A New Essential Curriculum Dr' Heidi Hayes Jacobs

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A New Essential CurriculumDr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs
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Essential questions

• What is essential for our learners now?
• What revisions should be made in the present
  curriculum in light of new global realities?
• How might state standards be reconsidered to
  support our students?
• What are new essential conditions to support our
  work?

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Rethinking standards worthwhile targets for
learning

• Standards vary between states
• Minimal attention to global realities
• Confusion between state tests and standards
• Pressures for testing are pulling us away from
  curriculum
• Cursory attention to contemporary issues
• Focus on literacy should be cross-disciplinary
• Many standards do not progress developmentally
  with any significance.

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Problems with NCLB

• Lack of financial support
• Recent articles in Phi Delta Kappan
• Editorials across the country
• Negative statement
• No Child Left Behind
• Positive statement
• Every Child Moves Forward
• Disparities between states are accentuated

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How many standards are there?

• Average 200 broad standards
• 3093 benchmarks
• Feasibility given of days/hours/minutes
• Feasibility of operational days
• 15,465 hours necessary
• 13,104 hours available (optimum)
• Necessary to lengthen to grades 21-22 prior to
  college
• Increase time or decrease standards
• Source (Marzano and KendallMACREL, Awash in a
  Sea of Standards ,1999)

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SELECTIVE STANDARDS The operational curriculum
should support vital and critical standards.
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Essential from the Latin esse meaning to be
to distill to the core
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Curriculum design requires us to make choices
about what is essential now to help our learners
for their future.
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What are the basic elements in designing
curriculum?

• CONTENT
• SKILLS
• ASSESSMENT

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Recast content for timeliness

• REPLACING content
• Perplexing issues
• Updated knowledge
• Engaging problems

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Content rethink and revise

• State history is becoming redundant and
  extraneous
• Transient movement of students from state to
  state
• Token community service Applied democracy
• Replace with Adopt-a-Town
• Isolation of geography
• Early U.S. History- needs to spiral (Avoid the
  Pilgrim backlash)

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Geography focus on geo-politics and
geo-economics

• State dept. figures 10 hold passports/ 7 of
  those use them
• World geography by shape and name- early
  childhood
• Links to geo-economics in upper elementary
• Links to geo-politics in middle school
• Global economics in middle school high school
• Environmental citizenship

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Social Studies History and Anthropology strands

• A new constant High School Course The Last 50
  Years
• Upper Elementary Artifact Analysis
• Case studies abroad
• Case studies at home
• Real time contact between students world wide
• Participatory democracy require Responsible
  Democracy Benchmark

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Content in Science rethink and revise

• Freedom of scientific expression
• Separation of science from other disciplines
• Upgrade science in early childhood
• Literacy instruction primarily through non-
  fiction (increase in science and social studies)

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Science

• Physics linked with math in elementary
• Dealing with religion issues
• Views on natural world
• Bio-ethics
• Bio-chemical abuses/weapons
• Disease- pandemics
• Prevention and research focus
• Independent Science Research- NY

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Update English Language Arts

• Expansive genre studies K-12
• Classics and new voices
• Studying screenplays and teleplays
• Poetry SLAMS
• Memorization of classic work
• Critiques of electronic media

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Expansion of Literacy Media Criticism/ Media
Invasion/Media Making

• TV critiques pre K-grade 3
• Unit Effects of TV on Me
• Formal media criticism begins grade 4
• Television/film writing and production
• Documentary studies/ NPR models
• Web based national/international anthologies of
  childrens stories and observations (RTW)
• Teaching students to conduct video conferences
• Current Communications Benchmark

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Content elevate the ARTS

• Expressive experiences
• Studio
• Digital composition
• Performance

• Cultural Literacy as a requisite
• Active work with local institutions
• (Carnegie Halls LINK-UP Kennedy Center national
  programs)

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Rethinking Mathematics

• Eliminating snapshot mathematics in pre-K
  through grade 3
• Language arts daily speech and writing activity
  describing procedures and concepts
• Corresponding time for students in middle school
  to balance those who accelerate
• Summer Math programs in conjunction with colleges
  and universities for separate genders
• FOCUS on translation strategies post-its on math
  pages
• Self-tutorials using computers for homework and
  practice

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Teaching world languages

• Minimal state requirements
• French/Spanish dominate
• Increase range of specialized schools/magnets for
  students with linguistic talent
• Increased range of languages

• Pashtu, Khoi, Azeri, Dzongka, Serbo-Croat,
  Portuguese, Malay, Kirundi, Khmer, Sango,
  Kikongo, Turkish, Arabic, Amharic, Twi,
  Icelandic, Hindi, Farsi, Kazakh, Kyrgvz, Lao,
  Larvan, chewa, Nepali, Yoruba, Punjabi, Tagalog,
  Slovak, Tamil, Dutch, Swahili

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Revising and upgrading skills in the curriculum

• Planting lifelong capacity
• Language Literacy
• Social Literacy
• Global Literacy
• Cultural Literacy

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Forward to New Basics
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Active Citizenship Peer Mediation

• Power of Speech and Listening Interviews and
• observations
• Conflict resolution as
• part of citizenship training
• High school revisiting the pre-school field
  trips Community Heroism
• Civil responsibilities/community service beyond
  token hours
• Civil defense/ new realities
• Student violence/ prevention and reporting codes

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Early Childhood

• 2 ½ hours of uninterrupted language arts
• Integrating science, math, and social studies
• Vertical Teams meeting regularly vs. Grade Level
  meetings

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Grades 4-12 Every teacher is a language
teacher

• Upgrading language skills
• Across all curriculum areas
• Interdependence of the four language skills
• Upgrading notebooks as assessments

• reading
• writing
• speaking
• listening

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Speaking and listening skills formally assessed

• On-going interaction via video conferencing/or
  telephone with students abroad
• On-going interaction with students in other parts
  of the U.S.
• Issue based forums regularly planned for grades
  4-12.

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Accommodating immigrant students and teachers

• Influx of new students with
• language issues ECIS guide
• for teachers
• Influx of new teachers
• Staff development for language and cultural
  changes that sensitize specific cultural
  background
• Suggested work for students
• WWS- Culture Matters-Peace Corps

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Teaching English as if it were a foreign language

• Foreign language teachers
• emphasize constant spoken language exercises.
• emphasize consistent and correct use of grammar
  in writing and in speech.
• constantly assess listening.
• immerse students in practice scenarios.
• emphasize self-assessment for independent
  competence.
• work on phonemic awareness coupled with text
  interaction as a necessity.

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Revising the element of assessment in the
curriculum
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Concern on assessment data

• Limitations of standardized testing.
• Problems within the testing industry itself.
• Wide variation between states/localities
• Posting in newspapers (intramurals)
• Questions about SAT
• Questions about what is valued.
• Questions about what to do with the results

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Phrase Determine what the learner should know
and be able to do

• QUESTION
• Who is making these decisions?
• They are hindered by what they know and what they
  are able to do.

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Three Tiers of assessment

• Drill and practice
• Rehearsal
• Authentic performance

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Workshops and staff development should focus on
UNPACKING assessment data
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Bi-Level Analysis We examine student work and
performance data in terms of

• The subject matter concepts and skills needing
  attention.
• The requisite language capacity necessary to
  carry out tasks
• Linguistic patterns
• High frequency words
• Specialized terms
• Editing/revising strategies

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Assessment is a demonstration of learning

• The focus should be on feedback
• Designed to help the learner REVISE his or her
  performance independently.
• The assessments should be cumulative
  progressions.
• CAN HE or SHE MAKE THE PERFORMANCE BETTER?

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Either adopt a national system of periodic
testing or go to local as in Iowa. STATE tests
vary too much.
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Cumulative revision in the building

• Curriculum Mapping is key

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Assessment should reflect our times

• screenplays
• teleplays
• broadcasts
• email
• grant proposals
• web page
• spread sheets
• CAD blueprints
• forecasts
• media criticism

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Technology as a platform for revising assessment
possibilities

• Curriculum Mapping real time data and revision
• Electronic site visits
• Electronic video conferencing
• Data banks for assessments

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Site based Teaching and Learning Councils

• Focus on the site for ongoing review of
  assessment data
• End organizational ruts by using curriculum maps
• End committee domination replaced with task
  forces
• Debating the nature of essential questions
• Infusing maps with the findings from assessment
• Focusing the work of the school on the faculty
  team

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Beyond Reform to New Forms Creating 21st
Century Schools

• Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs

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Essential Questions

• What school structures will best support 21st
  century learning?
• What current practices need revisions to support
  21st century learning?

