Unit Design for Curriculum North Scott High School

1. Unit Design for CurriculumNorth Scott High School Presentation by Chad Guge Social Studies Instructor

2. Introduction • Part 1 • Explanation of how Unit Design developed • Part 2 • Example of Unit Design for Sociology • Part 3 • Comments on the significance of the Unit Design work

3. Part 1: Development of Unit Design • Fall 2009-Spring 2010 • Unit Design was a part of the work done by the Instructional coaches at the high school with assistance from Bruce Bufe, AEA staff • Fall 2010 • Unit Design became a part of high school’s initiatives for all staff members. Collaboration time and 2-hour late starts were committed to time to work on Unit Designs • Fall 2011 • All staff members will have created Unit Design plans for each unit taught in all classes offered at NSHS

4. Part 2: Components of Unit Design • Each unit design has six major components • Connection to Iowa Core Curriculum and developed Essential Understandings • Assessment Alignment • Teaching for Rigor and Relevance • Teaching for Learning Differences (Differentiated Instruction) • Explanation of How Unit is Student-Centered • Implementation of 6-Thinking Strategies • Other components include… • Unit Skills • Vocabulary Used • Use of Technology • Resources Needed/Used

5. #1-Iowa Core Curriculum and Essential Understandings • Iowa Core Curriculum • Aligns the ICC to each specific unit, showing exactly what is being covered in each unit • Essential Understandings • Developed specifically to the topic the unit is covering • Gives both teacher/student guidance to what the “big ideas” are for the unit

8. #2-Assessment Alignment • This section shows the alignment of both formative and summative assessments to the unit essential understandings and the ICC.

10. #3-Teaching for Rigor & Relevance • Staff has been working on developing “Quadrant D” lessons for the past few years. This sections outlines those lessons, along with lessons for the other three quadrants

12. #4-Teaching for Learner Differences • Also known as Differentiated Instruction, this also has been a focus of the high school staff over the past 3-4 years to differentiate within the classroom

13. *also can include Teaching for Learner’s Readiness…this unit Does not have any differentiation in this area

14. #5-Student-Centered Explanation • This provides an explanation on how the entire unit (including activities, assignments, and assessments) allows for both student-centered instruction and learning opportunities

16. #6-Implimentation of 6-Thinking Strategies • One of the newer initiatives for the high school, this section shows the connection of the curriculum in the unit and how the 6-thinking strategies can be used in the classroom

18. Part 3-Comments on Unit Design • Benefits • Connects all the initiatives worked on over the past 5 years, and helps to ensure inclusion of those in ALL units taught by staff • Ensures that teaching is intentional. Eliminates information/activities/assessments that do not have connection to ICC, and at the same time ensures staff members focus on what they teach and how they teach it • Provides a new framework that can be “updated” yearly as new material/activities are added, and other material/activities are deemed unnecessary to the unit. • Provides a common curriculum that all staff members who teach same class sections can teach, and ensures staff members are covering the same material and assessing in the same way

19. Part 3-Comments on Unit Design • Issues and Concerns • Staff members who teach several different classes (called “preps”) may have to write upwards of 25+ units within a year’s time • Some staff members may be the only one who teaches certain classes, which makes collaboration difficult at times • Concerns of changes being made between Iowa Core Curriculum and Common Core Curriculum • Concern of having continued collaboration time, and if additional time can be found.

20. Questions and/or Comments