NC teachers investigate performance tasks with national education leader

Mark Chun, CAE Trainer

Approximately 30 teachers from innovative schools across North Carolina participated in a unique professional development workshop called the Performance Task Academy. The Academy was organized by NC New Schools and CAE on July 20- 21. CAE is a leading education agency that has created a critical thinking assessment known as the College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA+). In the CWRA+ test, students are given a scenario which includes documents and graphs to read and interpret, and the student must glean critical information, form an opinion, and write a short recommendation using the facts that are provided. Performance-based tasks challenge students to demonstrate skills, analyze and evaluate information, solve problems, and communicate effectively. To date, CAE has held more than 80 faculty development workshops serving more than 1,800 faculty members from more than 250 institutions.

“I love this idea for a culminating activity for units of study and to enhance the relevance and importance of field trips.” Melissa Fox, Dean of Students, Cannon School

During the workshop, the CAE trainer, Marc Chun, gave the educators a task to attempt themselves and then asked for feedback on the experience. Teachers agreed that the task caused them to think deeply, to pay attention to the instructions, and to comprehend material that was not familiar. As the workshop continued, the class performed activities that involved creating scenarios and then receiving feedback from their peers. In addition to the instruction from CAE, teachers worked with industry partners on the second day of the training. Leaders from the NC Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency shared scenarios and data concerning road planning, community building, and environmental sustainability. Increasingly, teachers and employers must work together to ensure that teaching and learning are both relevant and focused on the competitive job market graduates are entering. Teachers were very excited about the session and indicated they planned to use performance tasks with their students.

“I learned more about the design and instructional applications of performance tasks in two days than I had previously learned from multiple presentations, articles, and discussions. I am convinced that this is indeed the ‘right work’ to focus on as our district seeks a more balanced, 4-C aligned assessment program for all of our schools.” Drew A. Cook, Senior Director of High School Programs, Wake County Public School System

The innovative professional development session was sponsored by NC New Schools. NC New Schools has provided a condensed training on performance tasks for teachers within its network during its Scaling STEM and Summer Institute professional development conferences. NC New Schools plans to continue providing professional development and coaching support on performance tasks.

Educators from the following schools participated: