WOOSTER SCHOOL
Deep Learning Initiative
Strength to Strength 2016-17
Introduction At Wooster, one of our goals is to ensure that our Upper School students have the opportunity to apply the skills, dispositions and knowledge that they have been developing over the years in the pursuit of deeper learning in areas of academic interest. To that end, we will be launching our Deep Learning Initiative (DLI) in 2016-17. Through the DLI, students will pursue a greater understanding of concepts in our academic disciplines by engaging in a learning experience based upon best practices and our growing understanding of brain science and learning. At the heart of our DLI courses will be tutorial methodologies developed at Oxford University and Williams College, which will provide the framework for a deeper dive into each course’s concepts and meaning. Wooster’s DLI courses will be structured so that students can engage with a core body of knowledge and information in a particular discipline, develop areas of inquiry from this “deep dive” into the core, and produce original thinking and analysis based upon their questions, independent research, and collaborative engagement with their teacher and fellow students. While delving deeper in pursuit of more nuanced meaning, students will also be building on skills that are essential to learners in college, the workplace, and in life -- reading/observing/listening for understanding, researching, identifying problems, questioning, reflection, writing, and collaboration. Deep Learning Initiative courses will require that students demonstrate important dispositions like imagination, creativity, and perseverance, in the pursuit of more sophisticated, original, and independent thinking.
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Why Deep Learning? Based upon a growing understanding of brain functions, our interest in growing the strongest, most sophisticated learners here at Wooster, and ongoing conversations with college admissions officers, the creation of these courses is a natural next step for our community of thinkers and learners. The following elements emerged as being most important as we did our research and designed our courses: Reading: Students need to engage with texts that communicate factual and conceptual content in sophisticated ways. The readings in a DLI course will require that students apply skills like attention, annotation, and reflection in order to make meaning of the texts. The volume of reading should be such that students are challenged to manage their time while still having the time necessary to wrestle with the advanced information and concepts found in the materials. Writing: Students in DLI courses will write to reflect, to better understand, and ultimately to communicate their own best thinking about questions that they have developed as a result of their experiences in the course. More advanced instruction in the skill of writing, particularly as it relates to research and rhetoric, will also be a part of DLI courses, especially those in the Humanities.
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Reflection, Collaboration, Critique, Discussion: Making meaning is often the product of an iterative process which involves collaborative interactions like brainstorming, and text-based and protocol-driven discussion. Learning the “rules of engagement� and how to best listen, critique and contribute are
skills that will be intentionally taught and practiced in DLI courses. Demonstration of Learning: Every DLI course will require a culminating, capstone presentation and product which demonstrates the new skills, dispositions and knowledge that students have gained through the experience. Within the framework of each class, students will tell us what they have learned, and they will use their skills to demonstrate a deep understanding in a concrete fashion.
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Personalized Learning: Because the internal structure of DLI courses will rely on the tutorial model, each student will be challenged to understand and build on his/her own skills, dispositions, and knowledge throughout the course. Small group and individual meetings with the instructor will be essential to assuring progress in learning and an honest assessment of students’ work and learning throughout of the course. What is the Tutorial Process? A tutorial class is built around a core body of content and knowledge within an academic discipline with which all students must become familiar. The process of engaging with the content can include reading, listening, watching, note taking, annotation, lab work and problem-solving. As students become more familiar with the content, they work as a class and in smaller groups on developing questions about the material which will guide their inquiry in pursuit of deeper learning. The tutorial model requires that students work in pairs or triads as they refine their thinking, identify other sources of information and knowledge, and develop fully formed answers to the questions that are guiding their inquiry. Throughout the process students are collaborating, journaling, discussing, and conferencing with their instructor. At the culmination of each tutorial cycle, of which there will be a minimum of three per course, students must write an essay, prepare a formal critique of their learning partner’s essay, and participate in a formal discussion of both in the presence of the instructor. In the end, students emerge having “made meaning” through a rigorous, skill-based, intellectual process, and with a better understanding of what it takes to engage with concepts at a deeper level. Redefining Rigor Our shift to a Deep Learning model is predicated on the broader shift that is occurring in the workplace, at our universities, and throughout world cultures. As our understanding of the neurological roots and realities of learning evolve, so too does our understanding of knowledge itself. When coupled with the pervasiveness and power of search technology, the proliferation of data in our
