The most common meaning of Standards is "achievement of the specified program competencies at the level of performance established for successful completion."

Standards are used because they

• provide high expectations for all students
• provide clear, consistent, expectations for all students
• provide a consistent guide for instruction and evaluation of student work for all teachers

Performance Standards define a body of knowledge and define the level of work that demonstrates achievement of the standards.  - What students ought to know and be able to do AND how good is good enough. (New Standards Performance Standards - NCEE Standards)
 

Rituals and Routines are posted and observed (CHAMPs).  these explain how things are done and the roles and procedures for the classroom.

Student work is posted with commentary linked to standards

The flow of the class follows the Instructional Workshop which includes the opening, teacher directed lesson, work period, and closing. 

Students are applying rituals and routines, using a variety of appropriate strategies to learn, articulating and applying the standards, showing evidence of knowledge through formative and formal assessments

Classroom artifacts are visible to the students. Examples of artifacts include: the current standards, rituals and routines, word walls, classroom libraries, and rubrics and examples that meet the standards.

Classroom Artifacts - click here to view a sample classroom with descriptions

The teachers role includes, but is not limited to, inquiry based questioning, setting the purpose of the learning as it aligns to the standards, arranging class into smaller groups, working individually through conferencing, explaining the standards that are addressed, documenting assessments, and differentiating instruction.

The classroom environment should be conducive to learning with visual aids that enhance learning.

Click to see a list of Standards Based Vocabulary and this list will help you understand the Educational Alphabet Soup.
 

The workshop model of teaching uses curriculum, individually paced work, student constructed meaning, processes, risk taking, portfolio/performance assessment, self assessment, and individualized learning and evaluation.

The workshop environment has standards posted, classroom management charts, classroom libraries categorized by reading level/genre/author/special interests, word walls, group learning, centers for conferencing, independent work stations, are a few of the key attributes.

The workshop routine is carried out everyday.  It may include:

Opening and Mini Lesson (5-15 minutes)
Procedure
Craft
Skills
Strategies

Work Session (20-40minutes)
Cooperative Learning
Independent Reading/Writing
Small Group Instruction
Conferencing
Authentic Literacy Activities
 

Closing (5-20minutes)
Refocusing
Students Sharing Learning
Student Work

The Mini Lesson

Purpose

• To motivate and engage students
• Activate prior knowledge
• To make connections
• To LINK how the information will be USED TODAY, in the FUTURE, and in the REAL-WORLD

What does the teacher do? 

• Generates instructional plans from the standards and student needs
• Gathers all necessary materials. Explicitly models the procedures/strategy/craft/skill
• Shares Information
• Facilitates student discoveries and learning

The Work Period

Purpose

• Students Experience Learning
• Students Learn Social Skills
• Students Practice Strategies modeled in the mini-lesson

What does the teacher do? 

• Holds conferences with students
• Facilitates Individual or Small Group Instruction - Guided Reading
• Facilitates discussions
• Monitors student application of mini-lesson strategy or focus of lesson
• Clarifies student confusion

Students are engaged learning through participation in individual and/or group activities. 

The Closing

Purpose

• Refocus on the standard
• Share accomplishments/work/learning

What does the teacher do? 

• Facilitate the closing
• Celebrate, confirm, continue
• Model appropriate student behaviors
• Remind students of next steps

Duval County owns an Instructional Organizer called Riverdeep Learning teachers.  To link to the Learning Village click here.  The Learning teachers serves as a source where teachers can access Lesson Plans that accompany the district's curriculum units.  A few highlights of the program include:

• Lesson plans and assessments with professional development, benchmarks, standards, and teacher resources.
• An online Instructional Organizer that delivers a collaboration portal where teachers can share lessons and resources and participate in enriching online discussions in a private or open forum.
• A single instructional desktop and the ability to create or revise customized lessons and activities based on individual students needs. 
• A secure single point of access to the districts web based applications - such as Destination Math, Destination Reading, Culture Grams, Teaching Books, Encyclopedia Britannica, NetTrekker, IC3 and other paid DCPS subscriptions.

The acronym UBD is short for Understanding by Design.  The curriculum framework for the four academic subject areas follows the structure of Understanding by Design, developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. It includes three stages for teaching and learning.  A brief description is below.  For a more in depth look at UBD click here for a PowerPoint presentation describing it in detail.

The Three Stages of Understanding by Design
Stage 1 Identify desired results:

• District, state, and NCEE standards
• Enduring understandings to guide teachers’ instruction
• Essential questions to guide students’ learning
• Knowledge and skills students should gain

Stage 2 Determine acceptable evidence of understanding:

• Performance tasks
• Academic prompts (short and extended response items)
• Quizzes and tests, including FCAT-like items
• Informal checks for understanding

o Questions
o Observations
o Examination of student work

Stage 3 Plan engaging and effective instruction:

Duval County Public Schools provides year-round training opportunities to support our teaching professionals.  This link connects to a training at a glance.  Registration is available on the site.
 

The Duval County Public Schools Implementation Rubric is a tool designed to measure the level of implementation of schools throughout the district. The rubric results provide valuable data that indicates which areas within the school need additional support to improve instruction. Each school in the district is reviewed independently by school and district staff.

The Implementation Rubric has five targets:

1. Academic Performance
2. Safe Schools
3. High Performance Management
4. Professional Learning Communities
5. Accountability

The Model Classroom is a demonstration site for teachers to experience best instructional practices in a live classroom. Depending on the school’s level of implementation, teachers can observe Readers/Writers Workshop, Math, Science, and History classes at their school site.

Each model classroom will have powerful examples of:

1. Artifacts
2. Planning
3. Instructional Delivery
4. Assessment
5. Student Work

To make an inquiry about the Model Classroom at your school, please contact your school’s Standard Coach.

Additional support at your school site include:

SSC – School Standards Coach

Assists with:

• School level implementation of district instructional initiatives
• Literacy training and resources
• Coordinating classroom visits
• Classroom modeling

PDF – Professional Development Facilitator

Assists with:

• Information regarding new teacher requirements
• Providing information for site-based training

Subject Area Department Head

Assists with:

• Understanding and application of curriculum
• Mentoring

STC – School Technology Contact

Assists with:

• Next steps or contacts for technical problems
• Troubleshooting problems with classroom technical equipment
• Technology resources and training information