This week our readings granted us a preview into the maze called "unit and lesson planning." This part of my journey has been looming on the horizon since I took the Introduction to Agricultural Education class here at Penn State. Just as demonstrated in the image above, I am looking at writing lesson plans and really don't know where to begin so I plan on jumping in. Thankfully this week's "Understanding by Design Framework" reading suggested that the best approach for starting a lesson plan is to go backwards and start with an end in mind based on goals and objectives.
Now when students come into our classroom on day one we don't expect them to be a plethora of knowledge with the material and they have to be ready to jump right in and learn. I hope that through trial and error my lesson plans will have lots of promise because the goal of this operation in its entirety is to benefit the growth and development of my students! Creating clearly stated objectives seems to be a piece of cake until you actually try. I expect the hardest parts for me to accomplish will be creativity and remembering to use Bloom's Taxonomy to create action oriented objectives. Through practice I know that I will get there and have this conquered in a short time. I hope that when I enter student teaching I will challenge my students using variety in the classroom and differentiation of methods. Lets face it, who wants to be lectured all day? Nobody. Plus simple lecture tactics will not allow the class to reach goals that include a higher learning level of Bloom's Taxonomy. It will take creativity on my part, but I'm ready to stretch my creative muscles!
I am looking forward to this week of class where I can discuss the readings with my fellow cohort members and see what they expect their strengths and weaknesses to be as we are introduced to lesson planning. Please comment with any questions or tips that you may have for me and I will be sure to keep you updated on the progression of my lesson planning experience!
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References:
Newcomb, L.H., McCracken, J.D., Warmbrod, J.R., & Whittington, M.S. (1993). Methods of teaching agriculture. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Reardon, M. & Derner, S. (2004) Strategies for great teaching. Chicago, Illinois: Zephyr Press
Mctighe, J. & Wiggins, G. (2012). Understanding by design framework. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf
Fink, L.D. (2003) A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning
. Retrieved from http://www.deefinkandassociates.com/GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdfWest Virginia University, (2010.). Bloom’s taxonomy. Retrieved from http://community.wvu.edu/~lsmong/Articulate%20Blooms%20Wheel/blooms_wheel.html
Ziff, B. (n.d.). Utilizing Blooms Taxonomy in Your Classroom.
Retrieved September 4, 2017, from
http://www.calstatela.edu/sites/default/files/centers/spedintern/hints11bloomtaxonomy.pdf
Great thoughts on lesson planning. LOTS of philosophies of how to write them but they all end up with the same final question of " what did my students take away from my class today?" A great way to tweak and improve on them is talking with your peers.
ReplyDelete100% agree with Deb! Angie, I think the most important thing you can do is identify WHAT you want your students to know, be able to do or feel. (Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions) as a result of our instruction.
ReplyDeleteWhen we can identify that and communicate it to students so they know what to aim for, we can than identify the ways to 1) Evidence the learning and 2) how to actually teach the material.
You have a great outlook on lesson planning with some great additional resources. I think it is very important to remember as an educator to have students "Jump In." Lesson planning seems so strategic, but really we all just have to find a place to start first.
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