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Backwards Design for Skill Mastery in the Middle Grades

Backwards Design for Skill Mastery in the Middle Grades. Tim Corkran timcorkran@gmail.com http:// middleschoolskills.blogspot.com /. Essential Questions for this Session . Why is middle school a crucial age for development of core academic skills?

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Backwards Design for Skill Mastery in the Middle Grades

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  1. Backwards Design for Skill Mastery in the Middle Grades Tim Corkran timcorkran@gmail.com http://middleschoolskills.blogspot.com/

  2. Essential Questions for this Session • Why is middle school a crucial age for development of core academic skills? • What is the experience of middle schoolers when they master skills? • When you prioritize skill mastery, how do you avoid marginalizing content mastery? • What will middle schoolers do when you empower them with skills??

  3. What is this Session About • The value of a skill-centered curriculum for the middle grades • The basics of Backwards Design • How to scaffold skill development in your units so that your students master skills and use them to do engaging activities • How to balance skill and content mastery

  4. What is this Session is not About • Developing the 21st century skills • Critical thinking and problem solving • Communication • Collaboration and leadership • Creativity and innovation • Technology fluency • Character

  5. Essential Questions for this Session • Why is middle school a crucial age for development of core academic skills? • What is the experience of middle schoolers when they master skills? • When you prioritize skill mastery, how do you avoid marginalizing content mastery? • What will middle schoolers do when you empower them with skills??

  6. Essential Question #1 • Why is middle school a crucial age for development of core academic skills?

  7. Essential Question #1 • Why is middle school a crucial age for development of core academic skills? • Develop important abilities that will ensure success in high school • Skills are abilities that get applied, abilities in action- and action is what this age student is all about. • Active skill development really suits their nature at this age • Not so much for what they will do, but for the process they will undergo as they master these skills • what they need to feel fulfilled and their instincts honored at this time in their lives • Skill mastery = autonomy, ability to perform, independence, a chance to show what you can do. What more does a middle schooler want?

  8. Principals of Backwards design The backward design process ofWiggins & McTighe begins with the end in mind:One starts with the end - the desired results (goals or standards) - and then derives the curriculum from the evidence of learning (performances) called for by the standard and the teaching needed to equip students to perform (Wiggins and McTighe, 2000, page 8).

  9. The Backwards Design process involves teachers planning in 3 stages, each with a focusing question • Stage 1 - What is worthy and requiring of understanding? • Stage 2 - What is evidence of understanding? • Stage 3 - What learning experiences and teaching promote understanding, interest and excellence?

  10. Skill Hierarchy

  11. Core Academic Skills • Definition: A core academic skill or Primary Skillis a multi-faceted ability of which a class will facilitate mastery • Examples: • Language Arts: make a coherent written or oral argument that supports an original thesis • Math: solve and create word problems • Science: formulate and answer a single variable question using the scientific method • Modern Language: feel comfortable engaging a native speaker in simple conversation • Visual Art: express original ideas in a medium of one’s choice • Social Studies: research and clearly present- visually, orally, or in written form- thorough understanding of the facts and significance of an historical event.

  12. PrimarySkills • Write down one primary academic skill that the teaching of your subject will impart to students this year. (think about: what is the real value of your class for skill development in students? )

  13. Demonstrating Mastery of Primary Skills • Write down one activity or project or assessment that your students could do that the successful completion of would demonstrate that they have mastered this primary skill I call this a Mastery Demonstration Activity- something we can define as any activity which the successful completion of requires mastery of the skill or skills in question

  14. Essential Question #2 • What is the experience of middle schoolers when they master skills?

  15. Essential Question #2 • What is the experience of middle schoolers when they master skills? • They feel proud of what they have done • They feel excited to share what they have done • They feel in control of their work • They feel attached to the curriculum • The experience a sense of ownership, control, and pride, autonomy

  16. Backwards Design for Skill Mastery modifies the original steps of Backwards Design and adds two more • Stage 1 - What primary skill do you want the students to be able to show mastery of? • Stage 2 - What activity will they perform in which they will demonstrate mastery of this skill? • Stage 3 - What are the subsidiary skills they need to master first to successfully perform this activity? • Stage 4 - For each subsidiary skill, what activity will students perform to demonstrate mastery of it? • Stage 5 - What content can be covered as they engage in these activities?

  17. SkillHierarchy

  18. Subsidiary Skills • Definition: Subsidiary Skills are those skills which students master and then utilize to show mastery of a primary skill • Examples: • Math: determining the variable in a word problem • Science: accurate measurement with a ruler • Language Arts: formulating a clear thesis statement • Social Studies: citing a source • Visual art: shading in two dimensional art

  19. Subsidiary Skills • Brainstorm a list of the skills which students must have already mastered to actually perform this core skill with autonomy. (think about skills they have learned in your class- or other classes- alreadythat were subsidiary- coming before- they were ready to perform the core skill) If you have time, put them in a hierarchical list from most complex at top to most simple at bottom

  20. Planningtools • Mind Map on the web: www.mindmup.com/ • Inspiration

  21. Essential Question #3 • When you prioritize skill mastery, how do you avoid marginalizing content mastery?

  22. Essential Question #4 • What will middle schoolers do when you empower them with skills??

  23. Backwards Design for Skill Mastery in the Middle Grades Tim Corkran timcorkran@gmail.com http://middleschoolskills.blogspot.com/

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