Training for the Georgia Performance Standards

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Training for the Georgia Performance Standards

• Standards-Based Education and the Georgia Social
  Studies Performance Standards (GPS)

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Overview of Day 2

• Update on redelivery
• Review of conceptual teaching
• Developing the Elaborated Unit Focus
• Enduring understandings/Essential questions
• Balanced Assessment

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The Process of Instructional Planning The Process of Instructional Planning
Traditional Practice Standards-based Practice
Select a topic from the curriculum ? Design instructional activities ? Design and give an assessment ? Give grade or feedback ? Move onto new topic Determine concepts, enduring understandings related to standard(s) ? Design assessment (task) through which students will have an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of standard(s) concepts ? Decide what learning opportunities students will need so they can demonstrate understanding of standards and concepts plan appropriate instruction to ensure each student has adequate opportunities to learn ? Use data from assessment to give feedback, re-teach or move to next level
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Standards Based Education Model
GPS
Stage 1 Identify Desired Results (Big Ideas)
?Enduring Understandings ? Essential Questions
? Skills and Knowledge
(one or more) Standards Elements
Stage 2 Determine Acceptable Evidence (Design
Balanced Assessments) (To assess student
progress toward desired results)
All above, plus Tasks Student Work Teacher
Commentary
Stage 3 Plan Learning Experiences and
Instruction (to support student success on
assessments, leading to desired results)
All above
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The Key

• Conceptual based teaching
• Need schema to learn
• Must relate to what already know
• Need to see in context
• Develop concepts to help students learn
• What doesnt work
• Worksheets
• Drill
• Memorization of discrete facts.

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Stage 1 What do I want my students to know and
be able to do ?

• Develop overview of course (course guide)
• Review standards to see what standards can be
  grouped together
• Identify unifying ideas that group the standards
• Organize GPS into unit ideas (themes/concepts)
• Concept map
• What should be the focus of each unit?
• Brief phrases that outline focus of unit
• What themes connect these units?
• Look at themes that stretch across units
• What are specific ideas/themes for each unit?

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Organizing the Standards

• Standards are a curriculum document, not a
  teaching document.
• Not necessarily organized the way they should be
  taught.
• Start by look at the standards as a whole
• What is the emphasis of the course?
• Are there more standards that relate to a
  particular time period, area, or topic?
• What is the main goal of the entire set of
  standards?
• What should a student understand as a result of
  completing this course?

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Organizing the Standards

• What are the logical divisions of the standards
  based on the course emphasis?
• No preset number of standards per unit
• Units should logically link related standards to
  help students understand course emphasis
• What is the logical starting point of the course?
• Does not have to be standard 1
• Does not have to be chronological
• Must be logical and related to the course
  emphasis
• The best starting point for a course is where the
  course curriculum and student interest and
  relevance meet.

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Skills Matrix

• Skills are found in matrix at the end of each
  grade level
• Begins in Kindergarten
• Basic mastery before end of middle school
• Are to be taught in context, not separate
• No participatory skills
• Skills are testable as related to and integrated
  into the content
• Should be part of tasks, or demonstrations of
  understanding

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DESIGNING UNITS forSOCIAL STUDIES GPS

• Day 2
• Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions,
  Balanced Assessment

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Standards Based Education Model
GPS
Stage 1 Identify Desired Results (Big Ideas)
?Enduring Understandings ? Essential Questions
? Skills and Knowledge
(one or more) Standards Elements
Stage 2 Determine Acceptable Evidence (Design
Balanced Assessments) (To assess student
progress toward desired results)
All above, plus Tasks Student Work Teacher
Commentary
Stage 3 Plan Learning Experiences and
Instruction (to support student success on
assessments, leading to desired results)
All above
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Conceptual Teaching
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Comparison

• Topic Based
• Facts and activities center around specific topic
  .
• Objectives drive instruction.
• Focus learning and thinking about specific facts.
• Instructional activities use a variety of
  discrete skills.

