How Far I've Come!

When I decided to go for my supervisor certificate and reviewed the courses I needed to take, I wondered why it was so important for me to take two curriculum courses. After taking Principles of Curriculum Development--a fairly comprehensive class--taking another class seemed like it would be overkill. What was left to learn and how relevant would any of it be for me?

Turns out there was a lot to learn and it was very relevant. Not only did I learn how to better assess curriculum and bring about curriculum change, but I did so using techniques and--more importantly--technology I never envisioned employing. Assessing my own resistances to change and being asked to move out of my comfort zone helped me develop a sense of what educators must experience when they are faced with different ways to do what they do.

With each assignment and new approach, I found myself returning to my district with ideas about how to take curriculum and instruction to the next level. For the first time in a long time, I could take what I learned and apply it in a very real way. While my district probably won't implement all that I bring to them and resistance to change remains strong--particularly among veteran teachers--just talking about what I learned has inspired some to take a step.

So looking back, taking the class was more than worth it as it opened up a whole new way of thinking about curriculum and agents of change.

Orange Middle School: A Step in the Right Direction

While educating the whole child may have always been the role of schools to greater and lesser degrees, it seems that doing so increases in importance with every passing year. To prepare students for the uncertain world they often face and will encounter in the years to come, schools must establish a safe, nurturing and supportive educational environment that engages students, maximizes learning, fosters academic achievement and growth, promotes healthy emotional and social functioning, builds character and a sense of community, supports teachers and involves parents through varied instructional programs, wellness programs, character education and collaborative work.

Beefing up security both in school and around certain parts of the neighborhood, having teachers meet twice a week to discuss students and providing a forum for teachers and students to discuss concerns are clear steps that can make a difference and it sounds like the Orange Middle School is on its way to meeting the needs of its students. What is less clear and a source of concern is why it took a mandate from the state before these relatively simple steps were put into place?

Many educators seem to have a very circumscribed view of their role that only includes academic instruction. Even then, doing things the way they have always been done is what many endorse. Educators have to recognize, appreciate and embrace the broader role of education and realize, understand and accept that the students they taught in past years are no longer the students they teach now—at least to some degree. Only now, in my district, after years of talking with teachers about the changes in the students they face and the changes in the classroom they may have to make, are they coming to realize that what came before may not be what is needed now. Educators must step up to the plate or step out of the profession.

Still, Orange Middle School should be credited for the changes it made. What might help the school move to the next level is the implemenation of an after school and even an evening recreation program so that kids have alternate places to go to stay out of trouble, engage in appropriate activities under the supervision of staff members and foster good relationships. Just as important, educators can look to form mentoring relationships with individual students.

Research notes that even one supportive relationship can bolster a child's resilience and good adaptive functioning even in the presence of overwhelming odds. Educators are in unique positions to be that one supportive relationship and to help children develop a different and positive perception of themselves and their world.

Curriculum Mapping: A Road Less Traveled

Curriculum mapping seems to provide the tools necessary for building a learning community that unifies a district or its schools with respect to determining what students are expected to learn, know and be able to do in each content area. While it may help to rein in teachers who have become accustomed to providing instruction based on their sense of what is meaningful to know and may take the guesswork out of what should be done in class, its success likely depends on the extent to which educators are invested in exploring the concept and their willing to examine the quality of their instruction, identify the goals and objectives instruction is sought to achieve and relinquish their absolute and unfettered autonomy for the betterment of all students.

Although its purpose seems evident, it is hard to imagine how it would unfold in a district with many schools and multiple classes in each grade level. In my prek through 8 school district—a district that serves approximately 300 students—third grade teachers do not even teach multiplication the same way. When students move on, teachers do not necessarily use the same language to describe the same process students learned the year before. In fact, staff members—many of whom maintain long standing friendships spanning decades—have met on several occasions in small team meetings to come to some common understanding and nomenclature of the most basic of concepts and terms but emerged with little success. Little horizontal or vertical consistency across classes, subjects and grade levels is noted. Although team meetings are designed to define expectations, encourage the development of mutual goals and objectives and foster collaboration, little, if anything, is accomplished. Few seem interested or invested in approaching education from an altered or common perspective and most feel the meetings are nonproductive and have little value. Perhaps if teacher evaluations included references to curriculum mapping, as described in the Curriculum Mapping article, more would be accomplished.

Education evolves slowly and is often the product of reluctant change. While change takes time, it should not be forgotten that students get sacrificed in the process.

The Online Experience

I must say the online approach to learning works for me. Once I figured out how to negotiate the system which, for me, was no easy feat, I found myself compelled to read other blogs. I liked reading different points of view and appreciated doing so at my own pace. Although I don't know most of my classmates, I feel like I have a good handle on what and how they think. In some ways, blogging has made the experience more intimate than attending class, not less so.

