In February 2013, Supt. Taymore initiated formation of the
Curriculum Materials Working Group, facilitated by Asst. Supt. of Teaching Dr.
Margaret Adams, and composed of elementary, middle, and high school teachers
and administrators along with a School Committee member. Our charge was to
review curriculum materials that were recommended for purchase (using both
district and money that was bonded by the city) and vet them based on criteria
such as curriculum documentation (like topic outlines), how assessments inform
instruction (e.g. if students aren’t understanding, content needs to be taught
differently), accessibility and implementation of technology components (is the
book online? can students study using online quizzes?, etc.), professional
development training and help (helping teachers learn how to make best use of
the book/tests/etc.), and whether the materials support differentiation and
advanced learner needs (is there help to modify teaching the topic to help
students who struggle and also challenge students who need more rigor?).
Content area department chairs presented their recommendations for the courses
most in need of new materials, and after agreement that the recommendations met
the criteria, they were purchased. Those materials are now fully employed in
classrooms.
This year’s work has centered on instructional practices
(e.g. teaching strategies). We met most recently this past Monday, and spent
the majority of time working with Gr. 6-12 English Department Chair Angela
Singer, who built on past information presented by Math Dept. Chair Christina
Cardella, on Understanding By Design or UbD, a framework developed by Jay
McTighe and Grant Wiggins. (More info here: http://www.authenticeducation.org/ubd/ubd.lasso.)
The primary goal of UbD is “student understanding: the ability to make meaning
of “big ideas” and transfer their learning.” Teachers are “coaches of
understanding, not mere purveyors of content or activity.” Lesson planning is
done “backward from the desired results.” Ms. Singer shared staff work related to
applying this philosophy and practice in 10th grade English; for
example, looking at a unit on “Viewing Ourselves and Others” that includes
learning new literary terms, “discussing how events in a person’s life affect
his or her perspective,” reading a selected work like To Kill a Mockingbird, and then engaging in activities that might
include writing an essay analyzing relationships in the book, annotating the
text, writing a dialectical journal, and/or using a learning practice like
“Turn and Talk” where pairs of students share thoughts specific to the lesson
with each other. Learning in this way makes the work meaningful to students (engaging
them and helping them become more responsible for their own learning) while
providing them the skills and abilities required by the state. Teachers are
working incredibly hard to develop lessons structured in this way, using
planning time and staff meetings (and arguably some personal time!) in the
interest of helping students maximize their academic potential. Outstanding
work by our teaching teams and leaders!
