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Standards and Assessments

Workshop Series: Standards and Assessments

Curriculum Development: Planning Phenomenon-driven Units for NGSS Science Classes

The goal of this 1.5 hr. workshop is to help teachers develop a unit that uses inquiry to drive the exploration of a process or phenomenon. Participants will learn a...
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The goal of this 1.5 hr. workshop is to help teachers develop a unit that uses inquiry to drive the exploration of a process or phenomenon. Participants will learn a repeatable structure for writing phenomenon-driven lessons that incorporate the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards:  Scientific and Engineering Practices, Cross-cutting Concepts, and Discipline Core Ideas. Time in the session will be spent considering engaging phenomena and linking together the hands-on activities and process of inquiry that teachers will use to guide students in a novel exploration. An outline of a unit will be produced so participants are familiar with the process from beginning to end for a topic that is applicable to their class.

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

Process Portfolios to Document Thinking and Learning

This 1.5 hr. workshop is dedicated to making thinking “visible” by documenting what influences a student’s thought process and by keeping track of the changes that occur when additional information...
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This 1.5 hr. workshop is dedicated to making thinking “visible” by documenting what influences a student’s thought process and by keeping track of the changes that occur when additional information is acquired. Process portfolios can be used in any subject area where a student’s ideas are evolving:  a piece of writing, an experiment, a model, a project, or the maturation and development of skills for a particular content area. One of the silver-linings of 2020 is the shift to digital platforms that track changes easily using time stamps and previous versions of documents, slides, spreadsheets, and drawings. Digital portfolios of the thinking process that occurs between inception and the final product are easy to collect and can be used for discussion and self-evaluation during the reflection period of an assignment.

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

Writing Easy-to-Use Rubrics

In this 1.5 hr. workshop, participants will practice writing rubrics with the intent of assessing the attainment of specific content and skills standards. We will explore how rubrics can be...
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In this 1.5 hr. workshop, participants will practice writing rubrics with the intent of assessing the attainment of specific content and skills standards. We will explore how rubrics can be designed for ease of use and consistent interpretation. I will challenge the participants to make rubrics that are flexible enough to allow accurate assessment of a range of products that are inclusive of differentiated learning and multiple intelligences. Teachers will work in teams to prepare rubrics for three different scenarios and then critique the rubrics created by the other teams to get feedback and make revisions.

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

Helping Students Give Kind and Useful Critical Feedback

One of the tools of student-centered teaching is the peer review process. In this technique, students gather in small groups and present their work to one another. The audience of...
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One of the tools of student-centered teaching is the peer review process. In this technique, students gather in small groups and present their work to one another. The audience of peers is asked to use their knowledge and experience to give critical feedback to the presenter so they can improve their work before it is turned in to the teacher. The impact this process has is profound. Students see what others have created for an assignment given similar time and resources. Peers have encountered similar obstacles and grappled with similar problems so they are able to speak as an equal about how they resolved it or what questions still remain. And ultimately, the comments from peers and the exposure to the work of peers allows a deeper level of self-reflection. However, the process is reliant on critical feedback that is palatable and also action-oriented. In this 1.5-hr workshop, participants will learn how to teach students how to give kind, useful critical feedback so the comments they make to their peers can help everyone in the group.

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

Offering Choice Menus for Differentiated Assessment

Participants will be given an example of a choice menu to see how this assessment tool can be used within an online or in-person class. Assessment menus allow greater autonomy...
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Participants will be given an example of a choice menu to see how this assessment tool can be used within an online or in-person class. Assessment menus allow greater autonomy in a class as students choose the type of assignment that appeals to them or allows them to utilize their strengths. Although students may complete a learning objective in different formats, the skills and content for the learning objective is identical so all standards-based grading can be assessed regardless of the method a child uses to apply their knowledge and practices. At a time when students have less control over their lives, this gives them a way to manage their time and apply what they are learning to their personal interests improving class participation and retention. Each teacher will modify a template to create their own assessment menu for a chapter, unit, or thematic topic that is covered in their syllabus. We will critique the first version of these menus with questions and specific feedback so participants emerge with a completed assessment menu ready to use in their online or in-person class.

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

Creating a Continuous Cycle of Inquiry in Your Course

Although there are many authors who cite their model or use their preferred terms, the cycle of inquiry essentially boils down to actions the student takes to apply concepts and...
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Although there are many authors who cite their model or use their preferred terms, the cycle of inquiry essentially boils down to actions the student takes to apply concepts and reflect upon them before applying them again. This method can be harnessed to provide visible thinking by asking students to share the questions that arise, map out methods to test their understanding, and note the conclusions that emerge from observations and reflection. When used, this approach to thinking and learning can help both the teacher and the student become increasingly aware of the process used to compare and contrast what is known and unknown. Explorations become more deliberate and risk-taking is justified by specified goals with predicted outcomes. Participants in this 1.5-hour workshop will design an assignment that use the cycle of inquiry to explore a content area that is relevant to their curriculum with the intention of preparing student to repeat this approach with future topics to foster independent thinking.

