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UbD Design: Differentiation Through Critical Literacy
Stage 1: Desired Results
Established Goals/Transfer Goal:
Educators will proficiently integrate the critical literacy into their curriculum, fostering a digital platform that allow student choice, ownership, voice, and authentic critical literacy projects (COVA) in a student-centered environment.
Enduring Understandings:
Learners will understand:
• Teachers will understand the fundamental features and functionalities of Book Creator.
• Teachers will comprehend the impact that digital tools can impact student learning and motivation.
• Teachers will understand the importance of COVA within their classroom.
• Teachers will understand what critical literacy is.
• Teacher will understand the importance of critical literacy for student development in all areas of speaking, writing, reading, and writing.
• Teachers will understand ways that critical literacy can be differentiated so that all learners of many abilities can be successful.
Learners will know…
• what critical literacy is.
• what COVA is.
• what it means to have student-centered environment.
• the tools and functions in the Book Creator platform.
• how to create a book in the Book Creator Platform.
• how to differentiate critical literacy activities and assignments.
• how students can provide feedback to their peers. • how to create and share a teacher library to share each other’s books.
Essential Questions:
• What is critical literacy?
• How can critical literacy enhance student learning?
• How can critical literacy be effectively differentiated for all learners?
• How can digital tools enhance student engagement and their success in critical literacy?
• What is student-centered learning?
• What is COVA, and what does it mean for your classroom environment?
• In what ways does the integration of Book Creator align with COVA, critical literacy, and student[1]centered learning?
• How can Book Creators tools and accessibility resources be useful for differentiation of student learning in your environment?
Learners will be able to…
Effectively utilize Book Creator in all settings for the purpose of teaching and reinforcing critical literacy.
• Determine which differentiation tool will be best for each of their students.
• Utilize Book Creator to access and scaffold student learning and authentic work in critical literacy standards.
• Effectively collaborate with team members and colleagues to enhance critical literacy in their curriculum.
• Effectively understand the COVA approach of learning.
Stage 2: Assessment Evidence
Formative Assessments:
• Complete a series of discussion on critical thinking, COVA, technology, and the Book Creator platform.
• Call to Action Video
• Final Book Outline/ Table of Contents Assignment
• Self- Reflections on critical literacy and technology.
• Annotated Bibliography for further research
Summative Assessments:
• Become a certified author within the book creator platform.
• Create and share a book on the Book Creator platform with student submissions that demonstrates understanding of platform features that includes attaching a skill and feedback.
• Design a Book Creator project allowing feedback and collaboration from colleagues and presenter.
• Create a book on Book Creator explaining the importance of critical literacy, tools and accessibility resources that can be used for differentiation, and a critical literacy example on a standard that they teach in their classroom setting.
Goal(s):
Teachers will engage in a series of tasks to showcase their understanding of Book Creators Tools and Features, Critical Literacy, differentiation, and individually design a book through Book Creator aligned with a standard taught in their classroom environment.
Role:
1. Understanding Platform Features:
a. Explore Book Creator feature as a group and further their understanding through collaboration with other.
b. Become a certified author through the Book Creator platform to show understanding and knowledge.
2. Collaborative Discussions:
a. Complete a series of Discussion on Critical thinking, COVA, technology, and the Book Creator platform.
b. Reply to peers in discussion posts.
3. Differentiated Authentic Book Project:
a. Think of a standard that they teach in their environment.
b. Work individually on a Book in the Book Creator platform.
c. Develop a Book Based on Critical literacy in a standard taught in the learner’s classroom setting.
Audience:
The learners will share project with colleagues for collaboration and feedback. The final book will be shared with presenter to show that each of the learners demonstrated understanding of the Book Creator accessibility tools and features, the collaborative feedback, and the individual book over a standard taught in their classroom setting.
Situation:
This will be accomplished through a series of 8 sessions with combination of collaborative and individual work.
Performance:
Create a book on Book Creator explaining the importance of critical literacy, tools and accessibility resources that can be used for differentiation, and a critical literacy example on a standard that they teach in their classroom setting.
Standards:
Assessment based on the inclusion of diverse differentiation instruction on critical literacy using the provided tool and accessibility resources within the Book Creator platform.
• Proficiency in using Book Creator tools.
• Clarity on what critical literacy is within classroom standards.
• Clarity on what types of differentiation can be used with critical literacy skills.
• Clarity of standard taught in their classroom and how critical literacy can be differentiated and taught within that standard.
Stage 3: Learning Plan
W Where are we going? What is expected?
Learners will be able to independently navigate and utilize Book Creator features to create a comprehensive book showcasing their understanding. They will collaboratively with colleagues to understand a variety of differentiation techniques, and individually design a book aligned with a classroom standard using the book creator platform.
H How will we hook (Introduce this to) the learners?