While I wasn't able to get my powerpoint project up and running in a movie format, I consider it a victory that I was able to create a powerpoint at all. Trying different things--moving out of my comfort zone--is what teachers need to do and what they should be asking their students to do. All in all, it worked well for me.

UbD: The Process

Developing the lesson using the UbD model brought home for me how difficult good teaching--or rather good planned instruction--really is. Taking a concept embedded in the standards, crafting it into meaningful goals and objectives and developing activities to achieve authentic learning is a complex, painstaking and time consuming process that is not fully appreciated by those who have never done it before and may not often be used by those who should.

Despite its value, I wonder how often it is used by teachers, who, like other professionals in various disciplines, may take short cuts when doing so seems more practical and useful. New teachers may start out creating and using well developed unit and block plans but day to day teaching demands, coupled with an emphasis on standardized test performance, likely make the best of plans just that—plans. While certain veteran teachers may follow the approach in some truncated way, others have clearly left the approach behind not long after they became teachers. Still, we all become complacent and change does not happen over night—particularly as change conjures up very real fears regarding out ability to adjust and succeed. Getting teachers to change their approach to developing plans may have to come in baby steps—starting with school administrators who often do not ask or expect their teachers to do what works best.

Somehow, teachers need to reconcile doing what works best with an environment that does not always support it. I don't envy them as the task seems daunting to say the least.

Overall, the experience was enlightening. The format worked for me since I'm not a teacher and I needed the structure it provides. How do you sustain this level of preparation over time?

UbD Template

Persuassive Communication

Stage 1: Desired Results

Established Goals:

The learning goals and objectives are several-fold and reflect a variety of educational and real world needs. By the unit’s end, it is anticipated that students will be well versed in all aspects of persuasive communication that transcends what happens in the classroom and can be applied to the broader community. In particular, students will be able to recognize and identify incidences of persuasive communication as it appears in different formats, understand and explain its purpose and analyze and tease out its merit and value as they use the information to make decisions.

Students will learn how to craft an argument that supports a given point of view—a point of view they will support through information they gather—develop an appreciation for opposing viewpoints and use both to inform and influence public opinion.

Through a variety of activities, students will think critically about persuasive communication and come to recognize that it has the power to work to the betterment or detriment themselves and their world.

Understandings:

Students will come to understand that effective persuasive communication:

Clearly states opinions and positions that are supported by organized and relevant evidence that are used to validate arguments and conclusions.

Considers and addresses different perspectives on an issue.

Is a process of gathering, selecting, and organizing information related to an appropriate topic, task, and audience in order to present an effective position that will influence, support or change others’ points of view and/or actions.

Often depends more on an appeal to emotions than it does on logical reasoning.

Can be seen in a variety of media and everyday circumstances (e.g., letters of recommendation, newspaper editorials, book or movie reviews)

Is used by advertisers to convince consumers to buy their products.

Can work to both the benefit and detriment of people and society.

Essential Questions to Guide and Focus Instruction and Learning:

Why do people write or communicate persuasively?

Is it important to persuade others?

Are other opinions important?

What is the impact of opinion driven language?

How do you make decisions?

How do we know if we are making the right decisions?

What is the best way to make and win an argument?

How does persuasion function in everyday life?

Where do we see persuasive techniques being used?

How do advertisements influence people?

What hidden messages—often emotionally based—are being conveyed in advertisements and commercials?

Can persuasive communication work to the detriment of others and society?

Students will know and understand the:

Concept and purpose of persuasive communication.
Appeal and impact of persuasive communication.
Importance of and need to consider factors such as target audience, points of view, supporting Details, etc…
Persuasive communication techniques.
Process and stages of crafting a persuasive argument or appeal and conveying it to others.
Appearance and use of persuasive communication in everyday life.

Students will be able to:

Define the concept and purpose of persuasive communication
Describe the appeal and impact of persuasive communication
State, explain and support a position.
Convey a position or point of view in writing and other mediums.
Compare and contrast different viewpoints.
Use appropriate language for the audience and task.
Employ various persuasive communication techniques.
Recognize the use of persuasive communication techniques in everyday life.

Stage 2: Assessment Evidence

Performance Tasks:

Assessment will involve students':

Participation in small and large group discussion of the concept of persuasive communication and its use and impact in everyday life.
Submission of written and oral arguments supporting a controversial position which will be used in a debate.
Participation in a debate to present their groups point of view.
Completion of a rating form that compares their views on an issue before and after the position is researched and debated.
Participation in small and large group discussion—including group notes when students meet in small groups—which reflects their ability to identify persuasive elements in commercials and advertisements they review.
Development of their own commercials or advertisements designed to sway public opinion.
Completion of rating form that indicates the extent to which commercials and advertisements affect their use of a product.
Participation in small and large discussion—including group notes when students meet in small groups—regarding viewed speeches and reviewed articles that show how persuasive language can work to the detriment of society.
Completed exit cards assessing what they learned in class.

