Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Module 2:
Effective Instruction,Differentiated Instruction,
Behavior Management and PBIS
Agenda OverviewDay 1 Questions from Module 1 Training Effective Instruction Differentiated Instruction Understanding by Design
Day 2 Behavior Management Positive Behavior Intervention and
Supports (PBIS)
October 2008Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
2
Questions from Module 1
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 3
Essential Elements Matrix: Tier 1
5. Instructional delivery supported by scientifically based research
Classroom observation demonstrates high quality classroom instruction
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
October 2008
Tier 1: Effective Instruction
Research-based effective teaching principles include: active engagement of students, high success rates, increased content coverage, direct instruction, scaffolded instruction, instruction that addresses the critical forms of
knowledge, instruction in the organizing, storing, & retrieving of
information, strategic instruction, explicit instruction, and instruction that teaches across subjects.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Effective Instruction: High Student Engagement
Students’ exposure time should be significant, worthwhile, and the appropriate level of instruction.
Active engagement with instructional tasks leads to higher student learning and should be incorporated into the classroom.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 6
Effective Instruction: High Student Engagement
Increased academic engagement occurs through: effective lesson delivery and design, culturally and instructionally relevant
selection of interesting materials, increasing opportunities for appropriate
responses from the students, and student reinforcement for classroom
participation.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 7
Effective Instruction: Successful Academic
Experiences Providing successful experiences for
students is assessed by how well students relate positively with their learning experiences in the classroom.
For example, changing the materials to a more instructionally appropriate level for a struggling student may create outcomes that are more successful.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 8
9
Skill Development
Entry Level
Acquisition
Proficiency
Maintenance
Generalization
Adaptation
Entry Level
Accuracy
Fluency
Permanence
Expansion
Extension
Basic
Permanent
Advanced
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Effective Instruction: Successful Academic Experiences
Instructionally appropriate level is defined as:
At least 70-80% of the material presented is at a fluency level or proficiency level
This is extremely important when conducting independent seatwork.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 10
Effective Instruction: High Teacher Expectations
Academic teacher orientation and emphasis should be on learning academics through spending the majority of classroom time on curriculum based learning activities.
This leads to high teacher expectations of students where the teacher must expect and project those expectations, that all children can master each stage of the curriculum.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 11
Effective Instruction: Equal Access for All Students and Effective
Questioning The teacher should actively seek to do
the following: engage all learners consider all aspects of classroom interaction and
instruction provide equal access for all students
Effective questioning that gives a general measure of the students’ understanding of new and old concepts while encouraging the students to think critically and deeper should also be utilized.
October 200812Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Effective Instruction: Teacher Assistance and Curriculum Alignment
Teachers should provide assistance in making sense of the content by communicating clear explanations throughout the lesson.
Teachers should state learning goals as well as review knowledge needed to master the skills or learn the new concept.
Teachers should teach the skills explicitly.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 13
Effective Instruction: Teacher Assistance and Curriculum
Alignment
Methods to teach explicitly include: stating goals, structuring the entire lesson in a
format that is obvious to the student, and
presenting information clearly.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 14
Essential Elements Matrix: Tier 1
6. Differentiated instruction
Classroom observation demonstrates differentiated instruction
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated instruction is a teaching theory based on the premise that instructional approaches should vary and be adapted in relation to individual and diverse students in classrooms (Tomlinson, 2001).
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 16
October 2008
Tier 1: Differentiated Instruction
Planning and providing alterations to - curriculum - instruction - assessment
Recognizing the following- varying background knowledge- readiness- language- preferences in interests
Differentiated instruction is a process to approach teaching and learning for students of differing abilities in the same class.
The intent of differentiating is to maximize each student’s growth and individual success to assist in the learning process.
Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated Instruction IS:1. Having a vision of success for all students. 2. Providing a variety of assignments within
units of instruction, realizing that students do not all learn in the same way.
3. Allowing students to choose, with teacher direction, the route to their learning.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 18
Differentiated InstructionDifferentiated Instruction IS:4. Providing opportunities for
students to demonstrate proficiency in an area they already know and allowing them to move forward.
