1. Shifting the Focus: Lesson Plans for Learning
Megan Oakleaf, MLS, PhD
Library Instruction Seminar
SUNY Fredonia
January 15, 2008

2. Agenda
Overview
Standards for Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators
Lesson Plan Components
ADDIE Approach
“Understanding by Design” Approach
Guided Activity
Crafting the Plan
Practice Activity & Reporting Out
Conclusion

3. The effective instruction librarian:
Standards for Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators
The effective instruction librarian:
6.2. Sequences information in a lesson plan to guide the instruction session, course, workshop, or other instructional material.
8.1. Plans presentation content and delivery in advance, and manages preparation time for instruction.

4. The Lesson Plan Why use a lesson plan?
Preparing in advance encourages more deliberate instructional decision-making; inclusion of learning styles; alignment of outcomes, activities, & assessment.
Having a plan relaxes the presenter.
You may become a rock star. 
You may be out sick. 

5. Lesson Plan Components
Course/lesson title
Materials
Preparation
Outcomes
Standards
Introduction
Hook/anticipatory set
Elicit prior knowledge
Teaching strategies & procedures
Modifications for disabilities
Comprehension checks
Evidence of student learning
Closing
Wrap up
Lesson evaluation
Estimated times

6. http://eben. com/press/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/nytimes_smbz_postit

8. ADDIE Approach
Analyze - analyze learner characteristics/needs, task to be learned, etc.
Design - develop learning outcomes, select an instructional approach
Develop - create instructional materials
Implement - deliver instructional materials
Evaluate – check to see if the desired goals are achieved

9. “Understanding by Design” Approach
What do you want students to learn?
How will you know if they’ve learned it?
What activities will help them learn?

10. What do you want students to learn?

11. 1. Start with student needs & standards.
Assignment Requirements
ACRL Standards
Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction: A Model Statement for Academic Librarians
Local Standards

12. 2. Grasp the big picture.
What enduring understandings (transferable to life and other content areas) should students come to? (Wiggins & McTighe)
What essential questions do you want students to ask and answer? What questions will prompt them to explore and interact with the “big picture”? (Wiggins & McTighe)

13. Enduring Understandings
Information can be described in a structured way.
Information seeking is a problem-solving process.
Information sources are not equal.
Ethical information behavior includes acknowledging others’ intellectual property.

14. Essential Questions Grant Wiggins http://www. authenticeducation
A question is essential when it: 
causes genuine and relevant inquiry into the big ideas and core content;
provokes deep thought, lively discussion, sustained inquiry, and new understanding as well as more questions;
requires students to consider alternatives, weigh evidence, support their ideas, and justify their answers;
stimulates vital, on-going rethinking of big ideas, assumptions, and prior lessons;
sparks meaningful connections with prior learning and personal experiences;
naturally recurs, creating opportunities for transfer to other situations and subjects.

15. Essential Questions How can you describe an information source?
What actions can you take to solve an information need?
What makes one information source “better” than another?
Why is it important to cite sources?

16. 3. Break the big picture into component parts.
What specific knowledge and skills do students need to question and understand?

17. Identification & Articulation of Outcomes
Standards for Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators
Identification & Articulation of Outcomes
6.1. Collaborates with classroom faculty by defining expectations and desired learning outcomes in order to determine appropriate information literacy proficiencies and resources to be introduced in library instruction.
6.5. Scales presentation content to the amount of time and space available.

18. How will you know if students have learned?

19. Performance Assessments
What does learning look like?
Consider indicators of learning
Consider levels of learning
What activities will show learning?
Are there activities that will help students learn and, at the same time, provide assessment data?

20. Standards for Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators
Assessment
2.1 Designs effective assessments of student learning and uses the data collected to guide personal teaching and professional development.
6.4. Assists learners to assess their own information needs, differentiate among sources of information and help them to develop skills to effectively identify, locate, and evaluate sources.
9.5. Practices or refines instruction content as necessary in order to achieve familiarity and confidence with planned presentation.
12.6 Reflects on practice in order to improve teaching skills and acquires new knowledge of teaching methods and learning theories.

21. What activities will help students learn?

22. Teaching Strategies
Use multiple strategies to meet multiple learner needs/styles. Offer choices when possible. Balance group and individual focus.
Allow students to create meaning, rather than telling them the meaning. Students should be hands-on and active, not passive.
Use a model-try-feedback-refine cycle.
Provide opportunities for students to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empathize, and self-assess. (Wiggins & McTighe)

23. Standards for Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators
Learner-Centered Design
3.1. Maintains awareness of communication needs of different learning styles, and adjusts own communication style and methods accordingly.
6.3. Creates learner-centered course content and incorporates activities directly tied to learning outcomes.
6.6. Designs instruction to best meet the common learning characteristics of learners, including prior knowledge and experience, motivation to learn, cognitive abilities, and circumstances under which they will be learning.
9.2. Presents instructional content in diverse ways (written, oral, visual, online, or using presentation software) and selects appropriate delivery methods according to class needs.
9.4. Seeks to clarify confusing terminology, avoids excessive jargon, and uses vocabulary appropriate for level of students.
12.1 Creates a learner-centered teaching environment by using active, collaborative, and other appropriate learning activities.
12.2 Modifies teaching methods and delivery to address different learning styles, language abilities, developmental skills, age groups, and the diverse needs of student learners.
12.3 Participates in constructive student-teacher exchanges by encouraging students to ask and answer questions by allowing adequate time, rephrasing questions, and asking probing or engaging questions.
12.4 Modifies teaching methods to match the class style and setting.

