Natrona County School District

1
Natrona County School District

• Essential Curriculum
• August, 2007

2
Overview of the Information

• McREL research on guaranteed and viable
  curriculum
• NCSD Essential Curriculum
• Work accomplished to date
• Next steps and expectations

3
Learning Goals

• By the end of this session participants will
  know and be able to
• Understand the premises of a guaranteed and
  viable curriculum
• Understand the work done in NCSD to create an
  Essential Curriculum
• Support the implementation of the Essential
  Curriculum
• Sustain the ongoing use of the Essential
  Curriculum
• Contribute to large and small group discussions
  and
• Learn from others and have fun!

4
Personalizing the Learning Goals

• Record your answers to the following questions
• What are YOUR goals for this workshop?
• What do you need to do to reach YOUR goals?

5
Warm Up Activity

• Working with the people at your table, take the
  pieces in the envelop and put the puzzle
  together. As you are constructing the puzzle,
  discuss how putting a puzzle together is similar
  to creating a curriculum.

6
Eleven Influences on Student Learning
School
Teacher
Student
1. Guaranteed Viable Curriculum
2. Challenging Goals Effective
Feedback 3. Parent Community
Involvement 4. Safe Orderly
Environment
5. Collegiality Professionalism
6. Instructional Strategies 7. Classroom
Management 8. Classroom Curriculum Design
9. Home Environment 10. Learned
Intelligence/Background Knowledge 11. Motivation
7
School Level Influences
SCHOOL AVERAGE ES PERCENTILE GAIN
Alignment .88 31
Time .39 15
Monitoring .30 12
Pressure to Achieve .27 11
Parental Involvement .26 10
School Climate .22 8
Communication and Decision Making .10 4
Cooperation .06 2
Marzano (2000)
8
Guaranteed Viable Curriculum Questions to Focus
on the Actions

• Are essential content (knowledge and skills)
  identified for all students?
• Is there adequate time for students to learn
  essential content, knowledge and skills?
• 3. Does attention remain focused on the goals
  for learning the essential curriculum regardless
  of the distractions that may arise during a year?

9
A time to debrief and reflect

1. What did you discover during your discussion?
2. Were the people at your table aligned in their
   thinking related to the questions?
3. What other questions arose during your
   discussion?
4. Additional thoughts

10
What is Curriculum?
Curriculum is the sequencing and pacing of
content along with the experiences students have
with that content. Marzano, 2003 Content
standards define the knowledge and skills
students are expected to acquire.
11
What is a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum?

• Guaranteed and viable curriculum is.
• Opportunity for students to learn the content.
• Adequate time for teachers to teach the content.
• Overall, ensuring that the articulated curriculum
  content for any course or any grade level can be
  adequately addressed in the time available
  (viability).

Marzano, 2003
12
A Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum Includes

• Essential content that endures over time.
  Concepts, generalizations, principles, skills and
  processes are essential for students to thrive in
  the 21st century. When making the decision about
  what is essential content ask the question,
• What will students need to know and be able
  to do to thrive in the 21st century?

Developing a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum A
Fieldbook (McREL, 2007 unpublished)
13
Criteria for Essential Content

• Ideas/information or skills/processes that endure
  over time
• Knowledge that can be generalized over time
• Skills/processes that need to be automatic
• Information (vocabulary, facts, details) that
  students need in order to develop understanding
  of concepts, generalizations, principles or
  foundational skills and processes

Developing a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum A
Fieldbook (McREL, 2007 unpublished)
14
Essential Content
15
Cognitive Complexity
16
A Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum Does Not
Include

• Supplemental Content

17
Criteria for Supplemental Content

• Interesting but not essential to understanding
• Not related to grade-level content standards

Developing a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum A
Fieldbook (McREL, 2007 unpublished)
18
A time to reflect and review

• Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
• Opportunity
• Time
• viability
• 2. Essential Content Concepts, generalizations,
  principles, skills and processes are essential
  for students to thrive in the 21st century.
• Nonessential Content
• supplemental
  

19
Taking a deeper look at what students need to
know and be able to do

• Declarative Knowledge
• Procedural Knowledge

20
Types of Knowledge

• Declarative knowledge information the learner
  must know or understand.
• Procedural knowledge requires the learner to
  perform a process or to demonstrate a skill.

