MRS. THORNHILL’S CLASSES21ST CENTURY LEARNING SKILLS IN

PRACTICEFLIPPED CLASSROOMSTANDARD BASED GRADING (SBG)BLOOM’S TAXONOMYBLENDED LEARNINGCOMMON CORETEAM BUILDINGMANIPULATIVE SKILLS (IB PROGRAM)INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESS( IB PROGRAM)

MY THOUGHTSAfter over twenty years of teaching, I have seen many programs come and go. Most were well meaning and tried to

address the changing landscape of education. I have been on the ground floor of many innovative instructional strategies throughout my teaching career. Many of these strategies have morphed into new programs to keep up with technological advancements. For example, Blended Learning is the newest initiative that the Iredell- Statesville School System is focusing on. With computers becoming more and more accessible, ways to utilize them in the classroom is becoming a priority. In science, there are many programs to choose from especially in the form of simulations and tutorials.

In an attempt to create a learning environment to accommodate our twenty first century learners, I am trying to read everything I can in the way of books to on-line blogs as well as participating in on-line professional development seminars. I have read about everything that the guru of Standard Based Learning, Robert J. Marzano, has written and have studied several established Chemistry programs that have been using Standard Based Grading for several years. I attended a professional development session at Mount Mourne IB School with a national trainer. I also attended ISS Curriculum Review Week, where we worked on rewriting the assessments to reflect the emphasis on Bloom’s taxonomy, which is another focus of ISS. Bloom’s taxonomy is a way to evaluate whether we are challenging the students to learn and think at higher levels. In addition to all the information I received at Curriculum Review Week, I have also studied Robert J. Marzano book on “Designing & Assessing Educational Objectives: Applying the New Taxonomy.” With all this information, I have used Bloom’s Taxonomy and Mazano’s four point Standard Based Grading Rubric and devised my own seven point scale to keep in line with what was established last year by Mr. Their, the former IB coordinator.

Another instructional strategy that is being used by a large number of educators, especially in colleges, is the “Flipped Classroom.” It is a way to make sure that all the massive amount of instructional material is covered but more importantly it is a way to free up in class time to make it more meaningful and allow more student dialogue and participation. A student can watch a video, pause it and go back to parts that they want to re-watch. They can view it as many times as they need and then can come to class with specific questions as well as be prepared to actively participate in class.

A very hot topic in education today is Common Core. Regardless of how one feels about the government interfering with educational instruction, the philosophy behind it is sound and falls in line with what a 21 st learner should be able to do especially when it comes to reading and writing. With all the digital information available, students need to be able to read and evaluate information for fallacies and biases. In addition, each student needs to be able to follow a set of procedures and perform designated task. They must be able to communicate results so that others can read and understand what is written.

Another important 21st skill is team building and being able to work in groups. Most students like to work in groups and also enjoys friendly competition. They especially love playing games and appreciate a class that tries to make learning fun. Creating teams also gives a student that may be struggling a teammate that is always there to lend a hand and is encouraged to ask for some much need help.

On a final note, I am glad to be involved with the IB program because I feel that we live in a global society and we need to make sure that our students are able to compete globally. Also, I believe that the world would be a much better place if all it citizens would exhibit the Learner Profile traits.

THE FOLLOWING SLIDES OUTLINE A BRIEF OUT LOOK OF MY CLASSES

FLIPPED CLASSROOM• AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH NEW UNIT, THE

STUDENTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO VIEW AN ONLINE LECTURE AS HOMEWORK BEFORE CLASS IN ORDER TO BE PREPARED FOR THE CLASS ACTIVITY.

• THIS ALLOWS FOR MORE TIME TO HAVE MEANINGFUL CLASS PARTICIPATION.

