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“We are striving to forge our union with purpose. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.” —Amanda Gorman, ‘The Hill We Climb’
February may be the shortest month of the year in terms of number of days, but anyone who has taught through the month of February knows that it is a mighty month. We have Groundhog Day (although, there’s something about the past year that feels a little like a continual version of Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day!), President’s Day, and, of course, the month-long celebration of Black History Month. Black History Month is an opportunity to focus on highlighting courageous leaders such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks. It is also a month to celebrate Black voices and perspectives through the sharing of stories, poetry, oration, and narratives that demonstrate the experiences and contributions of foundational Americans. It is 28 days to affirm cultural traits and contributions and reframe thinking. In Jeffco, we not only want to make sure we take the time to celebrate Black History Month, but also to honor that these stories should not only be taught this month, but all throughout the curriculum. As Teaching Tolerance reports, students throughout the country often encounter curriculum that does not fully address the history of Black Americans. “What students often get instead is a condensed version of factoids, a February full of “holidays and heroes,” when they can explore sanitized experiences of Black people without any context.”1 The Social Studies curriculum team is currently adjusting unit-specific materials to push teaching beyond chronicles of “famous firsts”, exceptional Black people, and trauma spotlights in relation to marginalized populations in the United States. Honoring Black history is inextricably connected with the broader objectives of racial justice and racial healing for people from all communities, and pushing ourselves to think intersectionally about other marginalized social identities that can lead to compounding struggles. As Audre Lorde states “There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives”. Some highlights include:
So why share all that? The social studies team, through the strong partnership with the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion team, are collaborating in the work of allyship and are working to move Jeffco beyond the bite sized pieces of Black history to infuse our curriculum with the rich history of our country that is Black History, Indigenous History, Womens’ History, and also continues to elevate the history of the United States. We are also working with other content areas such as English/ Language Arts, to create strong connections across content areas and through disciplinary literacy to expand opportunities for students to engage in these topics. To conclude, we are excited to see the lessons of Black history, and ways the teachers and schools will honor the resilience, creativity, and vitality of Black people in the face of inequity and violence, past and present. And just how we encourage the use of other commemorative months such as American Indian Heritage Month (November), Asian Pacific Heritage Month (May), and Women's History Month (March) to highlight stories and contributions of various American groups, we also strive to do the same within the curriculum and resources available to teachers and students in Jeffco. Below you will find a list of resources to support learning, discovery, and lesson planning this month from several trusted sources. Jeffco teachers can find various resources across grade levels in Bridge to Curriculum that support examples mentioned above. Resources:
Contact information: Sarah.Hurd@jeffco.k12.co.us and Natalie.Schaefer@jeffco.k12.co.us - Curriculum & Instruction TOSAs/ Social Studies Citations:
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Feedback: the Gateway to Student SuccessHave you ever run into a former student out in public like the grocery store, or a concert? Most likely, that student shared a memory with you about something that you said to them or how you showed them support. Providing feedback is a powerful way to influence a student’s thinking, achievement, and progression of learning with content as well as non-academic components that attribute to student success. Feedback as defined by Hattie and Timperley, “Feedback relating to actions or information provided by an agent (teacher, peer, book, parent, internet, experience) that provides information regarding aspects of one’s performance or understanding” (2007). It is timely, specific, and corrective. For example, “You paid attention to detail and used appropriate inverse operations to find solutions. You seem to be having some trouble with outlining your steps in a sequential way. This video might be helpful. We will continue to work on this together until you have it mastered!” in lieu of “Good job, or you need to fix your assignment”. Hattie’s work on effect size describes .40 as the “hinge point” for identifying what is effective in the effort to advance a student’s achievement. The effect size of feedback is 0.66, showing positive results in student growth and learning (Hattie, 2018).
Providing corrective feedback paired with processes information is even more impactful. This feedback structure should address three questions for learners(Fisher et al., 2021).
For more information on tech tools to support giving virtual feedback, visit Jeffco Ed Tech Blog, Fine Tune Your Feedback With Digital Tools. Focus on Progress over Perfection |
AUTHORSCurriculum & Instruction Archives
February 2021
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