Accelerating Student and Staff Learning
Purposeful Curriculum Collaboration

Edited by:

Kay Psencik

Foreword by Stephanie Hirsh

Other Titles in:
Staff Development & Professional Learning | Student Assessment | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles

February 2009 | 192 pages | Corwin

"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.

Available Formats

ISBN: 9781412971461	Paperback	Suggested Retail Price: $40.95	Bookstore Price: $32.76
ISBN: 9781452272900	Electronic Version	Suggested Retail Price: $37.00	Bookstore Price: $37.00

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Foreword by Stephanie Hirsh

Publisher's Acknowledgments

About the Author

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

Appendix 1. Our Assumptions About Student and Staff Learning

Appendix 2. The Principles of Professional Learning

Appendix 3. Our Vision of Our School: Iduma Elementary School, Killeen ISD, Killeen, TX

Appendix 4. A Learning Walk

Appendix 5. We are a School Community That Values Learning

Appendix 6. Template for Developing Our Learning Community's Norms

Appendix 7. Quakertown High School Goals

Appendix 8. Sample Letter to Parents

Appendix 9. Critical Attributes of a Performance Task

Appendix 10. Template for Culminating Demonstrations

Appendix 11. Example of a Task Analysis of a Culminating Demonstration

Appendix 12. Example of a Task Analysis of a Culminating Demonstration (Term III)

Appendix 13. Precision in Adverbs

Appendix 14. Middle Ages Scoring Guide

Appendix 15. Culminating Demonstration Rubric for First Grade Students at Heritage Elementary

Appendix 16. Kindergarten Literacy Lesson Plans

References

Index

Key features

Assists K - 12 school administrators and teacher leaders in raising student performance by focusing the work of professional learning communities on curriculum design.
Includes a wealth of stories and examples from districts around the country that have chosen to develop a life long journey of embedding curriculum conversations in their daily work.
Addresses essential teacher and administrator skills that support professional learning communities as they engage in the study of learning outcomes and curriculum.
Built on the latest research literature on professional learning communities.