Building a Rigorous Pre-AP Program for

AllClear Creek ISDLaura Ozinga, Social StudiesEmily Auffarber, ELARobin Sabo, Secondary SS Coordinator

Intermediate Advanced Academics CCIS style

Before AfterWAVE – GT Magnet, school

with in a school on 2 campuses

OMEGA- Home campus-based primarily GT interdisciplinary program (matrix guided student eligibility)

Pre-AP—General advanced academic program in core content areas

WAVE – GT Magnet, school with in a school on 2 campuses

OMEGA/Pre-AP – Joint ELA/SS open-enrollment advanced academic program

What

challenges

would you

anticipate

with this

change?

Omega/Pre-AP Initiative NetIncrease recruitment and retention

Expanding opportunities Rigorous advanced academic coursesTASK—develop an advanced academic program open to

all and building on the strengths of previous

programs; interdisciplinary, thematic, high expectations

Teacher Development Team

Balanced ELA/SSBlended Omega and Pre-APDiverse campus representationInnovative teachers withLearning Focused classrooms &TEKS content knowledgeManageable numbers

Building a Common Understanding

A day on the lake…The challenges with

different understandings.

Catch of the Day

Omega/Pre-AP overlay is designed to improve the preparation and retention of advanced academic students in rigorous courses.

Rigorous instruction includes scaffolding critical thinking skills.

A program that provides student choice and opportunities to demonstrate learning in unpredictable ways addresses the unique needs, talents, and interests of highly capable students.

Rigor, Rigor, Rigor….What is it?

Used research to ground the curriculum writing work and build common vision for the new blended program with all teachers

Writing sessions were divided ½ study/PL and ½ application/work

The Fears and Anxieties of Gifted Learners

Social and Emotional Needs Tips for Teachers

OverexcitabilitiesAsynchronous

developmentPerfectionist

tendenciesDisproportionate

anxiety and fear

Celebrate differencesMentorExplore intellectual

thinking, esp. about lifeNetworkingProblem-solving skills

End Results =Overlay

Welcome◦What is Omega/Pre-AP PowerPoint◦Icebreakers modeling critical thinking

Skill Builders

Thematic, interdisciplinary projects

District collaboration opportunities

Welcome Week Resources

To establish a safe, rigorous culture

•Ice breakers designed to demonstrate critical thinking expectations•Orientation to Rigor cartoon – helping students and teachers understand what rigor is and is not

. . .having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems. -- Arthur Costa

16 attributes of what human beings do when they behave intelligently.

Habits of Mind

What did we do as a team?*Chose the habit of minds/critical thinking pieces essential for 6th graders and suited to themes.

Thinking Skill Learning SkillAnalyzing Perspectives Describing reasons for a personal viewpoint as well as

the viewpoints of others.

Constructive Support Building a case for assertions by providing evidence, proof, or logical arguments.

Deductive Reasoning Identifying specific examples to support a general statement, rule or principle.

Inductive Reasoning Inferring unknown generalizations from information or observations.

Persistence Sticking to a task until it is completed.Listening with understanding and empathy

Attending to another person’s words while monitoring one’s own thoughts.

Thinking Flexible Being able to shift at will through multiple perceptual positions.

Thinking Interdependently Working cooperatively in groups to solve problems.

What did we do as a team?then. . .

*Developed Skill Building lessons based on these 8 habits of mind. Intended to be no more that 15 minutes each. All follow a similar pattern based on the mini-lesson design.

* Campus teams decide which will be taught in the Language Arts setting and which will be taught in Social Studies.

Persistence Skill Builder

Skill Builder Lessons

Welcome Week◦Persistence◦Connecting Past Experiences to New Knowledge

First Nine Weeks◦Thinking Flexibly◦Thinking Interdependently◦Listening with Understanding and Empathy

Second Nine Weeks◦Analyzing Perspectives◦Constructing Support◦Deductive Reasoning◦Inductive Reasoning

Framed content connections around themes

Cultures, Change and Conflict

Cultures1st Nine Weeks• Personal narratives in regard to

people moving and family cultures• Folktales in relation to different

cultures• Poetry• Non-fiction narratives• Theme• Religious Holiday

2nd Nine Weeks• Cause and effect w/ structure of

society8 and connotative words• Dystopia vs. utopian government

structures• Non-fiction text structures and

authors purpose in relation to “then and now”

• Culture- Communism/Free Market

3rd Nine Weeks• How does conflict shape culture

over time (POV)• POV-as related to different cultural

influences• Fiction selections/folktales• Short stories written using

structure of folk tales

4th Nine Weeks• Character analysis of various

native groups of Latin America• Persuasive techniques used in

different cultures

Had curriculum writing team identify content

per grading period that related to each them to

help them see connections between

ELA and SS

Rigorous Assessments

Rigorous Assessments DO . . . Rigorous Assessments DO NOT . . .Sustain and extend rigorous instruction

Mark the end of instruction

Ask students to apply what they learned to real-world and unpredictable situations

Ask students to apply what they have learned to formulaic and predictable situations

Ask students to solve interesting problems

Ask students to do nothing more than solve algorithmic problems

Ask students to apply what they have learned

Ask students to do nothing more than remember what they have learned

Ask students to answer the how and why

Ask students to answer only the who, what, and when

Theme Projects

*Geographic/Culture Skit

*Immigration Connections

*International Cause Grant

Rolled out with professional learning, and

district collaboration

•Curriculum writers lead overview professional learning session

•Encouraged campus interdisciplinary teams to attend trainings and collaboration days together

Any questions …

Contact Information

Laura Ozinga, SS Space Center Intermediate, lozinga@ccisd.net

Emily Auffarber, ELA Victory Lakes Intermediate, eauffarb@ccisd.net

Robin Sabo, Secondary SS Coordinator, Clear Creek ISDrsabo@ccisd.net; @rsabo11228