Brian Edwards

University of New England

The purpose of this presentation is to illustrate the integration of new curriculum into existing curriculum in order to address ongoing learning challenges in the school at Attica Correctional Facility. Throughout this presentation, new current events curriculum will be introduced that will attempt to improve student motivation and problem solving skills through the use of Problem Based Learning. All of the design is aimed to not only meet these challenges, but also to promote and support the educational necessities set by the Common Core State Standards.

The school that is being considered for this curriculum is the school at Attica Correctional Facility. Attica is a maximum security correctional facility that houses 1500 inmates. The students that this curriculum will be geared towards are adult males, age ranging from 18-62, who are aiming to achieve their high school equivalency diploma. The curriculum will be specifically geared for the Social Studies Classroom.

The learning challenges that will be addressed by this curriculum are as follows: Motivation to Learn Problem Solving Skills

Students in the academic school at Attica Correctional Facility have unique factors that affect their motivation. If an inmate in the facility has not earned their GED or HS Diploma, they are required to attend academic school programs. In a survey conducted in an action research project, out of 32 students enrolled in a Social Studies class, 11 of them stated they did not care for school assignments, while 4 of them stated that, if they had the choice, they would not attend school altogether. Almost half of the class is there when they would not be if they had the choice. This creates severe motivational dilemmas with my students.

Current research suggests that motivation for school work, specifically in writing in Social Studies and the language arts, can be tied to making connections between assignments in the classrooms and students personal lives (Troia et. al., 2012). The curriculum suggested in this presentation will attempt to make this connection to the students to make them more motivated to engage in classroom activities.

Students enrolled in the school at Attica Correctional Facility are only there because they have had difficulty with problem solving skills in their personal lives. The lack of problem solving skills bleeds over into the classroom. With higher level concepts in reading and writing (inference, determining meaning, etc.), students often become frustrated and angry in the classroom because of inability to solve problem. In talking with peers at the school, this problem also exists in other disciplines. Math and Science teachers specifically expressed their strong feelings about the difficulty students have with word problems and their students inability to work through a tough problem without an outburst or other expression of frustration (i.e. I give up!).

The problem presented with students lack of problem solving skills is profound in Social Studies. Social Studies requires students to assess historical issues and trends and relate them to how they impacted society at the time and how they still impact society today. Making these connections and drawing conclusions based on historical evidence can be maddening to students who have difficulty with problem solving skills. To further complicate matters, modern research ties the ability to solve problems to the ability to gain employment and move up the career ladder (Athanasou, 2012). This will be of paramount importance as these students end their time in corrections and return to normal society.

Several frameworks were considered in the creation of this unit. The selection of Problem Based Learning over other frameworks was its focus on problem solving skills and the ability to tie in real life problems and create a connection between students and the real world.

Problem Based Learning, or PBL, was originally designed as a way for medical students to use real world medical problems to draw upon prior knowledge to solve a problem (Barrows & Tamblyn, 1980).

Modern research suggests that the use of PBL can significantly increase students achievement levels (Abdu-Rahim, 2012). PBL will be used in this unit as the framework for how learning will occur. Students will be given problems faced in the world today and be asked to develop solutions to these problems.

As stated in previous slides, learning challenges that have been identified are motivation and problem solving skills. The use of PBL with the current events curriculum that will be addressed in upcoming slides will require students to hone their problem solving skills while addressing real world problems that are affecting the world today. The hope in creating this curriculum is that the connection to real world events will increase student motivation to learn because of the relationship the problems have to their own lives. This curriculum is also geared towards improving problem solving skills by utilizing PBL and having students learn to solve problems in a unique way that will draw upon their prior knowledge.

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision does not have a traditional curriculum as students are all working towards their high school equivalency diploma. What is listed in the following slides is the Social Studies curriculum that must be implemented over the entire course of a students education. Since the school does not follow a traditional yearly schedule, these topics are not expected to be covered each year, but rather over the course of the students time in school. The newly designed curriculum is highlighted.

The following slides are the New York State Learning Standards that the DOCCS Curriculum was designed to meet: 1. History of the United States and New York: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

2. World History: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives. 3. Geography: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live- local, national, and globalincluding the distribution of people, places, and environments of the earths surface.

4. Economics: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decisionmaking units function in the United States and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.

