The document outlines a workshop to help teachers better understand curricular standards. The goals are to increase understanding of standards and make them more meaningful. Objectives include effectively communicating standards to stakeholders. Examples are given for how to communicate standards clearly to students and parents, such as rewriting standards in simpler language and discussing them during parent-teacher conferences. Research suggests aligning instruction with standards and assessments can improve student performance on tests. A worksheet is provided to help teachers simplify standards language. Assessment methods are listed to evaluate the effectiveness of the workshop in improving teachers' understanding and use of standards.

1. Not Your Standard use of Standards Joe Clark, Jackie Jones & Krista Nygaard Standards Training for Classroom Improvement CUR 562 February 26, 2010 Dr. Sarah Lee Brown

2. Purpose and Goal of Standards Training: The purpose of this workshop is to increase the staff’s understanding of the standards. The goal is to make the standards more meaningful.

3. Objectives: Communicate the standards effectively. Identify the purpose of curricular standards.

4. How to Effectively Communicate the Standards: Standards should be available to all stakeholders (students, parents, teachers, administrators, community, etc.). Students should have a clear understanding of what standard a lesson is addressing. Teachers can write the standards on a whiteboard if it is appropriate. Standards should be rewritten for clarity and ease of understanding whenever necessary. Students and parents may not understand the language used to write the standards. It is the teacher’s responsibility to help them understand.

5. Examples of Effective Communication of Standards: Rewrite all standards in student and parent friendly language. Give handouts to parents at the start of each term listing and describing the standards to be covered. Each day write the standards to be covered on a whiteboard in the classroom. Make the standards available through the school website. During parent-teacher conferences, discuss the standards that have been learned by the student.

6. The Purpose of Curricular Standards: Standards guide instruction. Standards allow for continuity across grade levels and schools (scope and sequence of instruction). Standards-based instruction holds teachers accountable to teach a specific set of curriculum.

7. What does research say about the purpose of curricular standards? “ Improved student performance on standardized tests can result when teachers carefully align instruction with learning goals and assessments.” “ Other benefits include better communication and collaboration among teachers, helping them understand how their instructional decisions contribute to students' overall learning.” District Administration (2004)

8. Standards Language Conversion Worksheet The purpose of this worksheet is to be a primer to help you rewrite your classroom standards in a more student-friendly language.

9. Standards Language Conversion Worksheet The purpose of this worksheet is to be a primer to help you rewrite your classroom standards in a more student-friendly language.

10. Standards Language Conversion Worksheet The purpose of this worksheet is to be a primer to help you rewrite your classroom standards in a more student-friendly language. EXAMPLE: Academic Standard A1.3.3 – Identify and describe trends in the visual arts and discuss how the issues of time, place, and cultural influences are reflected in selected works of art? Rewritten Standard A1.3.3 – What current trends can you identify by the lyrics of this song?

11. Assessment Outline Pre/Post-training standards questionnaire Post-training participants’ interviews Post-training observation of participants’ classrooms Administrative reviews of teachers will include a standards component, as well. The evaluations will be compared for participants’ pre/post training to discover any improvements due to the training.

12. Pre/Post Training Questionnaire Do any of the standards have the potential to be misunderstood or misinterpreted? Do you understand the standards well enough to translate them for a parent or student? Are your standards presented in a manner that is easily understood? Do your standards guide the curriculum? Do standards guide your instructional strategies? Do you have the resources to implement these standards? Does your current curriculum allow you to meet the standards? Do your assessments evaluate the standards effectively?

13. In-Training Assessment (Possibilities) 1 Minute Paper – at the half way point of the training, participants have to compose a 1 minute paper explaining the most important point of the training to them to that point. Muddiest Point – similar to the 1 minute paper, but participants discuss in a small group what is most confusing to them. Transfer & Apply – participants have to take a point from the training and apply it to a situation in their classrooms. Reciprocal Interviews – participants interview each other about the training to that point and then share with the group each other’s point to ponder.

14. References District Administrator. (July 2004). The benefits of curricular alignment . Retrieved Feb. 26, 2010, from http://www.districtadministration.com/ViewArticle.aspx?articleid=600