5. Offering tiered lessons, of varying degrees of difficulty, dealing with similar content.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 19
Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated Instruction is NOT:1. Individualization (a different
lesson for each student each day). 2. Giving all students the same work
or even identical assessments all of the time.
3. Assuming that all students learn by listening.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 20
Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated Instruction is NOT:
4. Merely having centers in the classroom.
5. Assigning more work to students who have demonstrated mastery in an area.
6. Only for students who demonstrate a need for acceleration.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 21
Obstacles1. I long to return to the Good Old Days2. I thought I was differentiating3. I teach the way I was taught4. I don’t know how5. I have too much content to cover6. I’m good at lecturing7. I can’t see how I would grade all those
different assignmentsKathie F. Nunley, Differentiating in the High School, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press,
2006.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Obstacles8. I thought differentiation was for
elementary school9. I subscribe to ability grouping10. I have real logistic issues11. I want my classroom under control12. I don’t know how to measure my student’s
learning styles13. I have neither the time nor the funding to
differentiateKathie F. Nunley, Differentiating in the High School, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006.
Obstacles
14. I’ve been teaching this way for years and it works
15. There’s no support at my school16. My district requires me to follow a
prescribed text17. Parents expect lecture format in high
school for college prep
Kathie F. Nunley, Differentiating in the High School, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Differentiated Instruction
The model of differentiated instruction requires teachers to be flexible in their approach to: teaching adjusting the curriculum presenting information to learners
Rather than expecting students to make modifications.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 25
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 26
Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated Instruction
Tomlinson (2001) identifies threeelements of the curriculum that can
bedifferentiated: Content, Process, and Products.
Octoer 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 27
Differentiated Instruction: Content
Several elements and materials are used to support instructional content:
acts, concepts, generalizations or principles, attitudes, and skills.
The variation is most frequently seen by how students gain access to important learning.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 28
Differentiated Instruction: Content
Alignment of tasks with instructional goals and objectives as essential. Goals are most frequently assessed by many
state-level, high-stakes tests and frequently administered standardized measures.
Objectives are frequently written in incremental steps resulting in a continuum of skills-building tasks.
An objectives-driven menu makes it easier to find the next instructional step for learners entering at varying levels.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 29
Differentiated Instruction: Content
Instruction is concept-focused and principle-driven.
The instructional concepts should be broad-based, not focused on minute details or unlimited facts.
Teachers must focus on the concepts, principles and skills that students should learn.
The content of instruction should address the same concepts with all students, but the degree of complexity should be adjusted to suit diverse learners.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 30
Differentiated Instruction: Process
Flexible grouping is consistently used.
Strategies for flexible grouping are essential. Learners are expected to interact and work together as they
develop knowledge of new content. Teachers may conduct whole-class introductory discussions of
big ideas followed by small group or paired work. Student groups may be coached from within or by the teacher
to complete assigned tasks. Grouping of students is not fixed. Grouping and regrouping must be a dynamic process,
changing with the content, project, and on-going evaluations.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 31
Differentiated Instruction: Process
Classroom management benefits students and teachers.
To effectively operate a classroom using differentiated instruction, teachers must carefully select organizational and instructional delivery strategies.
Carol Tomlinson (2001), identifies 17 key strategies for teachers to successfully meet the challenge of designing and managing differentiated instruction.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 32
Differentiated Instruction: Product
Initial and on-going assessment of student readiness and growth are essential. Meaningful pre-assessment naturally leads to
functional and successful differentiation. Incorporating pre-assessments and on-going
assessments informs teachers to provide a menu of approaches, choices, and scaffolds for the varying needs, interests and abilities that exist in classrooms of diverse students.
Assessments may be formal or informal, including interviews, surveys, performance assessments, and more formal evaluation procedures.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 33
Differentiated Instruction: Product
Students are active and responsible explorers.
Teachers respect that each task put before the learner will be interesting, engaging, and accessible to essential understanding and skills.
Each child should feel challenged most of the time.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 34
Differentiated Instruction: Product
Teachers should vary expectations and requirements for student responses.
Items to which students respond may be differentiated
so that different students can demonstrate or express their knowledge and understanding in different ways.