Other Evidence:

Students will:

Take two tests—one of which will be administered half way through the unit following the debate and the other given at the conclusion of the unit.

Write and submit journal reflections that chronicle their experiences and highlight their thoughts and feelings on important issues.

Stage 3: Learning Plan

Learning Activities:

Students will:

Discuss the concept of persuasive communication and its use and impact in everyday life.
Prepare written and oral arguments supporting a controversial position which will be used in a debate.
Complete a rating form that compares their views on an issue before and after the position is researched and debated.
Examine commercials and advertisements to identify their persuasive elements and content.
Develop their own commercials or advertisements in an effort to sway public opinion.
Indicate the extent to which commercials and advertisements affect their use of a product.
Listen to and view speeches and read articles that support a point of view that takes persuasive communication to another seemingly dangerous level to show how persuasive language can work to the detriment of society.
Complete exit cards assessing what they learned in class.
Write journal reflections that chronicle their experiences and highlight their thoughts and feelings on important issues.

Indication of How Activities and Assessments of Student Learning will Foster Authentic Learning:

In all activities and assessments, students are being asked not only to become aware of, recognize and identify information but to analyze, interpret and explain concepts and their impact on themselves and society—the latter of which represent the kinds of critically thinking whose value extends beyond the subject matter and classroom to the broader issues in the larger world community.

Gathering information and marshalling evidence in support of a position on a controversial issue, crafting the material into a cohesive argument to express their point of view while influencing others are skills that they will use throughout their academic and professional careers. Participation in small and large group discussions will enhance their ability to recognize, appreciate and show respect for differing opinions, help them alter their point of view—presumably for the better—if doing so makes sense and is supported by the evidence and reinforce the cooperative skills needed for success. In creating commercials or advertisements, students will participate in a project based learning approach that helps both reinforce an understanding of concepts and provides an opportunity to contribute as a member of a team—a much needed skill in the business world. While formal tests will be used to assess the information they acquire and their ability to apply their critical thinking skills, exit cards, journal reflections and self assessments will help students become more aware of and chart their moment to moment processing of material on cognitive, emotional and social levels and begin to foster in them responsibility for and a commitment to learning.

Barriers to Change

Much of what happens in classrooms across the country seems to be dictated by teachers who appear to have a great deal of autonomy with respect to what is taught and how it is taught. At times, it seems that the culture of schools—which goes largely unchallenged—permits little administrative oversight and few opportunities for meaningful instruction and effective change. While in the psychological literature a buffer is described as a protective factor that weakens the positive relationship between a negative influence and its impact on some aspect of functioning, Schmoker’s use of the term seems to strengthen it as ineffective instruction works to the detriment of students.

Schools appear to be closed and isolated systems in which mediocrity is tolerated. While many teachers look to improve instruction, others seem content in doing what they have always done with little regard to how it affects the students they teach. To be sure, all professions include those who resist change and are free to operate as they choose, yet no other profession seems to allow for it to the degree noted in teaching. Poor and ineffective instruction and the failure of the profession to police itself in any meaningful way is the elephant in the room that no one talks about. Few seem willing to step up and say that the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes. Instead, ineffectiveness is permitted to flourish as administrators and others allow instruction to go unchecked. Teachers often seem to close ranks and protect their own even at a cost to others. The blue wall of silence noted in law enforcement found its match in education. While teachers know which teachers are good and which teachers need to find another profession, they rarely do anything about it. While collaboration is promoted and some do it very well, much of what I see in collaborative and team meetings are teachers reinforcing the bad ideas and ineffective practices of others.

It appears that the essential elements of instruction are lacking in many, if not most, classrooms. In classroom visits I make to see how well special needs’ students are being integrated into the general education setting, I see little evidence of a clearly defined objective, modeling, student engagement and assessment of learning—at least in certain classrooms. While school administrators are taking a closer look at what takes place in classrooms by visiting them on a regular basis and having teachers document what they do through folders they keep, instructional change is slow and is met by resistance from some who feel their professionalism and competence are being questioned. For the sake of harmony, administrators let certain things slide and long for the day ineffective teachers leave or retire. Few administrators are willing to confront ineffective teachers and demand changes in instruction. The teaching profession may, in fact, attract those who are less comfortable with change, but administrators support this discomfort through their willingness to allow resistance to change and by the watered down evaluations they sometimes produce.

While people want to have the autonomy to do things their way, they need to be held accountable for what they do and must make necessary changes. Administrators are often paper tigers with seemingly little recourse to address ineffective instruction—particularly as tenure and unions provide what appears to be impenetrable protection. Although no one wants to step on their colleagues' toes or make waves, teachers need to work together to improve instruction—promoting good practices, techniques and strategies and discarding bad ones—instead of operating solely on their own. A classroom is just one part of the overall system yet some teachers expect to captain their own ship. When did the rights of teachers to run their classes as they please override the rights of students to receive the quality instruction they need and deserve?