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De-Schooling Schools
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Reshaping SCHOOL STRUCTURES

• SPACE (physical and virtual)
• SCHEDULE
• STUDENT GROUPING PATTERNS
• TEACHER CONFIGURATIONS

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The Schedule is Curricular Destiny

• long term schedules
• daily instructional time
• extended day patterns
• DAILY PLANNING TIME

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NEEDED Length of Year 195- 205 days

• At least five of these days for professional
  development and review of assessment data

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Long Term Schedules

• Rethink our grade 12 compulsion.
• Early graduation when ready
• Additional year if necessary
• SUMMER SEMESTER extended Senior Year and Early
  Graduation
• Replace seat time with task completion that might
  be accomplished virtually
• off school time frames

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Rethink Daily use of Time

• START TIME Minnesota start time study
• BLOCKS Rotational blocks in conjunction with set
  blocks
• Every four weeks-expanded block for projects/site
  visits/ community work
• Homework blocks
• LENGTH OF DAY
• Staggered day Why the same length each day?
• BOOKEND SCHEDULES sports/ arts/extra-curricular
• NIGHT CLASSES

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Off campus time

• Online experiences as an integrated and regular
  part of time frames
• Work on time budgeting
• Ongoing work with businesses/ social
  institutions/arts institutions
• HOMEWORK as HOMESCHOOLING
• TUTORING CLUSTERS in local school or neighborhood
  setting

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Daily Planning Time

• Regular cross-grade level work
• Especially necessary in high school regarding
  language capacity building
• Regular vertical team planning
• Especially necessary in elementary school
• Between buildings K-12
• Between post-secondary institutions
• Curriculum Mapping makes this possible
  electronically

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Common Planning Time through Year

• SIX BENCHMARK REVIEWS per year
• Professional DAYS- focused directly building
  based student performance data

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• START TIME BLOCKS LENGTH OF DAY

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Accept and work with VIRTUAL time Possibilities
of technology to alter the way we work with time
and space issues.
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Technology allows us to work at our own time

• Consider email
• Curriculum mapping

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Grouping students

• Replacing ability groups which focus on
  child-label
• Focus on skills grouping
• Long term grouping/ looping clusters
• Middle School Vertical Teams or Looped Teams
• High School rethink lower and upper classmen
  models/ Writing Mentor model
• Dignity to school to work/ Vocational Education
• Early graduation/ Extra year

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Fundamental student grouping issues

• Institutional grouping
• Instructional grouping

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Primary age children

• Developmental grouping around age spans vs strict
  grade level grouping
• Working with pre-school educators
• Formal work with children and parent groups to
  support literacy

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Middle School

• Team models
• Vertical teams
• Affective grouping
• K-8

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High School Level

• Recognizing the difference between the needs of
  adolescent learners in current 9th and 10th and
  11th and 12th grade learners.
• Grouping around fundamental literacy skill needs/
  independent study skill needs
• Curricular options for pre-adult learners based
  on motivation, aspiration, and post-secondary
  next steps Writing Mentor model
• Dignity to school to work
• Vocational Education
• Should all learners be college bound?

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Homogenous vs Heterogenous grouping

• What about intelligent grouping?
• Examples from diagnostic short term/long term
  skills grouping

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Teacher configurations

• Vertical teams K-5 and K-12
• Horizontal patterns 9th and 10th grade
• Junior and Senior mentor programs
• Visiting teacher programs
• Partners between buildings

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Teacher configurations

• Vertical teams K-5 and K-12 require new teacher
  teams
• Operationalizing Learning Communities
• MEETING VIRTUALLY via Curriculum Mapping
  Technology

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Middle school configurations

• All middle school personnel should be part of
  several teams
• Grade level/age level team
• Vertical team within building
• Vertical BRIDGE team either between middle and
  elementary OR middle and high school

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Rethinking high school teacher configurations

• Horizontal patterns 9th and 10th grade
• Allows for cross-disciplinary focus on language
  capacity building
• Reading , writing, speaking, listening
  strategies
• Mentor to senior interns or community project
  groups
• Advisor to students employing online courses
• Facillitator using video conferencing tools
• Teacher/facillitator to evening community issues
  presentations presented by students

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Differentiated Staff development

• Conditions for sharing findings among colleagues
  within a building are limited

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Site based Teaching and Learning Councils

• Focus on the site for ongoing review of
  assessment data
• End organizational ruts by using curriculum maps
• End committee domination replaced with task
  forces
• Debating the nature of essential questions
• Infusing maps with the findings from assessment
• Focusing the work of the school on the faculty
  team

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• Language and Cultures in English Language Based
  International Schools
• Sandra Meakin- ECIS-
• Petersfield Hants, UK, 1995
• www.ecis.edu
• Awash in a Sea of Standards
• Robert J. Marzano and John S. Kendall
• MACREL, 1998
• www.macrel.edu
• Culture Matters
• World Wise Schools- Peace Corps
• 2001- revised for the classroom
• www.peacecorps.gov

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• Carnegie Hall LINK-UP
• Carnegie Hall Education Department- 1999
• www.carnegiehall.org
• Reach the World
• Heather Halstead, director
• www.reachtheworld.org
• Channel 13/WNET On-Line Courses
• Curriculum Design Courses
• www.thirteen.org