• Concept Based
• Use of facts and activities are focused by
  conceptual lens.
• Essential questions, drawn from concepts, drive
  instruction.
• Facts are learned to understand transferable
  concepts and ideas.
• Instructional activities call on complex
  performances using a variety of skills.

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Points to consider

• Both models value foundation of specific
  fact-based knowledge and skills
• Difference is in culminating focal point of
  instruction
• Topic-based learning specific facts about a
  given topic
• Concept-based learning conceptual understandings
  drawn from the facts
• Learning about the relationship between things
  rather than JUST FACTS.

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Three principles of conceptual teaching

• Build on students prior knowledge
• Teacher develops framework for new concepts
• Check students misconceptions
• Facts are a part of the larger concepts. Both
  are important.
• Student reflection and evaluation are vital.

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Developing the Elaborated Unit Focus
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Standards Based Education Model
GPS
Stage 1 Identify Desired Results (Big Ideas)
?Enduring Understandings ? Essential Questions
? Skills and Knowledge
(one or more) Standards Elements
Stage 2 Determine Acceptable Evidence (Design
Balanced Assessments) (To assess student
progress toward desired results)
All above, plus Tasks Student Work Teacher
Commentary
Stage 3 Plan Learning Experiences and
Instruction (to support student success on
assessments, leading to desired results)
All above
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Stage 1 Sixth Grade World Studies
The bulleted information under the themes are key
points from the elements.
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Stage 1 U.S. History, Grades 9-12
The bulleted information under the themes are key
points from the elements.
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Elaborated Unit Focus

• Short paragraph that explains the relationship
  between the concepts and the content of the unit
• NOT a restatement of the Unit title
• Explains the connection between the Unit title
  and standards/elements
• Should mention some of the major concepts
  included in the unit

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Elaborated Unit Focus

• Small group activity
• Develop an elaborated unit focus for Unit 1.

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Unit One Europe Influences the World Elaborated
Unit Focus The focus of this unit is on early
European influence in Africa, the Americas, and
Asia. In addition it will examine the impact of
physical geography and economic development on
exploration, empire building, and trade.
Concepts (Unit Connecting Themes)
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Unit One Colonial Era Elaborated Unit Focus
This unit is centered on the development of the
English colonies in America. It traces the
evolution of the three colonial regions economy,
colonial governments, social structure, relations
with Native Americans, and the introduction of
slavery. The role of religion is examined
through an examination of the Great Awakening.
Benjamin Franklin is used as an example of how
America presented opportunities, regardless of
birth, for individual advancement.
Concepts (Unit Connecting Themes)
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Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions
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Would you rather your students

• be able to list all of the compromises made at
  the Constitutional Convention
• OR
• be able to explain the role of compromise and
  conflict throughout history using examples from
  the Constitutional Convention?

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Would you rather your students

• be able to tell you the populations, natural
  resources, and climates found in Latin America
• OR
• be able to explain the impact of population,
  natural resources, and climate on Latin Americas
  role in the contemporary world?
• Concepts include
• Global connections
• People, places, and environment
• Production, distribution, and consumption

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Enduring Understandings

• Conceptual understandings drawn from and
  supported by critical content (Erickson, 71)
• Provides language to link themes and concepts to
  standards, knowledge and skills.
• Basis of conceptual teaching
• Provide scaffolding
• Standards provide specificity to concepts
• Written in sentence form
• This is essence of what students should take from
  the unit

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Enduring Understandings

• Units may have multiple EUs
• Intended to be broad
• Apply to many situations
• Apply to different units
• Apply to different courses/grade levels
• Should be written in present tense
• Should reference theme and specific knowledge
  from the standard and elements

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Enduring Understandings based on H. Lynn
Erickson (p. 86-89)

