CESA #11
Social Studies WISELearn Project
Trent Rasmussen
trentr@cesa11.k12.wi.us
21-22 WISELearn Grant
On-Demand Modules:
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Module 1
What are high-quality instructional materials?
Why are they important?
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What are High-Quality Instructional Resources and why are they important?
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Why does Civics, History, & Social Studies matter?
“Consequently, we’re well aware that [state standards] just the starting point—statements of aspirations, desired outcomes, and intentions. To get real traction, they must be joined by high-quality instructional materials and pedagogy, sufficient time and effort, and some form of results-based accountability.”
“[Schools are where] we can best begin to inculcate the next generation of Americans with a solid grasp of their country’s past and present, its core principles, and the obligations of responsible citizenship.”
Proof That It’s Possible to Approach Civics and U.S. History in a Balanced Way
by Griffith & Finn (2021)
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How does the DPI Define Instructional Materials
High Quality Instructional materials (textbooks, texts, digital resources, etc):
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Failing by design: How we make teaching too hard for mere mortals
Robert Pondiscio
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
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Failing by Design - 3 takeaways
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How can instructional time decisions impact reading achievement? Fordham Institute Report
The researchers looked at data from more than 18,000 K–5 students, focusing on the time spent in subject areas like math, science, social studies, and ELA, and found that “social studies is the only subject with a clear, positive, and statistically significant effect on reading improvement.” In effect, exposing kids to rich content in civics, history, and law appeared to teach reading more effectively than our current methods of teaching reading.”
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In a typical 40 hour teaching week, how much time is spent:
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But not JUST High-Quality Materials:
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IMPL Research - March 2019
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Module 2
Review Instructional Shifts in WiSSS
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5 Main Shifts
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Inquiry as an Instructional Framework
Trevor MacKenzie
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Integration Across All Strands
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Dynamic Balance of Skills and Content
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K-12 is a Progression
K-12 Learning Progression
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Civic Engagement and Authentic Audiences
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Civic Engagement
Civic engagement is developing and applying knowledge, skills, and habits in collaboration with diverse individuals within various communities to address issues, solve problems, or affect change.
Multi-team in-agency DRAFT definition,
WI DPI
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Examples of civic engagement in social studies:
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Non-Examples of civic engagement in social studies:
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Module 3
The WiSSS Version of the EQuIP Rubrics with Example Reviews
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Dimensions Rating Scale
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Overall Rating Scale
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Dimension 1
The lesson/unit aligns with the vision of social studies in Wisconsin:
o Wisconsin students will become civically-engaged problem-solvers who critically examine their roles in local, regional, state, national, and global communities. Through the study and application of the individual disciplines of social studies (behavioral sciences, economics, geography, history, and political science), students become lifelong learners able to collaborate and thrive in our interdependent world.
A unit or longer lesson should:
o Target a set of grade-band WiSSS standards.
o Include a clear and explicit purpose for instruction.
o Incorporate elements of civic engagement.
o Integrate principles of disciplinary literacy such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening with discipline specific skills and habits of mind.
o Builds students’ background knowledge through coherent selection of texts and topics.
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Dimension 2
The lesson/unit addresses key instructional shifts in the WiSSS:
o Inquiry as an Instructional Framework: Integrates inquiry into lessons, units, and courses across the social studies continuum. The “inquiry arc” components should be represented either in a coherent hole or by subskill.
o Integration Across All Strands: Creation of any social studies lesson/unit should expect to incorporate standards from multiple, if not all, strands. The WiSSS hold an expectation that curriculum developers and educators will use ALL strands in developing lessons, units, courses, and scope and sequence materials.
o Dynamic Balance of Skills and Content: Identified learning outcomes for both skills and content are clearly identified. Using specific problem-solving skills to help students access content has been shown to increase retention, and Wisconsin has a long, proud history of local control in terms of content and curriculum selection in public schools. Therefore, the standards reflect skills more than specific dot points of required content.
o K-12 is a Progression: Provide opportunities for students to build proficiencies within a skill, topic, or subject through analysis of learning priorities over the K-12 continuum. This means the curriculum should be planned K-12. This allows teachers to build on students’ prior learning, and students to have a clear expectation of what is to come.
