Most educators recognize that students have no control over what they are taught and assessed. Yet students always have been the ones who have paid the price for not learning the material. Now, in an age of increasing accountability, educators also suffer from the results of any disconnect between learning standards and assessment. It is up to educators to ensure that there is a tight alignment of standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment so that every student has the opportunity to succeed. It is also important to align the entire system so that time—not learning—is the variable.

In this workshop, Lisa walks through the TIA process outlined in her book Total Instructional Alignment: From Standards to Student Success. The workshop includes time to discuss questions, concerns, and common myths surrounding the alignment process.

Participants should bring copies of their standards in at least one grade level and one subject area.

You will:

• Learn how to align your school system as a culture in which time—not learning—is the variable and standards, curriculum, assessment, and instruction are connected.
• Explore vertical and horizontal teams that embed flexible grouping and differentiated instructional practices.
• Discover tools and processes to align curriculum with existing standards, benchmarks, and assessments.
• Understand how to write learning goals that are specific, measurable, and aligned to higher-order thinking.
• Focus on creating high-quality assessments designed to frequently measure individual student learning progress.
• Learn to align and adjust instructional delivery in the classroom and systemwide to meet the individual learning needs of all students.

• Preparing for Meaningful Change
• Setting the Context—The Five Big Ideas
• Ten Common Alignment Myths
• What is Total Instructional Alignment (TIA)?
• Three Interconnected Steps of the TIA Process
• Alignment of Vertical and Horizontal Structures Within the System
• A Mental Model for TIA
• Developing a Congruence Matrix
• Standards-Based/Objective-Based Instruction
• Higher-Order Thinking and Questioning Strategies
• Task Analysis for Effective Instructional Design
• Aligning and Utilizing Assessment to Improve Student Learning
• Next Steps—Changing the Knowledge and Conditions Necessary to Improve Learning

You will receive a certificate of participation for 12 hours of CEU.