Common Ground

[twoteachers]

What can you tell me about this? The website is pretty skeletal without a login...

[teacher tan]

If you meant Common Ground Collaborative, it was founded by folks in Brussels. The goal was to provide simple, yet refined curricular solutions irrespective of the content. You can join their maligning list or invite them to your school for a workshop.

[shadowjack]

I'll take maligning lists for 500, Alex :-)

teacher tan, so it is sort of an MYP approach, without the IB or MYP trappings?

What is a 'curricular solution'?

[teacher tan]

Well, most schools struggle and work for eternity sorting out what matters most in learning. Folks get lost in jargon, redesign curriculum maps & unit plans year after year, borrow ideas from their previous schools, pull up ideas from the rear just because it is cool and fun etc. Common Ground works with schools to sort out their guiding statements with a focus on competencies, conceptual understandings, and character. So, curricular solution is janitorial work to clear the mess created by ill-informed teachers and admin so that students have a clear and coherent set of academic goals. (I work with an assistant head of school who has no clue about curriculum)

Yes, there are some overlaps with PYP and MYP, but Common Ground is more like your Green Berets.

[teacher tan]

Sorry, I meant mailing lists (the after-effect of a long day with two curriculum meetings and teaching five lessons).

[rake]

Worked a bit with this over the past couple of years. A lot of schools that have adopted it are using it to provide some focus to MYP, rather than use it as a curriculum in lieu of MYP. As a standalone curriculum, it is lacking; rather it is designed to support and clarify curriculums that already exist along those values.

The workshops are really hit or miss, though. My experience is after the big picture ideas (which are interesting), we were provided with a lot of warmed-over activities and practices that weren't really novel (a PD experience everyone has had, I'm sure).

[Doctor]

rake wrote:
> Worked a bit with this over the past couple of years. A lot of schools that
> have adopted it are using it to provide some focus to MYP, rather than use
> it as a curriculum in lieu of MYP. As a standalone curriculum, it is
> lacking; rather it is designed to support and clarify curriculums that
> already exist along those values.
>
> The workshops are really hit or miss, though. My experience is after the
> big picture ideas (which are interesting), we were provided with a lot of
> warmed-over activities and practices that weren't really novel (a PD
> experience everyone has had, I'm sure).

The activities may not be novel but how they are assessed and the weighting of assessment would change tremendously with common ground.

[PsyGuy]

Assuming you mean Common Ground Collaborative Ive heard it described as Six Sigma for IE, more of an organizational and curriculum "leaning" that fosters efficiency, and "inter lining of process". It belongs in the same category of leadership pop.ed as anything else youve seen or read about (such as PLCs, etc.). Its a vodoo thing that some ISs do that you either buy into it or you dont.