Curriculum and Instruction - SAS-WASC

Pudong Elementary SchoolPuxi Elementary SchoolPudong Middle SchoolPuxi Middle SchoolPudong High SchoolPuxi High SchoolTotal2007-2008expectation: to diary map what is actually taught in one preparationfor a full year57% reached the expectation88% reached the expectation63% reached the expectation75% reached the expectation82% reached the expectation87% reached the expectation77% reached the expectationWith the One School Two Campuses vision in mind and the reality of Pudong middleand high schools in different stages of their development than Puxi middle and highschools, the Atlas goals for 2006-2007, were to collaborate on the creation of scopeand sequence, unit plans and common assessments for one unit per semester. Atthe end of the year, several circumstances caused the educational programs office tochange the direction of its expectations for teachers to post units on Atlas:• While there was and is valid global copying happening as part of trulycollaborative efforts, one mis-perception that surfaced was that collaborationmeant simply global-copying units created by Puxi colleagues who had beenat SAS for longer, simply because they had been around for longer.• There was an even greater increase in new faculty and students across theschool coupled with a desire to benefit from the rich experiences and skills ofboth veteran and new hires.• There was a desire to forge strong links between what is posted on Atlasand what actually is happening in the classroom for the purposes of accurateprogram assessment and review.• There was a desire to make the curriculum a rich, collaborative documentunder ongoing revision -- a living online curriculum.In 2007-2008, the expectation was to record the year’s units reflecting what wasactually taught. In 2008-2009, when teachers add reflections in their unit revisions,verifying the link between what is recorded and what is taught should be clearer.Walk-through observation data and teacher portfolio evidence would also strengthenthe link between the documented curriculum and what is actually happening in theclassroom.It was also clear that, while the SAS unit plan template contained what is eventuallyto be posted, some faculty members are not yet adequately trained in eitherassessment practices or essential question-writing. These are important areas forfollow-up.Mr. Alfred Olivas sees his classroomas a ‘Café of Science’. Studentsin grade six science class wereworking on a frog mummificationproject. They were connecting thisidea to a broader perspective bylearning about Ancient Egypt intheir humanities and history courses.Students were writing a fictionalpiece about the fate of their frog, hadit been an Ancient Egytptian. Latitia,grade 6, said “It’s really fun! I havenever been able to do somethinglike this before, it’s totally new.”What Students LearnGuide Question:To what extent does SAS provide a challenging, coherent and relevant curriculum foreach student that fulfills the school’s purpose and results in student achievement ofthe ESLRs through successful completion of the course of study?Nearly 80 % of parents surveyed agree or strongly agree that the education SASoffers students is of high quality. Not surprisingly, 92 % of teachers agree. Over90% of students agree or strongly agree that they are provided with opportunities tolearn important knowledge and skills in each subject and nearly 80 % believe theirteachers challenge them to do their best work.The clear focus on developing and fully documenting all aspects of curriculum thatgrew out of recommendations from the midterm report, has enhanced the coherenceand relevance of the curriculum at SAS. This may be one explanation for stable andrising trends in ITBS scores in several categories beginning with 2005 scores. AtlasShanghai American School Self Study Report 77