GETTING STARTED WITH THE GRADUATE PROFILE

I started work with the graduate profile over 3 years ago when the district first started this new initiative. I was asked by my principal to serve on the committee for “The New Graduate Profile.” I attended the first meeting and like most new initiatives, I thought this sounds good but it will probably go away in a year or so like most new initiatives. I sat listening to the presenters, to be honest halfway listening, then they said something that got my attention. “We are preparing students to enter the workforce for jobs that have not even been created yet.” This statement got my attention. Teaching high school, I have known for years that our students are graduating not adequately prepared to enter the workforce. The new graduate profile addresses this and provides opportunities for teachers to start developing the skills that students need to be successful.

INCORPORATING THE GRAD PROFILE INTO TEACHING

At first I was overwhelmed. I thought, “How do I incorporate all 6 graduate profile components into my class?” Then this year I started on a pilot project that is addressing the issue of how we assess using the graduate profile. This pilot project has really helped me wrap my head around the graduate profile. First of all, all 6 components do not have to be hit everyday in every class. This year I was asked to focus on one component. I chose the self-directed navigator. For me this has been a little bit of a challenge. I had to let go of a little bit of my control and let the students take over a little bit. It has also been a struggle for my students because they have to learn that it is ok to make mistakes. I also had to learn to be flexible when lessons didn’t go as planned. However this year has shown me so much about teaching. The conversations my students are having with each other are so amazing. They are teaching each other, learning, and retaining more knowledge. What I have learned is that this is not about changing what I teach but about being more purposeful in my delivery. This does require a little more front loading on my part for the lessons.

LESSON IDEAS AND EXAMPLES

I have to develop activities that build on previous knowledge and will guide the students to the new concepts being introduced. I am also working on creating projects and assessments that are less traditional. For our Quadratics unit I replaced one quiz with a project where students developed a poster showing the transformations of Quadratic functions. For the common assessment for this unit I am replacing the open response questions with a project. Students will design a fountain. The fountain must have multiple sprays and they will have to use mathematical equations to model the path of the water and ensure that the water lands in the fountain. Students will be developing the rubric themselves prior to starting the project so that the expectations are clear to everyone. My goal for the future is for students to develop an amusement park. We will begin at the beginning of the year and as we complete each unit students will develop a new addition to their amusement park as part of their assessment for that unit. By the end of the school year students will have designed an entire amusement park.