I have caught myself daydreaming on several occasions...Sometimes I sit in my classroom at the end of the day and I stare at the students' tables. I think about what kind of life each student is going home to, and I have cried on more than one occasion for the situations over which I have no control.
Even more than family situations, though, I think about what the future holds for each of my students. I wonder what they will look like 10 years from now. I wonder what college they will attend (if any). I wonder what career they will choose and where it will take them. I wonder how they will handle the tough decisions that they will encounter during their lifetime. I wonder if they will find themselves telling their own children "I remember when I was in kindergarten..." It is hard for me to think about my students without wondering. I think that this wondering is a good indication of the type of devotion and compassion that teachers have for the students that walk through their doors.
The students are not just part of my "job", but rather they become an integral piece of my life. I have an overwhelming concern for their livelihood and well-being. The way I see it, I am the only kindergarten teacher that these students will have. I play a special part in their lives, so why shouldn't they play an important role in mine?
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe)
I had some pretty amazing professors at Thiel College. One of the theories that has really stuck with me is the idea of "backward design." For those of you who have not been exposed to this concept, it centers on the idea that lesson planning should begin by identifying the desired results of a unit or topic that you are going to teach. You then work backwards to develop the instruction rather than the traditional way of identifying the topics that need to be covered and then teaching them.
Backward design is divided into four stages:
Stage 1: Identify desired outcomes and results- what is it that you want the students to be able to do once the unit is completed?
Stage 2: Determine what type of assessments are appropriate to measure the outcomes- is there a project or a way for the students to demonstrate their understanding?
Stage 3: Plan lessons and learning experiences that will get the students to those competency levels- what types of interactive lessons will get the students to that higher understanding in order to successfully complete the assessments and reach the desired outcome?
If you think about it, this method makes a very good point. What good is teaching a lesson if there is not a larger purpose that has already been determined? It was very difficult for me to implement this process at first, but as the year progresses I find myself looking at the big picture now rather than just taking the units lesson by lesson. If I have a bigger goal in mind, then I can make sure that each lesson ties into an aspect of my desired outcome.
If you would like to learn more about it, you can check out the link below. It is an overview of Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins, and it includes examples and templates for doing it yourself. Give it a shot. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. It may be more work than you are used to, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.
Overview of Understanding by Design
Backward design is divided into four stages:
Stage 1: Identify desired outcomes and results- what is it that you want the students to be able to do once the unit is completed?
Stage 2: Determine what type of assessments are appropriate to measure the outcomes- is there a project or a way for the students to demonstrate their understanding?
Stage 3: Plan lessons and learning experiences that will get the students to those competency levels- what types of interactive lessons will get the students to that higher understanding in order to successfully complete the assessments and reach the desired outcome?
If you think about it, this method makes a very good point. What good is teaching a lesson if there is not a larger purpose that has already been determined? It was very difficult for me to implement this process at first, but as the year progresses I find myself looking at the big picture now rather than just taking the units lesson by lesson. If I have a bigger goal in mind, then I can make sure that each lesson ties into an aspect of my desired outcome.
If you would like to learn more about it, you can check out the link below. It is an overview of Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins, and it includes examples and templates for doing it yourself. Give it a shot. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. It may be more work than you are used to, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.
Overview of Understanding by Design
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)