24. Learning Styles

25. Scenario
Communications 101 Persuasive speeches Students required to use scholarly journals The instructor has asked you to teach the students the difference between a scholarly journal and a popular magazine.

26. What do you want students to learn?

27. Students will be able to… (complete their assignments!)
Knowledge arrange define duplicate label list match memorize name order quote recognize recall repeat reproduce restate retain
Comprehension characterize classify complete depict describe discuss establish explain express identify illustrate locate recognize report relate review sort translate
Application administer apply calculate choose compute conduct demonstrate dramatize employ implement interpret operate perform practice prescribe roleplay sketch solve

28. Students will be able to…
Analysis analyze appraise categorize compare contrast critique diagram differentiate discriminate distinguish examine experiment explore inventory investigate question research test
Evaluation
appraise argue assess critique defend envision estimate evaluate examine grade inspect judge justify rank rate review value
Synthesis combine compose consolidate construct create design formulate hypothesize integrate merge organize plan propose synthesize systematize theorize unite write

29. Consider IL standards. The information literate student:
ACRL 1.2.d. Identifies the purpose and audience of potential resources (e.g., popular vs. scholarly, current vs. historical).
ACRL 3.2.a. Examines and compares information from various sources in order to evaluate reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias.
ACRL 3.4.g. Distinguishes among various information sources in terms of established evaluation criteria (e.g., content, authority, currency).

30. Grasp the big picture.
What understandings about scholarly and popular information can students transfer to life and/or other academic content areas?
What essential questions about scholarly and popular information will prompt them to explore and interact with “big picture” issues?

31. Break the big picture into component parts.
What specific knowledge and skills about scholarly and popular information do students need to know?

32. How will you know if students have learned?

33. Performance Assessments
What does knowledge of the difference between scholarly journals and popular magazines look like?
Consider indicators of learning
Consider levels of learning
What activities will both support and demonstrate learning?

34. Possible Performance Assessments
List indicators or hallmarks of scholarly journals and popular magazines
Divide a stack of periodicals into two stacks…one scholarly, one popular
Compare multiple HTML articles and divide into scholarly and popular categories
Examine a bibliography and determine which articles are scholarly
Find 3 scholarly articles on their persuasive speech topic in a familiar database
Find a popular article on their persuasive speech topic and explain why it’s inappropriate for their assignment
What else?

35. What activities will help students learn?

36. Possible Teaching Strategies
Distinguishing Scholarly from Popular
Behavior modeling – librarian models thought process; thinks aloud through indicators of popular or scholarly work; then students practice behavior with guidance
Brainstorming – equipped with popular and scholarly article examples, students generate ideas about the differences between the two
Case Study – students read a scenario in which a student tries to determine which articles are acceptable for an assignment; students analyze the scenario and make recommendations for action
Critique – students use indicators of scholarly work to analyze an article for strengths and weaknesses
Discussion – students discuss the importance of using scholarly information and how popular sources should or should not be used

37. Possible Teaching Strategies
Distinguishing Scholarly from Popular
Drill – students work through a pile of periodicals or articles, categorizing them into scholarly and popular sources, then discuss their results; could be aided by a checklist
Game – students in teams play competitively to determine the scholarly or popular nature of information sources
Interview – students question a panel of librarians or faculty about the importance of scholarly sources and how they might be different in varying academic content areas
Role play – students enact trying to decide on sources for their speeches, or perhaps justifying a choice to their instructor
Think-Pair-Share – students work individually, then in pairs, to determine the hallmarks of a scholarly or popular article; pairs report findings to larger group
What else?

38. Crafting the Plan What’s left to figure out? Materials Introduction
Comprehension Checks
Closing

39. Materials Librarian/Teacher Student Handouts Props Dry erase markers
Stapler
Databases/websites
Technology back up
Etc.
Pen/pencil
Assignment sheet
Topic
Pre-workshop assignment

40. Introduction Welcome students Introduce self
Outline goals and agenda for session
Give directions
Get attention with a “hook” or “anticipatory set”
Question, quote, picture, personal experience/need
Elicit prior knowledge and/or pre-assess student knowledge and skills

41. Comprehension Checks Check for learning Give feedback
Emphasize enduring understandings and essential questions (“big picture”)
Transition to next teaching strategy

42. Closing Collect evidence of student learning Identify “next steps”
Summarize learning; reflect
Refer to “hook” or “anticipatory set”
Thank students
Encourage librarian contact

43. Putting it all together…

44. Reporting out…

45. Why is this lesson plan a good one?

46. What else makes a great lesson?
Clear organization
Two-way communication
Awareness of student
preferences & needs
Interest in students
Enthusiasm
You!

47. Questions?