Understanding and Applying Standards

Unpacking a Standard

Sometimes, or I should say, most of the times, standards are very wordy and packed with a lot of information.  It is hard for teachers to break down standards into specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and targeted objectives for students. I found the exercises in unpacking standards to be useful. However, the bulk of what I know about unpacking standards have to be credited to the Education Departments of North Carolina and the State of New York.  These two states have done the job of decomposing the standards, and making the documents public. The documents, North Carolina Unpacking Standards and EngageNY, are two awesome resources with the Common Core Standards already unpacked. These resources have helped me to grasp the Common Core Standards and to know the skills that I should be teaching my students.  I would encourage new and experienced teachers to use these resources that are already available in unpacking Common Core standards. They help teachers understand what the standards mean and the skills that should be taught in each standard.

Backwards Mapping

Backwards Mapping is an effective way of planning a lesson.  When teachers know what students should be able to do before they begin planning, then teachers can have a road map to follow.   I have found that when I do not plan backwards, and there is no end product, I get lost in providing information, or activities that do not move students towards the end goal.  This activity was useful in that I was able to follow the backward design model of knowing the proficiency, designing the assessment, and creating the activities to help students to develop the knowledge and skills to meet the standard.

Writing Objectives

In my opinion, writing SMART objectives is a science.  It really does take time to learn to write effective learning objectives. I have been writing objectives for several years as a teacher and I am still improving.  My challenge is that I want to use a verb that is at the higher end of the Bloom’s taxonomy.  Sometimes I struggle with making the objective manageable for students because I am trying too hard to make the lesson rigorous.  I need to learn how to balance both. I find it helpful to start with an observable and measurable verb and to have a specific noun in the objective so that I know what student will learn to do.  

Overall, these activities helped me to create standard-aligned, SMART learning goals and objectives so my scholars can meet the standards.