Introduction to "Plan Competency-Based Instruction that Aligns to Content and Technology Standards"

Video Transcription

By the end of the unit, here are the overarching learning objectives that you will have covered. First, you're going to utilize the standards aligned to your subject area and the ISTE technology standards. Second, you're going to analyze standards-based instruction and grading and competency-based evaluation using the frameworks of Marzano, Guskey-- third, you're going to create a proficiency scale using the Marzano, your subject standards, and the ISTE standards. You will be able to reflect on how proficiency-based instruction and evaluation will change your practice as an educator.

Analyze the alignment between the subject area standards and the technology standards. You'll be able to analyze the Danielson and National Board Teacher research-based teacher practice standards; you'll be able to create lessons aligned to the outcomes and objectives to both the subject area standards and the appropriate technology standards; and you'll be able to reflect on your teacher practices using either the Charlotte Danielson Framework or the National Board Teacher standards.

I want to give you some concrete examples of the types of things that you will see as you go through this unit. So first of all, you're going to get a chance to explore websites for the five major content standards. Also, you're going to see multiple examples of how content and ISTE standards can be turned into lesson plans. Also, you're going to get to then develop lesson plans that are in kid-friendly language and can be used in your teaching.

Now let's take a look at that second objective,-- analyze standards-based instruction in grading and competency-based evaluation using the frameworks of Marzano, Guskey, and Hattie. This is taking you deep into the way in which you lesson plan and structure your grading methods, focusing for more of a traditional grading practice to one that is much more focused on those content standards that we talked about in our last objective.

You're going to get a chance to understand the similarities and differences between standards and competencies. Sometimes we get a lot of this educational jargon and it's hard to keep all of it straight, so there's a lot of attention paid to the similarities and the differences between the more traditional grading method and this new emphasis on standards-based and competency-based grading.

You're going to get to review best practices for using standards-based grading in your classroom. So not only will you get a better idea of what it is, but you'll also get a chance to really see what it can actually look like in your classroom. And finally, you're going to become familiar with the nuances of Marzano, Guskey, and Hattie and how they can impact your teaching. I'm often saying, don't reinvent the wheel. We as educators should always be learning from those who came before us, and these three educators have spent a lot of time developing their frameworks so that we can learn from what worked.

All right, let's go ahead and take a look at that third objective-- create a proficiency scale using them Marzano framework, your subject standards, and the ISTE . standards. So in the last objective, you got an opportunity to look at what a proficiency scale is and a lot of the research that went into creating it. First you're going to review Marzano's framework and how it can help you establish solid teaching practices. It's always good, I think, for us as educators to understand where we're coming from and why we're adopting some of these new elements in education, and Marzano's framework is going to help give you that justification.

You're going to get a chance to break down what a proficiency scale is, what it looks like, and then how to break down a subject standard into proficiency levels. So again, we are really coming at this from the ground level so that you can see what it looks like. Finally, then, you're going to get to explore different digital tools that are out there that can help you easily create proficiency scales and then use them to grade student work. Again, don't reinvent the wheel, there is no reason why you should have to spend hours creating your own when there are tools out there that are established to really help you.

Reflect on how proficiency based instruction and evaluation will change your practices as an educator. Oftentimes the first thing we cut is reflection, because we gotta just move on to the next element, and it's really important that you give yourself the tools to reflect. So some of the major elements that you're going to see within this learning objective as you go through the unit, you're going to learn how proficiency-based instruction can actually save you time and improve the clarity of your teaching.

You're going to view various teacher reflection tools. Again, you shouldn't just have to sit there and go, well, yeah, I think that was a pretty good lesson. There are tools out there that keep specific questions and ways of focusing in on what you think you did well and how you then can improve it based on where you are. Finally, here going to understand how teacher reflection tools can be used after your lessons to improve your teaching practices. So really looking at not only at their tools that are available, but the reason why we are putting so much emphasis on it.

Analyze the alignment between subject area standards and the technology standards. Within this objective, you are going to get to see how both standards and competencies are very similar and different, and how all of those play into the work that you do when you create your lessons. You'll get to look closely at the process of taking those standards and competencies and developing your year-end objectives. How do you scaffold that breakdown and make sure that you are meeting the specific subject area standards. And finally, you'll get to see the process of going from your content standard to the technology standard, and then using both of them to develop your student outcomes.

The next objective stated that you will be able to analyze the Danielson and National Board Teacher research-based teacher practice standards. What does the Danielson teacher evaluation system look like? You'll get an opportunity to then look how that's similar and a little bit different to the National Board Teacher practices, and finally, you'll get an opportunity to really see how the connections can be drawn from both of those into what you are doing.

Create lessons aligned to the outcomes and objectives to both the subject area standards and the appropriate technology standards. You will be able to see some of the good and bad practices in the traditional elements of education as opposed to more of a standards-based model. You'll get an opportunity to look at how to create a proficiency scale which ties in both of those standards in your subject area as well as the technology standards to really help you create a clearly laid-out scale and rubric to use on your class elements. Finally, you'll get to see the process of aligning specific lesson plans to specific standards and what that could look like in real practice within your classroom.

The final objective states that you'll have the opportunity to reflect on your teacher practices using either the Charlotte Danielson Framework or the National Board Teacher standards. This element of reflection is so important, and when you encounter these objectives, you'll be seeing how you can go back over the entire lesson plan that you have, take that information and reflect on it based on the questions encountered in the Danielson Framework, and then how you can use the National Board Teachers standards to further look at what you are doing both in your specific lesson as well as up in front of the classroom.

I think this objective, more than any of the others has application both in your professional life and in your personal life. Reflection is something that we skip over all too often.

So let's review. By the end of this unit, you're going to be able to analyze the standards align to your subject area and the ISTE technology standards. You're going to be able to analyze standards-based instruction and grading and competency-based evaluation using the frameworks of Marzano, Guskey, and Hattie. You're going to be able to create a proficiency scale using the Marzano Framework, your subject standards, and the ISTE standards. You're going to be able to reflect on how proficiency-based instruction and evaluation will change your practice as an educator.

As you can see from the first objective, you need to know the standards before you can see how to grade and instruct based on the standards. Then once you have both of those elements together, you can then use your understanding of those standards to create the proficiency scale. Finally, reflect upon how you have been using that as an educator and how you can benefit your practices by implementing it in all of your classes.

You need to understand the alignment between subject area and standards before you can really then go and create lessons that are aligned. Also, it's really important for you to understand that Danielson and the National Board Teacher standards before you can use them to reflect on your teaching practices. I'm so excited that you right here with us. I hope you're having a wonderful time with all of the lessons in this unit.