Unpacking
•
Putting the standard under the lens
•
Determine the how and what
–
Look at the instructional strategies suitable to teach each
standard
–
Look at the content, skills, processes to be taught, or
performances to be demonstrated
First,
the Curriculum Framework
What are Essential
Understandings?
"moral of the (unit) story"
Full-sentence generalizations about
the resultant learning
Clearly stated and usually can be
transferred
"Big Picture" concepts
What are Essential
Questions?
Questions at the heart of the
learning
Usually can be argued
Often recur and should recur in
learning
Can effectively provoke and sustain
engaged inquiry and focus final performance
Often raise important
conceptual or philosophical issues
Can provide purpose for
learning
Types of Essential
Questions
Overarching
"In nature, do
only the strong survive and what do we mean by ‘strong’?"
Topical
"How strong was President Bush
in his address to Congress after the terrorist attack of our country?"
Finally, What are the
Essential Knowledge & Skills?
The facts and just the facts
Support the understandings
The details that make clear the
"big picture" ideas
The process skills that students must
master to support the understandings
How
to measure the SOL?
•
Standards are not in measurable format
•
Need to unpack them further
•
Must establish from the SOL the
Goals of the standards
Performance
Objectives are Measurable Objectives
This format allows the teacher to focus on the what, the how,
the expectations, and the level of performance. The following must be determined:
-
Condition
-
Learning
-
Behavior
-
Performance
Level
Example: On
an outline map of Virginia, the student will demonstrate
knowledge of the regions of Virginia by drawing and labeling at least four of
the five regions.
-
Condition--outline
VA map
-
Learning--regions of
Virginia
-
Behavior--draw and label
-
Performance Level--4
out of 5
The Condition raises or lowers the level of difficulty.
The level of support offered to students provides differentiation among
students.
The learning is
the actual content to be mastered (the standard). This includes:
-
the
standard
-
key
vocabulary
-
the
stem (often becomes a test question)
-
the
language (stated so that students can understand the requirements)
Performance level is the judgement of the instructor.
It can be stated in terms of number of questions correct, percentage
correct, score to be attained. The
instructor determines this and it should not always be the same figure.
Factors that impact this may include:
New material, review items, complexity, and other factors dealing
specifically with the content.
Behavior is indicated by the VERB. The level of Bloom’s Taxonomy that the student is required
to attain to demonstrate mastery of the SOL.
The verbs are observable, specific and measurable.
Teaching
to performance objectives increases the chance the “right stuff” will be
remembered and the SOL target will be attained.
What?
The Target
Kinds
of Teaching Targets
•
Four types of targets
•
Specific details that teachers should focus upon
•
Only possible to hit the target if you know what it is
•
Unpacking allows the teacher to identify the target
Content
Target
•
Teaching of information
•
Concepts
•
Generalizations
•
Relationships
•
Factual data
•
Understandings
Skill
Targets
•
Basic steps for student to become proficient at a skill or
activity
•
Reading
•
Map skills
•
Writing a sentence
•
Analyzing the reasons for a particular result
Process
Targets
•
Teaching a series of related skills
OR
•
A procedure
resulting in a particular outcome
Product
or Performance Target
•
Teaching of skills and procedures for students to be able to
design a unique reproduction of performance that demonstrates learning of
specific teaching
How?
Implications
for Instruction
•
Embedded in each SOL
•
Guiding practice to select most effective instructional method
•
Corresponds to the six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Enablers
•
Embedded in each SOL
•
Information or skills that are prerequisite learning that lead
to the SOL
•
Proficiencies student must have in order to attain the target
indicated by the SOL
•
Prior knowledge that must be taught
Unpacking—Question
1
•
What is the ultimate target that must be taught to achieve a
standard?
–
Content, skill, process, product, or performance
Unpacking—Question
2
•
How should the standard be taught to achieve the required
level of cognitive processing?
•
Determine the ultimate cognitive level (knowledge,
comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, or evaluation) to which the
standard must be taught
•
Look at the VERB
Verbs
•
Be familiar with verbs classified among the levels of Bloom
•
Determine the level of cognition that must be achieved
•
Unpacking will focus you so that the student target will be
achieved
Remember!
•
Important to unpack all of the SOL
•
Some standards have several different parts
•
Don’t be deceived by short list per grade level
•
Standards are packed with knowledge, skills, products, and
performances required of students
How
to Unpack?
•
Process should be quick and uncomplicated
•
If know verbs—process is simple
•
Translation into measurable targets
•
Quick read to determine the what (learning and condition) and
how (most suitable instructional method for reaching the cognitive
level--behavior)
•
Your judgment determines performance level
•
Planning then becomes easier—know what is required
Why
Unpack?
•
Systematic approach
•
Standards-based curriculum
•
Provides the guide for instruction
•
Results in measurable goals and objectives
•
Teaching becomes more precise and efficient
•
Student performance on the SOL assessments will improve
Sources
•
Stiff, Helen Randolph. “Unpacking
the Standards.” Virginia
Journal of Education. June,
1999, p. 11-14.
•
Roland, Pam. “Goals
and Objectives.” PowerPoint,
Teaching for Standards Mastery. UVA:
January, 2000.
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