week+of+feb+2+and+4

This week we'll be taking a look at UBD chapter 2. Our goals are to understand key concepts that are related to "understanding," including "core tasks," "expert blind spots," "transfer(ability)," and the distinction between procedural and declarative knowledge. We'll also be able to identify how (or how not) BSU English courses have ideas and processes that transfer from course-to-course and from course-to-the-larger-world.
 * Week 3 - February 2 and 4**

Writing our way in ... As people nearing the end of your English degree, what is it that you think you know and are able to do because of your degree (that those who don't have an English degree know or are able to do)? And / or ... As English majors with a teaching emphasis, what separates you from other English majors?

Handing out the BSU English course descriptions and mapping out the curriculum. We'll work in pairs to begin working on the following chart (ENGL275 filled in during class together). After we finish mapping out each course (big assignments, declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and possible overarching question), we'll look for items that are repeated in order to see if we can identify a thread running through the course work. We're doing this work in order to help us understand the key concepts for the week, which in turn, will help us get after a more nuanced understanding of the concept of "understanding."

Looking at Smagorinsky's Appendix A as a way to brainstorm possible unit topics and themes that you might want to use. Consider this a pre-writing activity of reading, of seeking, of generating possibilities.

At the end of class, exit note: what unit ideas are you considering (if you have even thought about it) AND what do you think are the three stages of the UBD process.


 * February 4**

Looking at our BSU English curriculum maps.
 * What patterns do we see? Where do we see patterns breaking down or gaps?
 * What do the "core tasks" of being an English Major with a Teaching Emphasis seem to be?
 * What knowledge - declarative or procedural - seem to be threaded throughout the curriculum? In other words, what knowledge is transferable?
 * What does all this suggest that BSU English majors with a Teaching Emphasis offers the larger world?

In short, what is it we hope English majors with a Teaching Emphasis understand?

"Knowledge and skill, then, are necessary elements of understanding, but not sufficient in themselves. Understanding requires more: the ability to thoughtful and actively 'do' the work with discernment, as well as the ability to self-assess, justify, and critique such 'doings.' Transfer involves figuring out which knowledge and skill matters //here// and often adapting what we know to address the challenge at hand" (p. 41 of UBD)

"To successfully engineer understanding, we have to think backward: What does understanding look like when it is there or not there? We have to be able to describe what it looks like, how it manifests itself, how apparent undertanding (or misunderstanding) differs from genuine understanding, which misunderstandings are most likely to arise (thus interfering with our goal), and whether we are making headway in ferreting out and eradicating the key impediments to future understanding. In other words, we have to think through our assessments before we think through our teaching and learning" (p. 55).

Looking at potential ideas for your units ...

Topics / Themes
 * What would you want students to understand about this topic?
 * What would genuine understanding look like?
 * What might be their preconceptions or misunderstandings about this theme/topic might be?

For next week ... Read UBD chap 3; Smags chap 15, read and print out Boise School District standards for the grade level that seems to address the topic/theme you're interested in working with for your unit (This may not be a perfect match, but find something close).