How teachers can collaborate to create power standards and essential outcomes for better results for students
Because teachers have so many resources telling them what to teach (state standards, curriculum guides, text books, YCCS), it is difficult for them to know which skills are most important.Many teachers do "random acts of improvement" in their classroom that are totally isolated from what their colleagues are doing. In order to make real progress with students, teachers have to be aligned and on board with each other. This session showed how teachers can collaborate to create and use essential learnings; why it is important to have clear essential outcomes; and processes to identify power standards.
Interesting points that rang true:
- We spend a lot of time filling in what kids were supposed to know when they got to us instead of focusing on where we want them to be at the end of their time with us
- One of the biggest factors in "successful" schools: having a guaranteed and viable (having time to teach what is to be taught) curriculum
- According to Marzano and Kendall's analysis, we would need at least 23 years with each student to teach the k-12 education
- We tend to "cover curriculum" instead of prioritizing
- Not all standards are equal
- We should determine 7-12 per grade, per subject area
- Criteria for Power Standards: Endurance, Leverage, and Readiness for the next level of learning
- Decide on the essential standards - do this individually in no more than 10 minutes
- Build team consensus - have teachers collaborate to see what they agree on and who will "own" each standard
- Consult testing information guides, blueprint (states have blueprints of what will be on the state test), and data
- Check for vertical alignment
- Sequence standards
- Create a pacing guide
My opinions:
I found this session to be extremely useful. Although I already knew about Power Standards in theory, this session gave me a clear way to re-examine which standards I am focusing on in terms of our Mission and Vision. The steps and handouts provided can be applied to our YCCS standards with that framework in mind. In my opinion, we should not be selecting standards as Power Standards unless they are somehow in line with our Mission and allow for our students to truly transform themselves and to connect to the world around them. Another important point in this session was the way in which teachers in the same department need to collaborate to "own" certain standards so that all learning is appropriately scaffolded. We do not want to keep re-teaching kids what they should already know; if there is a clear expectation of what kids will come out with standards-wise from each level (basic, proficient, and advanced), that can help us to keep moving forward with them to where they need to be.
Although we probably are focusing instruction on the standards we believe to be Power Standards already, I think it is important to revisit our standards as a staff in order to make sure that whatever we have chosen to focus on is in line with our mission and vision. Have you chosen your standards in order to focus on skills that will truly allow students to, in some way, transform themselves or the world around them? For instance, the English standard that says our kids must learn the difference between protagonist and antagonist doesn't strike me as nearly important for a student's transformation as does the one that says they need to know how to connect texts to themselves and to the world around them. Revisiting standards with a focus on how they align to our mission and vision is something I see as important for the entire staff to do.
ReplyDeleteAs Lisa said, I think a lot of departments have already begun to identify power standards, formally or informally. But we need to take it to the next level to make it meaningful. Do we all agree what the standard means? How will this standard look like in one class compared to the other? This should be a priority during the weeks before the school year starts.
ReplyDeleteOn a different level, does the Math department know what the English department's power standards are? We need to find time to share this information with each other if we truly want to have some semblance of a unified vision...