A well-designed student product allows varied means of expression and alternative procedures and offers varying degrees of difficulty, types of evaluation, and scoring.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 35
Strategy for Differentiation
Primarily Used to Differentiate
Example
Tiered Assignments Readiness Give assignments for various ability levels
Tiered Products Readiness, Interest Assessing projects for various ability levels
Drill-focusedCooperative Tasks Low-End Readiness
Use flash cards to instruct and obtain mastery
Thought/Production Focused Cooperative
Tasks
InterestAllow higher level students to decipher through a difficult dilemma
Alternative Assessments Readiness
Allow student to write a poem rather than take a test on the poem’s components
Graduated RubricsReadiness
Develop a plan with a student to reach a particular academic goal by a specified time
Choice BoardsReadiness, Interest
Give the student a choice between 3 activities
Learning CentersReadiness
Have students do math drills at one center, graph at another, and work on an assignment at another
AnchoringReadiness
Allow students to read, write in journals, manage a portfolio and practice while others are still working on their assignment
Video On
Scaffolding
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Scaffolding: Key Characteristics
ZPD - 80% Mastery Level: The gap between what a learner has already mastered (actual level of development) and what a child can achieve (potential development) with the guidance of an experienced and capable teacher or more capable peer.
Scaffolding: The key characteristics for effective teaching (supports needed for a student to succeed in work slightly beyond his/her comfort zone) include:
Provide clear directions. Clarify purpose for instruction by asking essential
questions. Keep students on task. Provide clear expectations for quality. Point students to worthy sources for help and information. Reduce uncertainty, surprise and disappointment to
maximize learning efficiency. Deliver efficiency by requiring hard work, not wasted work.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Tiering Assignments
Designed to provide different levels of complexity, abstractness, and open-endedness. The curricular content and objective(s) are the same, but the process and/or product are varied according to the student’s level of readiness.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Tiering Instruction
Change the nature of the task, not the workload
Change the sophistication of the prompt and/or the student’s response to it
Keep all students “above water” by adjusting challenge levels so all students can make sense of their learning
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Tiering Formats
Learning Contracts Learning Menus Cubing Summarization Pyramid Changing the Verb
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Learning Contracts
An agreement between the student and the teacher (may or may not be written, but written often works better)
Teacher specifies the necessary skills Student identifies the methods for completing the
task (there may or may not be debate on establishing and there may or may not be amendments)
Allow students to: Work at an appropriate pace Target their learning style Work independentlyCopyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Learning Contracts
This is an excellent way for students to understand what is EXPECTED of them.
Students enter into independent study with an agreed-upon set of tasks supporting adjusted goals.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Choice Boards
Organizers that contain a variety of activities
Students choose activities to complete as they learn a skill or develop a product
These may contain small groups, pairs, or individual assignments
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Flexible Grouping
Students work as part of many different groups depending on the task and/or content.
Groups assigned: Readiness Assigned by teacher Randomly Chosen by students
Allows students to work with a wide variety of peers and keeps them from being labeled.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Learning Menus
Students are given choices of tasks in a unit or for an assessment. They must do one “entrée task”, may select from two “side dish” tasks, and may choose to do one of the “dessert” tasks for extra enrichment.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Cubing
Students receive foam or poster board cubes with a different task written on each face; each task has a different complexity level than the others. Given a topic, students: Describe it, Compare it, Associate it, Analyze it, Apply it, Argue for or against it.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Summarization Pyramid
Create a pyramid of horizontal lines, then ask students at different readiness levels to respond to tiered prompts as they interact with the topic.
SOME GREAT PROMPTS
SynonymAnalogyQuestion
Three attributesAlternative title
CausesEffects
ReasonsArgumentsIngredients
OpinionFormula/sequence
InsightLarger category
ToolsSamplePeople
Future of the topic
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Changing the Verb
Raise or lower the challenge level by changing the verb in the prompt:
CONSIDER USING:
Analyze
Revise
Decide between
Why did
Defend
Devise
Identify
Classify
Define
Compose
Interpret
Expand
Imagine
Suppose
Construct
Recommend
Predict
Argue for (or against)
Contrast
Critique
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Some Tips
All students need coherent lessons that are relevant, powerful, and meaningful.