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digital world, and the processes necessary to parse that data and find meaningful patterns in it, this new understanding requires more complex and sophisticated coursework than that presented through Advanced Placement. Put simply, we are shifting from a model of knowledge (and therefore schooling) shaped by the character and constraints of print technology, one which valued the collecting and cataloguing of facts, figures, and concepts, to a model which requires that students develop the critical and creative thinking skills to make meaning from the data and information saturating our world in dynamic and unstructured formats. Remembering facts and information is no longer as important as understanding how to think about those facts and that information in ways that will help solve problems and create new ideas. The Deep Learning Initiative is designed to test and build those skills in our Wooster students. The Educational Testing Service (ETS), which administers the Advanced Placement (AP) Program, cannot hope to allow teachers to measure the processes, thinking, and hard skills that students apply to the solving problems and thinking deeply and originally about questions that matter while also requiring that they “cover” a specific amount of “book learning” on a daily basis. Every teacher who teaches AP will tell you that they routinely sacrifice the time needed for deep learning to the imperative that they race through the curriculum in preparation for the test. This tension has long been a complaint of AP teachers, and removing it is part of the reason that our teachers are so excited about Deep Learning. This problem is only compounded by the psychometrics of developing a test that can be scored on a scale of 1-5 and nationally norm referenced. When students at Wooster reach the 11th and 12th grade, they must be involved in the difficult but engaging business of having to make meaning in a deeper learning
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environment. Their teachers should have developed course designs which result in those students receiving feedback designed to further develop those skills. This rigorous experience should be personal, and the feedback that we give should be individualized to help each student improve in all areas. Through Deep Learning courses we are asking them to show us that they are ready to think and work at the next level of learning.
Beyond Advanced Placement We are not alone in having come to the conclusion that while AP isn’t “bad,� we can do far better. In moving away to a better alternative than AP as our most rigorous program, we are joining schools like Phillips Exeter, Lawrenceville, Hawken, Dalton, Calhoun, Fieldstone, Putney and a host of other well-regarded independent schools that have a long and growing history of going deeper. As a small, independent school, we have the wonderful advantage of being able to offer a program like DLI, which focuses on building the skills, dispositions and knowledge necessary for successful lifelong learning. We can move beyond the canned curricula of national programs and create courses that allow our students to take the time necessary to wrestle with advanced concepts and require authentic demonstrations of their learning. These courses, by design, also reinforce our greatest strength as a school: personalized learning through strong relationships between teachers and students. Through these courses, because of the frequent and personal feedback loop with teachers, students will come to better understand
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their own strengths and weaknesses and be able to build on both through hard work and deep thinking. It is our intention that in 2016-17, as we transition to Deep Learning courses, we will continue to offer a selection of Advanced Placement courses as well. By 2017-18 we will have fully transitioned to Deep Learning courses, thus eliminating the need for Advanced Placement.
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What Are Colleges Saying? “It (DLI) seems to get at many of the same things that we desire of our own curriculum -- development of strong communication, analytical and organizational skills -- while emphasizing research, critical thinking and exposure to a broad range of disciplines and ideas.” Over the last year, we have spoken and corresponded with college admissions officers from Amherst, Colorado College, Fordham, Wesleyan, HIgh Point, Carnegie Mellon and numerous other schools who have been unanimous in telling us that their primary concern is that they be able to determine how students have chosen to challenge themselves while in Upper School. Colleges and universities want to know what our most challenging and rigorous courses are, be they Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or a school-developed option like Deep Learning. If a school is creating intellectual rigor through an organically developed program grounded in relevant inquiry, critical and creative thinking and skill development -- all the better. “I love it. Personally, this is the kind of learning I want for my own children. Professionally, I think this is the kind of education that allows young people to appreciate the meaning of learning and the application of knowledge. Students who have the ability to see how diverse concepts fit together will be well-prepared for the higher order learning that takes place at the University level and beyond.”
