What I Learned About Myself and Curriculum Planning

OK, let’s admit that this semester was not ideal. There was some miscommunication and some missed opportunities to meet in person. At times, learning wasn’t easy. We could have used this as a reason to refuse to learn. But, what would that have proven? We would only be hurting ourselves.

I chose not to let the ‘bumps in the road’ impede my learning. In doing so, I realized that I really am passionate about learning. Many years ago, I won an award (in college) for being a lifetime learner. In the past couple years, I have doubted my enthusiasm for learning. I have wondered if I have become one of those people who are in class only for the salary bump received after completing the +30. It’s a difficult thing to admit.

This semester, learning was a challenge. We had to work to gain the necessary understandings. Heck! I often even had to work to understand what was being asked of us! But the reward was great. I have the self satisfaction of knowing that I really am passionate about learning. The determination and drive that was necessary to be successful in the class was something that has never been asked of me as a graduate student. I am excited to say: I STILL GOT IT!

This resilience will certainly benefit my future students and the teachers that I will someday work with. Additionally, my knowledge of curriculum development will be an asset as both a teacher and an administrator. In a previous blog, I explain how the New Teacher Project helped me to truly understand UBD. The experience of working with my group was also part of the learning process. In the past, I have tended to prefer to work by myself. I struggle with depending on people that I don’t know to complete portions of a project that are a reflection of my understandings (OK, some may consider me a control freak!). Obviously, the breadth of the New Teacher Project forced me to depend on my group members. I learned that this didn’t hinder the process. Instead, it enhanced the depth of our final product. Each member of our group played an important role in completing the program. We worked cooperatively, bouncing ideas off one another and using each other to build a better program than any one of us could have built individually. Our ideas meshed to produce a program that is comprehensive and would certainly benefit any new teacher. The cohesiveness of our group was reflected in our final product, which I am very proud of!

Reflecting on the NT Curriclum Development Project

The New Teacher Project was an excellent performance assessment. We learned how to use backward design to create a curriculum by experiencing the process. There is no better way to gain the necessary understandings! We experienced UBD in a safe environment. We tried, made mistakes, and were able to adjust based on feedback. If we had tried this at school, the feedback we would have been failed lessons, parent complaints or, worst yet, missed opportunities for student learning. Instead, we gained our experience with Understanding By Design in the classroom. Understand By Design is the type of concept that can only truly be comprehended in practice. Although Wiggins and McTighe have done am excellent job explaining the process and the significance of each step, it is impossible to truly understand the process unless you have struggled through it. Wiggins and McTighe make it seem easy and natural! It is much more complicated when you are doing it rather than reading about doing it. Creating the New Teacher Program allowed me to understand the importance of each step in the process and its relationship to the others. The dependence of the steps is what makes the design so powerful! It all ‘came together’ when our first draft was complete. Considering the program as a whole allowed us to realize how we could improve it. Then, updating each of the related components emphasized the interdependence of the entire program. I am proud to say that each portion of our final product reflected our mission, essential questions and understandings! WE UNDERSTAND UBD – FINALLY!

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education

The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education are a guide that is used by NJ instructors to teach students the basic concepts of health education and physical education. They are used to promote and establish a respect for students’ physical, mental, emotional, and social development well-being. Students of all grade levels are required to participate in weekly group instruction. Each standard includes several strands that connect and overlap to support and foster students understanding in gaining an appreciation of their physical and emotional health.

MISSION: The Standards essential mission is to promote lifelong student wellness by developing individuals who take responsibility for their health and support healthy living among their families and friends.

Overt Message: Providing students with the ability to make healthy life choices is an essential goal in New Jersey.

Covert Message: Effective, goal-driven Health and Physical Education courses are crucial to reaching this goal.


Standard 1: Wellness
This strand introduces students to the concept of wellness of mind and body. The standards are designed to encourage knowledge and self-awareness of health as a means to adopt and practice a healthy lifestyle.

Standard 2: Integrative Skills
This strand encourages and equips students to use critical thinking skills, problems solving, decision making, and communication skills to identify and evaluate information and situations to avoid destructive behavior and ultimately promote responsible behavior.

Standard 3: Drug Education
This strand is designed to inform and educate students on the correct use of prescription drugs, to appreciate their value for combating illness and disease, and recognize the harm which can come from misuse. Students are urged to make healthy choices and not to use tobacco, alcohol and other drugs which will impair judgment and cause injury and illness.

