Course DescriptionCommon Assessments for Student Learning
Develop, Facilitate, Analyze Thinking purposefully about curricular planning incorporates the learner, the mentor/faculty member, the knowledge and the environment in a manner in which objectives (desired results), evidence (assessments/artifacts), and learning plans are carefully considered. Beginning with the end in mind and implementing a continuous improvement approach to course design will further support student learning through effective and engaging experiences. Furthermore, embedding opportunities for students to engage in content within a community centered environment promotes purposeful interactions among learners as members can take cues and insights from others around them. This course has been created through a synthesis of frameworks including Understanding By Design (UbD) and Professional Learning Communities. The balance of interaction between faculty-to-student, student-to-student and student-to-resources through individual, small group and large group activities have been carefully considered. Course Purpose: Common Core State Standards have emerged in the education setting to create a continuity of student achievement at specific target levels throughout our communities, states, and country. However, there is a disparity that breaks down the consistency the standards are trying to uphold. Many educators are still working in isolation, behind closed doors, in planning and delivering subject matter content. The utilization of technology coupled with an effective design framework and collaboration within a professional learning community, educators can work together to develop common objectives, assessments, and activities as well as use data analysis to create a continuous, collaborative improvement cycle. The purpose of this course is to extend asyncronous, on-line professional development training for primary/secondary educators, within a local area or same district, to provide them opportunities to extend their skills and knowledge to improve teaching which improves student results and learning while eliminating physical barriers within their environment such as time constraints to meet collaboratively face to face. Attendees will be employed teachers ranging from first-year to veterans. The design of the course has been developed to focus on current skills, materials, and prior knowledge educators possess. Classroom teachers will use their expertise in subject matter and revise their current units of study by working with peers within the same subject area. Considerations have been taken for the substitution of free collaboration sites if a District does not have a learning management system or network sharing capacity. Activities including online participation have been aligned with free access to educators as to ensure the collaboration and learning process is not impeded by monetary or secured access. |
Teacher apprehension to share their data, comfortability with technology, and knowledge in unwrapping standards are barriers that may pose concern however the course has been designed to offset those barriers by developing sequential modules to support teachers at each step. I do not anticipate motivation to be compromised due to the course is ungraded and the educators will complete the course with a job aid to be used immediately within their profession.
Reflection: The development of my course proposal encourage a broad analysis of my desired intention. I needed to think not only about the course content, but also the varied ages of the course attendees and the myriad of knowledge and skill sets they possess. but also considerations for components that may impede the learning opportunities. The process of articulating the what, how, why, when and by whom clarified my vision for the course and was necessary prior to determining my modules and objectives. Following the backwards design framework, this artifact represents my purposeful thinking about curricular planning. |