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We have also heard from schools that Wooster will benefit from developing a program like the Deep Learning Initiative because we are already known for SelfHelp and the strength our relationship-based community. DLI redefines and reinforces the strength of our academic program as well. As you can see, they have also been uniformly positive about the philosophy and structure of our Deep Learning Initiative. “The idea of moving away from official AP designations to focus on deeper learning is very encouraging to me as an admissions officer and educator. We routinely work with schools that are able to maintain a high level of rigor in their coursework, while also ensuring that the students are engaging in content more richly. Not only does it not affect a student’s chances of gaining admission to a selective institution, I think that this often can provide an even stronger foundation for success once they arrive on a college campus.”
Proposed Deep Learning Courses for 2016-17 Thermal and Statistical Physics Physics Dr. Brian Sullivan The primary premise of this course is that any individual who aspires to understand complex systems in the real world needs to learn to apply statistical thinking and to make reasonable simplifications in quantitative models. Students in this class will read about the history of humanity’s understanding of heat and the technological evolution of the engine, the refrigerator, the generator, the mill, and the factory. Using the tutorial process, students also will be identifying areas of interest in this historical process, and writing and presenting about the quantitative problems that have arisen and that have been solved, or proved unsolvable. Students will learn and apply skills from probability, statistics, calculus, and computer programming to model real world systems, collect and analyze data from those systems, and to engineer mechanical systems that make use of heat to accomplish tasks. 10
The Essay Humanities Mr. Matt Byrnes/Ms. Liz Higgins Any individual who aspires to make greater meaning of our human experience must be able to read and understand essays -- and write them. Students in the course will read essays in various forms written by a diverse collection of writers from a range of time periods with an eye toward understanding the the genre and the technical elements which are employed by each writer. Using the tutorial process, students also will be identifying areas of interest and researching the various essays that have been written to make meaning of them. Using what they find, students will develop their own questions and perspectives and write their own essays, employing their developing thinking, research and syntactic skills to express their own meaning. Complexity and Life Biology Dr. Evelyn Fetridge Life is an astounding and improbable phenomenon that as yet has exclusively been found on Planet Earth. The basic premise of this course is that life is characterized by and made possible by complexity, on the levels of biological molecules and individual cells, whole organisms, and entire ecosystems. Students in this course will be introduced to foundational biological understandings in the areas of plant physiology and ecology, inheritance and the molecular basis of evolution, and body systems and homeostasis, and how each of these illustrates the principle that complexity characterizes and sustains life. Using the tutorial process, students will identify an area of interest within each of these fields and carry out a project that will further our understanding of the field or apply it to a real-life problem. Potential projects to facilitate deep learning may include researching and writing a scientific review paper or bioethical essay, creating a piece of persuasive media, or engineering a device. At the close of the trimester, during the tutorial discussion, the students will present their projects and critique those of their peers.
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Europe in the 20th Century History Mr. Tom Curley From 1914-1989, Europe saw the two most destructive wars in history, two madmen committing two genocides against their own people, and the division of the continent over political ideals. Since 1945, however, Europe has created an economic and political union that virtually guarantees peace. The 20th century is thus yet another in Europe’s long history of stark contrasts. This course will investigate this history in a student-driven discussion format and utilizing the tutorial learning and writing process. Students are expected to use all the skills and dispositions gained over the course of their academic careers to reach success in this course. The keys to this include careful and comprehensive preparation, active and civil participation in discussions, and true curiosity for and love of the study of history. Students are expected to express themselves clearly in discussions and in writing, support arguments with primary and secondary evidence, and analyze the arguments of others. Statistics and Big Data Math Mr. Karl Schwoerke Statistics and Big Data will teach statistical literacy in a world that is increasingly data driven. The students will learn descriptive statistics, probability, inferential statistics and data analysis so that will be ready to conduct their own serious research in the third trimester. Within the course we will learn the foundations of statistical analysis through research and experimentation, and take opportunities to evaluate statistical claims presented by media, journals and other credible sources. While finding common characteristics of good research and writing, the students will spend the third trimester producing their own original research paper through the tutorial process with classmates.
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