Embedded Files
Prioritize and Unwrap the Standards
"The number of 'power standards' (Ainsworth, 2003a) must not be excessive; it should account for about half of what is contained in our standards documents (Marzano, 2003). This allows us to teach the essential standards in sufficient intellectual depth, with adequate time for deep reading, writing, and talking. Why is this so important? Because such "guaranteed and viable curriculum" (Marzano, 2003, p. 22) is perhaps the most significant school factor that affects learning. But such a curriculum is found in very few schools (Berliner, 1984; Marzano, 2003; Schmidt, 2008)."
~ Mike Schmoker
Key Points to Consider for Prioritizing
- Too many academic content and performance standards for educators to teach, assess, re-teach, and reassess within the timeframe of each school year
- Need to have priorities and then allow the supporting standards to enhance the priority standards
- Priority standards should be experienced with multiple opportunities
- Needs to be a continuous process so we are constantly monitoring what we are teaching and how we are teaching to ensure success for all students
- Vertical alignment needs to be a priority as well
Criteria for Prioritizing Standards
- Endurance - Lasting beyond one grade of course; life concepts and skills
- Leverage - Cross-over application within the content area and to other content areas (interdisciplinary connections)
- Readiness - Prerequisite concepts and skills students need to enter a new grade level or course of study
- Teacher Judgment - Knowledge of content area and ability to identify more- and less- important content
- Assessment - State assessments, college or career entrance
Unpacking the Standard
Deconstructing the standard to identify the appropriate thinking level of the skills.
- Identify the Skills and Knowledge for each standard
- Determine the Depth of Knowledge Level with Bloom's and Webb's Taxonomies
- Select appropriate content and academic vocabulary
Resources
All information in the Curriculum Design Process is based on the The Leadership and Learning Center Training Manual: Planning for Rigorous Curriculum Design (2010) and from the text from Larry Ainsworth - Ainsworth, L. (2010). Rigorous curriculum design. Englewood, Colo.: Lead Learn Press.
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