Standard 4: Human Relationships and Sexuality
This strand is designed to support students in gaining an understanding of the physical, emotional and inter-personal aspects of human relationships and sexuality. Students learn to build and maintain healthy relationships with family and friends. In addition, students are educated on the methods of avoiding an unplanned pregnancy through abstinence and through use of birth control. Students also gain an understanding of ways to reduce or eliminate the potential of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

Standard 5: Motor Skill Development
This strand is designed to enable students to develop motor skills. Instruction is focused on learning how to move, why movement is necessary and strategies to increase effectiveness of goal oriented movements. Students gain exposure to various forms of physical activity including sports, games, dance, calisthenics and aerobics.

Standard 6: Fitness
The mission of this strand is to assist students in gaining an understanding of health-related and skill-related fitness concepts. Health-related concepts include endurance, body composition, flexibility, and muscular strength. Skill-related concepts include speed, agility, reaction time and power. Students learn how to develop and maintain a fitness plan that supports a healthy and active lifestyle.


Strengths:

• Standards are related by the overarching goal of wellness.
• Encourages critical thinking, making connections and effective communication.
• Map to recent medical and health trends.
• Breadth of requirements supports a daily physical education requirement.
• Allows for the differentiation of instruction for students of diverse readiness level.
• Encourages students to research and use valid and reliable sources of health information.
• Provide students with the knowledge and skills to become healthy individuals.
  
  Weaknesses:
• Implementation of standards through curriculum development is challenging without use of Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Core Content Standards Curriculum Framework.
• Framework (1999 revision) has not been updated to meet the current standards (2004 revision).
• The language of the standards is often nebulous and vague which leaves the standards open for interpretation.
• The content standards are extensive. It may be difficult to cover all of the objectives required in the given time period.
• Relies on curriculum developers to integrate technology meaningfully.
• More emphasis should be placed on current topics such as more popular illegal drugs, date rape and STDs.
• Instruction on health and PE related careers omitted.
• Instruction of disabilities seen in the classroom omitted.
  
  Impacts on Curriculum Development:
  Positive: Allow for standardization of health and PE Curriculum among NJ schools.
  Positive: Provides a focus for curriculum development at the district level.
  Negative: Do not provide goals for each grade.
  Negative: Current topics that need to be addressed are not emphasized.
  
  References:
  
  Corbin, C.B. , & LeMasurier, G. (2006, August). Top 10 Reasons for Quality Physical Education. JOPERD, 77(6), 44-50.
  The purpose of this article is to document the need for quality physical education, given the current trends of obesity and physical inactivity among youths and adults, and to discuss 10 reasons why all youths need quality physical education that physical educators can use when communicating the profession’s scientific base to the general public.
  
  Hill, G. M., & Turner, B. (2007, November/December). A Checklist to Promote Physical Activity and Fitness in K-12 Physical Education Programs. JOPERD, 78(9), 14-18.
  This article describes a physical education program self-assessment tool, The Physical Activity and Fitness Promotion Checklist, which was developed by a panel of nationally recognized physical education teachers. This checklist can help physical educators to identify areas for program improvement, set realistic program goals, and make prudent decisions regarding equipment, facilities, and staffing.
  
  Jefferies, S. & Mathias, K. (2007, August). The Physical Educator’s Role in Enacting the Mandated School Wellness Policy: School Nutrition. JOPERD, 78(6) , 24-27.
  The authors of this article discuss wellness policies in relation to nutrition education. The article describes some of the most interesting national initiatives for engaging students in nutrition education and encouraging healthy eating. This article provides suggestions for how the physical educator can contribute to developing students who are committed to eating a well-balanced diet.
  
  Lynn, S. (2007, May/June). The Case for Daily Physical Education. JOPERD, 78(5), 18-21.
  The goal of providing daily physical education to all K-12 students in the United States presents challenges such as budgetary issues, less time for other subjects, an increased need for certified or licensed physical education teachers, and the need of revised curriculums and lesson plans. To achieve this goal, physical education practitioners must become advocates for change by developing goals and strategies, spreading clear messages about the importance and benefits of daily physical education, and reporting data that support a return on investment.
  
