AERO:SBC (Standards-Based Curriculum)
at the Potomac School
English Language Arts Curriculum Design Institute
June 21-26, 2009
Tne week institute is teachers who would like to gain experience in standards-based curriculum design, with a focus on backward design in the development of instructional units in English/Language Arts. It is intended for those with a beginning or moderate level of experience in backward design. The institute brings teams of teachers and curriculum coordinators from participating schools together to collaborate in curriculum unit design. Participants will leave the institute with some completed units and the knowledge necessary to train colleagues at their schools in the process unit design.
The professionally validated AERO English language arts standards have been successfully adopted or adapted by many overseas schools. Institute participants are asked to bring with them samples of existing units and curriculum maps they would like to review and revise. An expectation for participation is that completed units will be submitted for collaborative review and for possible posting on the AERO Web site. Although the work will be based on the standards developed by Project AERO, it is not required that schools have adopted the standards.Workshop participants will:
- Review the AERO English standards and benchmarks
- Examine the relationship between standards/benchmarks and curriculum
- Review the backward design process for unit development
- Explore strategies to strengthen units' culminating tasks, rubrics and essential questions
- Revise existing units or write new units, using the backward design principles
- Consider ways to improve teaching for understanding
- Plan with team members for work at respective schools for the next school year
Participants may choose to take this course for university credit and apply this credit to the AERO Certificate in Curriculum through SUNY Buffalo. Applications will be available in the spring. For course participants earning university credit, the cost is $500. (For participants who are not earning university credit, there is no charge for the workshop.)
The workshop will be limited to 20 participants. Therefore, as in previous years, registration will be accepted on a space-available basis. Interested schools are asked to commit to sending a team consisting of either a curriculum coordinator and at least one teacher or a team of 2-3 teachers.
Please send or fax the completed registration form by March 13, 2009 to:
Lorna Little, Office of Overseas Schools
U.S. Department of State, Room H 328-SA1
Washington, DC 20522-0132
FAX (202) 261-8224
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