5. Civics, Citizenship, and Government: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

This curriculum, aside from the newly created curriculum, is copied directly from the DOCCS Social Studies Curriculum Guide. I will be including the major headings of each curriculum area but going into detail only for the newly added section of curriculum. 1. Community Student will be able to: A. Define culture and civilization B. Explore Cultures from ancient to modern

2. Citizenship/Government Student will be able to: A. Define citizenship and culture B. Explore community, government, and associated life skills

3. Introduction to Geography/Map Skills Student will be able to: A. Identify basic map functions B. Locate Communities on a map C. Identify/locate continent and oceans on a map D. Identify how physical environments effect various communities. E. Explore basic economic systems

4. Introduction to World History and US/NY State History Student will be able to: A. Identify major historic events in the US/Canada/Latin America B. Identify and make use of maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies C. Identify economies of US, Canada, and Latin American nations D. Explore and identify the governments of the US, Canada, and Latin America

5. Study of the Eastern Hemisphere Student will be able to: A. Demonstrate knowledge of major events and resulting effects as they occurred in the history of the Eastern Hemisphere. B. Identify major geographic aspects of Eastern Hemisphere nations C. Explore the economies of the Eastern Hemisphere D. Identify systems of government in Eastern Hemisphere nations

6. United States and New York State History Student will be able to: A. Identify routes of European exploration and resulting colonization of the Americas B. Explore the settlement of the New York State area by the Dutch and English and the pre-existing Native American cultures; relate to cultures/reservations in existence today C. Explore background causes of American Revolution D. Identify and explain the effect of developing laws and government

7. The Civil War Student will be able to: A. Examine underlying causes of the Civil War B. Examine results of the Civil War

8. The Age of Industrialization Student will be able to: A. Demonstrate understanding of how industrialization led to significant changes in our society. B. Identify development of labor systems and collective bargaining in response to increased industrialization

9. The United States and the World Student will be able to: A. Identify cause and effect related to the new work force in the United States; World War 1 B. Recognize major countries in global politics C. Identify and discuss the Cold War D. Demonstrate knowledge of the Civil Rights movement in the United States E. Demonstrate knowledge of advancements in technology and the effect it has had in the United States

10. Current World Affairs NEW ADDED Student will be able to: A. Analyze current news topics 1. Identify themes of news stories 2. Identify social issues currently impacting the US and the world 3. Recognize major countries/political figures involved in major world affairs 4. Summarize news stories effectively 5. Relate and assign impact of news stories to personal lives

10. Current World Affairs Cont. B. Identify problems facing the world 1. Define problems/issues described in news stories 2. Theorize solutions to current world problems 3. Recognize and identify impact of potential solutions to the rest of the world

The following are assessments used throughout the entire curriculum: Tests Essays Group Projects Short Answer Questions DBQs

Group Projects Individual Presentations Group Presentations Creative Writing Assignments Journal Entries Public Speaking Competitions Classroom Participation

Mock Trials Creative Maps Timelines KWLs Song Writing

These are the assessments used for the entire curriculum. Often, different assessments are mixed and matched into different units to differentiate and keep units creative and fresh.

The following slides are the description of the new current events curriculum added to the existing curriculum. This curriculum would be ongoing throughout the students education. It has been designed to occupy one class period a week throughout the time a student is enrolled in school.

The following New York State Social Studies Standards will be covered in the new curriculum:

1. History of the United States and New York 2. World History 4. Economics 5. Civics, Citizenship, and Government

The following CCSS will be implemented in the new current events curriculum: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1- Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3 - Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.8 - Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.8 - Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.10 - Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.RH.11-12.1 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.RH.11-12.3 Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.RH.11-12.1 Evaluate authors differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors claims, reasoning, and evidence CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.RH.11-12.1 Evaluate an authors premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.

The following resources will be necessary for the unit: A classroom subscription to Time Magazine. A television with access to news programming. Student computers/Computer Lab. 3 ring binders for student pairs. Computer Projector ***It should be noted at this time that students at Attica Correctional DO NOT have internet access. If in a classroom that does have internet access, the first two resources in this list may not be necessary as they may be able to be accessed online***

Unit will consist of a series of lessons that can continue over any amount of time.

I envision this as a series of lessons every Friday throughout a students education. Every 6 weeks students will have a larger assessment that will require 3 class periods

Since current events are ever changing, this unit will also be constantly adapting. Since students do not stop coming to school until they achieve their GED, and new students are added when other students graduate, teachers in this school would be able to continue this unit indefinitely throughout their schedule, constantly adapting it to meet the needs of their students. All lessons in the unit are designed for a 2 hour block class period.

For the first 6 lessons, the structure would be similar. The format will be students analyzing a news story, identifying the problems within it, and relating the story to their own personal lives.

For the purpose of this unit, the teacher will be picking the appropriate news story each week to be covered. NOTE: As unit progresses and evolves, students could be directed to choose their own story.