  Satcher, D. (2005, September). Health and Ready to Learn. Educational Leadership, 63(1), 26-30.
  Schools can be a powerful source for change when it comes to preventing or reducing overweight and obesity. Some proactive steps can address student health and improve students' readiness to learn, such as forming a school health advisory council, developing a comprehensive wellness policy, integrating physical activity and nutrition into all school programs, and encouraging staff to model healthy lifestyles.
  

“The best teachers don’t teach from the book”. OUCH!

“The best teachers don’t teach from the book”. This quote from our graduate class has resonated with me all week. The most disappointing part was the general agreement with this statement among the class. The class discussion was not aimed at mathematics nor was mathematics excluded from the conversation. Thus, I feel entitled to be slightly outraged as a mathematics teacher who utilizes a text and as a mathematics text book author (Pre-Algebra, Geometry and Discrete Math). As an educator, I have seen tremendous gains in mathematics education since the implementation of a new series of texts. For example, at the elementary level, Everyday Math has been a tremendous success (yes, I realize some people will disagree with this statement). This series has brought about dynamic change in mathematics education in primary school. Students are leaving elementary school with valuable logic and critical thinking skills. Students’ appreciation of mathematics has grown. Their willingness and ability to struggle with an open-ended question has increased. They are more passionate and better ‘thinkers”. No, this is not solely due to the Everyday Math series. Instead, we must give credit to the teachers who not only have taught from the text but have also taken the time to train themselves to be prepared to teach from the curriculum.

At the secondary level, I have had the opportunity to witness the culture of a mathematics classroom change with the adoption of a new text. Texts that focus on real-world applications excite the students. Texts that infuse technology into the curriculum allow more students access to challenging and stimulating mathematics. Why would we want our teachers to spend their time reinventing the wheel to create worksheets when such rich resources are available? The best teachers utilize the best resources (which are often text books) effectively to address the needs of their students. Of course, this requires planning. A careful dissection of the available material is necessary to ensure that the lesson is suitable for the class. At times, the lessons need to be modified based on the audience. Teachers should dedicate their time to these types of meaningful activities, not the mindless creation of a 20 problem worksheet!

As an author, I can assure you that the best texts are written BY TEACHERS. Author teams are carefully selected to ensure the perfect blend of teachers with diverse strengths. An author’s main goal is to provide a lesson that is both intuitive and imaginative. A single lesson may take an author team days to create and revise. To expect every teacher to be able to create lessons of the same depth without the use of a text is both unreasonable and illogical.

Only recently did I realize that Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe would endorse the process through which the texts I’ve co-authored have been developed. Each text development process began with a group of brainstorming sessions to determine our main objectives (i.e. mission) and the major themes (i.e. essential questions) that would be carried throughout the book. Throughout the summer, we’d meet periodically to discuss the main ideas of a different chapter (mini essential questions) before writing on the chapter began. Between these meetings, each team member worked on original assessments, problems sets and prose. Activities and technology were integrated throughout the prose but only in lessons in which they were meaningful. Spiraling ideas was a main goal in each text to encourage a greater level of “understanding”. Does this all sound familiar? Yes, the texts were developed using Understanding By Design techniques. How can we condemn teachers for using a text that was created by teachers using Understanding by Design?

In conclusion, I would like to commend teachers that utilize a text book effectively. The texts that have the strongest impact on students are often the most challenging to teach. They require teachers to leave their comfort zone to try something innovative (technology, activities, applications, etc). Additionally, they demand intense preparation to ensure that the instructor is prepared to teach the content. To all teachers that use these types of texts: KUDOS!

Assessing Other Groups Assessments

In the beginning of the semester, our class had the opportunity to assess each other’s mission statements. The process was invigorating in that it allowed us to not only critique other’s work (which allowed the other groups to adjust their missions based on the feedback ) but it also gave us an opportunity to reflect on our own mission. The result of the activity encouraged the crucial group discussions necessary for any mission to be successful. That is, it provided the initiative to think critically, reflect and come to group consensus on a mission statement.

Recently, I tried a similar approach to assessment in my Basic Skills class. In the HSPA, open-ended mathematics questions are worth a maximum of 3 points. The points are earned based on the validity of the answer as well as the process used to arrive at the solution. I provided each group of students with a sample open ended question, a large Post-It, and markers. I asked each group to post their solution on the wall. Then, I provided students with a sample rubric and some sample graded solutions. After the students reviewed these documents, they were asked to grade each others work by following the rubric. It was interesting to see the students critique each others work. Most exciting though, was their desire to update their own work in the midst of the process. I was thrilled to realize that in the process of assessing others work, the students were reflecting on their own work!

