Writing Effective Generalizations and Guiding Questions in Concept-Based Curriculum, Exams of Design Patterns

Download Writing Effective Generalizations and Guiding Questions in Concept-Based Curriculum and more Exams Design Patterns in PDF only on Docsity! 67 • 6 Designing the Curriculum: Steps 4 and 5 In this chapter we will work through the process of writing strong gener- alizations and guiding questions. Most concept-based curriculum units include five to eight powerful generalizations that we want students to understand by the end of the unit. You may wish to use the segment of your planning template shown on page 45. THINKING AND UNDERSTANDING If understanding is a product of thinking (Perkins, 1992), then teachers need to be clear on the expected, transferable under- standings that they wish students to attain from each lesson they design. Deeper understanding of complex ideas transfers at the conceptual level, so the role of generalizations in concept-based curriculum is to make the expected understandings apparent to teachers. For example, an English language arts curriculum unit at the second- ary level may include the generalization “Propaganda exerts a powerful influence on the actions and opinions of others when not consciously observed.” This is the understanding that teachers want students to realize by the end of the unit of study. When planning a lesson, teachers will use this unit generalization (and the others within the unit) to help make deci- sions about which texts to include and the type of work to assign with the goal of leading students to this understanding. Erickson (2008, pp. 28–32) references the work of Hilda Taba (1966) who advocated that generalizations should determine the direction and Most concept-based curriculum units include five to eight powerful generalizations that we want students to understand by the end of the unit. 68 • PART II: An Introduction to the Design Process depth for instruction. Taba believed that specific content should be sam- pled rather than covered. The unit generalizations play a critical role in concept-based curriculum because they enable us to make informed deci- sions about how much content to include in a unit. STEP 4: WRITING GENERALIZATIONS In Chapter 2, generalizations were defined as the clear, compelling state- ments of understanding that will direct instruction and assessments. A generalization includes two or more concepts (selected from the unit web—this is where all that web work pays off!) stated in a relationship that uses a strong verb. Weak verbs (affect, impact, influence, is, have, are) are labeled no-no verbs because they result in broad surface-level statements that lack clarity and do not express the desired depth of under- standing (Erickson, 2008). Concept 1 + Strong Verb + Concept 2 = Generalization (More Concepts Optional) This is also a good time to review additional criteria for recognizing a quality generalization (Erickson, 2008). Generalizations are • broad and abstract (to varying degrees); • universal in application; • generally timeless (they may need a qualifier if the ideas do not hold up through time in all cases); • represented by different examples, which support the generaliza- tion; and • two or more concepts, stated in a relationship. When writing generalizations, • Be sure two or more separate ideas are not being pushed together in one statement. When a generalization ends up several lines long, it becomes very confusing to understand and is a good indication there may be multiple ideas strung together. • Make the language as cogent and precise as possible and the statement clear. Instruction in a concept-based curriculum is designed so that stu- dents independently realize the idea through inductive teaching. • Avoid proper nouns, or pronouns, in generalizations and use no past-tense and/or future-tense verbs (so that the generalization is transferable through time and situations). Generalizations are clear, compelling statements of understanding that will direct instruction and assessments. 71CHAPTER 6: Designing the Curriculum: Steps 4 and 5 • A realistic fiction short story usually delves deeply into one inci- dent or experience from life. 1. Think about the various lessons the teacher might develop when teaching toward this generalization that would support students’ comprehension of how short stories are constructed (understanding text). 2. Think about how the generalization will also guide lessons about writing short stories (producing text). 3. Consider questions the teacher might pose around this generaliza- tion along with opportunities for students to share and discuss their responses to texts (responding to text). The learning experiences should be designed to nudge students’ thinking so they arrive at the conclusion “A realistic fiction short story usually delves deeply into one incident or experience from life.” When students have many occasions (across text examples and across learning situations) to discover the generalization, conceptual patterns begin to emerge, and the transferable idea (generalization) begins to be realized. Table 6.2 Sample Generalizations From a Grade 6 Short Stories Unit 1. A realistic fiction short story usually delves deeply into one incident or experience from life. (Understanding text, producing text, responding to text) 2. Short stories often follow a tight story line with a few central character(s) involved in swift rising action and an abrupt ending. (Critiquing text, understanding text, producing text) 3. The style of short story writing requires readers to make quick and accurate inferences and personal connections within a short amount of text. (Understanding text, responding to text) 4. Short story themes reflect individuals caught in a struggle within themselves, with another character or with the world around them. (Understanding text, critiquing text, producing text) 5. Short story authors carefully craft language to concisely convey a message through the use of symbolism and figurative language. (Understanding text, producing text, critiquing text) Source: Pomperaug Regional School District 15, Middlebury/Southbury, CT 72 • PART II: An Introduction to the Design Process These aha moments are what we live for in teaching and are what make learning memorable to students. Generalizations represent different levels of abstractness, generaliz- ability, and complexity. When students first encounter new learning, the conceptual load of the generalization will be more limited. For example, the generalization “People write to share a message with a reader” is a simple statement of conceptual relationship that would be appropriate for kindergarten students. The understanding grows in sophistication as more concepts are added in the next grade level, making the generaliza- tion more specific. “Punctuation, capitalization, and interesting words help make writing clear and appealing to a reader.” How specific or broad a generalization should be is in part driven by developmental appropriateness. The level of sophistication is also determined by the strength of the verb representing the relationship among the concepts in the generaliza- tion. Remember the no-no verbs (affect, impact, influence, is, have, are)? The use of a verb from this no-no list typically results in a lower-level, or Level 1, generalization. Often Level 1 generalizations are the product of trying to capture an idea during the brainstorming phase of writing generaliza- tions. This is fine because once the idea is drafted, there is a method for moving the generalization to a more sophisticated level. The method is scaffolding. Avoid these verbs, which create weak generalizations: • affect • impact • influence • is • have • are Scaffolding Generalizations Erickson (2008) devised a few simple questions to bring lower-level generalizations to more complex levels of thinking. For example, after brainstorming generalizations for a curriculum unit, the team of teachers noticed several were written using no-no verbs. These Level 1 generaliza- tions are fixed by asking, “How?” or “Why?” As teachers discuss possible answers to the question, new concepts are heard in the answer. Try it! The weak, no-no verb is changed to a stronger verb as more precise concepts are added to the generalization. This revision process makes the statement grow in sophistication and clarity. Here is an example: 73CHAPTER 6: Designing the Curriculum: Steps 4 and 5 • Most concept-based curriculum units include five to eight powerful generalizations that we want students to understand by the end of the unit. Almost all of those generalizations will be Level 2; however, the unit may include a couple of Level 3 generalizations. How do we take an idea to Level 3? Again, Erickson (2008) suggests we answer a simple question to trigger our thinking. To move a generalization from Level 2 to Level 3, ask, “So what is the significance (or effect)?” Below, I extend the example from above to create a Level 3 generalization: Level 1 Generalization: A character’s conflicts influence the message of a story. Scaffolding Questions: How do a character’s conflicts influence the message of a story? Level 2 Generalization: A character’s internal and external conflicts imply a deeper message about life or human nature. Level 1 Generalization: A character’s conflicts influence the message of a story. Scaffolding Question: How do a character’s conflicts influence the message of a story? Level 2 Generalization: A character’s internal and external conflicts may imply a deeper message about life or human nature. Scaffolding Question: So what? Level 3 Generalization: Writers layer a character’s personality to sharpen the contrast between internal and external conflict. You may have noticed that when the generalization was moved to Level 3, it became a new idea that explained the significance of the Level 2 generaliza- tion. As curriculum writers, you may come up with as many Level 3 gener- alizations as there are people in your group because each person’s mind goes to a different place in thinking about the significance of the Level 2 idea. Answering the “So what?” question takes thinking “out of the box.” Coming to consensus on a great Level 3 generalization is the fun part. Teaching With Generalizations When you begin teaching units based on generalizations, it is worth remembering several things: 76 • PART II: An Introduction to the Design Process Generalization: Unique traits distinguish one character from another. Factual Questions: • Factual questions are important to ensure the foundation of knowledge is in place. • Factual knowledge provides the evidence for explaining understanding. Factual questions for the generalization above might include: What are character traits? How does the author of your book communicate the main character’s traits? In the story “Cinderella,” what are some examples of the traits of the differ- ent characters? Conceptual Questions: • Open-ended, conceptual questions challenge students’ thinking beyond the facts. • The response to a conceptual question will reflect an understanding that is transferable across situations and examples. • Conceptual questions are similar to generalizations: There can be no proper nouns, no past-tense or passive verbs, no pronouns, and so on. Conceptual questions for the generalization above might include: How does an author make characters believable? How do character traits help readers identify with characters? How do character traits help readers better understand the story? Provocative Questions: • Provocative questions provoke great debates. • There are no right or wrong answers, but these questions keep learning interesting and push thinking outside of the box as students listen to each other’s perspectives. • A unit may have two to four provocative questions but not so many that there is not time for rich discussion. A provocative question for the generalization above might include: How do you think the story would be different if Cinderella’s character traits were changed? (Notice that proper nouns and pronouns may be used in a provocative question although this doesn’t have to be the case.) 77CHAPTER 6: Designing the Curriculum: Steps 4 and 5 • The strategic use of these questions helps ensure instruction is not overwhelming the learner with too much too fast. Jean Shoemaker and Larry Lewin (1993, p. 55) describe the role of questions in concept-based teaching like this: Such questions are posted in the classroom for the duration of the unit to provide structure for the unit and create clear linkages between the day-to-day activities and the major concepts. Further, in requiring students to pursue answers, the questions call upon students to produce, rather than just consume, knowledge. And, as individuals construct meaning and answers to questions, they naturally come to understand the subjective nature of knowledge. Students demonstrate their conceptual understanding by constructing personally meaningful yet plausible answers to the key questions. The answers may be expressed in a variety of forms, including personal interviews, the creation of graphic representations (such as models and concept maps), the generation of metaphorical images, and of course written essay tests. A sample page of generalizations and guiding questions can be found in Table 6.3. This example will help you better understand the role of guiding questions in a concept-based unit. Table 6.3 Sample Generalizations and Guiding Questions From a Concept-Based English Language Arts Unit (Continued) Grade Level: 3 Unit Title: Whodunit? Reading and Solving Mysteries Generalizations Guiding Questions (F = factual; C = conceptual; P = provocative) 1. Authors use clues to build suspense or solve a problem in a mystery. 1a. Which clues helped lead you to predicting a solution? (F) 1b. How did the setting affect the mood of your mystery? (F) 1c. How do authors build suspense? (C) 1d. Why are clues important in solving a mystery? (C) 1e. Can you have mystery without suspense? (P) 2. Readers identify and connect clues to solve a mystery. 2a. What is an inference? (F) 2b. How do readers identify clues? (C) 2c. How does a prediction differ from an inference? (C) 2d. How do readers connect clues throughout a text? What happens when they don’t? (C) 78 • PART II: An Introduction to the Design Process (Continued) 3. Readers gather relevant information from the text to confirm or revise predictions. 3a. What is relevant information? (F) 3b. How do readers separate relevant from irrelevant information? (C) 3c. Why is it important to revise predictions? (C) 4. Respectful consideration for the ideas of others can provide new insights and extend thinking. 4a. What does respectful conversation look like/sound like? (F) 4b. What happens when the ideas of others are not respected? (C) 4c. Do we always have to accept the ideas of others? (P) 4d. How can consideration of another person’s ideas help you solve problems? (P) 5. Mysteries share common elements yet also include unique characteristics. 5a. What are the elements of mystery? (F) 5b. How are the characteristics of the mystery you are reading similar to and different from those of other mysteries? (F) 5c. Why are mysteries so popular? (P) 5d. Why are solutions so satisfying? (P) 6. Characters within a mystery may include suspect, detective, sleuth, sidekick, witness, investigator, villain, victim, criminal, or accomplice. 6a. How do you define suspect? Detective? Sleuth (etc.)? (F) 6b. Which characters are essential to your mystery? Why? (F) 6c. How do different characters contribute to a mystery? (C) Authors: Mary Blair, Middle Gate School; Lynn Holcomb, Hawley School; Becky Virgalla, Sandy Hook School; and Eileen Tabasko, Head O’Meadow School Source: Newtown Public Schools, Newtown, CT Summary of Step 5 Strategic questioning means more than pulling questions out of our back pocket on the spot. Curriculum writers think through the types of guiding questions that will best support inductive teaching toward the generalization. Spending time to strategically develop examples of the three different types of questions within the unit provides teachers with suggestions for activating and guiding students’ thinking. If we are not