Bullet Notes for McTighe and Wiggins Article (At least 7 to 10 pertinent bullets per Big Idea)

Do some Research on Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins – Write about who they are, why they are
important in 21st century schools, and what they are renowned for.

Big Ideas
Big Idea #1. The common Core Standards have new emphases and require a careful reading.
(Bullet below)
 Focusing on standards is not new
 Teaching the standards in the “old” way is not how they are intended by the authors to
be used.
 Using only the grade level standards is insufficient
 Looking behind and ahead in the standards is necessary to ensure a smooth connection
between building blocks
 Standards are intended to be used with long term outcomes
 Staff should be allowed time not only to read the standards, but also the anchor
standards
 Standards need to be analyzed by teachers to understand the underlying instructional
emphases.

Big Idea #2. Standards are not curriculum

 Standards are outcomes, not ways to achieve them
 Educators must translate the standards into instruction
 Standards are the building code, not the design or blueprint
 Engaging and effective instruction needs to be based on the standards to achieve long
term goals as intended by CCSS
 Focus should be on output rather than input
 Curriculum needs to focus on the long term and complex tools that students should
have for college/career
 ELA focuses on anchor standards
 Math focuses on content and practice standards

Big Idea #3. Standards need to be “unpacked”.

 Careful reading of the standards is step 1
 They should be unpacked into four categories: 1. Long term transfer goals, 2.
Overarching understandings, 3. Overarching essential questions, 4. Set of recurring
cornerstone tasks
 Transfer goals = effective uses of content understanding
 Understanding = effectively transfer learning to new situations
  Essential questions = making meaning and deepening understandings
 Overarching = not limited to single grade or topic
 Cornerstone tasks = engage students in application with authentic and relevant context
 Integrates creativity, technology, teamwork
 This is macro work – and should be done at state/district level
 Beware of making it too narrow

Big Idea #4. A coherent curriculum is mapped backwards from desired performances.
 Curriculum is pathway to desired destination/outcome
 Outputs not inputs
 What should students be able to do with core content?
 It’s not enough to teach pieces of content on a schedule, this won’t lead to transfer of
skills to application
 Standards do not specify sequence
 The point of education is independence, so we must first ask what it means and then
plan the map of how to get the students there
 Small groups, inquiries, socratic seminars, should be used more often
 Transfer is about independently drawing from your toolbox of skills to apply to real
world situations

Big Idea #5. Big Idea #5. The Standards come to life through the assessments.
 Standards refer to the qualities of student work and the rigor of instruction
 It requires the use of assessed knowledge to ensure that the students work is up to
standard
 Appendices of the CCSS describe the degree of difficulty that the students must be able
to handle
 Curriculum and instruction must be designed backwards from the CCSS
 Design from the cornerstone tasks to develop the capacities needed to succeed in
college and work
 Assessments should not be designed to test skill but rather overarching concepts.
 Standardized testing isn’t the focus