You should address all SEs in the allotted time

based on the agreed-upon assessment dates– It should be used as a formative assessment that

you then go back and re-evaluate the need for improvement, across individual classes and across department (data-based decision-making)

– Should reflect what the STAAR will assess

Common Assessment – How we’re going to assess them

• We will now take some time to view the assessments currently available to us– What do you like?– What do you not like?– What would you change?









Documents



Academic Tasks

Lesson Planning – How we’re going to teach them

• Framing of Lesson– Content Objective – What students will learn– Language Objective – What students need to be able to do, specific to

language, in order to demonstrate that they understand the content– Academic Task – What students will do to meet the objective

• Varying strategies will address different students’ learning needs• Must have a specific academic goal pertinent to achieving the larger objective

for the day• Must be related to ensuring that the student meets the SEs

– Product – What students will do to demonstrate that they understand the content

Pedagogical Strategies – Principle 6 - List of Strategies

o Lecture o Mind mapping o Thinking maps o Direct questioning o Student presentations o Classroom competitions o Small-group questioning o Case studies o Brainstorming o Assessment review

o Quickwrites o Outlining o Document-Based Question development o Categorizing based on Social, Political, Religious, International, Technological and Economic Issues o PowerPoint games for academic language development

o Use of video and audio media o Development of screenplay o Filming of screenplay o Role-playing o Peer evaluation o “Question of the day” questioning o Cornell note development o Multiple-choice quizzing o Characterizing of historical eras o Interactive ActivExpression use o Verbal political cartoon analysis


• Putting it All Together– You will now have an opportunity to develop the first

three weeks of lesson plans for the 2nd quarter– Use your IFD, Unit Plans, and Middle School Social

Studies Year-At-A-Glance Tools to determine which academic tasks you will use to ensure that your students effectively meet the Student Expectations

sisd social studies middle school summit by miguel a. rivera instructional officer for secondary...

Documents

professional development

language objective slide

socorro isd slide

theoretical concept

principles principle

instructional time time

rivera instructional

instructional coach