• Varying levels of sophistication
• Level 1
• less concept specific, relates closely to the
  specific content
• EX Trade and religious conflict influence the
  development of empires and kingdoms
• EX State and local governments have a
  relationship similar to national and state
  governments.
• Level 2
• increase in use of concepts, moves away from
  specific content
• EX Contact with other cultures influences
  empires and kingdoms.
• EX Relationships between different levels of
  government are loosely defined by documents
  describing their roles.
• Level 3
• relies heavily on conceptual understanding
• can be generalized across a domain
• EX next slide

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Enduring Understanding ExampleLevel 3

• Students will understand that movement of ideas,
  people, and culture (through trade and religious
  conflicts) have both positive and negative
  impacts on the development of societies.
• Trade networks
• Crusades
• Expansion of Christianity, Islam
• Students will understand that distribution of
  power in government is a result of existing
  documents and laws combined with contemporary
  values and beliefs.
• US, GA Constitutions and their interpretations
• Jurisdiction of state and federal courts
• Relationship of national/state and state/local
• Can be generalized widely across the domain

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Which are Enduring Understandings?

• The American Revolution produced a change in
  society.
• Conflict produces change.
• Ethnic groups in the United States have developed
  social organizations.
• Migration of western culture to Asia has produced
  changes to eastern culture.

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Group activity

• Write at least 2 Enduring Understandings for your
  unit

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How is the concept/theme tied to the content
standard?
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What is an Essential Question?

• H. Lynn Erickson
• Specific, open-ended, thought provoking questions
  that probe the factual and conceptual levels of
  understanding (p.164)
• Learning Focused Schools (Thompson)
• Generally related to the specific learning
  objectives of a lesson
• Can be answered by students with instruction

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What is an Essential Question?

• Wiggins and McTighe
• Represent a big idea that has enduring value
  beyond the classroom
• Reside at the heart of the discipline (doing the
  subject)
• Offer potential for engaging students
• Essential Question Rubric
• EQs get to the heart of a particular enduring
  understanding
• Help students relate the factual knowledge to the
  concepts in the unit
• May or may not have a correct answer

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Developing Essential Questions

• Characteristics
• Examine how (process) and why (cause and effect)
• Use language appropriate to students
• Sequence so they lead naturally from one to
  another
• May or may not have one answer or a right
  answer
• Consider Blooms taxonomy, Webbs Depth of
  Knowledge in developing
• Come in two forms
• Broad/Overarching
• Unit/Content Specific

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Essential Questions

• Guiding Sub-questions
• Related to specific aspects of content
• Frame specific set of lessons or unit
• May be answered as result of lesson,
• May not have a right answer

• Broad, overarching.
• Go to heart of discipline
• Re-occur naturally in the discipline
• May not have a right answer
• Raise other important questions

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Example of Broad EQs

• EU Students will understand that movement of
  ideas, people, and culture (through trade and
  religious conflicts) have both positive and
  negative impacts on the development of societies.
• Possible Broad EQs
• To what extent have the positive impacts of
  cultural interactions outweighed the negative
  impacts to the cultures involved?
• To what extent do trade and religious conflict
  influence cultural development?

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Example of Guiding Sub-Questions

• EU Students will understand that movement of
  ideas, people, and culture (through trade and
  religious conflicts) have both positive and
  negative impacts on the development of societies.
• Possible guiding sub-questions
• How did the Muslim empires influence religion,
  law, and arts as their empires expanded?
• How did increased cross-cultural contact affect
  cities and towns in European medieval society?

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Example of Broad EQs

• EU Students will understand that distribution of
  power in government is a result of existing
  documents and laws combined with contemporary
  values and beliefs.
• Possible Broad EQ
• Why is it important to consider contemporary
  values and beliefs when analyzing laws and
  historical documents?
• To what extent is distribution of power in a
  Nation related to its structure of government?

