Building a Rigorous Pre-AP Program for All Clear Creek ISD Laura Ozinga, Social Studies Emily Auffarber, ELA Robin Sabo, Secondary SS Coordinator Before WAVE – GT Magnet, school with in a school on 2 campuses  OMEGA- Home campusbased primarily GT interdisciplinary program  (matrix guided student eligibility)  Pre-AP—General advanced academic program in core content areas After   WAVE – GT Magnet, school with in a school on 2 campuses OMEGA/Pre-AP – Joint ELA/SS openenrollment advanced academic program Intermediate Advanced Academics CCIS style Omega/Pre-AP Initiative Net  Increase recruitment and retention  Expanding opportunities  Rigorous advanced academic courses TASK—develop an advanced academic program open to all and building on the strengths of previous programs; interdisciplinary, thematic, high expectations        Balanced ELA/SS Blended Omega and Pre-AP Diverse campus representation Innovative teachers with Learning Focused classrooms & TEKS content knowledge Manageable numbers Teacher Development Team Building a Common Understanding A day on the lake…The challenges with different understandings. Omega/Pre-AP overlay is designed to improve the preparation and retention of advanced academic students in rigorous courses.  Rigorous instruction includes scaffolding critical thinking skills.  A program that provides student choice and opportunities to demonstrate learning in unpredictable ways addresses the unique needs, talents, and interests of highly capable students.  Catch of the Day Rigor, Rigor, Rigor….What is it? Used research to ground the curriculum writing work and build common vision for the new blended program with all teachers Writing sessions were divided ½ study/PL and ½ application/work Social and Emotional Needs Overexcitabilities  Asynchronous development  Perfectionist tendencies  Disproportionate anxiety and fear  Tips for Teachers Celebrate differences  Mentor  Explore intellectual thinking, esp. about life  Networking  Problem-solving skills  The Fears and Anxieties of Gifted Learners  Welcome ◦ What is Omega/Pre-AP PowerPoint ◦ Icebreakers modeling critical thinking  Skill Builders  Thematic, interdisciplinary projects  District collaboration opportunities End Results =Overlay Welcome Week Resources To establish a safe, rigorous culture •Ice breakers designed to demonstrate critical thinking expectations •Orientation to Rigor cartoon – helping students and teachers understand what rigor is and is not Habits of Mind . . .having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems. -- Arthur Costa 16 attributes of what human beings do when they behave intelligently. What did we do as a team? *Chose the habit of minds/critical thinking pieces essential for 6th graders and suited to themes. Thinking Skill Learning Skill Analyzing Perspectives Describing reasons for a personal viewpoint as well as the viewpoints of others. Constructive Support Building a case for assertions by providing evidence, proof, or logical arguments. Deductive Reasoning Identifying specific examples to support a general statement, rule or principle. Inductive Reasoning Inferring unknown generalizations from information or observations. Persistence Sticking to a task until it is completed. Listening with understanding and empathy Attending to another person’s words while monitoring one’s own thoughts. Thinking Flexible Being able to shift at will through multiple perceptual positions. Thinking Interdependently Working cooperatively in groups to solve problems. What did we do as a team? then. . . *Developed Skill Building lessons based on these 8 habits of mind. Intended to be no more that 15 minutes each. All follow a similar pattern based on the mini-lesson design. * Campus teams decide which will be taught in the Language Arts setting and which will be taught in Social Studies. Persistence Skill Builder  Welcome Week ◦ Persistence ◦ Connecting Past Experiences to New Knowledge  First Nine Weeks ◦ Thinking Flexibly ◦ Thinking Interdependently ◦ Listening with Understanding and Empathy  Second Nine Weeks ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Analyzing Perspectives Constructing Support Deductive Reasoning Inductive Reasoning Skill Builder Lessons Framed content connections around themes Cultures, Change and Conflict Cultures 1st Nine Weeks 2nd Nine Weeks • Personal narratives in regard to • Cause and effect w/ structure of people moving and family cultures society8 and connotative words • Folktales in relation to different • Dystopia vs. utopian government cultures structures • Poetry • Non-fiction Had curriculum writingtext structures and • Non-fiction narratives team identifyauthors purpose in relation to content • Theme “then and now” per grading period that • Religious Holiday • CultureCommunism/Free Market related to each them to 3rd Nine Weeks 4th Nine help them see Weeks • How does conflict shape culture • Character analysis of various connections between over time (POV) native groups of Latin America ELA and SS • POV-as related to different cultural • Persuasive techniques used in influences • Fiction selections/folktales • Short stories written using structure of folk tales different cultures Rigorous Assessments DO . . . Sustain and extend rigorous instruction Ask students to apply what they learned to real-world and unpredictable situations Ask students to solve interesting problems Ask students to apply what they have learned Rigorous Assessments DO NOT . . . Mark the end of instruction Ask students to apply what they have learned to formulaic and predictable situations Ask students to do nothing more than solve algorithmic problems Ask students to do nothing more than remember what they have learned Ask students to answer the how and Ask students to answer only the why who, what, and when Rigorous Assessments *Geographic/Culture Skit *Immigration Connections *International Cause Grant Theme Projects Rolled out with professional learning, and district collaboration •Curriculum writers lead overview professional learning session •Encouraged campus interdisciplinary teams to attend trainings and collaboration days together Any questions … Contact Information Laura Ozinga, SS Space Center Intermediate, [email protected] Emily Auffarber, ELA Victory Lakes Intermediate, [email protected] Robin Sabo, Secondary SS Coordinator, Clear Creek ISD [email protected]; @rsabo11228