Asking students to place themselves in the assessor’s shoes is a valuable teaching technique. It provides a means though which students can become self-assessors, viewing their own work through with an assessors’ eye.

UBD in Practice

Does this topic frighten anyone but me? A couple of you have expressed difficulty with changing your framework from the traditional lesson plan to that of the UBD template. Although a bit overwhelming, I am willing to move in the direction of designing by UBD. My pedagogical knowledge has grown to the point that I am almost confident that I can philosophically design by UBD. My concern … oh and this is so hard to admit … is that my content knowledge is not strong enough to do so effectively.

Phew … I admitted it! It scares me that after 5 years of teaching and a masters degree in my content area, I am still not confident that I am prepared to generate essential questions. This is not to say that I don’t understand the examples given in the book. I get it, really I do. But how do I generate essential questions on matrix multiplication?

The examples given in the book are excellent. Upon reading them, I think “GREAT ESSENTIAL QUESTION!” Then my lurking devil side says “Could have you come up with that?”. No, it’s not a matter of confidence. As a matter of fact, I am the most well educated teacher in my department. It’s reality. I worry that if it is my reality, how realistic is it that others (with less background) can create good designs by UBD standards?

Part of the solution may be to design collaboratively. I’ve been working with a colleague recently and we certainly have become adept at working off each others ideas. Still, it is hard to believe that, given our schedules, all teachers will have time to meet with their colleagues for each unit. I guess maybe it’s something to aim for as budding administrators!

Is Merit Pay the Answer to Increasing Teacher Effectiveness?

On February 13th, Time magazine’s cover story was “How to Make Great Teachers”. The article provided some interesting methods currently being utilized to retain good teachers and support those that are challenged. One of the possibilities discussed is merit pay, which attempts to measure the quality of teachers' work and compensate teachers accordingly. Ironically (?), this is one of Mayor Bloomberg’s new initiatives for New York City Schools. New York City is currently conducting an experiment (unbeknownst to the teachers) in which about 2,500 teachers are being measured on how much they students improve on annual standardized test.

This is DANGEROUS! Proponents of this type of proposal have far too much confidence that tests can be designed year after year that are fair and equitable measures of yearly progress. Additionally, the logic behind merit pay based on standardized test scores is flawed. While research has shown that the best teachers can help struggling students catch up to more advanced students within THREE years, these proposals base a teacher’s performance on the difference in score in ONE year. Even with the most equitable test, it is nearly impossible to assess a single teacher’s impact in one year. The prospect of this type of program scares me. I envision teachers abandoning curriculum to ‘teach to the test’ or, even worse, curriculum being adjusted to meet the needs of a test to ensure that their teachers ‘make the grade’.

Instead of using bonus’ to entice educators to become more ‘effective’, why aren’t we focusing on providing the support necessary to allow them to do so? Two of the most quantifiable qualities attributed to effective teachers are knowledge of content and pedagogy. Developing these attributes in both current educators and teachers-in-training is dependent on providing EDUCATION. Why don’t we focus our resources on providing the education necessary to prepare teachers to be effective ? Other countries, such as Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands, provide tuition-free graduate programs to educators that include A STIPEND (and I can’t get my district to pay for more than one class a year!). Time Magazine’ “How They Do It Abroad” article concludes that “these countries made the decision to invest in a uniformly well-prepared teaching force by recruiting top candidates and paying them while they receive extensive training” (February 14th) . BINGO!

This is not to say that something shouldn’t be done with the current teacher compensation model. Merit pay based on standardized test scores is certainly not the answer. However, there are some programs being implemented that show promise. These programs involve teachers in the process of creating a model for evaluation and include more than just one measure of how teachers do their job. One of these models, Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), is now in place in 180 schools in 14 states and Washington. TAP measures teacher success by a combination of structured observations as well as a statistical analysis on student achievement based on a students’ expected trajectory. TAP teachers can progress professionally in three ways: becoming a mentor to others while remaining a classroom teacher ; becoming a full-time teacher of teachers; or taking the traditional route into administration. The most promising part of the program is the collegiality instilled in teachers who are encouraged to assist each other in building and refining their skills. TAP teachers are provided one to two hours a week during school to meet in small groups with a master teacher! Now THAT is a way to support effective teaching!