Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

7. Designing Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Development
Pages 134-153

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 134...
... Without such alignment and interdependence, deep conceptual understanding, is more difficult to achieve. For example, if teachers focus on teaching "big ideas" but the related assessments measure students' knowledge of discrete facts, it is impossible to know the extent to which students genuinely understand core concepts.
From page 135...
... Principles of Curriculum for Understonding A mathematics or science curriculum for advanced study that promotes learn~ng with understanding: · Structures the concepts, factual content, and procedures that constitute the knowledge base of the discipline around the organizing principles (big ideas) of the domain.
From page 136...
... Curriculum for understanding represents more than a collection of activities or bits of information: it provides for the holistic performance of meaningful, complex tasks in increasingly challenging environments (Resnick and Klopfer, 19891. A curriculum for understanding takes the shape of topical strands that are highly interconnected in ways that are consistent with the knowledge structure used by experts in tackling complex tasks in their discipline (Marie, Mintzes, and Clavin, 2000~.~ The deep disciplinary understanding of experts encompasses a vast amount of knowledge, but generally only a subset of that knowledge is used in the solution of any given problem.
From page 137...
... Rather, strong, curriculum design emphasizes interdisciplinary connections, integration, and authenticity in the relationship between learning in and out of school. These features not only make learning more challenging, exciting, and motivating, but also help students develop their abilities to make meaningful connections by applying and transferring knowledge from one problem context to another.
From page 138...
... The class goes on to the next unit, photosynthesis. Curriculum developed for one course at a time without articulation among the levels of schooling A rigid, prescribed, static curriculum No relationship between NRC's National Science Education Standards/NCTM's Principles and Standards for School Mathematics and programs for advanced study or college courses Collaborative teams including content and pedagogy experts Understanding of concepts in expanded and more flexible time periods Example: A curriculum specifies four statements of essential knowledge aboutthe production and utilization of energy in cells that are critical to building an understanding of the processes of photosynthesis and respiration.
From page 139...
... · Engages students in worthwhile tasks that provide access to powerful mathematical and scientific ideas and practices; moves students to see past the surface features of problems to the deeper, more fundamental principles; and develops their conceptual understanding and skills. · Structures learning environments in which students can work collaboratively at: to gain experience in using the ways of thinking and speaking used by experts in the discipline.
From page 140...
... It is important for instruction in advanced courses in mathematics and science to engage students in inquiry using a variety of activities and strategies, including experimentation, critical analysis of various sources of information, and the application of technology in problem solving. In this way, students combine knowledge in the domain with reasoning and thinkin skills as they are engaged collaboratively in asking questions, constructing, testing and analyzing explanations, communicating the explanations, and considering alternatives (Townes and Grant, 19971.
From page 141...
... Effective instruction in advanced courses should involve building and nurturing a community of learners. A community of learners encourages students to take academic risks by providing opportunities for them to make mistakes, obtain feedback, and revise their thinking while learning from others with whom they are engaged in inquiry and cooperative problem solving activities.
From page 142...
... Presenting scientific knowledge through lecture, text, and demonstration, with activities centered on the teacher The same learning experiences for all students Strategies that have students working alone "One-size-fits-all" instructional strategies Establishing blocks of time and designing lessons such that all students are required to learn the same thing in the same way atthe same rate Students doing numerous, often simplistic and unconnected laboratory activities and being exposed to many different procedures Focusing on elaborate, equipment-intensive laboratory exercises Laboratory exercises in which students are provided with all relevant background and procedures and are asked to follow the steps, fill in the data, and answer a few questions, after which the class moves on Guiding students through active and extended inquiry and facilitating student-centered learning Appropriate matching of strategies and learners based on awareness of individual student's prior knowledge, abilities, and interests Strategies that incorporate collaboration among students and foster the development of classroom learning communities Multiple strategies designed to enhance understanding Flexible scheduling and learning experiences that provide students with enough time, space, resources, guidance, and feedback for learning Students conducting extended investigations and inquiry and having opportunities to progress through cycles of assessment and revision Focusing on interactions between students and materials, as well as teacher-student and studentstudent interactions Laboratory and inquiry experiences in which students are challenged to formulate questions that can be answered experimentally, propose and support hypotheses, plan procedures, design data tables and data analyses, evaluate and discuss results, and repeat experiments with modifications Teachers monitoring laboratory work to ensure that Teachers acting as facilitators for laboratory the steps of the procedure are being followed correctly experimentation; advising students on what essential measurements must be taken; discussing sample sizes; suggesting equipmentthat is available for use during the experiment; coaching students in techniques and protocols; and, within the limits of safety, allowing students to make mistakes and try again Example: The teacher's lecture centers on presenting and explaining rate expressions and factors that affect forward and reverse reactions. Keq calculations are shown.
