Understanding By Design Planning With the End in Mind

1. Utilizing Socratic Seminaras a formative assessment in the UbD/DI ClassroomFocus Question: How will we utilize Checking for Understanding to increase students’ comprehension?

2. Understanding By DesignPlanning With the End in Mind Stage 1: What should students know, understand and be able to do? What enduring understandings / essential questions will be explored? Stage 2: How will we know when students have achieved the desired results? What will we accept as evidence of student proficiency? Stage 3: What knowledge and skills will students need to perform effectively and achieveproficiency? Identify desired results Determine acceptable evidence Plan learning experiences and instruction

3. Understanding by Design Differentiated Instruction What and Why of teaching -a curriculum model Who, Where, and How of teaching - an instructional model • Identify big ideas and core processes within content standards • Determine relative importance of content within curriculum Teachers can differentiate the… content process product Based on the students… Worth being familiar with readiness interests learning style Important to know and do Through… Enduring Understanding Flexible grouping Meaningful tasks Ongoing assessment & adjustment

4. Integrating UbD and DI When teachers continually attend to the curriculum and instruction They close the gap between what students already know and what they need to know However… How do we know when they get there?

5. Checking for Understandinga systematic approach to formative assessments Formative assessments allow teachers to Guide, inform, and improve instruction Provide student feedback • Determine which • interventions are • needed/necessary Increase student awareness of how to self-monitor

6. Checking for Understanding • Before How? Identify and confront misconceptions • Oral Language • Writing • Projects & performances • Common assessments & Collaborative scoring • Questioning Determine what students know and what they need to know During Modify and validate instruction Determine which interventions are necessary / effective

7. Guiding Questions • Do I know what misconceptions or assumptions students have? • How do I know what they understand? • What evidence will I accept as evidence of their understanding? • How will I use their understanding to guide and plan future instruction?

8. Checking for Understandingshould… • Align with enduring understandings • Allow for differentiation • Focus on closing the gaps • Lead to precise teaching

9. The WHAT of Socratic Seminar An instructional method/assessment tool by: • Common text • Asking questions • Leading discussions • Collaborative, intellectual dialogue

10. The HOW of Socratic Seminar Opening… Core… Closing… Questions More open… More open… More closed… Personal/Text Text Personal …ask students to personalize and apply the ideas inherent to the text …ask students to identify rich ideas from the text …ask students to discuss the text in detail

11. The WHY of Socratic Seminar Two most important goals: • Intellectual development • Evidenced through critical thinking, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation • Social development • Evidenced through communication skills including listening and speaking

12. Socratic Seminaras an instrument to Check for Understanding The text The questions • Engaging • Focused on “big ideas” • Cause reader to ask questions • Capture imagination • Narrative or informational • No right or wrong answer • Reflect wonder and interest • Require students to think, search, evaluate, wonder, infer • Natural and continuous The facilitator The participants • Demonstrate “habits of mind” • Model reflective and thoughtful exploration • Have thorough understanding of text • Trust the process, allow group to come to their own understanding • Listen actively • Share ideas, opinions, questions • Search for evidence to support ideas • Respect other ideas