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

Vertical Team Planning for a Reduced Syllabus in Science

This workshop is aimed at bringing K-12 teachers together to identify the essential skills that need to be targeted in a curriculum that is reduced by remote teaching. Based on...
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This workshop is aimed at bringing K-12 teachers together to identify the essential skills that need to be targeted in a curriculum that is reduced by remote teaching. Based on the speed and depth of learning that has been achieved so far using remote learning, we know teaching may be reduced to a bare minimum of content with an emphasis on skills to keep students on track in science. Using the guidance of accepted reading, writing, science, and math benchmarks as well as specific state standards we will categorize content and skills into those that must be addressed in the classroom and those that can be taught effectively at home. Participants in this workshop will create a curriculum map for their course that has several contingency plans in case of school closure for unknown periods of time.

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Upcoming Live Workshops

No events are scheduled at this time.

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

Incorporating Critical Thinking and Differentiation into Project-based Learning Outcomes

Participants in this 1.5 hr. workshop, will compare project-based learning outcomes and use their analysis to backward map the lesson such that it hits the skills and thinking objectives desired....
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Participants in this 1.5 hr. workshop, will compare project-based learning outcomes and use their analysis to backward map the lesson such that it hits the skills and thinking objectives desired. In this workshop teachers will work with several free online applications that allow students to create diverse projects to stimulate novel application of material learned in a remote classroom. Teachers will then consider an application for this learning tool within the scope of their own curriculum and modify the template instructions to develop an assignment that is ready to use with their students.

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Upcoming Live Workshops

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

Encouraging Risk-taking to Advance Critical Thinking

Risk-taking is a characteristic of the IB learner profile because it sets students apart from their peers as leaders. Risk-taking with deliberation and defined outcome is a characteristic of good...
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Risk-taking is a characteristic of the IB learner profile because it sets students apart from their peers as leaders. Risk-taking with deliberation and defined outcome is a characteristic of good decision-making, however, blind risk-taking based on impulsivity is not. But how do we encourage this attribute in our students such that they gain the benefits it brings in innovation and invention without the pitfalls of recklessness? The secret lies in making thinking visible. In this 1.5-hour workshop participants will use techniques for defining goals, making predictions, and justifying actions as a repeatable method of encouraging reflective risk-taking. We will use examples to see how these methods might be employed then modify the activities to fit our own subject areas.

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Upcoming Live Workshops

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

How to Build Inclusion, Differentiation, and Autonomy into Your Curriculum

Twenty-first century teaching is challenged by the fact that we are preparing students for a world that does not yet exist. When the techniques used in the classroom or the...
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Twenty-first century teaching is challenged by the fact that we are preparing students for a world that does not yet exist. When the techniques used in the classroom or the content taught in the course are dated, students are quick to acknowledge that discord and can disengage. Participants in the 1.5-hour workshop will address the issues of relevance by considering how their course can be structured to include flexibility and choice. When assignments are structured around skills, the examples or topics used to practice thinking and learning can be adapted easily so they address the immediate concerns of the students—or better yet, so the student define the context. In this workshop we will modify example assignments to provide inclusion and differentiation. Whether we are responding to political, social, cultural, or emotional change occurring globally or locally, a dynamic ability to respond can be part of your lesson plans before the teachable moment arises. We will discuss example assignments used by the participants to consider how changes can be made to allow autonomy and relevance without compromising the intended learning objectives.

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Upcoming Live Workshops

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

Developing and Using Models Part 1

In this workshop, we will explore 2-dimensional modeling for use in Next Generation science and math courses. Whether it is a schematic diagram, a systems map, a simulation, a graph...
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In this workshop, we will explore 2-dimensional modeling for use in Next Generation science and math courses. Whether it is a schematic diagram, a systems map, a simulation, a graph or a computer algorithm, models are used pervasively throughout science to interpret, predict, and test the way individual variables interact to yield a complex interrelated process. Using examples that are transferrable to your classroom we will develop and use models to understand how you might guide your students in these skills. This 1.5-hour workshop is interactive with lesson ideas that can be reproduced for immediate use.

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Upcoming Live Workshops

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Workshop Series: Approaches to Learning | Standards and Assessments

Developing and Using Models Part 2

In this 1.5-hour workshop, we will explore 3-dimensional modeling for use in Next Generation science and math courses. Helping prepare students for a career in science or mathematics requires a...
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In this 1.5-hour workshop, we will explore 3-dimensional modeling for use in Next Generation science and math courses. Helping prepare students for a career in science or mathematics requires a refined ability to engage in critical thinking about complex systems. Because models are analogies to define real-world processes, structures, or events, they are an efficient way to introduce and develop the skills of analytical thinking and transference. We will take modeling examples from simulations, experiments, computer programs, and games to see how we can successfully guide our students to create models of their own. Using models in your curriculum helps students to interpret what they see and communicate that information across changes in size and scale. When a student has crafted an original model and communicated the attributes to a peer such that it is understood, formative and summative assessment is a breeze.

Available Formats

Upcoming Live Workshops

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An on-demand version of this workshop is not available at this time. Please check back soon, or contact us for more information.

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