Part+2+of+Instructional+Student+Instruction+Project

Kim Huett MEDT 7461: Instructional Design Dr. Putney October 11, 2010

Designing a More Humane Future and the WHERETO Elements
link to group discussion


 * ||  || **Present in Current Plan** || **Needs to be Expanded** || **Role of Teacher, Media Specialist, Technology Specialist** ||
 * W || Ensure that students understand WHERE the unit is headed, and WHY. || The Task List, located in the Materials section of the lesson plan, hints at some Where/Why structure, but nowhere in the rest of the plan is it explained how this list is used. || I don't think the lesson is clear enough on where teachers and students are headed and why. I would prefer to see this type of information written in the Procedures section (which I think should be broken down into smaller, numbered steps than the long-flowing paragraphs that are there). It needs to say something like, "teacher shows students rubric of performance expectations, etc." From the get-go, students need to know what is expected. || At the lesson implementation level, I don't really see how the technology specialist can be called upon, so I'll take the teacher stance (Mr. Rooks). The teacher needs to clarify the road map of the plan. Mr. Rooks, a tech-integrating teacher, has created a template on the class wiki with the "unit road map" on it. It's a table (like this one) in which students can see what is due when, and they can track their own progress on it (self-monitoring). Mr. Rooks goes over the road map, and has students import it into their own wiki pages. ||
 * H || HOOK students in the beginning and HOLD their attention throughout. || While the lesson does not provide an explicit hook at the beginning, I would argue that it does attempt to follow some of the principles of Hook and Hold attention. How? The lesson encourages students to grapple with "problems, oddities, issues and situations." The approach of using group work and encouraging consensus provides a challenge, and the lesson provides an outlet to those students who don't agree with the group consensus (the individual component, top of p. 2). The "opportunity" of having the fair at the end with members of the community may stimulate motivation and interest. Despite this lesson plan being vague in places, I would still characterize it as atypical, in that it encourages "risk-taking, imagination, and courage to question." So, while an overt hook is lacking at the beginning, the principles of Hook and Hold are present to an extent throughout.
 * H || HOOK students in the beginning and HOLD their attention throughout. || While the lesson does not provide an explicit hook at the beginning, I would argue that it does attempt to follow some of the principles of Hook and Hold attention. How? The lesson encourages students to grapple with "problems, oddities, issues and situations." The approach of using group work and encouraging consensus provides a challenge, and the lesson provides an outlet to those students who don't agree with the group consensus (the individual component, top of p. 2). The "opportunity" of having the fair at the end with members of the community may stimulate motivation and interest. Despite this lesson plan being vague in places, I would still characterize it as atypical, in that it encourages "risk-taking, imagination, and courage to question." So, while an overt hook is lacking at the beginning, the principles of Hook and Hold are present to an extent throughout.

. || At the beginning of the Procedures, no explicit hooking technique is provided. || Mr. Rooks takes the current plan, and works on the initial hook. For now, he is thinking that he will show students a video clip on the topic, or he might try posing a question such as How far would you go to save the Northern White Rhino from extinction? Mr. Rooks could use the ensuing brief discussion to turn attention to the unit on the topic of sustainability. ||
 * E || EQUIP students with necessary experiences, tools, knowledge, and know-how to meet performance goals. || The Short Feedback Forms, mentioned on page 4, are "used by the instructor throughout the semester to gather feedback about group process, content, and strengths/weaknesses of group/project as assigned". The use of these in the lesson is still unclear. || The Short Feedback Forms, mentioned on page 4, are used how? The lesson plan should indicate where along the instructional journey these forms are incorporated.

Does the lesson do other things to equip students with necessary experiences, tools, knowledge, and know-how to meet goals? It is unclear. It needs to be more intentionally noted in the plan throughout the Procedures to make the plan more useful for teachers.

. || As a part of Equipping, Mr. Rooks wants students to observe and reflect on sustainability of current practices in their communities (e.g., homes, churches, schools, grocery stores, roads). He wants students to keep a Sustainabililty Journal, in which they are to record their observations, briefly through the lens of this question:If all 6.6 billion of us are doing this, is it still a good idea? (to drive everywhere in a car, for example) ||
 * R || Provide students with numerous opportunities to RETHINK big ideas, REFLECT on progress, and REVISE their work. || The plan has the Short Feedback Form, whose use, as mentioned above in the Equip row, is still unclear. At the end of the lesson/unit, students use the Reflective Evaluation of Presented Scenarios, the Group Process Evaluation, and the Project Assignment Evaluation to self-assess. However, I might not categorize these as Rethinking, Reflecting, and Revising, since, I think the 3 Rs should be more formative rather than summative in nature.

. || There are not enough explicit details in the plan that detail how students should be Rethinking big ideas, Reflecting on progress, and Revising their work. I think it is assumed by the lesson plan author that teachers can figure that part out if they choose to use the plan.

. || Mr. Rooks will embed time each week for students to reflect on project progress using the Short Feedback Form. He'll have them post and submit via the class wiki. After reading each week's feedback, he will make adjustments, with student input, to the project as needed. ||
 * E || Build in opportunities for students to EVALUATE progress and self-assess. || To repeat what I wrote in RRR, the plan has the Short Feedback Form, whose use, as mentioned above in the Equip row, is still unclear. At the end of the lesson/unit, students use the Reflective Evaluation of Presented Scenarios, the Group Process Evaluation, and the Project Assignment Evaluation to self-assess. However, I might not categorize these as Rethinking, Reflecting, and Revising, since, I think the 3 Rs should be more formative rather than summative in nature.

. || The plan needs more formative assessment embedded throughout, and it needs to be made explicit.

. || As part of a larger assessment plan, Mr. Rooks will set up an anonymous forum where he encourages students to pose questions and share confusions. ||
 * T || Be TAILORED to reflect individual talents, interests, styles, and needs. || The Positive Futures Fair has the potential to tailor to students' individual interests, styles, and needs. However, the information about it is limited, and the activity is noted as a "lesson extension."

The Project Assignment Evaluation at the end of the project seems to address an aspect of Tailoring to students. By asking for student feedback on how the project went and what changes they recommend, this evaluation is addressing the Tailoring question of "How will we tailor the learning plan to maximize engagement and effectiveness for all learners?"

. || The plan needs to include more explicit details about how to "differentiate instruction to accommodate the various developmental needs, learning styles, prior knowledge, and interests of students."

. || Mr. Rooks will be sure to keep the needs of his students in mind. He will allow them choice in how they present their final product. ||
 * O || Be Organized to optimize deep understanding as opposed to superficial coverage. || I don't think it is well enough organized. || To me, the plan is not well enough organized to be used as is. Most of what we need is there, but in order for me to replicate this lesson, there need to be more specifics detailed throughout (or I would have to add them, which is fine!). In the above rows, I have mentioned the things I think need more specificity. Lack of clear detail and instructions, and organization in the area of the procedures translates into fuzzy planning, which threatens the integrity of instructional order. When show time comes, there will be some winging it unless we clarify in spots.

. || In order to be organized, Mr. Rooks is going through and clarifying the lesson plan based on his learners and context; and numbering procedures and placing them on the timeline. ||

Assignment Instructions
These are the documents located at our course Home Page--> Student Instruction (organizer) --> Student Instruction (backpack). (Items 11, 12, and 13) [|part2_instructions.doc] [|humane_lessonplan.doc] [|part2_form.doc]

Assignment Template on Wiki (taken from "part2form.doc" above)
[|WHERETO Elements -- Questions to Guide Discussion]