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Chapter 9Planning for Learning

EDPC605

+Stage 3

Now that we’ve clarified what the desired results are (focus on Big Ideas) in Stage 1

And…

Discussed appropriate assessments of these results with an emphasis on Understanding in Stage 2

Now…

We are ready to plan appropriate learning activities in Stage 3

+WHERETO

The basic concept is that a lesson plan should be designed with seven criteria or stages in mind, represented by the acronym WHERETO:

W = Where is the content headed? Where are the students coming from?

H = Hooking the students: how do we get them engaged with the material? How do we hold onto them once we've got them?

E = Explore and Experience, Enable and Equip: Students need to have experiences that will help them explore the Big Ideas of the unit. We also need to Equip them with the tools they'll need to perform well in the assessments and demonstrate understanding of the material.

+WHERETO

R = Revise and Reflect: Return to the same questions and problems again and again. Challenge initial assumptions. Make the students think again about their first instincts, and see how their inferences change in the light of new knowledge. This mirrors what Howard Gardner said about "going deep": you have to stay with a topic long enough to get down to the student's essential misconceptions and dispel them before new understanding can take root.

E = Evaluate work and progress: This refers to letting the students evaluate their progress, not just the teacher.. Give the students opportunities for constant reflection.

+WHERETO

T = Tailor and personalize the work: I really, really appreciate what the authors say about this one -- namely, that a "diverse" student body is not merely one that is composed of minority groups. Every student body is diverse because all students come to the class with different strengths, weaknesses, prior knowledge, learning styles, interests, and preferences. It's important to keep pursuing the same Goals and Desired Results while making room for students to explore the content in different ways, as befits their strengths.

+WHERETO

O = Organize for optimal effectiveness: It's important to present the material in a way that will generate the most interest and maintain that interest throughout the unit. Marching in a straight line through the content is bad for understanding on several levels -- it lowers interest in the material, which causes students to disengage, and also prevents students from going back to Reflect and Evaluate on previous content. I particularly liked the analogy here to soccer training: teach discrete skills, then build up to more sophisticated drills, then "play the game"

+Design Theory/Challenge-Based Learning

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Chapter 10 Teaching for Understanding

EDPC605

+Definition of “Cover”

Cover, when used as a noun refers to something on the surface. (p. 229)

When we “cover” material - we’re putting a bedspread on the bed.

“To travel over” can also be used to “cover” material (The standards!)

Coverage vs. UncoverageCoverage Uncoverage

on the surface to travel over superficial “marching through the standards” “teaching by mentioning” a “cover-up” or concealment

true understanding sets an end goal, a challenge demands the right experiences, discussions, and reflections a constructivist exercise achievement is the result of the learner making sense of our teaching

+Can understandings be “covered”?

“ An understanding can never be “covered” if it is to be understood.” (p. 229)

+ Textbooks & Teaching for Understanding

Textbooks provide an oversimplified view or reality; they summarize what is known but rarely help students to understand the inquiries and arguments behind the summaries (p. 230)

Textbooks should not be used as a syllabus for units; it should be used as a “resource” to support desired results

Textbooks are a “guidebook in support of a purposeful journey.”

Figure 10.1 (p.232) Uncoverage vs. Coverage in Using Textbooks

Uncoverage Coverage text as a resource used to uncover, highlight, & explore essential questions sections of the text are read in a sequence to support learning only one resource among many

text is the syllabus student’s job is to know what’s in the text (no essential questions for guidance) text is read in order of paginationPrimary source, additional sources rarely used

+Uncoverage: Getting inside the subject’s processes and arguments

Since textbooks oversimplify and summarize what is known, teachers need to provide the tools for students to engage in inquiry and question what is written in books.

This “uncovering” naturally prompts teachers to consult other sources to shed further light… (pg. 237)

+The Teacher’s Role: Designing the Right Experiences Bringing concepts to life through experiences

Helping students to uncover meanings of big ideas and their interconnection

Providing a telling experience and a conceptual framework for making sense of the experience

Students need chances to explore and work with ideas before they understand them as “useful”

This affects how and when we use direct (didactic) instruction (modeling or demonstration, lecture)

+What the teacher uses…

Didactic or Direct Instruction…

Facilitative or Constructivist Methods (Socratic method, open-ended questioning, discussion, guided inquiry, problem-based learning, simulation (mock trials), copperative learning)

Coaching – guided practice

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Chapter 11The Design ProcessEDPC605

+3 Stages…

1. Identify desired results.

2. Determine acceptable evidence.

3. Plan learning experiences and instruction.

+6 Common Entry Points to the Design Process..

1. Begin with Content Standards

2. Begin by considering desired real-world applications

3. Begin with a key resource or favorite activity

4. Begin with an important skill

5. Begin with a key assessment

6. Begin with an existing unit