21
Declarative
Procedural
Concepts (Standards)
Processes
Organizing Ideas
Generalizations Principles
Details
Episode Cause/Effect Time Sequence Facts
Skills Tactics Algorithms
Types and Levels of Knowledge
Vocabulary Terms and Phrases
22
Types of Knowledge

• 1. Declarative knowledge information the
  learner must know or understand.

23
Declarative
Concepts (Standards)
Organizing Ideas
Generalizations Principles
Details
Episode Cause/Effect Time Sequence Facts
Types and Levels of Knowledge
Vocabulary Terms and Phrases
24
Declarative Knowledge

• Understand that words and pictures convey ideas
  or meaning in a text.
• Understand that animals have characteristics that
  help them adapt to their environment.
• Know the causes and effects of the American
  Revolution.
• Know the rules that govern various sports.
• Understand the concept of mutation.

25

• At least four experiences, spread no more than
  two days apart, are required to learn declarative
  (information) knowledge at an adequate level
  (Nuthall, 1999 Rovee-Collier, 1995).

26
Types of Knowledge

• 2. Procedural knowledge requires the learner
  to perform a process or to demonstrate a skill.
  Follow steps.

27
Procedural Knowledge

• Solve multi-step problems involving fractions,
  decimals, and basic percents.
• Use prewriting strategies to plan written work.
• Predict possible results of scientific
  investigations.
• Solve simple inequalities and non-linear
  equations with rational number solutions, using
  concrete and informal methods.
• Summarize information found in texts.

28
Procedural
Processes
Skills Tactics Algorithms
Types and Levels of Knowledge
29

• Students need about 20-24 practice sessions
  before the teacher can be reasonably sure the
  students grasp the new skill enough to use it
  effectively on their own (80 competency).
• The increments of learning gradually get smaller
  and smaller as students fine tune their knowledge
  and skills.

30
Schedule massed and distributed practice

At first, practice sessions should be very close
together (massed). When students are first
learning a skill, they should practice it
immediately and often. Over time, practice
sessions can be spaced apart (distributed).
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MASSED AND DISTRIBUTED PRACTICE

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
31
Working with a partner

• 1. Solve this problem
• Divide 1 ¾ by ½
• 2. Show your work and be able to explain the
  procedure you used and your answer.
• 3. Keep track of the vocabulary used during this
  exercise.

32
Declarative
Procedural
Concepts (Standards)
Processes
Organizing Ideas
Generalizations Principles
Details
Episode Cause/Effect Time Sequence Facts
Skills Tactics Algorithms
Types and Levels of Knowledge
Vocabulary Terms and Phrases
33
Declarative Procedural Know/Understand Skilled
/Master
Science Mathematics History Geography Language
Arts
92 8
49 51
98 2
97 3
25 75
34
Current Research on Types of Knowledge

• The exposures to declarative knowledge should be
  at least 4 times within two days.
• 2. Students should be provided with multiple
  opportunities to apply generalizations and
  principles (organizing ideas) once they
  understand them.
• 3. There should be 20 to 24 practices for
  procedural knowledge in order to reach 80
  proficiency. Released over time.
• 4. Tactics are sets of steps that can be
  completed in any order.
• 5. Algorithms are sets of steps that must be
  completed in the same order every time.

35
(No Transcript)
36
What does the research say?

