Curricular Expectations: Understanding by Design and Atlas Curriculum Mapping

GantzerEdPower Leadership Institute 2013

• Identify the methods of accountability for curriculum mapping• Identify components of a quality backwards designed unit map using the Curriculum Team’s Atlas Audit Rubric and exemplar maps•Evaluate a sample unit map in Atlas using the network Atlas audit rubric

By the end of this session, you will:

Session Overview

Core Ideas from Leverage Leadership:

• Every day teachers make choices about what students learn and how they learn it. Good instructional leadership is about making these choices explicit, and making teachers choose intentionally.

• Autonomy in lesson planning for all teachers only guarantees one thing: that some teachers will have the “freedom” to fail to plan effectively.

Why?

• Atlas Curriculum Audits (refer to rubric)• Once/month (due by the 15th, but can happen at any

time)• Performed by Curriculum Team• General feedback given to leaders

• Atlas Maintenance (refer to cheat sheet)• Leaders should use feedback to guide feedback to

teachers.• Instructional leaders should use Atlas when reviewing unit

materials (unit plans, assessments, and lesson plans) to address any gaps in teacher understanding, ability, or compliance in between audits.

Atlas and UbD Oversight

3 Stages of Curriculum Design:

1. Identify Desired Results• Standards• Essential Questions and Understandings• Key Knowledge and Skills

2. Determine Acceptable Evidence• Rigorous, standard-aligned assessments

3. Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction• Daily rigorous, objective-driven lesson plans

• A Curriculum-Writing FrameworkUnderstanding by Design

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

Understanding by Design

Must Have:Fenced-in yard

3 bedroomsSafe Neighborhood;

Close to workOpen concept

Below $250,000Wants:+2,000sq. Ft.BasementHardwood floors

New appliancesEntertaining Space

• Standards• Aligned to appropriate grade level and content• Can feasibly be taught in the identified time frame• FMMs and Exemplar Review

• Essential Questions (refer to handout)• Key inquiries about important and transferable ideas

within the discipline• Open-ended, provocative, require higher-order thinking

and support• Intent outweighs form• Overarching, Topical, Metacognitive• FMMs and Exemplar Review*A word of caution

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

Understanding by Design

Math Exempla

r

EnglishExempla

r

• Understandings (New this year!)• Core generalizations based on big ideas of the

content and/or discipline• General answer to an essential question (not always)• Higher-level concepts students will evaluate using

knowledge and skills from unit• FMMs and Exemplars

• Key Knowledge• Facts, concepts, generalizations and principles

important for students to know• Often comprehension and recall• FMMs and Exemplars

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

Understanding by Design

Science Exempla

r

Physical Educati

on Exempla

r

• Key Skills• Skills and processes students will practice as they work

with the content• Daily objectives (SWBATs); always begin with an action

verb• Align with identified standards and can feasibly be

taught within the identified time frame• FMMs and Exemplars

*Note on alignment of Stage 1 components

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

Understanding by Design

Math Exempla

r

Check for Understanding

Stage 1

Understanding by Design

Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence

Understanding by Design

• Assessment (Improved focus this year!)• Presentations, projects, tests, quizzes, etc. that

measure student mastery of the content• Rigorous, aligned to standards, and created at the

beginning of the unit (used to drive instruction)• FMMs and Exemplars

Atlas

*Note on Instructional Expertise

Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence

Understanding by Design

Math Exemplar

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

Understanding by Design

• Learning Ladder/Lesson Plans• Daily lessons used to promote learning

(uploaded in advance)• Plans contain all components of a quality lesson

(objective, assessment, do now, I do, we do, you do)

• FMMs and Exemplars

• Reflection (Arlington only)• Thoughtful examination of strengths/weaknesses

of unit• Syllabi (Tindley only)

• Complete, aligned, and current

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

Understanding by Design

Science and

English Exemplars

English and PE

Exemplars

• Break up into teams of 4-5• Groups will be randomly selected to answer a question about UbD components, Atlas Audit points, and/or frequently made mistakes

• Groups will have 30 seconds to come up with a “final answer”

Understanding by Design

Quiz

• Independently, evaluate the two sample maps using the Atlas Audit Rubric.• Give each category a score of 0-2 and

determine an overall score.• Have comments prepared to justify your score

for each category.• Think through what feedback you’d give to this

teacher

• Witherspoon: Spanish 1 (Teacher Map) Para Mantener la salud

• Tindley Curriculum: Math Procedures 6 Numbers, Expressions and Equations

Application: Unit Map Critique

Connect and Reflect: How does the picture below relate to Understanding by Design and/or Atlas Curriculum Mapping?