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Selecting Your Learning Objectives
For those schools that are a part of the New Technology Network (NTN), the learning outcomes of Knowledge and Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Written Communication, and Oral Communication are next. The rubrics for these outcomes are found below, in a format that is easy to copy rows from, making it easy to make your personalized rubric. Others may know these outcomes as 21st Century Skills from the P21.org association.
Finally, you will be asked to add anything else that you feel is important. Our job as teachers is not to teach just the standards. The standards are guides and are designed to be starting points. Our experience should inform our instruction, as long as we are also open to new information. You may wish to look at the TPACK model before deciding that you are finished with your learning objectives. The Next Generation Science StandardsBelow is the Build-A-Unit Toolbox Google Form that will lead you through selecting the objectives you need from the NGSS. Simply scroll through the form embedded below to interact with it.
When you have finished filling out the form and click "done", the form will email your selections. You may wish to open that document immediately so that you can finish adding your learning objectives. The Common Core State StandardsThe Common Core State Standards accepted by the State of California can be found HERE.
Below are the pieces of the standards most applicable to California science classrooms. Read through these and choose a few (again, I suggest 3-5) ELA standards and a few Math standards. As you choose them, add them to your Unit Plan that was emailed to you at the completion of the NGSS Google Form. Remember, you don't need to choose every standard that could apply, just the ones that you want to focus on. Both documents can be viewed on this page, or downloaded by clicking on the title. Common Core State Standards - ELA - For Science and Technical Subjects - click here to download the PDF Common Core State Standards - Math - click here to download the PDF
Common Core Tech StandardsDid you know these existed? Yeah, I didn't know they did either. Here you go.
NTN's School Wide Learning Outcomes (aka 21st Century Skills)
To see the Google Doc versions of these rubrics click HERE. I would use the Google Doc versions when copying and pasting. Use the embedded documents below to look at them.
These rubrics are from the New Technology Network, but reformatted for ease of use. Instructions: Read through each rubric and choose a few rows (or bands) that you would like to focus on during your unit. Maybe you are making a general rubric for the entire unit, or entire year. Maybe you are creating a rubric for a specific assignment. In any case, the process is the same. Read through the rubric and when you find a row you like, copy it into your table. The blank rubric tables can be found in your Unit Plan that was emailed to you. Grading: Keep in mind that you can replace the 1-4 scale with Emerging, Developing, Proficient, and Advanced. This lets you make the point worth be whatever you want. For instance 0-3 for Emerging, 4-6 for Developing, 7-8 for Proficient, and 9-10 for Advanced. I have an example of this in my Example Unit. Agency: Agency is a hard thing to define. I have also heard it called Professionalism. In short, Agency is the set of skills necessary to being a self-driven student (and eventually a self-driven employee). Collaboration: Collaboration is the set of skills necessary to work well in a group. It also includes leadership skills. You will notice overlap between Agency and Collaboration, as both have personal responsibility at their heart. The main difference is that collaboration is about doing what you can to help the group succeed, which is much more than just doing "your part".
Written Communication: Written communication is fairly straightforward. It is the set of skills necessary to adequately convey meaning in a written format. For a science class this could also include diagrams, figures, graphs, and tables. Organization and clarity are very important, but equally important is the ability to write in the apporpiate tone and to follow the appropriate format.
Oral Communication: Oral communication can seem out of place in a science classroom. Just remember, all research scientists need to be able to verbally explain and defend their work. Conferences are still a major way scientific knowledge is exchanged. Oral communication is one of those skill sets that will serve our students well regardless of their eventual career. Why wouldn't we teach it in every class?
Your ExperienceBefore you move on, take a moment to read all of your learning objectives. Is there anything missing? Keep asking yourself this as you move through the rest of the process. It is never to late to jump back and add something to the list. The standards are not supposed to be the end-all-be-all of our class. As teachers, we know what our students need on a level that people outside of our classrooms will never achieve. Feel free to add to your list.
SANITY CHECKAre there WAY TOO MANY learning objectives? Really only 3-5 is a reasonable number you can assess in one lesson. Now, or at any point really, you should feel free to delete learning objectives from your list. Less is more. The best way to teach is to teach SKILLS. And the best way to teach skills is to teach DEEPLY.
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TYPES OF ASSESSMENT
CHUNKING
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
REFERENCES
EXAMPLE UNIT
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