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Example of Guiding Sub-Questions

• EU Students will understand that distribution of
  power in government is a result of existing
  documents and laws combined with contemporary
  values and beliefs.
• Possible guiding sub-questions
• What are the arguments on each side of the
  current federalism debate?
• How have values and beliefs about federalism
  changed over time in America?

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Group activity

• Using the Enduring Understandings you just
  developed, write 2 BROAD Essential Questions and
  2 guiding sub-questions for the unit.
• Remember the difference between broad EQs and
  guiding sub-questions.
• Do not always have a single answer.
• Remember to base your Essential Questions on your
  ENDURING UNDERSTANDING!

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Enduring Understandings and Unit Essential
Questions 6th Grade

• Exploration occurs because of the desire for
  wealth.
• How did the explorers contribute to the
  development of Europe?
• What motivates people to take great risk to
  explore unknown territory?
• What was the impact of exploration on Europe?
• Physical location influences how people live and
  how nations develop.
• How did Europes location contribute to its
  development?
• How did England, France, and the Netherlands
  develop extensive colonial empires?
• How can geographic features be a hindrance or
  help to a regions economic development?

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Enduring Understandings and Unit Essential
Questions U.S. History

• The movement of people, ideas and goods have a
  profound influence on a society.
• How did the arrival of European settlers on the
  east coast of North America impact the Native
  Americans?
• What was the impact of slavery on the development
  of Colonial America?
• How did American colonies come to be wealthy in
  the later colonial period?
• Colonies frequently develop a social and
  political system different from their mother
  country.
• How was each colonial region a reflection of its
  colonists?
• How have the colonial ideas of civil liberties
  and rights changed over time?
• Nations build upon compromise and conflict.
• Why was Americas idea of representative
  government different from the English idea?
• Democracies build upon the ideas of individualism
  and reform.
• How did religion play a role in creating the
  American character?
• Why was Benjamin Franklin an example of social
  mobility and individualism?
• How was the Great Awakening more than a revival?

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Balanced Assessments
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Standards Based Education Model
GPS
Stage 1 Identify Desired Results (Big Ideas)
?Enduring Understandings ? Essential Questions
? Skills and Knowledge
(one or more) Standards Elements
Stage 2 Determine Acceptable Evidence (Design
Balanced Assessments) (To assess student
progress toward desired results)
All above, plus Tasks Student Work Teacher
Commentary
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(No Transcript)
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Assessment for Learning

• Assessment for Learning is the process of
• seeking and interpreting evidence for use
• by learners and their teachers to decide
• where the learners are in their learning,
• where they need to go and how to best
• get there.

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What is assessment for learning?

• Part of effective planning.
• Focuses on how students learn.
• Is central to classroom practice.
• Is sensitive and constructive.
• Fosters motivation.
• Promotes understanding of goals and criteria.

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Small group discussionWhat has to happen?

• if assessment is not working effectively in our
  classrooms every day, then assessment at all
  other levels (district, state, national, or
  international) represents a complete waste of
  time and money. Stiggins, 1999
• If you know what a student must understand, how
  do you check to see if that student understands?
  
• What evidence will you use to evaluate the level
  of understanding?

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Purpose of Assessment

• Do students know? Are they able to complete
  processes and demonstrate skills? Do they
  understand?
• How well do students know? How well are they
  able to complete processes and demonstrate
  skills? How well do they understand?
• What do students not know? What are they not yet
  able to do? What dont they understand?
• What do I need to re-teach? What is my next step
  in planning instruction?

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Purpose of Assessment

• Assessments need to have a clear purpose and be
  attached to a standard or enduring understanding
• Be wary of cute or fun projects that lack the
  necessary elements of a true assessment and take
  large chunks of time

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Developing a Balanced Assessment Plan

• Done in Stage 2 of unit planning
• Helps focus student learning
• Assessments should be used regularly throughout
  unit, not just at the end
• Assessment should be varied
• Formal and informal assessments.
• Formative and summative assessments.

