New York State Standards, Where Are They In the ML?

By Chad Walsh / November 17, 2023 / Middle Loop Muster

Knowledge and Skills: Competencies & New York State Standards

Dear Middle Loop Learners & Families,

There is such positive energy swirling around the Middle Loop learners - and we would not have it any other way!

As Quarter 2 has kicked off, we have some exciting enhancements and ideas to share with you.

Suzanne Kitto, our Director of Curriculum and Learning, has shared our ML Curriculum Quarterly with our community, which provides a brief overview of the teaching and learning being explicitly taught in Q2. We hope that this information offers insight into the areas we are focusing on.

Great teaching and learning only happen with a strong and clear written program - and it all begins with planning and designing the learning. Knowledge is what we want learners to 'come to know' - this is content. When we think about content, these are the New York State Standards (NYSS). Skills are what we want learners to 'be able to demonstrate' - these are our competencies.

Below you will see the NYSS and competencies that each cohort will be focusing on for Learning Lab during Q2.

One of the new enhancements we have introduced is that Learning Designers will create a Performance Task for learners to demonstrate what they can do with what they know. Below is a graphic that shows how 1 Competency Indicator will be shared with learners over a series of weeks. A performance task will be set up so that learners can share what they can do in terms of that skill to show their level of competency. As there are always 2 competencies for each Learning Lab and 3 competency indicators linked to the competency, the learners will have at least 18 performance tasks each quarter for the duration of the Learning Lab. While that might sound quite complicated, we can run a Middle Loop workshop to explain how all these puzzle pieces come together. If that sounds interesting to you, please join us for Look 4 Learning.

*Performance Tasks also happen for all other workshops and single-subject Labs. To introduce Performance Tasks to our community, we will use Learning Lab as our model.

WHAT IS A PERFORMANCE TASK?

A competency indicator will be assessed (as a performance task) multiple times over a Learning Lab. This gives the learner many opportunities to refine and review what they know and can do with direct feedback from the Learning Designer. This is why we use rubrics as our assessment tool, to show where learners are in their learning, and communicate the steps they need to take to improve and advance in their learning.

Below is one example of how there are 3 performance tasks for the 1 competency indicator across a Learning Lab. Overall, there are 18 performance tasks each quarter for each Learning Lab. These are a lot like having checkpoints in one's learning. We are reviewing and evaluating what learners can do within each performance task. This is our way of checking for understanding and what competency level each learner is operating at.

Through The Window I Well-being

Learners are playing chess during their lunch break. What a shot!

Look 4 Learning | Mon 27, Tues 28, Thurs 30 November

If you would like to join us for a coffee, talk about our curriculum, and see teaching and learning in action, please sign up by clicking on this LINK. Please share which days work for you, and we will do our best to organize small focused groups.

As you can imagine, we want to avoid large groups as the learners may get a little overwhelmed. Please let us know if you are interested before 12:00 on Tuesday 21st Nov. We will then email you with an RSVP on a date over the 3 available time slots. Again, we will do our best to secure a day that works for you.

This will start in the Middle Loop lounge at 8:00am and conclude around 9:00am. We may need to cap numbers and we can offer this again throughout the year. We will start with Learning Lab first, and then run a Look 4 Learning for our workshops and Explore projects.

ML Schedule for Q2 I Our ML Program

We now offer Student Success and ED Tech workshops every Day F. Visual Arts, Music and Performing Arts and STEM projects happen every Day C and F.

Learning Lab | C5-6

A Driving Question (DQ) provides a vision for the Learning Lab. The driving question for Q2 is:

How can we create a modern mural art to represent our Middle Loop community?

This Learning Lab integrates the following 3 disciplines: Social Studies, English Language Arts, and Arts. For each Learning Lab we explicitly focus on 2 competencies. The strongest competencies to enrich the learning experience are:

1) COMMUNICATION: Consuming and Processing

Learner evaluates and synthesizes what they consume to learn, understand, question and act.

(2) SELF: Social

Learner makes informed choices about their connections with others in response to reflective insights.

Learning Designers carefully select the NYSS that best establishes the context and the content for each Learning Lab. Below are the NYSS that will incorporated into the learning experience through the project. These are referenced and are the areas we want learners to be exposed to as they develop their knowledge base.

What will be assessed?

As a competency-based learning school, we provide multiple opportunities for learners to demonstrate what they can do with what they know. In the Middle Loop we now design what we are calling Performance Tasks. A performance task is created from the Competency Indicators. Learners have at least 3 opportunities to show what they can do from the Performance Task throughout the Learning Lab.

The difference with a lot of traditional educational systems is that learners may only get one opportunity to perform (essay, test, exam). At VERSO, we allow many opportunities for learners to share what they know and what they can do - and that's because learning and the real world reflect this approach. Life is not a closed book, it is open and always evolving.

Learning Lab | C7-8

A Driving Question (DQ) provides a vision for the Learning Lab. The driving question for Q2 is:

How might improving soil health change the world?

This Learning Lab integrates the following 3 disciplines: Social Studies, English Language Arts, and Arts. For each Learning Lab we explicitly focus on 2 competencies. The strongest competencies to enrich the learning experience are:

(1) COMMUNICATION: Consuming and Processing

Learner evaluates and synthesizes what they consume to learn, understand, question and act.

(2) VENTURES: Advocacy

Learner is involved in promoting or supporting a message or a cause.

Learning Designers carefully select the NYSS that best establishes the context and the content for each learning lab. Below are the NYSS that will incorporated into the learning experience through the project. These are referenced and are the areas we want learners to be exposed to as they develop their knowledge base.

What will be assessed?

As a Competency-based learning school, we provide multiple opportunities for learners to demonstrate what they can do with what they know. In the Middle Loop we now design what we are calling Performance Tasks. A performance task is created from the Competency Indicators. Learners have at least 3 opportunities to show what they can do from the Performance Task throughout the Learning Lab.