• Brain research on declarative and procedural
  knowledge

37
Two questions that Natrona County students ask
every day when they arrive at school

Will I be accepted?
Can I do the work?
38
Two questions that Natrona County students ask
every day when they arrive at school

ESSENTIAL CURRICULUM
Will I be accepted?
Can I do the work?
39
Using Scenarios

• Break into groups of 4s
• Two members of the group read the scenario about
  Jake while the remaining two read the scenario
  about Sara
• As you read, make notes pertaining to what
  information stands out and/or resonates with you
• Be prepared to share your scenario and thinking
  with the other members of your team
• Begin the discussion by sharing the information
  related to the scenario about Jake
• When you have finished discussing Jake, move to
  the scenario about Sara
• Complete your discussion by sharing what you
  believe to be the major implications to be drawn
  from the scenarios

40
What is the NCSD Essential Curriculum?
41
NCSD Essential Curriculum

• A district-wide curriculum and identifies the
  essential information necessary for students to
  be successful on PAWS
• The Essential Curriculum is part of a larger
  curriculum referred to as the Comprehensive
  Curriculum

42
(No Transcript)
43

• What were the steps taken
• to determine the
• Essential Curriculum?

44
What is unpacking?

• A systematic process for uncovering the content
  and skills embedded within the content standards,
  benchmarks, and assessment documents.

45
Why is unpacking important?

• Due to the fact that the standards and
  benchmarks are broad, teachers need a more
  complete listing of the content and skills that
  students need to acquire in order to meet the
  requirements of the standards and be successful
  on PAWS.

46
What are the results of unpacking?

• Teachers have a greater sense of what should be
  taught
• Teachers feel greater efficacy
• Students across the district have the same
  learning targets and are held to equal levels of
  performance
• The essential curriculum remains the same as
  students move between and among district schools

47
Is there a systematic process that can be
employed?

• Yes, teachers and administrators can work
  collaboratively to unpack the standards,
  benchmarks, and assessment documents using a
  process that will create depth of understanding
  for all stakeholders

48
Vocabulary

• Identify and list key vocabulary that students
  must know in order to be proficient at meeting
  the requirements of the standards and benchmarks.
  That is, what vocabulary words must students
  understand in order to learn the essential
  content?

49
Implementing the Essential Curriculum can only
happen by changing the status quo
50
Personal impact of change

• Its not so much that were afraid of change or
  so in love with the old ways, but its that place
  in between that we fear . . . Its like being
  between trapezes. Its Linus when his blanket is
  in the dryer. Theres nothing to hold on to.

Marilyn Ferguson The Aquarian
Conspiracy Personal and Social Transformation
in the 1980s
51
What does this mean for me as a leader in the
NCSD?

• Familiarize yourself with the information
• Share information about the NCSD Essential
  Curriculum with staff
• Support the initiative at school and with
  patrons
• Set time aside to work with grade-level and
  curricular areas teams
• Set the expectation with staff for ongoing use of
  the NCSD Essential Curriculum and
• Other activities as necessary

52
Expected Outcomes for Essential Curriculum and
Goal-Setting in 2007-08

• Teachers, Instructional Facilitators, and
  Principals will be able to access the NCSD
  essential curriculum documents and utilize them
  for lesson planning, collaboration, and improving
  student learning.
• Teachers, Instructional Facilitators, and
  Principals will become more aware of the
  importance of and tools for classroom and student
  goal setting.
• Teachers, Instructional Facilitators, and
  Principals will be able to access and utilize
  formative and summative assessment data.
• Teachers will set at least one classroom goal
  during first semester.

53
Give One, Get One

• Directions
• Write three ideas that you think are
  important to remember from the session in the
  spaces marked 1 3. Circulate the room,
  stopping to talk with different individuals. Give
  each individual you talk to one of your ideas.
  Get one idea in return and continue until all ten
  spaces are filled.

54
Two X Two

• Use the space provided to reflect upon your
  learning from today. Include how what you have
  learned will be shared and utilized. When you
  have completed your writing find a partner and
  share your thinking and allow your partner to do
  the same. When the two of you have completed
  your conversation, find two more people and share
  as a group of four.
• Optional instead of Give One Get One

55
The contents of this presentation have been
prepared by McREL for use by the Natrona County
School District and may not be reproduced or
distributed for any purpose outside of the
district without prior permission of McREL.
To seek permission, send e-mail to
info_at_mcrel.org with details of your proposed use.