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Importance of Balanced Assessment

• Formal
• Students know they are being assessed
• Tests, essays, quizzes, projects with rubrics
• Norm-referenced OR Criterion-referenced
• Informal
• Students may not know they are being assessed
• Dialogue with students, peer conversations,
  journal entries
• Need to use both and use data to guide
  teaching/planning

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Importance of Balanced Assessment

• Formative (assessment FOR learning)
• Important to assess as you teach
• Assessment for learning
• Remember, trying to uncover misconceptions and
  prior knowledge
• Summative (assessment OF learning)
• Testing skills/factual knowledge
• End product
• Need to use both and use data to guide
  teaching/planning

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The Difference -

• Assessment for Learning
• Promotes student achievement during the
• learning process.
• Involves students in assessing their own
  learning.
• Assessment of Learning
• Reporting and accountability.
• Sorts students for programs.

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Brainstorming Activity

• Take 2 minutes to write down ANY form of
  formative and summative assessment that comes to
  mind
• Give one/Get one activity
• Compare list with others
• Give one of your assessment types to partner and
  get one from them
• Goal is to get a big list of assessment types to
  pull from

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Social Studies Assessments Plan
Observation Dialogue and Discussion Selected Response Constructed Response Self-Assessment
Observing Group work Rating Scale Issue Barometers Journals Peer Review Conversations for learning Conferences Socratic method Interviews Multiple Choice Test True-False Matching Fill in the blank Essay Short answer Diagrams Concept map Graphing Illustration Process description Thinking aloud Peer Review Self-assessing rubrics
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• Feedback to any pupil should be about the
  particular
• qualities of his or her work, with advice on what
  he or she
• can do to improve, and should avoid comparisons
  with
• other pupils.
• Paul Black and Dylan William
• Kings College

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• If we only give summative assessments with
• short answer or multiple choice, how do we
• help students to improve other than by saying
• study harder?

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Self Evaluation of Assessment Plan

• What type of evidence is required to assess the
  standard? (e.g., recall of knowledge,
  understanding of content, ability to demonstrate
  process, thinking, reasoning, or communication
  skills)
• What assessment method will provide the type of
  evidence needed?
• Will the assessment method provide enough
  evidence to determine whether students have met
  the standard?
• Is the task developmentally appropriate?
• Will the assessments provide students with
  various options for showing what they know?

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Balanced Assessment Plan

• Use the units you worked on today outline a
  balanced assessment plan
• Balanced Assessment matrix
• Look at the overall unit
• What are ways you could assess knowledge, skills,
  understandings?
• Use the chart from earlier
• List ideas on how you could assess your unit both
  for and of learning.
• Place them on the chart.
• DO NOT TRY TO WRITE A PERFORMANCE TASK

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Social Studies Assessments Plan
Stage 2 Determine Appropriate Assessments Grade
Level/Subject___American Government_____ Unit
Focus ______Americas Federal System_____
Observation Dialogue and Discussion Selected Response Constructed Response Self-Assessment
Listening to peer conversations about how power is divided Journal entry on how government impacts their lives Socratic seminar on court cases relating to federalism issues Matching quiz where students are given a list of powers and asked to match them to the appropriate level of government Multiple choice quiz on comparisons between the US and GA Constitutions Flow chart demonstrating direction of power on certain issues Students will role play a three way conversation between a mayor, governor, and senator on a particular issue Students explain to another student how power is divided in several areas Students are given a federalism puzzle and when they get to a piece they can not place, they are to write the statement on a sheet of paper
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Student Self Assessment

• For formative assessment to be productive,
• students should be trained in self-assessment
• so that they can understand the main purposes
• of their learning and thereby grasp what they
• need in order to achieve.
• Black and William

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• Research (Black and William) shows that when
• students are given only a grade, they compare
• themselves with each other. When they are
• given comments only, they see this as an effort
• to help them to improve. The students who
• get the comments only, out-perform the students
• who get the grade only.