Good curriculum pushes students a bit beyond what is easy or comfortable.
Encourage students to “work up” and complete tasks that stretch them.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Using Anchor(ing) Activities
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
RAPID ROBIN
The “Dreaded Early Finisher”Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
“I’m Not Finished” Freddie
“It takes him
an hour-and-a-half
to watch 60 Minutes.”
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
One premise in a differentiated classroom:
“ In this class we are never finished---Learning is aprocess thatnever ends.”
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Anchor Activities
Anchor activities are ongoing assignments that students can work on independently throughout a unit of study or longer.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Some Anchor Activities“Brain Busters”Learning PacketsActivity BoxLearning/Interest CentersVocabulary WorkInvestigations Magazine Articles with Generic Questions or ActivitiesListening Stations Research Questions or ProjectsCommercial Kits and MaterialsJournals or Learning LogsSilent Reading (Content Related?)
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
The Purpose of an Anchor Activity is to:
Provide meaningful work for students when they finish an assignment or project, when they first enter the class or when they are “stumped”.
Provide ongoing tasks that tie to the content and instruction.
Free up the classroom teacher to work with other groups of students or individuals.
Using Anchor Activities to Create Groups
Teach the whole class to work independently and
quietly on the anchor activity.
Half the class works
on anchor activity.Other half works on
a different activity.
Flip-Flop
1/3 works on
anchor activity.1/3 works on a
different activity.
1/3 works with
teacher---direct
instruction.
1
2
3
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
ANCHOR ACTIVITIESCan be:
used in any subject
whole class assignments
small group or individual assignments
tiered to meet the needs of different readiness levels
interdisciplinary for use across content areas or teams Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
ANCHOR ACTIVITIES
Work best: when expectations are
clear and the tasks are taught and practiced prior to use.
when students are held accountable for on-task behavior and/or task completion.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Planning for Anchor ActivitiesSubject/Content Area:
Name and description of anchor activity:
How will activity be introduced to students?
- Points - Percentage of Final Grade
- Rubric - Portfolio Check
- Checklist - Teacher/Student Conference
- Random Checks - Peer Review
- On-Task Behaviors - Other _______________
How will the activity be managed and monitored?
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Differentiated Instructional Strategies
Anchor Activities: are on-going assignments tied to the curriculum and for which students are accountable that can be worked on independently throughout a grading period or longer.
Allowing for multiple right answers: are open-ended assignments that focus on the process of solving the problem and/or critical thinking.
Adjusting questions: In class discussions, tests, and homework, teachers adjust the sorts of questions posed to learners based on their readiness, interests, and learning profiles.
Agendas: These are personalized lists of tasks that a student must complete in a specified time, usually two to three weeks. Student agendas throughout a class will have similar and dissimilar elements. The agendas can be personalized (e.g., include IEP tasks, more challenging work) for individual students, if needed. Students work individually (or in small groups) to complete the agenda tasks.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Interest Centers
Interest centers are set up so that learning experiences are directed toward a specific learner interest. Allowing students to choose a topic can be motivating to them. The teacher may identify a variety of topics or areas for students or groups to select.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Interest Groups
Sidebar Studies Interest Centers Specialty Teams Real-Life Applications of Ideas and
Skills New Forms of Expression
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Strategies That Support Interest-Based Studies
Studying concepts and principles through the lens of interest
Student choice of tasks Independent Study I-Searches Orbitals Mentorships Group Investigations Interest Groups Jigsaw Literature Circles WebQuests Student-selected audiences
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Differentiated Instruction: Additional Guidelines
Clarify key concepts and generalizations. Ensure that all learners gain powerful
understandings that can serve as the foundation for future learning.
Teachers are encouraged to identify essential concepts and instructional foci to ensure that all learners comprehend.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Differentiated Instruction: Additional Guidelines
Use assessment as a teaching tool to extend rather than merely measure instruction. Assessment should occur before,
during, and following the instructional episode, and it should be used to help pose questions regarding student needs and optimal learning.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Differentiated Instruction: Additional GuidelinesEmphasize critical and creative thinking as a goal in lesson design. The tasks, activities, and procedures
should require students to understand and apply meaning.
