Reflection on Individual/ LAC Group Presentation on unpacking of Sample MELC

Learning to unpack standards involved analyzing the wording, and breaking the standard into
discrete areas that must be addressed in the lessons.  Unpacking these standards really showed
me how to take the standards from “just words” to action points.  

In doing this task, and breaking down the standards into the different areas to be addressed, I
ended up feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work each strand of the IB criteria
potentially contained!  Luckily, the next task (backwards mapping) helped me to organize my
ideas, and reassured me that this could be achievable.

Backwards mapping involves working backwards from the desired outcomes of the unit to
produce appropriate activities and assessments.  I found the backwards mapping task extremely
useful for understanding how to ensure include ALL the required skills when developing
learning activities.  As the School Head, I found that following the backwards mapping
procedure reassured that I would not leave anything out.  I also found myself looking at the types
of activities from different angles, and being more creative (for example, coming up with an
interdisciplinary exercise between Science and Design, as both require freehand drawing skills),
as I focused on the skills development rather than just stepping through the processes.  

Setting objectives is key to understanding and communicating the specific skills or knowledge
that students need to acquire.  At my school the learning objectives are determined by all the
teachers working together during unit planning time, I really liked the idea of expressing these
learning objectives as “I can” statements.  This formulation helps students understand what
they’ll be learning, and will also be helpful for their reflection tasks at the end of the unit. When
setting out these “I can” objectives, I also found that they followed a logical progression, which
would guide exactly when I taught the different aspects of the standard in class.  When displayed
on the wall of a classroom during the appropriate units, these objectives would help our students
stay on track to achieve the required outcomes.

As a School Head, I found this unit extremely useful as an introduction to making the
connections between the official assessment framework and what we do day-to-day in class.