Backward+Design



Backward Design Featuring Contextual Matrices for Planning, Learning and Assessment ** Written by Trudy Francis Alvin Toffler //** Many schools are integrating the curriculum in an effort to engage their students with authentic opportunities to make sense of the world they live in and to internalise skills and dispositions that develop the characteristics of a life-long learner. Inquiry models are varied; however the best ones have coherent design where big ideas relate to democratic concerns of equality, freedom, justice, and power sharing, as well as to help students to consider how individuals or communities can act with the new knowledge to transform the situation (Saltman, 2005). Therefore big ideas that motivate students are embedded within social problems that affect them and their community and making explicit links to the student’s experiences and big ideas that are relevant and significant, results in deep understandings about self and others, society and the future of the planet. Big ideas like these are very different from thematic planning whereby we would integrate disparate curriculum areas whilst focussing on something like ‘flight’ for example. Kath Murdoch (1997) suggests we ask: What’s worth teaching? "Education is learning what you didn't know you didn't know" (George Boas). The teacher role is to take students beyond their experiences //and// find out about their interests, passions, questions and experiences. The role of the model described below is to develop in students, complex performance where they create new knowledge and participate in new ways.
 * Robust Inquiry – Begins with Big Ideas **
 * // "The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
 * Check out link for the Model for Backward Design created with Teachers at College Street Normal School, Palmerston North **

A backward design approach to planning an inquiry unit begins with the end in mind. What would we like to see and hear by the end of the unit? Once a big idea has been selected it can be narrowed down to a context (student voice has a valid place in these two phases). Considering the Key Competencies at this stage will help teachers develop a complex view of them, which in turn, enables them to engage students in the development of the Key Competencies in conjunction with a deep understanding. For those schools who value the Habits of Mind, further links can be made. The Habits of Mind can facilitate exploration of aspects of the Key Competencies in more explicit ways. Creating an outcome statement in the form of a deep understanding defines the performance which further clarifies the desired outcomes. Crooks (1988) believes assessment to be one of the most potent forces affecting student’s learning. It affects motivation to learn, self-regulation and perceptions about competence. Assessment consolidates learning and infers value that the content is worth learning. Assessing deep understandings, competencies and dispositions challenges us to critically analyse our beliefs about assessment, the purpose(s) for assessment and //how// assessment can be used to empower students. This model emphasises a paradigm shift from summative and often subjective assessment of performance which is usually completed by the teacher on behalf of the student. The information gained may be used to improve teaching and learning as well as gauge the success of the unit, the curriculum delivery program and school in general. Today’s classrooms are busy and dynamic places where the teacher is consistently challenged to manage often competing pressures on a daily basis. In this context assessment can be viewed as ‘another thing to get done’. This model places assessment at the very heart of the planning process. Breaking down each part of the deep understanding into continuums that describe complex performance from Novice, Apprentice, and Practitioner through to Expert elaborates on the deep understanding and clarifies our learning goals. These continuums become part of a matrix. The matrix describes knowledge outcomes, competency development and how students take critical action as they apply their learning to existing and new contexts. It is important to note two things in relation to the matrix continuums. Firstly, novice is not a deficit performance; instead it describes an awareness stage and/or the first step(s) in skill development. Secondly, limiting the use of semantics to differentiate performance and replacing this language with the facets of understanding as described by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins manifests understanding. Making links between the outcomes described in the matrix and the New Zealand curriculum validates and refines what you are doing. Where to from here? We have described the performance outcomes, but how do we transfer this to the classroom? As we reflect on the outcomes we can ask significant questions which will enable us to unpack the desired outcomes with students. Placing them and specific matrix indicators into Kath Murdoch’s stages of inquiry create a learning journey. For example: at the tuning is stage the desired outcome may be to hook students at an emotional level, perhaps to polarise them in an effort to uncover their prior knowledge, perceptions and misconceptions. The table below demonstrates the first stage of inquiry planning created in Newbury Primary School, Palmerston North (2008). This example illustrates the cogent links made between the significant questions, the matrix indicator, the purpose and ideas for lesson design for teachers to select from. The experiences we engage the students with are critical. A holistic approach is more than just a cognitive approach. Instead, it draws on diverse funds of knowledge, attitudes and values as the students make sense of the experiences they are having.  §   Engaging students with the topic  §   Assessing prior knowledge  §   Assessing gaps in knowledge  §   Refining and planning  §   Gathering questions Significant Questions: What is conflict? What causes conflict? || ** Matrix Indicator  ** I can compare and contrast the causes and effects of conflict. To find out the children’s prior knowledge. To find out their assumptions and misconceptions || **  Week  **  –   Brainstorm in groups “what is conflict?” circle map  –   “What are the causes of conflict?” circle map  –  //  Introduce the provocative statement “War is the best way to solve problems”  //  –   Human continuum  –   Show ‘Why’ book and add to circle maps using different colour (key)  –   Show a video or power point of people getting ready to go to war and then the cost of war.  –   Revisit provocative statement and add to circle maps  –   Introduce the Bloom’s reading contract on World War Two.  –   Drama activities on life of…. (book ‘Rose Blanche’)  –   Diary of a soldier. || These experiences create space for the second purpose of the matrix. Rich experiences lead to rich reflection which enables students to articulate their thoughts and feelings with greater clarity. Their reflections can be used to create continuums of performance in their own words. The teacher co-constructs these descriptions with students in conjunction with the experiences they have been engaged with. This co-constructive process evolves over a series of lessons. When the student matrix is complete they assess themselves, gather evidence to support their judgements and then set a goal. Teachers at College Street Normal School in Palmerston North are experimenting with the matrix tool which was created by Trudy Francis. We are finding that the matrix is the fulcrum of our planning, but more importantly we have a tool that empowers students as they employ formal thought such as Metacognition to regulate their learning. They are ‘insiders’ they have created the learning goals instead of having external measures of performance placed on them by others. This enables the student to revisit and rethink important ideas to deepen their understanding in an authentic context and uses multiple forms of assessment as students demonstrate their understanding in various ways (Wiggins & McTighe, 2007). The matrix is a smart tool for planning and assessment because it makes a difference: our planning is better, our processes are better, it is manageable and the data we get is reliable. It is valid because the learner is involved in formative evaluation throughout the inquiry. They actively seek evidence and judge their own performance. It positions the learner in a place of empowerment, encouraging them to move beyond the risk of misinterpretation. This position is critical when assessing attitudes, values, competencies and deep understandings (Hipkins, Boyd & Joyce, 2005). Grant Wiggins //** "I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." Pablo Picasso Collating data on more traditional tracking sheets has been difficult. This difficulty was the catalyst for the author and Corinne Walsh (Assistant Principal, College Street Normal School) to design a tool that would enable us to identify where each student was on the continuum after they had completed their first self assessment. This tool looks a lot like the matrix – it has the deep understanding recorded on it, three layers representing each section of the desired outcomes from the original matrix, spaces for student names, a key that shows shifts and space for notes and final evaluation. Corinne and interested teachers are trialling the use of this data collection sheet. For the first time we have a tool that helps us differentiate instruction in accordance to students’ own goals. This makes possible for the teacher to plan specific experiences for groups of students which enables them to achieve their goals. It shows the shifts each student makes when they achieve their goal. It demonstrates that students are multi-faceted learners with learning strengths and learning needs. Our more able students often feature quite high in relation to knowledge outcomes, but many feature quite low in the Key Competencies. The teacher is able to facilitate growth in the competencies when the student can see they have needed to develop something of importance. Some of the complex challenges we face when we integrate the curriculum can be simplified when we use smart tools to plan, teach and assess. As teachers make sense of the new curriculum opportunities to be creative, energetic and enterprising will come about. New learning partnerships will evolve as the position of the learner changes. 
 * The Matrix a Smart Tool for Planning **
 * ** Stage of Unit  ** || **  Teacher Working with Class  ** ||
 * ** Tuning In  **
 * Purpose **
 * The Matrix a Smart Tool for Student Goal Setting **
 * // "How much do students really love to learn, to persist, to passionately attack a problem or a task? ...to watch some of their prized ideas explode and to start anew? ...to go beyond being merely dutiful or long-winded? Let us assess such things."
 * The Matrix a Smart Tool for Differentiation **