The introduction will start out by introducing my story of having a disability, and how my critical literacy skills could have been approved if I had the appropriate tools and techniques to enhance my reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Then going into a tool and learning approach that I have found as an adult that helps me conquer the challenge that I face with critical literacy.
E Learners will be equipped through:
• A guided tutorial on Book Creator features and tools
• Collaborative discussions on COVA, critical literacy, differentiation, and the Book Creator platform.
• Guidelines for the individualized Final Project.
R How will you rethink or revise? What are likely or predictable student misunderstandings and/or performance weaknesses in this unit? What do the research and teacher experience say we can expect the greatest difficulties to be? What suggestions can you offer about how to troubleshoot these issues?
Anticipated challenges may include:
• Technical difficulties in navigating Book Creator feature
• Encounter educators that have few to no differentiation experience.
• Learner participation vary across participants.
To address these:
• Provide additional tech support and tutorials.
• Provide a pre-course survey and use these results in helping creating groups with diverse differentiation and technological experience.
• Provide clear expectation through rubrics and questionnaires for all assignments and activities across the course.
E How will students self-evaluate and reflect on their learning?
Learners will engage in self-evaluation and reflection through:
• Feedforward will be provided for final projects from peers and presenters.
• Self-Reflections on critical literacy, technology, and differentiation in their classroom settings.
• Questions regarding strengths and areas of improvements throughout the course, so presenter can adjust to the needs of their learners.
T Tailoring will involve:
• Professional learning for teaching strategy
• Professional learning for Book Creator
• Differentiated support for technical challenges.
• Varied formats for Book Creator submission (written, visual, etc.) to accommodate different learning styles.
O How will we organize the sequence of learning?
The learning sequence will be organized as follows:
1. Learn about the COVA learning approach
2. Introduction to Book Creator features and accessibility resources.
3. Develop critical thinking on how creating a unique book can help develop critical literacy and learning.
4. Watch Videos and read article on how critical literacy among students’ growth.
5. Discuss how we can create books using book creator.
6. Discuss tools and techniques that can be used to differentiate lessons on critical literacy.
7. Combining critical literacy with the use of the Book Creator platform.
8. Learn tools to enhance peer to peer collaboration within Book Creator
9. Discuss technology and different learning styles that are seen in different classroom settings.
10. Discuss the importance of continued research to enhance most up-to-date learning on differentiation, critical literacy, and digital tools.
11. Continued support post course through email, zoom, and in person support.
The Fink's 3 Column Table and University By Design Template Reflection
The Finks 3 column Table and Understanding by Design (UbD) template can be similar in some ways when it comes to using them to design courses, assignments, and trainings everywhere. Both graphics focus on leading to an overall or major goal that the teacher, leadership, and/ or organization is trying to reach (Fink, 2013; Wiggins and McTighe, 2005). In the Finks 3 column Table, the overall goal is considered the Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG), and in the UbD Template the overall goal is considered an established goal (Fink, 2013; Wiggins and McTighe, 2005). Another similarity that they both have is that they are there to assist the creators in making learning more effective by establishing outcomes, assessment, and activities (Fink, 2013; Wiggins and McTighe, 2005). The Finks 3 column table allows you to create a miniature expectation for several specific goal areas, including functional, application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn goals (Fink, 2013). You allowed to create your learning activities and assessments that align within each of these smaller goals to lead your audience to the overall BHAG (Fink, 2013). The UbD Template often starts with “the end in mind,” and focus on essential questions on how you are going to achieve that essential goal (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005). Lastly, they both look at all areas of the assignment, course, or training by planning the size of the audience, what audience will it be tailored to, how will it be delivered, and the roles of all individuals involved in the process (Fink, 2013; Wiggins and McTighe, 2005). Both templates are great to use when creating a significant learning environment. With this in mind, I do believe that the Fink's three column table would be more effective in a classroom setting, while the Ubd Design would be more affective in a business and organizational setting.
Using the Templates in My Innovation Project
Having a template that allows me to think about all my students when creating assignments, courses and activities will lead to success in my environment. The UbD template can be used in my environment during whole unit planning in all subject areas. In relation to my innovation plan, I can use this template in unit planning for critical literacy objectives and standards. In my classroom setting we focus on a lot of growing literacy topics among the students. This includes phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, writing skills, speaking skills and listening skills. Some of these skills are broken into smaller objectives. So the UbD template would assist in planning these larger units on these skills. The Fink’s three column table would be beneficial in helping plan weekly lesson plans and learning goals. This table can be used to plan learning goals and activities within the critical literacy skill we are focused on for that week. I will be able to focus on my student population in deliberately creating assignments that will be differentiated based on student needs. Some skills will be focused on multiple weeks and with the three column table the planning can be done in a single overview for a quick reference.
References
Fink, D. L. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An instructor's handbook (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). ASCD.
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