Accelerating Student and Staff Learning

Purposeful Curriculum Collaboration

Kay Psencik, Margaret Kay Psencik

• Publisher: Corwin
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9781412971461, 9781412971454
• eBook ISBN: 9781452272900
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

"This book brings new focus to the rich history of ideas and strategies shown to improve student learning, helping educators at all levels see not only the value of using proven strategies, but the importance of integrating those strategies into purposeful improvement efforts."
—Thomas R. Guskey, Distinguished Service Professor
Georgetown College

"This is a book of action. The author calls for leaders in school communities to be bold, courageous, committed, and aggressive in the actions required to achieve desired increases in student learning."
—Charles Patterson, Educational Consultant
Former President, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Dramatically raise student achievement by engaging educators in collaborative curriculum design and professional development!

Teachers, teacher leaders, principals, and staff developers can build a collaborative culture and improve staff and student performance with this content-focused, step-by-step model that ties curriculum design to teacher growth. Kay Psencik provides a powerful process whereby teachers work together in teams to examine standards, gain a deep understanding of content, create curriculum maps, and design common formative assessments. Professional development leaders can inspire and challenge teachers to:

• Confront assumptions about learning and professional development
• Clarify and establish complex standards
• Embed conversations about the curriculum into daily work

With hands-on tools, templates, and resources, readers can help teachers become more skilled in their instruction, create a school-based curriculum that is tied to standards, and accelerate the learning of both students and staff.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Dedication
• Introduction
• 1. An Overview: Collaborative Curriculum Design as Professional Learning
• 2. Establishing Assumptions About Student and Staff Learning
• 3. Determining Complex Curriculum Standards and Concepts
• 4. Mapping the Curriculum
• 5. Assessment of Student Learning
• 6. Designing Instruction
• 7. Analyzing Student Work and Monitoring Student Learning to Inform Instruction
• 8. Using Effective Grading and Parent Reporting Practices
• 9. Leading Schools to Sustain the Effort and Fulfill the Promise
• Resources
• Resource A. Our Assumptions About Student and Staff Learning
• Resource B. The Principles of Professional Learning
• Resource C. Our Vision of Our School: Iduma Elementary School, Killeen ISD, Killeen, TX
• Resource D. A Learning Walk
• Resource E. We Are a School Community That Values Learning
• Resource F. Our Learning Community’s Norms
• Resource G. Quakertown High School Goals
• Resource H. Example Letter to Parents
• Resource I. Critical Attributes of a Performance Task or Project
• Resource J. Template for Culminating Demonstrations
• Resource K. Example of a Second-Grade, First-Term Culminating Demonstration
• Resource L. Example of a Second-Grade, Third-Term Culminating Demonstration
• Resource M. Precision in Adverbs
• Resource N. Exemplary Rubric: Middle Ages Scoring Guide
• Resource O. Culminating Demonstration Rubric for First-Grade Students at Heritage Elementary
• Resource P. Kindergarten Literacy Lesson Plans
• References
• Index