Instruction may require supports, additional motivation, varied tasks, materials, or equipment for different students in the classroom.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Differentiated Instruction: Additional Guidelines
Engaging all learners is essential.
Teachers are encouraged to strive for the development of lessons that are engaging and motivating for a diverse class of students.
Teachers should vary tasks within instruction as well as across students. In other words, an entire session for students should not consist of all drill and practice, or any single structure or activity.
Differentiated Instruction: Additional Guidelines
Provide a balance between teacher-assigned and student-selected tasks. A balanced working structure is optimal
in a differentiated classroom. Based on pre-assessment information,
the balance will vary from class-to-class as well as lesson-to-lesson.
Teachers should ensure that students have choices in their learning.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Differentiation in Action
Video
August 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 72
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
For First Grade Reading Create a flexible reading program. Post a weekly reading schedule and allow students to find their names on it. Allow students to move to appointed areas of the room at times designated
on the chart. Sometimes the whole class will listen to a story and talk about it or read it. Sometimes a small group meets with the teacher to work on decoding,
comprehension strategies, or to share ideas. Sometimes students will meet with peers to read on a topic of mutual
interest, regardless of their reading readiness (different level books on same topic).
Students read alone (from books in discovery boxes based on various topics or from boxes designated by colors to match levels of reading readiness).
Students may meet with a reading partner to take turns reading or, at the direction of the teacher, to “choral read” so stronger readers can provide leadership for a peer who doesn’t read as well.
From Tomlinson
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Third Grade Reading1. Design a variety of centers based on student learning profiles2. Assign students to centers based on formal or informal
assessments3. At centers related to people the students are studying,
students can choose to work alone, in pairs, or within a small group
4. Some possible centers include:Students select a person they’ve studied and make an annotated time line of the person’s early life, noting events that shaped the person. The student chooses whether to write a paper, draw a storyboard, or act out the events.Students select a biography and a fictional work each has read. Then they write about real-life events they and some of their friends have had. Students then look in all three works for common themes about growing up and decide to present their work as a matrix or through conversations between or among the subject of the biography, the fictional work, and a 3rd grader.
From Tomlinson
Seventh Grade Science
As part of an exploration of life science, students chose a living creature and develop questions of interest to them individually.
Students figure out how to find answers to their questions.
Each student determines ways to share their findings with their peers.
(Questions can vary in complexity.)
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
High School Algebra II Students can pre-test and “compact out” of a unit at any
time during the first three days of instruction
Students who opt out do an independent investigation of math in the real world, given guidelines by the teacher, who works with them to tighten or focus plans, as needed
Students who did not “compact out” receive whole group instruction, and then—based on understanding—divide into cooperative groups for practice, or meet in a small group with the teacher for further instruction
When the class has finished the chapter, everyone participates in two days of mandatory review and the entire class takes the test.
From Tomlinson
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
High School U.S. History
Students read biographies of their choice from a suggested reading list. Each student chooses to do one of the following:
Write a two-page summary of the person’s life.
Note transforming dates in the subject’s life and make a timeline.
