Power Standards: Focusing on the Essential - 0 views
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Very often, teachers operate under the assumption that all standards are equally important and that they have to ensure that students are taught all of the standards with the same level of intensity each year.
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The danger of delivering standards that are an inch deep and a mile wide is that students will inevitably leave a grade level or course with gaps in their learning.
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prioritize certain standards and performance indicators, rather than giving each of them an equal amount of attention in the curriculum and on assessments.
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teachers collaboratively prioritize their standards
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requires teachers to look at the standards vertically. This vertical alignment allows teachers to identify important prerequisite skills students need
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higher quality assessments
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aligned, purposeful, and essential in identifying those students in need of intervention, remediation, or enrichment.
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If a collaborative approach to prioritizing standards is not used, then teachers are forced to choose what they feel is essential. Often those decisions are based on a teacher’s comfort level, availability of resources, or personal preferences. This approach does not give all students access to a guaranteed and viable curriculum.
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narrowing the focus
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It is far easier for teachers to go in depth when they have fewer priority standards
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deepening students’ understanding of essential content, strategies, and skills
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debate and discuss the significance of the standards they teach
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easier for teachers to choose high quality resources
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teachers have clarity around what is essential to teach
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We call these prioritized standards “power standards.”
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distinguishes the standards that are essential for student success
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“those standards that, once mastered, give a student the ability to use reasoning and thinking skills to learn and understand other curriculum objectives.”
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support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
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Part of the problem is that the students don't see many REAL world (ie popular in media) examples of this. They have unsubstantiated claims from both side, demonization of the other side instead of discussion and debate over content and ideas.
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learning that is essential for success
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goes beyond one course or grade level
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important in life
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students will need to read informational texts proficiently and substantiate their claims using evidence from the text when reading, writing, and speaking
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multidisciplinary connections
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relevant in other disciplines
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learning that is applied both within the content area and in other content areas
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standard represents learning that is essential for success
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Does this standard contain prerequisite content
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think of a triple Venn Diagram, and that for the overall success of students each circle in that Venn Diagram has equal importance
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skills necessary for the next
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power standards are those that teachers will spend most of their instructional time teaching
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standards emphasized on state and national assessments
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focus of teacher assessments
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If every teacher in the grade level or course is emphasizing something different, you do not have a guaranteed curriculum for students.
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Not all standards are equally important at every grade level or in every course
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work collaboratively in vertical teams
