Classroom Instruction at UPCS
 Every class at the University Park Campus School is designed around common themes designed to help all students, regardless of incoming skill levels, graduate fully prepared for college. To reach this goal, all teachers must become teachers of literacy and each course must be differentiated to challenge every student appropriately. UPCS students are engaged; they enjoy learning, and they take responsibility for their own and their classmates' success.
Teachers design their courses to meet the varied learning needs and styles of all students. Classes are a smorgasbord of activity, on any given day one might encounter teacher lecture, student presentation, round-table discussion, Socratic dialogue, small group discussion, cooperative learning, debate, literature circles, writing, and brainstorming on newsprint paper. One day a classroom's chairs may be arranged as an ampihtheater, another day in a circle, another in groups, and still another time like a play or a coffee shop.
All Teachers are Teachers of Literacy: English class alone does not afford enough time for students at UPCS to gain the literacy skills they need to be successful. All teachers are teachers of literacy. Students read and write in every class. Teachers use a common writing rubric and shared writing-to-learn strategies to support literacy development. Students practice reading and interpreting the style of texts specific to each discipline.
Write to Learn: At UPCS, teachers believe that writing is thinking. Most lessons are based on writing-to-learn or low-stakes writing activities that students use to develop and show understanding in all classes. The process of writing forces students to think about a topic in new and deeper ways.
Low-stakes writing strategies are a means through which students can develop confidence, reach understandings and demonstrate learning prior to high-stakes tests and writing assignments. Consequently, writing activities are used in all classes to encourage critical thinking and help students clarify their own ideas. Also, written explanations enable teachers to assess students’ levels of comprehension.
Emphasize Student Collaboration/Community: The culture at UPCS is one where students take a collective responsibility for success. Helping peers understand material is an essential part of the student culture at UPCS. All classes have an emphasis on group work. Norms are set so that all students are accountable for contributing to the final product.
Clear Expectations and Student Ownership of Learning: Students at UPCS are expected to be active learners, and, as such, they are taught to monitor and evaluate their own academic habits and progress. Teachers make behavioral and academic expectations clear by creating detailed syllabi, making the rationale for each activity clear, and grading according to standard rubrics.
UPCS teachers put the onus of learning on their students. Ownership of learning is fostered in multiple ways: by explicitly teaching organizational and time-management strategies, by making learning objectives explicit, by requiring frequent self-assessment, and by placing students in charge of meaningful decisions and responsibilities.
Differentiate Instruction to Engage and Challenge All Students Appropriately: To reach UPCS’ goal of preparing all students for success in college, instruction at UPCS has to be differentiated. Teachers begin where the students are, engage students through a range of learning modalities, by appealing to differing interests, and by using varied rates of instruction and varied degrees of complexity. Teachers work diligently to ensure that struggling, advanced, and in-between students think and work harder than they meant to, and achieve more than they thought they could.
Balance High-Level Work with Skills Practice: Getting students to college standards means balancing high-level work with skills practice on a regular basis. Students who enter UPCS are typically below grade level. The 7th and 8th grade courses are intended to accelerate student learning to prepare them for the college preparatory curriculum of the 9-12 grades. The “catch up” curriculum is not typical skill-and-drill remediation, however; it provides students with a balance of skills practice and rich lessons that engage their thinking in the disciplines.
Learning through Inquiry: Courses at UPCS engage students in the core thought processes of each discipline. Students adopt identities as young writers, historians, scientists, and mathematicians and participate in the central activities of each field.
Implement Varied Assessments: Rigorous instruction at UPCS is supported by constant and varied assessment of learning. Teachers use low-stakes and formative assessments to evaluate student learning, constantly adjusting their instruction accordingly. A variety of high-stakes assessment strategies are used ensure that students of all learning styles have the opportunity to showcase their learning.
Establish Confidence with Routines and Rituals: Student engagement is high in UPCS classrooms, largely because teachers work hard to build students’ comfort and confidence through predictable routines and familiar assignments. Because students are explicitly taught routines and assignment procedures early on, there is little room or need for off-task behavior. Students are never at a loss for what to do, and their motivation to use time well is bolstered by confidence in completing familiar tasks.
Classes at UPCS, particularly in the middle grades, are built around clearly defined routines and rituals in every classroom. For example, all math classes begin with a starter problem on the blackboard which students begin in their math journal before the teacher even enters the room. All students use a standard format for their daily agendas and binders enabling them to stay organized and aware of their upcoming assignments.
Embed State and College Standards in the Curriculum: Instruction to state standards is not an add-on; it is part of the regular curriculum. UPCS teachers regularly review Massachusetts standards to ensure that their curriculum addresses all required content and skills. The math and English teachers use MCAS questions and MCAS-aligned assignments throughout their courses. They have adapted MCAS rubrics for student writing across the disciplines. Content in upper-level courses is to prepare students for AP test or freshmen level coursework at the school’s partner Clark University.
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