o Civic Engagement and Authentic Audiences: Includes opportunities for all students to engage in a community and apply their learning to authentic contexts. Providing them opportunities for civic engagement and authentic audiences in the safe environment of school will offer them a gateway to community and civic readiness upon graduation. The Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies reflect a shift to College, Career, and Community Ready students
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Dimension 3 - Part 1
The lesson/unit is responsive to varied student learning needs:
o Cultivates student interest and engagement in reading, writing, listening, and speaking about grade-level texts and topics.
o Includes appropriate scaffolding so all students have multiple opportunities to directly experience the complexity of the texts and topics.
o Addresses instructional expectations and is easy to understand and use.
o Includes culturally relevant and representative materials.
o Focuses on challenging sections of texts and topics to engage students in a productive struggle through student-driven discussion questions and other supports that build toward independence.
o Integrates appropriate supports for students who are ELL, have disabilities, or currently achieve below the WiSSS grade-band expectations.
o Provides extensions and/or more advanced text(s) and topic(s) for students who achieve well above the WiSSS grade-band expectations.
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Dimension 3 - Part 2
A unit or longer lesson should:
o Include a progression of learning where concepts and skills advance and deepen over time (may be more applicable across the year or several units).
o Gradually remove supports, requiring students to demonstrate their independent capacities (may be more applicable across the year or several units).
o Provide for authentic learning, application of literacy skills, student-directed inquiry, analysis, evaluation and/or reflection.
o Integrate targeted instruction in such areas as skills needed for the inquiry process (i.e. gathering and evaluating sources, making a claim, etc.) and gaps in necessary background knowledge.
o Use technology and media to deepen learning and draw attention to evidence and texts as appropriate.
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Dimension 4
The lesson/unit regularly assesses whether students are mastering standards-based content and skills:
o Elicits direct, observable evidence of the degree to which a student can independently demonstrate the major targeted grade-level WiSSS standard(s) with appropriately complex texts and topics.
o Assesses student proficiency using methods that are unbiased and accessible to all students.
o Includes aligned rubrics or assessment guidelines that provide sufficient guidance for interpreting student performance.
A unit or longer lesson should:
o Use varied modes of assessment, including a range of pre-, formative, summative, and self-assessment measures
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Gather Evidence
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Lesson/Unit Review Example
Why is water access unequal in and around Mexico City?
Read.Inquire.Write
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Alignment to the WiSSS
The task clearly aligns with one or more WiSSS.
◻ The task directly aligns with the content, skills, and expectations of one or more WiSSS.
◻ The task addresses a question worth answering and requires analysis of grade-band text(s) and/or topic(s).
◻ The task directly aligns with the Wisconsin Vision for Social Studies Education (2015).
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Attention to the WiSSS Instructional Shifts
The task supports the key shifts that are reflected in the WiSSS.
◻ The task relies on an inquiry-based instructional framework which involves evidence-based analysis of, and communication about, grade-level text(s) and/or topic(s).
◻ The task integrates WiSSS strands and demonstrates a dynamic balance of skills and content with multiple opportunities for students to build important disciplinary knowledge.
◻ The task provides opportunities for civic engagement to take place during the learning process.
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Support for Implementation
The task includes relevant supporting information or materials that ensure effective administration of the task and evaluation of student thinking.
◻ The task can be used to elicit direct, observable evidence of the degree to which each student can demonstrate the skills and knowledge addressed in the targeted WiSSS.
◻ Supporting materials include answer keys, rubrics, and/or scoring guidelines that are clearly connected to, or can be easily adapted to, the targeted WiSSS and provide sufficient guidance for interpreting student performance.
◻ The task’s prompts and directions provide sufficient guidance for the teacher to administer it effectively and for the students to complete it successfully.
◻ The task is accessible to and appropriate for all learners, including students who are English language learners or are currently achieving below or above grade level.
◻ The task cultivates student interest and/or engagement with discipline specific text(s) and/or topic(s).
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Task Review Example
The Columbian Exchange Interactive Lesson
PBS Learning Media
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