Presenter: Kelly Cronin (The Summit Country Day School) Kelly Cronin, Social Study Teacher, Department Head, the Dean of Students and Upper School Scheduling Coordinator from The Summit Country Day School, will take you through the practical application of using Topics within the framework of the Understanding by Design methodology. She'll cover Summit's approach to implementing UBD, teacher training and maximizing the power of Topics.

2. STUDENTS LOVE TOPICS!!

3. TOPICS:
A TOOL TO HELP TEACHERS
EFFECTIVELY DESIGN COURSES
*Compatible with Understanding by Design; Project Based Learning;
Blended Learning; Inquiry Based Learning; Flipped Classrooms; and
Individualized Learning

4. PLANNING USING TOPICS
• UbD: Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
– 7 tenets of UbD, 3 connected to TOPICS
– 1. Learning is enhanced when teachers think
purposefully about curricular planning.
– 2. Effective curriculum is planned backward from
long-term, desired results through a three-stage
design process (Desired Results, Evidence, and
Learning Plan). This process helps avoid the
common problems of treating the textbook as the
curriculum rather than a resource, and activity-
oriented teaching in which no clear priorities and
purposes are apparent.

5. Click to add title
• 3. Teachers are coaches of understanding, not
mere purveyors of content knowledge, skill, or
activity.
– http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publicat
ions/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf
– Not that different from the Flipped Classroom idea
or Projects or Inquiry Based Learning

6. Planning Using Topics
• Think about what can be done in a year, or in
a grading period not about the textbook
• Curriculum driven by standards and objectives
not by chapters in the textbook
• Can show meeting common core and beyond
• The Private School Difference

7. • Think about what will be assessed, what are
the units
• Each unit gets a Topic
• Students (and Parents!) know where
assessments will fall, what is to be covered is
transparent
• Within Topics can provide more challenges for
more gifted kids

8. Planning
• If using UbD topics allows the backwards
design planning and demands the purposeful
thinking about curriculum
• (flip to AP Euro page as example)
• Project Based Learning-topic for each project
• Inquiry Based Learning-set up within topics for
webquests or other tools for inquiry

9. Within Topics
• UbD-teachers as coaches, essential
questions, tools to learn the material
• Individualized learning-many options for all
types of learning inside of topics
• Blended Learning—can be set up to be done
at home
• Flipped Learning—videos within, work to be
done in class also within

10. Setting up Individual Topics
• Text Boxes: essential questions, project or
inquiry instructions, assessment information
• Downloads: essential files
• Links: internet resources
• Audio: podcasts, teachers must know how to
find and to upload
• Video: same issue they must be taught how
• Professional Development and Time!!!
• Examples

11. INTERESTING THOUGHT?!
• Collaboration between schools possible?
• If Topics are so developed that students can
follow through a curriculum with coaching
only in discussion board, can assessments be
given by ‘home’ school but students from
different WhippleHill schools in a course?