From page 143...
... In advanced mathematics and science, that goal is learning with understanding. This section reviews design principles for two types of assessments: those that measure student achievement at the end of a program of study, such as AP Physics, and those that are used by teachers to provide feedback to students, guide instruction, and monitor its effects throughout the course of study (see Box 7-4 for a summary of the design principles for assessment)
From page 144...
... · Multifaceted and continuous when used to assist learning by providing multiple opportunities for students to practice their skills and receive feedback about their performance. · Designed to assess understanding that is both qualitative and quantitative in nature and to provide multiple modalities with which a student can demonstrate learning.
From page 145...
... Because advanced study programs in the United States are strongly influenced by high-stakes assessment, the committee is especially concerned with how this form of assessment can be structured to facilitate learning with understanding. It is well known that such assessments, even coming after the end of instruction, inevitably have strong, anticipatory effects on instruction and learning Thus if high-stakes assessments fail to elicit complex cognition and other important learning outcomes, such as conceptual understanding and problem solving, they may have negative effects on the teaching and learning, that precede them.
From page 146...
... . Given that the goals of curriculum and assessment for advanced study are to promote deep understanding of the underlying concepts and unifying themes of a discipline, effective assessment should reveal whether students truly understand those principles and can apply their knowledge in new situations.
From page 147...
... Assessing discrete, easily measured information Formative assessments—ongoing assessment of teaching and learning Learning assessments that drive program changes in the direction of the goal for advanced studies Assessments that evaluate understanding and reasoning Students participating in developing and analyzing the results of assessments Classroom discourse including argument and explanation of students' ideas and understandings Example: Students participate in varied assessment activities throughout the unit. A brief oral examination tests understanding of a reading assignment.
From page 148...
... 2271. Thus the success of current reform efforts—in secondary mathematics and science, as well as other curricular areas in fostering learning with understanding depends on creating opportunities for teachers' continual learning and providing sufficient professional development resources to exploit these opportunities (Darling-Hammond, 1996, 1999b; Sykes, 19969.
From page 149...
... It also should help teachers understand the particular methods of inquiry in their discipline, know discipline-specific ways to reason and communicate, and understand the relationships of the discipline to other school subjects and to societal issues (NCTM, 1991; NRC, 19961. Professional development should also help teachers understand students as learners by providing opportunities to examine students' thinking about mathematics and science.
From page 150...
... There is considerable evidence that existing knowledge and beliefs play an important role in how teachers learn to teach, how they teach, and how they think about teaching in new ways (Cohen and Ball, 1990; Prawat, 1992; Putnam and Borko, 19973. If professional development is to support meaningful chan'ge in teaching and teachers, it must address teachers' existing knowledge and beliefs, just as teachers are expected to address prior knowledge in their students in order to promote learning with understanding.
From page 151...
... To meet those needs, teachers must constantly revise their practice and reflect on teaching and learning. To this end, teachers need professional development that provides opportunities for them to expand their knowledge, to experiment with new ideas about teaching and learning, to receive feedback about their teaching, and to work with others to effect positive changes in mathematics and science education (NCTM, 1991; NRC, 1996; Putnam and Borko, 19971.
From page 152...
... The more aligned the institutional and social context for learning is with the committee's conceptual framework for analyzing and designing advanced study, the more likely it is that the innovations we advocate will be sustained over time and enhance student achievement.
From page 153...
... This framework was constructed on the basis of current knowledge about how people learn and about the nature of subject matter expertise. Advanced study programs that are aligned with this framework and the attendant principles will foster deep, robust conceptual understanding.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.