An Introduc+on to the ACPS Curriculum November 17, 2016 Terri H. Mozingo, Ed.D., Chief Academic Officer John L. Brown, Ph.D., ExecuAve Director of Curriculum Design and InstrucAonal Services Every
Essen+al Ques+ons 1. What are the key components of the Alexandria City Public Schools curriculum design process? 2. How are curriculum units designed within the curriculum? 3. How does our curriculum promote high levels of student rigor and engagement? Every 2
ACPS 2020 Strategic Plan Goals Every 3
Academic Excellence and Educational Equity Every 4
Family and Community Engagement Every 5
An Exemplary Staff Every 6
Optimal Learning Environments Every 7
Health and Wellness Every 8
Effective and EfEicient Operations Every 9
Every 10
What Is a Curriculum? Curriculum is a system for promoting, monitoring, and sustaining student learning. It is the roadmap teachers follow to determine what all learners should know and be able to do and by when they should learn it. Every 11
What Are the Parts of a Curriculum? 1. The Ideal Curriculum: The values, ideals, and learning principles underlying the teaching-learning process 2. The Written Curriculum: Curriculum guides, units, and lessons used by teachers to implement the curriculum 3. The Taught Curriculum: The instructional strategies and processes used to promote the learning of all students 4. The Assessed Curriculum: Data collection and analysis using tests, quizzes, and performance assessments 5. The Supported Curriculum: Textbooks, consumables, and technology used to support student learning 6. The Learned Curriculum: What students know, do, and understand as a result of #s 1-5 above Every 12
How Is Our Curriculum Designed? Stage One: Desired Results (Transfer Goals, Essential Questions, and Learning Objectives) Hyperlinked Instructional Resources (Stage One) Stage Two: Assessment Evidence (Balanced Assessment) Unit Transfer Tasks Stage Three: Unit Learning Plan Every 13
How Do We Monitor Student Progress in Mastering the ACPS Curriculum? q PALS Assessment: Grades K-2 q Standards of Learning (SOLs): Math, Reading, Science, Social Studies, and Writing q Unit Transfer Tasks q Algebra 1 by Grade 8 q Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment Data q ACT Performance Data q ACPS Family Survey q On-Time Graduation Rates Every 14
How Do We Support Curriculum Implementa+on? 1. Lesson Design: Supporting students in using the ACPS curriculum to plan daily teaching-learning tasks and assessments 2. Data Analysis: Working with content and learning teams to analyze student achievement data and identify and implement appropriate strategies and interventions 3. Professional Development: Providing content-speciaic PD to help staffs use high-yield strategies 4. Customized Service Delivery: Delivering individual and group services to help content-based teachers to improve student achievement, including GAP areas 5. Modeling, Feedback, and Coaching: Working directly with teachers to provide on-the-spot feedback related to high-yield strategies and best practices (consistent with identiaied gap areas to improve student achievement) Every 15
Key Curriculum Strategies in Ac+on 1. Framing the Learning: Ensuring that students understand lesson mastery objectives and essential questions, revisiting them throughout the lesson 2. Activating Prior Knowledge: Helping students to make connections between prior learning and new content 3. Explicit Instruction: Modeling use of key concepts and skills and helping students to apply them with growing levels of independence 4. Guided and Independent Transfer: Providing ongoing formative assessment feedback to help students internalize lesson content, using it with growing levels of independent application 5. Summative Assessment: Using an end-of-lesson culminating performance task to monitor learning 6. Closure: Having students synthesize what they ve learned in the lesson Every 16
English Learner Curriculum Supports 1. Activating prior knowledge and building background knowledge 2. Comprehensible input 3. Explicit instruction of academic language 4. Differentiation 5. Quality interaction through sustained discourse 6. Cultural responsiveness 7. Visual representation of information 8. Cooperative learning 9. Metacognition Every 17
Special Educa+on Enhancements 1. Direct instruction of key concepts and skills 2. Differentiation to address students varying language levels, interests, and learner proailes 3. Breaking curriculum into manageable parts 4. Following the 10-2 rule 5. Multi-sensory instruction 6. Focus on Executive Function (e.g., goal setting, time management, organization, and planning) 7. Individual Education Plan (IEP) accommodations Every 18
2012-2016 TAG Plan Areas of Giftedness SpeciEic Academic Ability Gr 4-12 Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies General Intellectual Ability K-12 Young Scholars Nurturing Program (targeted schools) (Mt. Vernon, Cora Kelly, Patrick Henry, Polk) Every 19
General Aptitude Services Engage students in creative activities and projects based on individual students interests in order to: develop leadership, build thinking skills, and provide enrichment beyond the regular classroom. SpeciEic Academic Aptitude Services Grades 4-5 : Full-time instruction with TAG teacher: Math - Compacted and Accelerated curriculum Language Arts including advanced vocabulary, writing, grammar and literary analysis Grades 4-5: In-class differentiation Science and Social Studies Grades 6-8 : Honors classes TAG students clustered, Differentiated Education Plans (DEPs) Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Mathematics Grades 9-12: Honors classes and Advanced Placement Dual-enrollment in Northern Virginia Community College Every 20
Curriculum Evalua+on McREL Report Commenda+ons Curriculum guides use a common framework for all education levels (elementary, middle school, high school) and all content areas. Curriculum guides facilitate a variety of diverse learning experiences, including group work, individual work, and project-based learning. Useful literary recommendations provide opportunities to link lessons across different content areas in the curriculum guide. Division resources for differentiating instruction and executive function provide helpful instructional ideas for how to meet the needs of a variety of learners and for encouraging self-regulation and selfdirection in the classroom. Every Teachers report that the greatest strengths of the curriculum guide include integration of technology, essential questions to guide instruction, and key vocabulary for lesson development. 21
Curriculum Evalua+on Project Work Plan Deliverables Incorporate teacher voices in the curriculum revision process Update ACPS written curriculum guides to reelect feedback from stakeholders and McREL report recommendations Select and purchase a web-based searchable platform to house the ACPS curriculum Provide professional development to support teachers in meeting the needs of diverse learners Work with teachers to create exemplar lesson plans aligned to units Every 22
Ques+ons? Every child deserves a champion an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be. Dr. Rita Pierson Superintendent Dr. Alvin L. Crawley School Board Karen A. Graf, Chair Every Student Christopher J. Lewis, Succeeds Vice Chair Cindy Anderson Ronnie Campbell William E. Campbell Hal E. Cardwell Ramee A. Gentry Margaret Lorber Veronica Nolan 23
For more information, please contact: Alexandria City Public Schools Department of Curriculum and Instruc+on 1340 Braddock Place, 6th Floor Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Tel: 703-619-8020 Superintendent Dr. Alvin L. Crawley School Board Karen A. Graf, Chair Every Student Christopher J. Lewis, Succeeds Vice Chair Cindy Anderson Ronnie Campbell William E. Campbell Hal E. Cardwell Ramee A. Gentry Margaret Lorber Veronica Nolan 24