2.3: Defining Proficiency
Directions
Step 4: Write a New Learning Objective(s) Combining the ISTE and Subject-Specific Standard
Now that you’ve made the connection between an ISTE standard and another required subject-area standard for your course, it’s time to write new learning objectives combining these two standards.
To do this, you must first ask yourself the following questions:
- What similarities in terms of language, skill, or theme exist between each standard?
- How can these similarities be to maximize student learning in each/all area(s)?
Let’s see how Ms. Franklin did it. Ms. Franklin selected the below ISTE standard 2 and a Common Core Literacy Standard to incorporate into her instruction:
She identified several points of connection between these two standards. First, identifying a text’s purpose and a content creator’s purpose (referring to rich media like video or audio) is a similar task. Second, thinking about a text’s “power” as referenced in the Common Core standard can lead to a broader question of a creator’s responsibility for that text’s “power” and influence after its creation.
With these points of connection in mind, Ms. Franklin returned to her lesson on the rhetoric of political ads from her critical media unit to write new learning objectives incorporating these ideas. See her completed step 4 below:
Using Ms. Franklin’s analysis as a guide, complete Step 4 in your own graphic organizer.
Step 5: Define Proficiency of a Standard within a Specific Subject Area and Classroom Context
The fifth and final step of phase 2 of the unpacking process is defining proficiency of a standard within a specific subject area and classroom context. Many educators use the SMART goals framework to make sure the objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, ensuring that student progress can be monitored and observed.
Using the new learning objectives combining an ISTE and content-specific standard that you wrote in Step 4, consider the following questions:
- What does proficiency of the new objective look like?
- What criteria describes what a student must be able to know and do to demonstrate proficiency that is both observable and measurable?
As you determine your answers, add your objectives to your graphic organizer. See Ms. Franklin’s completed step 5 below as an example:
Once you’ve completed step 5, congratulations! You’re finished with phase 2 of the unpacking process! Continue on to 2.4 to reflect on and share your work with the EdTech Connect NC community.