Curriculum & Technology

1. Curriculum & Technology Transforming Teaching and Learning Through High-Level Thinking Skills Charlottesville City Schools December 2012

2. Strategic Plan: Objective 1.2.1 By August 2013, revise GPS documents and non-core curriculum guides to ensure the inclusion of 21st century skills and higher-level thinking strategies (as defined by Costa’s Three-story Intellect, for example) in each unit of instruction. The Three-Story Intellect Level 3 Evaluate Predict Judge Assess Idealize Forecast Level 2 Compare ApplySolve Analyze Reason Infer Examine Contrast Explain Level 1 Label IdentifyDefine Spell Choose Name Select Restate Match *

3. The Work We've Done • Last Spring • Identified 21st century and higher-level thinking skills to include in GPS documents. • Last Summer • Had curriculum writers in the core content areas identify at least two high-level thinking strategies in each unit of study. • This Fall • Introduced teachers to thinking strategies in the GPS.

4. Challenging All Students Teachers can differentiate ContentProcessProduct According to a student’s Readiness Interests Learning Profile through a range of instructional strategies such as tiered assignments learning centers choice board complex instruction problem-based learning varied text flexible grouping independent study literature circles

5. Elementary English • School Year 2011–2012 • Researched materials that • Aligned with new English standards • Supported 21st century skills • Stressed Costa's high-level thinking strategies • Spring 2012 • Selected Benchmark Literacyfor Tier 1 instruction • Matched curriculum and assessments to new resources and Costa's levels • Increased teacher awareness of new resources prior to implementation

6. Elementary English • Fall 2012 • Implemented new curriculum aligned with 2010 English standards • Trained all teachers on resource materials • Provided on-site coaching at schools • Offered site-specific professional development

7. Secondary English June 2012 • Summer training on new resources • Curriculum planning with the best turnout to date! August–November 2012 • Training on new resources (live, virtual, ongoing) • Increasing rigor in instruction and on assessments • Encouraging collaboration and communication • Increasingly integrating technology

8. Personal Portfolio Direct Feedback Assignment Tracking Secondary English D a s h b o a r d

9. Rigor, Communication, and Collaboration: Live & Virtual Secondary English Discussion - A Raisin in the Sun Moodle Chat - Huckleberry Finn AVID one-pager "The Green Gulch" Moodle Forum - The Scarlet Letter Reading Groups - Something Upstairs

10. Historical Thinking Skills • Chronological thinking • Historical comprehension • Historical analysis and interpretation • Historical research capabilities • Historical issues-analysis and decision-making

11. The Language of Mathematics • Aligned GPS to new math content standards (2009) and added process standards • Increased rigor with multiple choice questions • Focused more on open-ended questions & performance tasks • Math Olympiad questions • Quest boxes • Technology Enhanced Items • Exemplars

12. Math Exemplars - An Example

13. The Rigors of Science Students… • Integrate math computations and relationships into science. • Use simulations and model building to understand abstract concepts. • Focus on data analysis. • Use Project 2061 to address misconceptions. • Work cooperatively to practice and persist when solving science problems.

14. The Relevance of Science Students think like a scientist as they… • Partner with scientists in the community. • White coat ceremony • UVA students and faculty • Have meaningful, interdisciplinary field experiences. • Monticello • Camp Albemarle • Buford garden • See themselves as scientists.

15. How We Support Learners • Students and teachers report improved tablet image — faster, more responsive • Tablets received software & updates via SCM • Audio drivers • Shockwave updates • Shortcuts for calibration • Wireless repair • Tablets received site-specific testing profiles that support test application requirements • IA, MAP, and TestNav

16. Tablet Issues from Help Desks (Oct. 1 – Dec. 3)

17. How We Support Staff • MAP and IA testing issues reported from numerous sites • Not limited to specific hardware or location • Challenges were more global • IT responses included • Wireless assessments • On-site support • wireless network repairs and improvements • Image/profile updates for tablets to ensure acceptance of browser plugins from testing providers

18. How We Support Staff • The work we are doing • Established web-based help desk solution for better reporting and tracking of issues • Provided Citrix Virtual Desktops setup to mirror programs available on Tablets • Have loaner Tablets prepped and available to coordinators and teachers • Offer ongoing evaluation and feedback via Blast committee, TACC meetings, and informal sessions • Meet regularly with school and division leadership

19. How We Support Hardware • Improved Tech support at schools • Help desks are staffed during all school hours • Established a Help Desk ticketing system for tracking issues • System is populated by Help Desk staff • Completed Fujitsu self service agreement and training • Tablets are now repaired on-site

20. Instructional Technology Team • The Team • Division Coordinator and 5 ITRTs • Their Skills • Instructional specialists • Explore, plan, implement effective teaching strategies • Curriculumspecialists • Understand, integrate, link curriculum and standards; model and co-teach lessons • Resourcespecialists • Provide instructional materials – websites, lessons, assessments • Professional developers • Provide on-demand support, demonstrations, hands-on training

21. Technology Integration Our goal is to transform teaching and learning experiences by integrating technology seamlessly into instructional practices so that the technology becomes a transparent and integral tool to teach the core curriculum.

22. Curriculum and Technology • Communicate • Collaborate • Organize • Manage • Research • Practice • Present • Assess • Reflect • Invent • Innovate • Access information

23. Why Integrate? • Improve student learning by creating richer lessons • Increase rigor of academics and quality of learning • Stimulate curiosity and interest • Engage and motivate learners • Improve how all students learn content

24. Why Integrate? • Differentiate instruction • Project-based learning • Formative assessment with immediate feedback • Communication Employing technology provides a variety of new ways to learn, and in the process, fosters independent thinking, problem solving, and collaborative learning.

25. Walker 6th Grade • 30% of teachers have a web presence • Daily use • Think Through Math • socrative.com • Online math games • Research projects • Blogs • Writing assessment

26. Buford Middle School • 93% of teachers have a web presence • Photostory • GIS/Mapping Tools • TEIs • Moodle Forum • Reading comprehension tools • www.freerice.com • ST Math and Think Through Math • Research

27. Charlottesville High School • 90% of teachers have a web presence • Blended learning in action • Flipped classroom • Comprehensive use and integration of tablets… • in every course • for all content areas • throughout classroom practices

28. Curriculum & Technology at Work Probing scientists Reading at the iPod Cafe Hard at work Working with graphing calculators Exploring together *