Choose three events that most impacted the subject’s life and make a poster explaining each.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
High School U.S. History
Students read names from a posted list and go to pre-assigned groups, which include:
Students meet in small groups and “tell the story” in first person of the subject of each biography
Students make a chart listing similarities and differences in their characters’ personalities, lives, and accomplishments
Students brainstorm qualities of “greatness” and create a matrix they will use to rank all of their subjects
Students choose one or a few topics making news in their lifetimes and conduct a time-travel/round-table discussion in character as their subjects.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
High School U.S. History
Students complete an assignment from the following product list:
A PowerPoint presentation A scripted presentation to the class An argumentative or comparative essay.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Activities
Differentiated Instruction Activities
Scenario
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 81
A Good Resource
How to Differentiate Instruction
in Mixed Ability Classrooms
By: Carol Ann Tomlinson
University of Virginia
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
Websiteshttp://faculty.rmwc.edu/mentor_grant/Differentiated/differentiated_instruction.htm
http://www.weac.org/kids/1998-99/march99/differ2.htm
http://pdonline.ascd.org/pd_online/diffinstr/el199909_tomlinson.html
http://www.sresd.k12.mi.us/pages/resources/differentInstr.htm
http://www.njpep.org/pd/learning/differentiated_learning.html
Notetaking:http://www.englishcompanion.com/Tools/notemaking.html
http://www.frsd.k12.nj.us/rfmslibrarylab/di/differentiated_instruction.htm
http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic73.htm
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/di.htm
http://www.plpsd.mb.ca/division/differen.htm
http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fil/pages/listdifferensp.html
http://www.openc.k12.or.us/reaching/tag/dcsamples.html
http://www.funlessonplans.com/differentiated_instruction.htm
http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/differentiationmodule.asp
Essential Elements Matrix: Tier 1
Essential Element 7
All of the following show evidence that theschool is implementing curricula andinstructional materials aligned to the
state’sstandards:
district’s instructional management plan; teacher lesson plans; and teacher interviews.
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
October 2008 93
Improving the alignment of classroom instruction to state standards can dramatically improve the quality and equity of education.
- Robert Marzano (2000)
Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 94
Alignment is the core of standards-based education.
- Standards and Tests: Keeping Them Aligned. (Spring 2003). Research Points. American Educational Research Association
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 95
Alignment?
Curriculum Frameworks? YES
Performance Level Descriptors? YES
Focus on Outcomes!
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 96
Why focus on outcomes? Teachers must know the target.
If teachers are unclear about the outcome they are targeting, then . . . instruction will not be clear. determining where students are will be
difficult. students will not be clear as to what they are
working towards (and consequently students will be working towards a different outcome).
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 97
Why focus on outcomes?
If teachers know the desired result, then they have freedom.
Teachers are free to use a variety of means to help students reach the desired result.
Students will be free to take different paths to the desired learning.
Teachers are free to differentiate the learning process.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 98
Take Note
Teachers are not differentiating the desired outcome.
This does not mean every student will reach the desired outcome, but that is the goal.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 99
How will teachers know if the desired outcome has been reached?
Assessment aligned to the desired outcome
Formative assessment
Summative assessmentAssessment that is explicitly designed to promote learning is the single most powerful tool for raising standards and empowering life long learning.
– Assessment Reform Group (1999)
A Strong Assessment (Monitoring) System
State Assessments
District Assessments(2-3 times a year)
School Assessments(end of units, every few
weeks)
Classroom/Daily Monitoring
(teacher observation, a single question)
Local Decision
s
Aligned with the Curriculu
m
An assessment should never be about the results alone, but an opportunity to evaluate, learn, and improve.
October 2007 Copyright © 2007 Mississippi Department of Education
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 101
Assessment Again, teachers have to know the desired
outcome.
Teachers have to think about what performance will indicate that a student has achieved the desired outcome or one of the steps to the desired outcome.
The curriculum frameworks and performance level descriptors help teachers clearly understand the desired outcome.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 102
Take Note Planning for the assessment helps.
The process is not strictly sequential. That is, teachers may start with the desired outcome, but as they work on the assessment, their understanding of the outcome may become clearer. This may lead to restating the desired outcome which may in turn change the assessment.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 103
Instruction
It is only at this point—after defining the outcome and the assessment—that teachers should plan instruction.
This sequence is the essence of backward design or Understanding by Design (UbD).
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 104
UbD Stage 1 – Desired Results / Outcomes
State standards Understandings Essential Questions Knowledge and Skills
Stage 2 – Evidence / Assessment Tasks Other Evidence
Stage 3 – Learning Plan / Instruction Lessons and Events Calendar
Should not be differentiated
May be differentiated
Should be differentiated
Note: This depiction is based on Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design by Tomlinson and McTighe (2006), p. 36.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 105
Aligning InstructionThe curriculum now clearly puts more emphasis on conceptual understanding (beyond the basic facts and simple procedures), and so must instruction.
UbD
Examine in groups the lesson plan using UbD.
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 106
Questions
October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 107