Lesson will start with the teacher directing students, in pairs, to read the selected news story. Times allowed for reading must be altered based on length of the story. During reading, teacher must be constantly checking for understanding ****Depending on reading level of students, teacher could also read news story aloud to create continuity, highlight key aspects of story, and engage students who are auditory learners. Teacher could also use television news reports if they are considered appropriate.

After the reading has concluded, the teacher will pose a problem based question to the students.

Ex: Students read article on chemical weapon use in Syria. Teacher poses the following question: What should the United States military role in Syria be?

When posed with the question, student pairs will have to decide together how they would like to answer the question. After they have decided their stance, they have to complete three things:

1. Summary Students must effectively summarize the article. 2. Relationship Students must make a direct connection between the story and their personal lives 3. Solution Students must provide a specific solution to the question and give reasons to support their solution

SUMMARY

RELATIONSHIP

Students must effectively summarize the article. Students will be drawing on past summarization assignments to know how to do this. If students have not been effectively instructed on summarization, a lesson on summarization prior to implementing this unit would be appropriate.

Students must relate article to personal lives. To do this, they must include their personal feelings about the story. How did it make them feel? Did it make them angry, sad, indifferent, etc? How would they feel if the situation was impacting them personally?

SOLUTION

Students must provide a solution to the problem. They must not only give a solution, but they must also give the implications of their solution. What will happen if their solution is implemented? What would the changes be?

So, how are students to present their work? Student pairs will be creating a current events binder for these assignments. Each assignment for the first 6 weeks will be a writing assignment in which each student pair will be responsible for doing the three tasks listed in the previous slides. Students will go to computer lab to type these assignments.

Assignment Rubric Summary

Summary shows clear understanding of the topic. Student clearly restates facts in story while also describing the context.

Student summary shows clear understanding with minimal factual error. Student restates facts in article while demonstrating understanding of context.

Student summary shows some understanding of events with moderate factual error. Student does not demonstrate clear understanding of context

Student summary demonstrates a misunderstandin g of events and little to no grasp of the context of the story.

Assignment Rubric Relationship

4 Student clearly relates story to personal experiences, world knowledge, or any other appropriate past experiences. Student gives specific examples

3 Student relates story to personal experiences, giving at least 1 specific example of how the story relates to their lives.

2 Student attempts to relate story to personal life but factual error or lack of description makes relationship vague.

1 Student makes no attempt to relate story to personal experiences.

Assignment Rubric Solution

4 Student states problem clearly and identifies its significance. Student gives specific suggestions for how problem could be solved. Student also states significance of suggestion.

3 Student states problem and significance and gives 1 suggestion to solve. Student lacks full explanation of significant impact.

2 Student states problem. Student states suggestion for solution but fails to fully explain significance or impact of the suggestion.

1 Student lacks either statement of problem or suggestion to fix. Significance is not explored

Assignment Rubric Mechanics

4 Student work is void of significant errors in grammar and spelling.

3 Student work has minimal errors in grammar and spelling.

2 Student has several errors in grammar and spelling but errors do not impede the message presented.

1 Student has several errors that disrupt the flow of work and impede the message.

Rubric is to be used to score the assignments for the first 6 weeks of units. After this has been done, there should be 6 assignments in their current events binders. These completed assignments will be the basis for the bigger unit assessment explained in the next slides.

After the 6 weeks have been completed, students should have 6 completed assignments in their current event binders. It is at this point that a more involved project will begin with the student pairs. The next slide will outline the project. The project should be given 3 class periods for completion and presentation. This is designed for students at Attica Correctional Facility where there is little to no homework allowed. Teachers in public school could amend the schedule if they plan to factor in time out of the classroom spent on the project.

Students will be required to create a project that they will present to the rest of the class. Student pairs will choose ONE of the news stories they have covered in the previous 6 weeks to explore in more detail.

In their presentations, students will have to do the following: State the problem presented in their news story. Give multiple solutions to the problem. State their expectations about how the situation will develop over time and what they believe the end result will be.

Students will choose from the following formats for their project: PowerPoint Poster Presentation Direct Lecture using whiteboards Any other student idea with approval from teacher

NOTE: Again, students at Attica have no internet access. Other ideas for classrooms with internet access could be Prezi, Glog, Webspiration, Wikis, Wordle, and others.

Students should be given one class period to decide on what story they would like to explore more in depth and get started on their project. A second classroom project should take place in the computer lab and allow the entire lesson for the setup of their presentation.

