Thinking about UdB- the learning space as part of curriculum
At class last week, we were exposed (or re-introduced) to the Understanding by Design curriculum model. As a group, we will have the task of deconstructing our Hawai'i island STEMS2 unit from summer 2017 and reconstructing it through our developing STEMS2 lenses, including using a UbD template. This task will get our creative curricular juices flowing for our own Unit Plan development and implementation projects-nice scaffolding job, Tara and Eo!
I've been exposed to the UbD framework and have used it now and again when working collaboratively with other teachers to plan classroom integrated STEAM units. Still, it has been awhile and taking a fresh look at the white paper http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf
reminded me about some of the strengths in the UbD framework when it comes to planning curriculum and assessment and guiding instruction.
I've decided to do my Q2 grade 5 and grade 2 units using the framework template as a test to see if this pedagogical approach works in my current setting and if it can help me in achieving a goal of being more transparent with the classroom GL teachers I work with. I've been struggling a bot with that as I am growing more excited to try out ideas and approaches from STEMS2 and not always being very effective and communicating the rationale to the teachers whose students I am working with. I'm eager to see if this framework can be a tool to ease through some of that confusion.
I have begun by modifying the template a bit for my use and adding a section for community partners and resources such as state agencies, guest speakers and other ways we can bridge the school-outside world gap. (see photo below)
I have also been thinking about the ways in which my learning space sets up the expectations for students and teachers and ways that the physical space can support the level of purposeful planning I put into my instructional design. I ave the incredible luxury, for a PTT, of a classroom completely dedicated to my use even though I am only with students for 17 hours each week. That speaks to the level of focus and value that my school places on the STEAM program and on place-based, hands-on learning.
When planning instruction using UdB, we think first about what should students know, understand, and be able to do? What is the ultimate transfer we seek as a result of this unit? I asked myself how would just entering the room begin to address some of those same questions. How are students greeted, what sensory experiences do they have? Can I make some choices about practice and design of the learning space, can I begin to place myself in the role of learning coach before the formal instructional lesson has begun (or, at least before it is obviously begun)?
Toward a response to the above, I have done some redesign of the entry space and some rethinking of some of my organizational and management practices. I still post a welcome greeting (ma 'olelo Hawai'i) along with instructions for where and how students should arrange themselves when they enter on a whole board outside my room. I still have a "Think About It NOW" prompt on the board so students can begin to activate prior knowledge and, in some cases, engage with their design teams; I still have some music or scent or some other than visual stimulus going upon entry to signal a shift in energy and focus from the outside space where they came from. Some additions have been trying to keep my voice out of the entry routine, greet with a smile and a wave and maybe a head nod tor pointing gesture o the "Think About.." The board inside my entry door focusses on Kilo and the Hawaiian calendar and I am often dong a daily update to that calendar as the first block students arrive. It is also the place where students line up in preparation for the Exit Question so it gets a lot of "eye time" and promotes further informal discussion among the students. I plan to keep this place up at least through holiday break because there is a lot of layers of meaning in this information and I believe it will take repeated exposure to be fully explored. I keep my eyes and ears open as I see and hear students interacting with each other in this space- I hope that will lead me into student high-interest questions I can address through classroom design.
I've been exposed to the UbD framework and have used it now and again when working collaboratively with other teachers to plan classroom integrated STEAM units. Still, it has been awhile and taking a fresh look at the white paper http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf
reminded me about some of the strengths in the UbD framework when it comes to planning curriculum and assessment and guiding instruction.
I've decided to do my Q2 grade 5 and grade 2 units using the framework template as a test to see if this pedagogical approach works in my current setting and if it can help me in achieving a goal of being more transparent with the classroom GL teachers I work with. I've been struggling a bot with that as I am growing more excited to try out ideas and approaches from STEMS2 and not always being very effective and communicating the rationale to the teachers whose students I am working with. I'm eager to see if this framework can be a tool to ease through some of that confusion.
I have begun by modifying the template a bit for my use and adding a section for community partners and resources such as state agencies, guest speakers and other ways we can bridge the school-outside world gap. (see photo below)
I have also been thinking about the ways in which my learning space sets up the expectations for students and teachers and ways that the physical space can support the level of purposeful planning I put into my instructional design. I ave the incredible luxury, for a PTT, of a classroom completely dedicated to my use even though I am only with students for 17 hours each week. That speaks to the level of focus and value that my school places on the STEAM program and on place-based, hands-on learning.
When planning instruction using UdB, we think first about what should students know, understand, and be able to do? What is the ultimate transfer we seek as a result of this unit? I asked myself how would just entering the room begin to address some of those same questions. How are students greeted, what sensory experiences do they have? Can I make some choices about practice and design of the learning space, can I begin to place myself in the role of learning coach before the formal instructional lesson has begun (or, at least before it is obviously begun)?
Toward a response to the above, I have done some redesign of the entry space and some rethinking of some of my organizational and management practices. I still post a welcome greeting (ma 'olelo Hawai'i) along with instructions for where and how students should arrange themselves when they enter on a whole board outside my room. I still have a "Think About It NOW" prompt on the board so students can begin to activate prior knowledge and, in some cases, engage with their design teams; I still have some music or scent or some other than visual stimulus going upon entry to signal a shift in energy and focus from the outside space where they came from. Some additions have been trying to keep my voice out of the entry routine, greet with a smile and a wave and maybe a head nod tor pointing gesture o the "Think About.." The board inside my entry door focusses on Kilo and the Hawaiian calendar and I am often dong a daily update to that calendar as the first block students arrive. It is also the place where students line up in preparation for the Exit Question so it gets a lot of "eye time" and promotes further informal discussion among the students. I plan to keep this place up at least through holiday break because there is a lot of layers of meaning in this information and I believe it will take repeated exposure to be fully explored. I keep my eyes and ears open as I see and hear students interacting with each other in this space- I hope that will lead me into student high-interest questions I can address through classroom design.
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