Curricular Expectations:
Understanding by Design
and Atlas Curriculum
Mapping
Gantzer
EdPower Leadership Institute 2013
Session Overview
By the end of this session, you will:
• Identify
the methods of accountability for
curriculum mapping
• Identify
components of a quality backwards
designed unit map using the Curriculum Team’s
Atlas Audit Rubric and exemplar maps
• Evaluate a sample unit map in Atlas using the
network Atlas audit rubric
Why?
Core Ideas from Leverage Leadership:
•
Every day teachers make choices about what students learn
and how they learn it. Good instructional leadership is about
making these choices explicit, and making teachers choose
intentionally.
•
Autonomy in lesson planning for all teachers only guarantees
one thing: that some teachers will have the “freedom” to fail
to plan effectively.
Atlas and UbD Oversight
•
•
Atlas Curriculum Audits (refer to rubric)
•
Once/month (due by the 15th, but can happen at any time)
•
Performed by Curriculum Team
•
General feedback given to leaders
Atlas Maintenance (refer to cheat sheet)
•
Leaders should use feedback to guide feedback to teachers.
•
Instructional leaders should use Atlas when reviewing unit materials
(unit plans, assessments, and lesson plans) to address any gaps in
teacher understanding, ability, or compliance in between audits.
Understanding by Design
•
A Curriculum-Writing Framework
3 Stages of Curriculum Design:
1.
2.
Identify Desired Results
•
Standards
•
Essential Questions and Understandings
•
Key Knowledge and Skills
Determine Acceptable Evidence
•
3.
Rigorous, standard-aligned assessments
Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
•
Daily rigorous, objective-driven lesson plans
Understanding by Design
Stage 1:
Identify Desired Results
Understanding by Design
Stage 1: Identify Desired Results
•
•
Standards
•
Aligned to appropriate grade level and content
•
Can feasibly be taught in the identified time frame
•
FMMs and Exemplar Review
Math
Exemplar
Essential Questions (refer to handout)
•
Key inquiries about important and transferable ideas within the
discipline
•
Open-ended, provocative, require higher-order thinking and support
•
Intent outweighs form
•
Overarching, Topical, Metacognitive
•
FMMs and Exemplar Review
*A word of caution
English
Exemplar
Understanding by Design
Stage 1: Identify Desired Results
•
•
Understandings (New this year!)
Physical
Education
Exemplar
•
Core generalizations based on big ideas of the
content and/or discipline
•
General answer to an essential question (not always)
•
Higher-level concepts students will evaluate using knowledge and
skills from unit
•
FMMs and Exemplars
Key Knowledge
•
Facts, concepts, generalizations and principles
important for students to know
•
Often comprehension and recall
•
FMMs and Exemplars
Science
Exemplar
Understanding by Design
Stage 1: Identify Desired Results
•
Key Skills
•
Skills and processes students will practice as they work with the
content
•
Daily objectives (SWBATs); always begin with an action verb
•
Align with identified standards and can feasibly be taught within
the identified time frame
•
FMMs and Exemplars
*Note on alignment of Stage 1 components
Math
Exemplar
Understanding by Design
Stage 1
Check for Understanding
Understanding by Design
Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence
Understanding by Design
Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence
•
Assessment (Improved focus this year!)
•
Presentations, projects, tests, quizzes, etc. that measure student
mastery of the content
•
Rigorous, aligned to standards, and created at the beginning of the
unit (used to drive instruction)
•
FMMs and Exemplars
Atlas
*Note on Instructional Expertise
Math
Exemplar
Understanding by Design
Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
Understanding by Design
Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
•
•
Learning Ladder/Lesson Plans
•
Daily lessons used to promote learning
(uploaded in advance)
•
Plans contain all components of a quality lesson
(objective, assessment, do now, I do, we do, you do)
•
FMMs and Exemplars
Reflection (Arlington only)
•
•
Thoughtful examination of strengths/weaknesses
of unit
Syllabi (Tindley only)
•
Complete, aligned, and current
Science and
English
Exemplars
English and
PE
Exemplars
Understanding by Design
Quiz
•
•
•
Break up into teams of 4-5
Groups will be randomly selected to answer a question
about UbD components, Atlas Audit points, and/or
frequently made mistakes
Groups will have 30 seconds to come up with a “final
answer”
Application: Unit Map Critique
•
Independently, evaluate the two sample maps using the
Atlas Audit Rubric.
•
•
•
Give each category a score of 0-2 and determine an
overall score.
Have comments prepared to justify your score for each
category.
Think through what feedback you’d give to this teacher
•
Witherspoon: Spanish 1 (Teacher Map)  Para Mantener la salud
•
Tindley Curriculum: Math Procedures 6  Numbers, Expressions
and Equations
Connect and Reflect: How does the picture below relate to
Understanding by Design and/or Atlas Curriculum Mapping?