STANDARD BASED GRADING

• NS: SHOWS NO MASTERY OF ANY OF THE MATERIAL• GRADE OF 1: Shows mastery of Tier’s 1 & 2 with some minor mistakes• GRADE OF 2: Shows COMPLETE mastery of TIER’S 1,2 and TIER 3 with some minor mistakes• GRADE OF 3: Shows COMPLETE mastery of TIER’s 1,2,3 and TIER 4 with some minor mistakes• GRADE OF 4: Shows COMPLETE mastery of TIER’S 1,2,3,4 and TIER 5 with some minor mistakes• GRADE OF 5: Shows COMPLETE mastery of TIER’s 1,2,3,4,5 and TIER 6 with some minor mistakes• GRADE OF 6: Shows COMPLETE mastery of all TIER’s of BLOOM’S TAXONOMY AND can SUCCESSFULLY

tie CURRENT STANDARD to PREVIOUSLY LEARNED MATERIAL• GRADE OF 7: GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND ( Writes formal lab reports, participates in group projects

and/or reads and reports on scientific articles)

• THE IB PROGRAM AT SOUTH HAS ADOPTED A SCALE OF 1-7 AS OUR STANDARD BASED GRADING SCALE.• THE GURU OF SBG, ROBERT J. MARZANO, USES A 1-4, WITH HALF POINTS BUILD INTO HIS SCALE.• I HAVE TAKEN HIS SCALE AND BLOOM’S TAXONOMY TO DEVISE MY GRADING SCALE • I AM ALSO INCORPORATING COMMON CORE AS ONE OF THE COMPONENTS. (GRADE OF 7)

*SOME COMMAND TERMS ARE USED IN MULTIPLE TIER’S. IT IS THE PHASE THAT FOLLOWS THAT MAKES IT A HIGHER LEARNING SKILL

BLENDED LEARNING• DURING THE CLASS SEMINARS, STUDENTS WILL INCORPORATE A

VARIETY OF INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES.

• THE STUDENTS WILL MOSTLY WORK WITH THEIR TEAMS AND COOPERATIVELY WORK TO PERFORM THE TASKS GIVEN THEM.

• STUDENTS THAT ARE FALLING BEHIND WILL RECEIVE MORE INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION DURING THE SEMINAR SESSIONS

• EACH OF MY UNITS WILL SPAN 7-9 DAYS DEPENDING ON HOW MANY LABS AND SEMINARS MAY BE NEEDED.

• AN EXAMPLE OF THE LOGISTICS OF MY CLASS ARE SHOWN ON THE NEXT SLIDE

FLIPPED CLASSROOM: VIDEOS (must be viewed before designated seminar)

VIDEO #1: VIEW BEFORE SEMINAR #1 ( will cover first 4 Bloom’s taxonomy tiers: REMEMBER TO ANALYZE)

**AFTER VIEWING LECTURE ON TIER’S 1 &2, TAKE THE ONLINE QUIZ AND SUBMIT IT VIA EDMONDO . ALSO SUBMIT ONE QUESTION VIA EDMONDO ON THE OTHER FOUR TIERS. AFTER VIEWING THE ON-LINE LECTURES FOR EACH

VIDEO #2(: VIEW BEFORE SEMINAR #2(will cover last two Bloom’s taxonomy tiers: EVALUATE & CREATE)VIDEO #3 TO? (will cover questions asked or misconceptions I notice during discussions)

(DAY 1) SEMINAR#1: TIER’S 1,2,3,4

DISCUSS MISTAKES SEEN ON ONLINE QUIZZES QUIZ ON LECTURE: (TIERS’s 3 & 4)

TEAM BUILDING: Discuss quiz answers and work each quiz problemsBLENDED LEARNING ACTIVITY FOCUSING ON APPLY & ANALYZE (TIER’S 3 &4)WRAP-UP

(DAY 2) SEMINAR #2:QUIZ ON LECTURE: (TIER’S 5 & 6)TEAM BUILDING: Discuss quiz answers and work each quiz problemsBLENDED LEARNING ACTIVITY FOCUSING ON EVALUATE AND CREATE (TIER’S 5 &6)WRAP-UP

(DAY 3) LAB (DAY 4) LAB DEBRIEF

WRAP UP QUESTIONS ON STANDAND

(DAY 5) TEAM BUILDING: GAME DAY(DAY 6 ) SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT:

