LINQ 2015: A Teacher Cohort Model for Supporting Literacy Across Disciplines

A Teacher Cohort Model for Supporting Literacy Across Disciplines

Cynthia Jimes, Ph.D.

May 13, 2015

ISKME 2015:

LINQ 2015

ISKME, LINQ 2015 Workshop

ISKME

Research

Teacher professional development

Education technology



Workshop Goals

Get acquainted with ISKME’s teacher cohort model

Examine a cross-disciplinary OER lesson created by

teacher cohorts

Explore digital tools and resources that support the cohort

model

Discuss ways to integrate the teacher cohort model into

your own OER work


Participant Introductions

Name

Role

Institution/organization

What you hope to get out of the workshop


Teacher Cohorts

Groups of 3 teachers

collaboratively

creating

integrated lessons

that focus on

developing

students’ literacy

skills

Math

Language

Social Science or

Science

Integrated Literacy Lesson


What do the Lessons Include?

Address learning standards that get at students’ ability to

think critically, construct arguments and build evidence from

informational texts

Include a “text set” that is strategically selected and

sequenced to support students’ progression through learning

goals

Include formative and summative assessments around the

text set, and that are aligned to learning goals


Training

Tools

Frameworks

• F2F workshop

• Webinars

• Ongoing support

• Curriculum design template/tool

• OER network hub

• Collaboration

• Advocacy/outreach

Training and Tools to Support the

Cohorts


Collaboration Framework

Collaboration framework adapted from Ben Johnson (2014), Deeper Learning: Why Cross-

Curricular Teaching is Essential

Aligned Integrated Overlapping

Ex: Teachers plan their curriculum so that topics of study are aligned by time, era, etc.

Ex: Teachers teach a theme congruently, drawing on the same texts, and addressing common learning objectives

Ex: Teachers are familiar with each other’s subject

areas, and team teach to help students understand concepts from multiple angles


What Instructional Practices Does

the Model Support?

Practice

CollaborativeCurriculum Design

Skills and processes to create integrated lessons that enable scaffolding of student knowledge across subjects

Use of Texts in Literacy Instruction

Strategic use of close reading texts (as part of lessons) that are selected and sequenced to support students in progressing through learning goals, within and across subjects

OER and DigitalCompetencies

Use of online tools, resources, and collections of content, and increased digital competencies including online resource search strategies, content identification/organization, and collaboration


Examining an Exemplary Lesson

Created by a Cohort


What Makes A Lesson Exemplary?

Review climate

change lesson on

your own

Using the checklist

provided, identify

what makes the

lesson “exemplary”

Discuss your insights

with the person next

to you

The learning objectives are tied to the standards addressed, and

indicate what a student should know and do at the end of the lesson

Primary source texts have been selected and strategically

sequenced to develop literacy skills and build knowledge about the

topic

Student learning is directed through questions about the texts they

are to read. These questions relate to an overarching “essential

question” that unifies the subjects and learning objectives

Instruction is designed to integrate learning across subjects. The

lesson addresses subject-specific themes and questions, while using a

overarching essential question to unite them

The final student task provides for summative assessment of the

standards targeted and the skills and knowledge developed during

the lesson. Student activities/tasks within the lesson provide

opportunities to develop and formatively assess the targeted skills

and knowledge.

The lesson identifies the previous learning that is needed for students

to succeed in the lesson, and how students’ background and skills

might be pre-assessed to determine their readiness for learning

Checklist for Examining Integrated Literacy Lessons


Exemplar Lesson Debrief

What stood out to you from this lesson?

What questions do you have?


Exploring the Digital Tools and

Resources that Support the Cohorts

Online Hub with OER Lessons, Text Sets, and PD Materials

Curriculum Design Toolkit


https://www.oercommons.org/hubs/primary_source


https://www.oercommons.org/products/psp/


Debrief the Digital Tools and Resources

Take a few minutes to explore the OER hub and tools

How might you use these tools and resources in your

work?


Conclusion: How the Cohort Model

Enables and Leverages OER

Marries the benefits of teaching literacy across disciplines

with the opportunities provided through OER

Starts with teachers’ curriculum needs, and offers a toolkit

that elevates OER as a means to meet those needs

Demonstrates how OER is a pathway for collaborating

around and sharing feedback about curriculum materials


Closing Remarks

Consider what we’ve discussed today, and how it relates

to your own work

Round robin of takeaways or questions

Institute for the Study of Knowledge

Management in Education

www.iskme.org

www.oercommons.org

[email protected]

ISKME, OpenEd 2014