Since no one responded to my question of which are the five characteristics that would appear in each lesson and of the five, which one is open to continued discussion I will share a little more. Below, I have highlighted in red the five that are being proposed for consideration as characteristics that one would see in every lesson.
Habits of Mind
Collaboration
Projects/activities linked to the real world
Active learning
District Outcomes
Use of technology
Thinking skills
Rigor
Authentic audiences
Key concepts/content
The intent of identifying these five is to dig deeper into the what of Classroom 10. Knowing this will increase our understanding of what contributes to Classroom 10 every day in every classroom and what characteristics that we would see and hear over a unit of study, but not necessarily every day. It also provides guidance for unit and lesson development. They are not presented as a hierarchy with the five being the most important, though there are some that would suggest that three of the five are the foundation characteristics.
We still have much to learn on our journey and need to find structures for engaging more voices in digging deeper and designing support structures that meet the needs of individual teachers and teams of teachers. During the August building meetings we will continue this process by sharing information and focusing on how to move forward on our journey to prepare young people for success in post high school learning and work.
As you review the five above, what one seems to you to be the characteristic that might not be found in every lesson? Perhaps one of the administrators would share their thinking that has resulted in an on-going conversation either for or against inclusion with the other four that are not being questioned.
7 comments:
I would like to offer this additional perspective. We know that students will need skills and attitudes that promote and support life long learning. These skills and attitudes are defined by our thinking skills, our Habits of Mind, and our District Outcomes.
Our challenge as educators is to use the content of our various disciplines as a vehicle to integrate, practice, and learn this 21st Century curriculum. When we plan lessons, we take our key content and concepts and we consider how we will engage students in processing the information we are presenting. In doing so, we are intentionally identifying a thinking process that the students will practice such as comparing, sequencing, finding patterns, etc.
We also consider what attitude or Habit of Mind we would like for students to bring to the learning and to enhance their success. Do we want students to think flexibly? be responsible rick takers? Apply past knowledge? etc.
Practicing the thinking skills and the Habits of Mind in each lesson ensures that students internalize these processes of learning over time, along with the content of the discipline.
Rigor is defined by processing and creating with information rather than just recording and recalling information. All lessons should invite processing so that students can internalize an understanding of the key content/concepts. Active learning strategies support the brain's ability to make meaning from the new information.
The bottom line is that we need to integrate our 21st century curriculum of thinking skills, Habits of Mind, and the District Outcomes with our content. Students benefit from learning what's important in each discipline, and they also must have the opportunity to practice and apply the processes of learning: thinking skills, Habits of Mind, and over the course of a unit, the district Outcomes and indicators. By teaching both our content and the processes of learning, we are preparing our students for a life time of challenge and change!
Nancy Skerritt
I appreciate the concise expression of the 5 Classroom 10 lesson elements you hope to see in my lesson design, Mike.
The element that is most challenging to incorporate for me is the inclusion of an authentic audience. The Everyday Math curriculum, in particular, I find challenging in this regard.
Nancy, your additional perspective was crystalline in its presentation. Honestly, when I finished reading your post I was ready to go get to work! You clearly articulate why these skills/strategies are so important for our students, and how to nest these skills in content instruction.
In these challenging times, maybe reaching out to our community (individual experts/businesses/community groups) can provide both authentic audiences and additional support for our schools?
Jonathan
I think that rigor is a difficult characteristic to ensure during each lesson. Rigor to me, is a “challenge” or an “uncomfortable condition.” Not every lesson will present a challenge for students in the same way.
The model schools movement defines rigor as thinking at the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy- taking the information and applying it, analyzing it, evaluating it or creating with it. Costa provides a simpler model. He talks about recording and recalling information (no rigor here), processing the information in some manner such as summarizing the new learning, (rigor is involved when we process) and then creating with the information (more rigor here). The thinking is that every lesson, especially at the secondary level, should provide the students with the opportunity to make meaning from the information presented and not just record and recall information. Does this make sense?
Yes, using your provided background information, it makes perfect sense. I hadn't read your initial response and the word 'rigor' itself seemed out of place with the rest of the Classroom 10 characteristics. In answering Mike’s question, I felt that rigor would be the one that you might not find in each and every lesson based on my definition of the word.
Thanks! I think it's great to have the dialogue! If the ideas are confusing or don't seem to fit, then we need to reconsider the ideas.We truly want to create a shared vision for Classroom 10 and support implementation throughout our system across all content areas and grade levels. We all want to prepare our students to live and work in the world of the 21st Century!
Thanks! I think it's great to have the dialogue! If the ideas are confusing or don't seem to fit, then we need to reconsider the ideas.We truly want to create a shared vision for Classroom 10 and support implementation throughout our system across all content areas and grade levels. We all want to prepare our students to live and work in the world of the 21st Century!
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