EDUC 410 Fall, 2014

“Teachers are designers. An essential act of our profession is the crafting of curriculum and learning experiences to meet specified purposes. We are also designers of assessments to diagnose student needs to guide our teaching and to enable us, our students, and others (parents and administrators) to determine whether we have achieved our goals” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2006, p. 13).

 Examines, frames, and attempts to solve the dilemmas of classroom practice;  Is aware of and questions the assumptions and values he or she brings to teaching;  Is attentive to the institutional and cultural contexts in which he or she teaches;  Takes part in curriculum development and is involved in school change efforts; and  Takes responsibility for his or her own professional development (Zeichner & Liston, 1996, p. 6).

 The primary goal of quality curriculum design (lesson planning) is to develop and deepen student understanding:  All students benefit from and are entitled to curriculum that develops and deepens their understanding  Given variance in student “ability,” experience, opportunity, language, and interests, they will grow at different rates and require varied support systems to develop and deepen their understanding(s) (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006, p. 4).

 A recursive process that is:  Based on your knowledge of your students  Based on your knowledge of the discipline…how knowledge is constructed and develops within the discipline, as well as your knowledge of “typical” misconceptions within the discipline  Based on your knowledge of pedagogy, specifically your pedagogical content knowledge and knowledge of assessment  Influenced by your frame (fixed or dynamic)

 Attending to students’ backgrounds and needs builds bridges that connect learners and important content.  Attending to student readiness allows for academic growth.  Attending to student interest(s) enlists student motivation.  Attending to students’ preferred learning modes “unencumbers” the learning process (Tomlinson & Mc Tighe, 2006, pp ).

 Physical aspects of your context (affordances and constraints)  Climate/culture of your context  Attend to each student in ways that communicate respect and positive expectations.  Seek out, affirm, and draw on the unique abilities of each learner.  Elicit and value multiple perspectives on issues, decisions, and ways of accomplishing the work of the class  Ensure that all students participate in the learning…the dialogues, the tasks, the assessments

 Climate/culture of your context  Help students identify and make use of constructive ways of interacting with one another  Design tasks that enable each student to make important contributions to the work of the group.  Ensure that the languages, cultures, and perspectives of varied cultures are represented in the work of the group  Help students reflect on the quality of their contributions to the learning and to developing the classroom community (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006, p. 46).

 Stage 1: Identify desired results (your goals/objectives for learning)  What should students know or be able to do?  What content is worthy of understanding?  What enduring understandings are desired?  In stage 1, we consider our goals, examine established content standards (national, state, and district), and review curriculum expectations.

 Based on what you want your students to learn/understand in this lesson:  What prior knowledge/skill must students possess in order to make progress?  If students do not have this prior knowledge/skill, how will you help them to gain this knowledge/skill?  If students do not have this prior knowledge/skill, how might you differentiate the lesson so that they can make progress toward your learning goals.

 Stage 2: Determine acceptable evidence of learning—  How will you know if students have developed the learning/understandings you desire? What might they say/do?  What will you accept as evidence of student understanding and progress?  What assessments will provide opportunities for students to represent/demonstrate what they have learned?

 Stage 3: Plan learning experiences and instruction—  What prerequisite knowledge (facts, concepts, principles) and skills (processes, procedures, strategies) will students need in order to perform effectively and achieve desired results?  What learning tasks will equip students with the needed knowledge and skills and actively engage them in the learning?  What will need to be taught and coached? How will you support students in their learning? (anticipatory reflection…if students do not respond as expected, how will you support them in revising, refining, extending their thinking?)

 Stage 3: Plan learning experiences and instruction—  How will your frame (fixed or dynamic) influence your teaching and student learning? How will you provide opportunities for students to focus on the “process” of learning/thinking? What are you thinking? How did you do that? How do you know that? Why do you say that? How will you encourage students to rehearse agentive narratives? (Johnston, 2012).  What materials and resources are best suited to accomplish these goals?

 What progress did specific students make toward your learning goals…and how do you know?  In what ways was the progress students made toward your learning goals influenced by your teaching?  Based on the evidence students provided of their learning/understandings, what would you do next for specific students…and why?

 What have you learned from studying your teaching?  About your students  About teaching and learning  About assessment  About the disciplinary content  About your context  About curriculum development  What more do you need/want to learn? How will you go about seeking opportunities to make progress toward that learning?

 Johnston, P. H. (2012). Opening minds: Using language to change lives. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.  Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction + understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.  Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2 nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.  Wiggins, J. (1998). Educative assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  Zeichner, K.M., & Liston, D. P. (1996). Reflective teaching: An introduction. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.