STUDENTS WILL BE ALLOWED TO RETAKE THE SUMMATIVE ASSESSEMENT UP UNTIL THE END OF THE GRADING PERIOD. THE RETAKES WILL BE BROKEN UP INTO QUESTIONS FROM EACH TIER OF BLOOM’S TAXONOMY STUDENTS CAN ONLY TAKE ONE RETAKE ( TIER QUESTIONS) AT A TIME AND MUST MASTER THAT TIER BEFORE TAKING ANOTHER RETAKE. RETAKES MUST BE SCHEDULED AHEAD OF TIME AND DURING THE TIMES SET ASIDE FOR RETAKES. (TBA)(DAY 7) GO OVER SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT • ALL QUIZZES ARE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS DESIGNED FOR THE STUDENT TO SELF EVALUATE WHERE THEY ARE AND WHAT

THEY NEED TO STUDY TO PROGRESS FORWARD. THEY WILL BE TAKEN AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS AND THEN DISCUSSED IN SMALL GROUP IMMEDIATELY AFTER. I WILL WALK AROUND AND INFORMALLY ASSESS STUDENTS TO SEE WHO IS STRUGGLING AND WHY.

**ANY STUDENTS NOT TAKING THE ON LINE QUIZ OR SUBMIT ASSIGNED BLOG’S WILL GET ONE WARNING AND BE PLACED IN A SEPARATE GROUP AND WILL WORK ON MASTERING TIER’S NOT COMPLETED. AFTER THE SECOND WARNING, THE STUDENT WILL BE GIVEN AFTER OR BEFORE SCHOOL MANDATORY TUTORING. AFTER THAT A PARENT CONFERENCE WILL TAKE PLACE WITH A PLAN PUT IN PLACE TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM.

CLASS LOGISTICS

COMMON CORE• I will incorporate common core for reading and writing

by assigning reading and writing a review of a scientific article, writing a formal lab report or participating in a group project.

• Students must complete one of the assignments per unit in order to achieve the highest grade in the class. (Grade of 7)

• Students must complete an assignment that addresses one of the CCSS anchor standards.

• By the end of the semester, the student must have completed at least 6 different CCSS anchor standards.

• The list of the anchor standards are on the next slide

ANCHOR STANDARD #1:Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.

ANCHOR STANDARD #2: Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.

ANCHOR STANDARD #3 Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks; analyze the specific results based on explanations in the text.

ANCHOR STANDARD #4:Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11–12 texts and topics.

ANCHOR STANDARD #5: Analyze how the text structures information or ideas into categories or hierarchies, demonstrating understanding of the information or ideas.

ANCHOR STANDARD #6 :Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved.

ANCHOR STANDARD #7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

ANCHOR STANDARD #8: Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information.

ANCHOR STANDARD #9: Synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g., texts, experiments, simulations) into a coherent understanding of a process, phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting information when possible.

ANCHOR STANDARD #10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.

COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS FOR READING AND WRITING IN SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL SUBJECTS

TEAM BUILDING• THE CLASS WILL BE DIVIDED INTO TEAMS OF 4 OR 5

STUDENTS EACH

• THE DAY BEFORE THE SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT, THE TEAMS WILL COMPETE IN REVIEW GAMES

• ALSO, THE TEAM’S AVERAGE ON THE SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT WILL BE INCLUDED IN DETERMINING THE TOP TEAMS

• THE TOP THREE TEAMS PICTURES WILL BE DISPLAYED IN CLASS

MANIPULATIVE SKILLS (IB PROGRAM)

• ONE OF THE SCORES THAT WILL BE SUBMITTED TO IBO IS A GRADE ON THE STUDENT’S MANIPULATIVE SKILLS. A RUBRIC USED TO DETERMINE THE GRADE IS SHOWN ON THE NEXT SLIDE

• THE STUDENT’S WILL BE OBSERVED DURING LAB AND CLASS PROJECTS/ACTIVITIES

• THE STUDENT’S GRADE WILL BE DETERMINED BY AN OBSERVATIONS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COURSE

MANIPULATIVE SKILLS RUBRIC

INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESS( IB PROGRAM)

APPROACHES TO LEARNING

LEARNER PROFILE TRAITS• PRINCIPLED• INQUIRER• COMMUNICATOR• CARING• KNOWLEDGEABLE• RISK-TAKER• THINKER• REFLECTIVE• BALANCED• OPEN-MINDED

RESOURCES.http://educationnext.org/the-flipped-classroom/