The third class period should be used for the presentations themselves. Presentations should be 5-10 per student pair. NOTE: If teacher believes there is more time needed for creation of presentation, an extra class period could be added.

Assignment Rubric Problem

4 Student clearly defines the problem in question and states its significance. Student clearly states cause of problem and its impact to the world/society that it involves.

3 Student defines the problem in question and states significance. Student states cause of problem but lacks full explanation of impact of problem to the world.

2 Student states the problem in question. Student lacks significance, cause of problem, and full explanation of impact to the world.

1 Student lacks statement of problem, significance, cause and impact and lacks understanding of the issue.

Assignment Rubric Solution

4 Student theorizes 2 possible solutions to the problems. Student gives pros and cons to each solution. Clear examples given of how solutions would work.

3 Student theorizes 2 possible solutions to problem. Clear examples are given but solutions may not be feasible/ grounded in reality.

2 Student theorizes 1 solution to problem with lack of clear examples given.

1 Student lacks explanation of solution to problem.

Assignment Rubric Expectation

4 Student gives clear expectation of how the problem will evolve over time. Student gives multiple examples of possible resolution and explores significance of each resolution.

3 Student gives clear expectation of how the problem will evolve over time. Student gives 1 example of possible resolution and explores its significance.

2 Student explains how they believe the problem will evolve over time. Student lacks explanation of possible resolution.

1 Student lacks statement of evolution of problem and possible resolutions.

Assignment Rubric

Organization/ Mechanics

Presentation is well organized and visually pleasing. Student uses technology capably. Presentation is void of major grammatical errors.

Presentation is well organized and visually pleasing. Student utilizes technology capably and presentation has moderate grammatical errors.

Presentation is complete but has some organizational issues. Student utilizes technology capably but has significant grammatical errors.

Presentation lacks proper organization. Technology not utilized efficiently and presentation has major grammatical errors.

Differentiation of curriculum can be defined as customizing lessons and units to specifically meet the unique learning needs of all students (Wiles & Bondi, 2011). Attempts to differentiate this unit have been made in the following ways: Allowing students choice over their learning process i.e. ability to express opinion on news story, choice of news story to explore in depth in final presentation, ability to choose the form of their presentation, etc.

Use of technology several avenues in which students can use to create presentation. News stories news stories will either be in print, on television, or read aloud by teacher to the class. The way the story is presented could be altered to accommodate the different needs of auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners. Assessment Various forms of assessments with specific rubrics will be used. This will give students knowledge of what specific criteria must be covered in the assignment before hand which will allow them to satisfy those criteria in the way that is most comfortable for the student.

If the unit is applied over the entire Social Studies curriculum, all Social Studies teachers will be implementing it. There are several ideas for peer feedback and support that could be implemented: Regular Staff Meetings perhaps biweekly to discuss what news stories have worked, which havent worked, what trends are being noticed, etc. Curriculum planning sessions teachers could meet to come up with what specific news stories are to be used and when. Also, peers could discuss potential problems in the world that relate to students personal lives and should be more focused on. Sharing of exemplars Teachers could create database of exemplar assignments made by themselves or by students to set standards of what should be expected from exemplary assignments.

Plan for curriculum should be shared with administration as this curriculum will be utilizing a significant amount of class time. Appointment times could be set up for administrators to observe classroom activities to see the direct implementation of curriculum.

The current events curriculum has been designed for several purposes. It had been designed to spark an increase in student motivation as it contains content that relates directly to students personal lives. It has been created in the PBL framework in an attempt to enhance students problem solving skills to aid them not only in the classroom but in their lives postincarceration as well. By implementing this curriculum into the curriculum for the Department of Corrections and Community Services, students will be honing their problem solving skills, increasing their motivation levels, and becoming more educated and capable citizens in preparation for obtaining their GED and returning to civilian life.

Abdu-Rahim, B.O. (2012). Effects of problem-solving method on secondary school studentsachievement and retention in social studies, in Ekiti state, Nigeria. Journal of International Education Research, 8(1), 19-25. Athanasou, J.A.(2012). Adult language, literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills in the workplace. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 52(1), 174-182. Barrows, H.S., & Tamblyn, R. M. (1980). Problem based learning: An approach to medical education. New York, NY: Springer.

National Governor's Association. (2012). Common Core State Standards Initiative. Retrieved June, 10th 2013, from http://www.corestandards.org/. Troia, G. A., Shankland, R. K., & Wolbers, K. A. (2012). Motivation research in writing: Theoretical and empirical considerations. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 28(1), 5-28. Wiles, J. W., & Bondi, J. C. (2011). Curriculum development: a guide to practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.