International Charter High School

Proposed School Plan

Board Presentation

By Marilyn Slaughter

ICHS MISSION

STATEMENT

We believe the goal of education is to provide a student-centered curriculum to develop skills, knowledge, and understanding of theoretical and practical project based topics. The character of children should be developed through these subjects. Building confidence and becoming risk-takers, inquirers and independent thinkers should be at the forefront of all learning at ICHS.

ICHSPHILOSOPHY

Students should be in a safe, supportive and productive environment to maximize their learning ability. The role of ICHS is to provide the best possible facilities and resources for learning purposes. Parents and community members play a vital role in the children’s development at ICHS.

INTRODUCTION

This presentation explores the important role of inclusive curricula in supporting alternative processes of knowledge production and the emphasis on enhancing active learning through collaboration and cooperative learning styles. Inclusion in the classroom recognizes the diverse needs of learners, offers a range of teaching, learning and assessment approaches, and incorporates some traditional teaching practices through authentic learning experience that attempts to draw on each student’s personal background and learning styles.

The ICHS proposed plan attempts to highlight the need to refigure traditional styles of classroom teaching and provide meaningful mapping to support the development of content, assessment, methodology and delivery to meet the needs of all the students at ICHS. This innovative approach presents the opportunity to rethink pedagogic practices, to present diverse perspectives and contexts so as not to restrict or hinder the development of all students.

Learning for the 21st Century

CENTRAL QUESTION:

How would ICHS best prepare its young people to succeed in the 21st century?

RESEARCH SAYS…….

According to Partnership for 21st Century Skills report it discusses four main points for students learning in the 21st Century.

1. Consider how important technology is as a tool to improve education but also how technology can transform the way we think about education. Technology allows educators to reflect on what kind of education connects to students' real lives and how people best learn.

Learning for the 21st Century

2. The Six Key Elements of 21st Century Learning acknowledges the importance of traditional core subjects but expands them with missing elements that make the core subjects relevant to the world in which students live and eventually may work.

3. Implementing 21st Century Skills: Nine Steps to Build Momentum provides the roadmap for implementing the vision of education both locally and nationally and lists the strategic activities that key stakeholders can do to support the effort.

4. Milestones for Improving Learning and Education (The "Mile Guide") is a

unique self-analysis tool to help schools and districts evaluate where they are on the road to being a 21st century learning environment.

ICHS Road Map to Providing its students with

access to 21st Century Learning!

ICHSAdopting Innovative Teaching

Concepts• Constructivism

• According to Professor George E. Hein of Lesley College in Massachusetts,

• The idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves---each learner

individually (and socially) constructs meaning---as he or she learns.

• Constructing meaning is learning; there is no other kind of learning. The dramatic consequences of this view are twofold;

• 1) The focus should be on the learner in thinking about learning (not on the subject/lesson to be taught);

• 2) There is no knowledge independent of the meaning attributed to

experience (constructed) by the learner, or community of learners.

ICHSAdopting Innovative Teaching

Concepts

• Professor Hein describes ‘Principles of Learning’:

1. Learning is an active process in which the learner uses sensory input and constructs meaning out of it. Learning is not the passive acceptance of knowledge which exists but that learning involves the learner’s engaging with the world.

2. People learn to learn as they learn: learning consists both of constructing meaning and constructing systems of meaning.

3. The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental: it happens in the mind. Physical actions, hands-on experience may be necessary for learning, especially for children, but it is not sufficient; we need to provide activities which engage the mind as well as the hands. (Dewey called this reflective activity.)

ICHSAdopting Innovative Teaching

Concepts4. Learning involves language: the language we use influences learning.

Vigotsky, says that language and learning are inextricably intertwined.

5. Learning is a social activity: our learning is intimately associated with our connection with other human beings, our teachers, our peers, our family and casual acquaintances. Dewey pointed out that much of traditional education is directed towards isolating the learner from all social interaction, and towards seeing education as a one-on-one relationship between the learner and the objective material to be learned. In contrast, progressive education recognizes the social aspect of learning and uses conversation, interaction with others, and the application of knowledge as an integral aspect of learning.

6. Learning is contextual: we do not learn isolated facts and theories in some abstract ethereal land of the mind separate from the rest of our lives: we learn in relationship to what else we know, what we believe, our prejudices and our fears. We cannot divorce our learning from our lives.

ICHSAdopting Innovative Teaching

Concepts7. One needs knowledge to learn: it is not possible to assimilate new

knowledge without having some structure developed from previous knowledge to build on. The more we know, the more we can learn. Therefore any effort to teach must be connected to the state of the learner, must provide a path into the subject for the learner based on that learner's previous knowledge.

8. It takes time to learn: learning is not instantaneous. For significant learning we need to revisit ideas, ponder them try them out, play with them and use them.

9. Motivation is a key component in learning. Not only is it the case that

motivation helps learning, it is essential for learning. Unless we know "the reasons why", we may not be very involved in using the knowledge that may be instilled in us even by the most severe and direct teaching.

Evidence-Based Practice

• It is important for ICHS to keep informed of current research and policies

affecting the changes of education and practice. The following links is available to access current research on curriculum development, etc.

• The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) was established within the U.S. Department of Education in 2002 to provide rigorous evidence on which to ground education practice and policy.

• IES encompasses the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES),

• The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE),

• The National Center for Education Research (NCER), and

• The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER).

What is Universal Design for Learning?

• In today's schools, the mix of students is more diverse than ever. Educators are challenged to teach all kinds of learners to high standards, yet a single classroom may include students who struggle to learn for any number of reasons, such as the following:

• Learning disabilities such as dyslexia • English language barriers • Emotional or behavioral problems • Lack of interest or engagement • Sensory and physical disabilities• Teachers want their students to succeed, but a one-size-fits-all approach to

education simply does not work. How can teachers respond to individual differences?

Universal Design for Learning

• SOLUTION….

• UDL provides a blueprint for creating flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that accommodate learner differences.

• "Universal" does not imply a single optimal solution for everyone. Instead, it is meant to underscore the need for multiple approaches to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Why Backward Design?

• Backward design is a process that focuses on assessment first and instructional activities last.  It shifts teacher perspectives. Backward design forces teachers to look at the big picture with the end goals in mind. 

• In backward planning, teachers set the vision or the essential understanding of their curriculum or unit, decide how students will provide evidence of their learning, and finally design instructional activities to help kids learn what is needed to be successful.