Jay McTighe is a published author, educator and a featured presenter. Dr. McTighe has served as a classroom teacher, resource specialist, program coordinator, Director of the Maryland Assessment Consortium, and has coordinated efforts for statewide instructional strategies, curriculum models, and assessment procedures. On Sunday, October 19th, Jay McTighe will be speaking to the educators of Texas about Schooling by Design.
The presentation that Jay McTighe will present at the Texas ASCD Conference is based on Dr. McTighe’s latest book, “Schooling By Design,” published by ASCD in 2007. He will talk about school’s mission statements, how the mission statement should guide what teachers and administrators are doing in their classrooms and schools, “backward design,” teaching beyond the test and depersonalizing our educational practices. The mission of a school is very important, because it is a path for teachers and administrators that leads them to the expectations/goals of the children, parents, and community. In order for teachers and administrators to be in total control for achievement, they must have a plan to reach the goal.
A school that has a plan, goal, and control can only move ahead in education for our students. In order for everyone to buy into the future of our children, everyone who works in the school should be able to state the mission and explain their long-term goals. If not everyone can do this, then how can they work together to succeed? If you were playing for a basketball team, and not all the players knew which basket you were shooting for, then what potential problems can there be? For one, the person holding the ball can be running towards the wrong hoop, just like many of our teachers who are holding on to the knowledge but are running away from the goal of what we trying to teaching our children. Secondly, if they don’t know the plays, then how can other team members work together to reach their goal?
“Backward design” is another idea that Dr. McTighe will speak about in his presentation. In the case of a mission statement, you must identify what you would like to provide for your students (a goal), decide how to determine if you reached your goal, and then finally come up with steps to succeed. Many of us do “backward design” on a daily basis, we just need to start considering this way of designing for our schools and our students. These are just a few of the topics that Dr. McTighe will touch on in his present,ation at the Texas ASCD Annual Conference.
Please feel free to comment or answer any of the questions below.
1. What are some of the problems you are encountering when working on your mission statement?
2. The mission statement of your school/district is just the first step in designing your school. What other steps have you taken?
Attend Jay McTighe’s presentation on Schooling by Design on Sunday, October 19th.
*To hear more from Jay McTighe, please go to http://www.txascd.org/downloads/leaders_0308.pdf to read his article in our publication.*
Upcoming Texas ASCD Events:
John Crain’s Boot Camp for Curriculum Administrators in CyFair ISD April 2-3, 2008 and Tim Westerberg’s Creating the High School of Our Choice in HEB ISD April 15-16, 2008. Contact the Texas ASCD office or visit our website for more information.
