School+Connections

A. The Danielson Framework B. Common Core C. SD Career, College, and Life Readiness D. Smarter Balanced


 * A. The Danielson Framework **

Per the recommendation of a 25-member work group, the South Dakota Board of Education adopted Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching as the state’s professional performance standards for teachers. The Danielson Framework consists of four domains – Planning and Preparation, Classroom Environment, Instruction, Professional Responsibilities – and 22 components within those domains. (More on Danielson...)
 * What are South Dakota’s new standards for teaching, and where can I find them? **

How do field trips fit into the Danielson Framework: 3c: Engaging Students in Learning Indicators include:
 * Domain 3: Instruction **
 * Student enthusiasm, interest, thinking, problem solving, etc.
 * Learning tasks that require high-level student thinking and invite students to share their thinking
 * Students highly motivated to work on all tasks and persistent even when the tasks are challenging.
 * Students actively "working," rather than watching while their "teacher" works
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Suitable pacing of the lesson: neither dragged out nor rushed, with time for reflection and student closure.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Included under this domain are "Cultural Competence" and "High Expectations."
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">__"Cultural Competence"__ is considered a professional responsibility by the Framework; this is an important part of planning field trips. You need to understand the background of your students and how a field trip may affect them. Also, field trips could promote understanding from other students who may now be able to experience things different from their own "culture." <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">__"High Expectations__" are a field trip requirement too. Not only for assignments but behavior.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I'm not here to try to make you drink the Kool-Aid on Common Core. Maybe you like it. Maybe you hate it. I'm not here to argue. I'm just including it because field trips fit into Common Core. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">The standards promote: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">• Deeper understanding of the key concepts students need to succeed as independent thinkers <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">• **Students’ ability to apply knowledge to real- world situations** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">• Richer, more authentic types of assessment
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 200%;">B. Common Core **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">• Instruction that places more emphasis on understanding and application, as opposed to memorization and test-taking **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">The new standards are aligned with college and workforce expectations and establish clear expectations for students, including the ability to: > **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">informational text ** > **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">critique the reasoning of others **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Apply math in real-world situations **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Read and analyze both literature and **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Construct viable arguments and **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Solve problems **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Communicate effectively **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">From the Common Core Fact Sheet

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">An important part of being "Life Ready" is having a chance to practice those skills of being an adult. Field trips can provide the opportunity for students to have independence while being supervised. Going to a museum with your classmates is a different experience than going with your family. And what if this isn't an experience that you have with your family- when will you get it?
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 200%;">C. Career, College, and Life Ready **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 200%;">D. Smarter Balanced Testing **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px;">Example I: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">I’ve noticed, when going through the 11th grade ELA practice test, that the attempt is at least made to make the topics something high school aged student would be interested.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">**Topic**: writing a letter to a city official about a city-wide curfew for those under 18. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">This is something that anyone under 18 can relate to or easily imagine.



<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Example II: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">**Topic**: Public Art Displays <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Can every student relate to this? Has every student seen art outside of the classroom? And do they realize it when they do?

//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">When we have taken students on trips we will frequently pass by public art displayed in front of buildings or on street corners (like the sculpture walk, Downtown Sioux Falls). How many times have students driven by this and not paid attention? Or how many students have been to art museums? When students get a question like this on a test and have no personal experience with the topic how does this impact their answer? //

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px;">Example III: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Field trips are a great place for students to see and understand primary sources. (That’s a common core thing too!) I found lots of questions on the Smarter Balanced practice test about sources.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Deciding if a source is relevant or credible. **



//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">A field trip can validate classroom learning and expand upon it. It also pushes students towards good primary and secondary sources that your textbook and the Internet cannot supply. //

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px;">Example IV: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">A final connection to field trips (maybe this is more of an idea for an activity) and Smarter Balanced:


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Find a supportive detail in the text. **

//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">When you select a field trip location you may be offered a guide. Guided tours are often hit or miss. To be honest, a lot of guides aren’t that great working with teenagers. And students this age cannot spend too much time on one thing. Keep it quick! // //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">It’s important to remember to include activities that are not guided. Or to get time to freely explore before or after a guided tour. In museums and other facilities open to the public there are signs with information. USE THEM. Have your students look for “descriptive text” or “text that supports their point of view.” They could easily take pictures with their iPads or phones. //

//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">* I think searching for descriptive text could even work at a restaurant. Any time I tell students we are going on a field trip the one thing that really matters to them comes out, “Where are we going to eat?” // //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">I like to take my students to somewhere they have never been before. Or don’t go to frequently. Sometimes, we’ll look at the menu online before we go. It’s fun to ask students what it is about the description made them order something. //