Curriculum Blocking

Today in my Instructional Design class we learned about curriculum blocking. As we have been nearing the end of the semester and I keep hearing about our Unit plan key assignments (key assignments go into our senior portfolio) I've been nervous about it. My biggest question has been: How do I know the best order to teach my students in the limited amount of time I have and align it to the state standards? Today that question was answered.

Here are the steps I've learned to outline my semester or school year around a standard:

• First thing you do is pick the topic (for my class I picked Marketing Introduction)
• Next you have to define your global objective. My teacher said that global objective should be a few sentences describing what you want your students to get out of your classroom that semester/school year. It could even be why are you here as a teacher. 
• Then, you need to describe your sequencing rational. In this section you are just explaining why you did your unit in this order. 
• Now you block your course
• For example, the topic I picked is only a semester long class. So lets assume that I am only going to be able to cover 2-3 units per quarter (that is 4-6 units total).
• You then will title each of your units. This is your title system and does not have to be word from word from the standards.
• Last you will identify the standards and objectives to be covered in each of the units. Just an FYI this is not indicators. We want this to be broad.

When we get back from spring break we will be picking a unit and then developing lesson plans (with the indicators) for the unit then. I'm getting excited to see how this is all pieced together!

Here is my curriculum block that I created for my class:

Curriculum Blocking - Marketing Introduction by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Concept Attainment Study Guide

Explain what a "concept" is, and how understanding the concept of concepts makes learning easier. (In other words, define the relationship between facts and concepts).

• Concepts are ideas that are formed through categorizing data from several observations
• Facts are bits of information from an observation and have no value without other facts.

Explain the difference between knowing a concept's definition and a concept's meaning.

• Applying what the definition means by knowing examples to real life.

 Distinguish between concrete and abstract concepts in your content area.

• Concrete – specific concept (right triangle)
• Abstract – broad concept (freedom)

Summarize the model.

• The concept attainment model uses inductive reasoning by observing than hypothesizing and developing a theory. The goal is to define a concept by finding out what all the examples and non-examples do/don’t have in common.

Identify ways that you can differentiate and assess this model. (This model actually works great as a pre-assessment).

• Teachers can scaffold by linking previous concept attainment model to today’s lesson
• For readiness the activity can focus and help students who have learned the concept but need reinforcement. 

Concept Development Tips & Template

Tips: You might recognize this model as the List-Group-Label strategy you learned in your Content Area Reading and Writing class, except with the Reshuffling and Generalizing steps added. This is a fun model to differentiate with, and works well as either a pre- or formative assessment. It builds on the Concept Attainment model really well, in that you can introduce a brand new concept with the CA model, but with this model, you shuffle paradigms and jiggy up what students think they already know into new knowings. (Did that make sense?)

Lesson Plan Template - Concept Development by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Concept Development Study Guide

Explain how Concept Development goes beyond Concept Attainment.

• Concept Development goes beyond the definition to inferences that cannot be observed.
• Concept development refines and extends our knowledge through providing an opportunity to refine our personal concepts.

 Summarize the steps to the Concept Development model

·         The concept development model starts by having students list as many objects, ideas, memories, etc. related to the desired subject. The students then group the items by how they are alike. Students will then label these groups and state why they decided to label the groups the way they did. Next, students will look at the lists and groups again and see if they can find additional items or groups they can create. Lastly, students will make a generalization about the subject

Identify ways that you can differentiate within the model, as well as ways you can assess it. (This model can serve as a great pre- or formative assessment (see the Evaluation section on page 115). Either way, step 5 (summarize and generalize) will probably be the step you want to align to your indicator.

• Interest can be used by allowing students to generate data sets
• Readiness can be used by dividing students into group and varying information

Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Tips & Template

Tips: This isn't a lecture, remember, though you can insert a lecture in Step 3 as your means of presenting new material. This is a teacher-centered model that emphasizes a gradual release of responsibility onto the student (I do - we do - you do).

Here is a template to use when developing a lesson plan using the Direct Instruction model:

Lesson Plan template Direct Instruction by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Direct Instruction Lesson Plan with Feedback

               

Direct Instruction Lesson Plan

Name: Karin Petty & Tiffany Harris

Subject: Financial Literacy

Grade Level: 11-12

I.                    Utah State Core Curriculum Standard(s)

a.       Standard 2: Students will understand sources of income and the relationship between income and career preparation to reach financial goals.

b.       Objective 2: Analyze criteria for selecting a career and the impact of career choices on income and financial stability.

II.                  Lesson Objective(s)

Students will develop a career plan on a career of their choice that includes educational requirements, skill development, and income potential.

III.               Preparation (teacher materials, student materials, etc.)

a.       Teacher

·         6 printed samples of different career plans.

·         6 different scenarios of careers, education requirements, skills, and income potential.

·         Write objectives on board.

·         Have 30 copies of career plan project requirements and instructions.

·         Have destiny sticks with students name written on them.

·         Create presentation on how to create a career plan.

b.       Students

·         Should know basic definitions of skills and income, and the correlation between work skills and income.

·         Should know examples of work skills.

IV.                Technology Use:

a.       Internet to research career, education requirements, skills, and income potential.

b.       Classroom smart board or overhead projector

V.                  Instructional Procedures:

1.        Review previously learned material.

Using destiny sticks call on students to list concepts from the previous class. Students should be able to answer the following questions:

·         What is the definition of skills?

·         What is the definition of income?

·         What are some examples of a skill set?

·         Why are skills important?

·         What impacts could skills have on income?

2.       State objectives for the lesson.

Objectives will be written out on the board in language that the students can understand. Point out the objectives to the student’s and summarize what they will learn today in class.

3.       Present new material.

On the smart board I will provide an example of a career plan. I will walk through students through each section. I will define what a career plan is and what each section means. I will then show students how to determine what skill types are versus education requirements. Lastly, I will walk students through how to properly create their own career plan.

4.       Guide practice, assess performance, and provide corrective feedback.

Students will get into groups and we pass out sample career plans as well as sample scenarios. Students then have to create a career plan based off of the scenario and using the sample career plan as a guide. Observe students to ensure they understand how to put together a career plan.

5.       Assign independent practice, assess performance, and provide corrective feedback.

The students choose a career of their choice and create their own career plan.

6.       Review periodically, offering corrective feedback.

Next class period students will present their career plans to the class. They must state why they decided on that career and briefly explain what educational requirements, skill development, and income potential that career has.

VI.                Accommodation(s) for Diverse Learner(s)

a.       Readiness:   We will provide Spanish translations of the unit’s vocabulary.  There will also be computers in the room for students to look up work skills for specific careers.  We will also have dictionaries for the students.

b.       Interest:  Each group will get to work on the career plan to develop the research paper of their choosing.

c.        Profile:  Do the pre-assessment boxing activity for visual learners; do research online for their career research paper – allowing the kinesthetic learners to use their hands on the computer.

d.       Affect:  Create a fun business learning experience for the students with descriptions of some fun careers before they break into groups for the research paper to get them excited about some careers they might be interested in.

VII.             Evaluation/Assessment of Student Progress

A.       Pre-Assessment: Using the Boxing idea from Montgomery School website, students will draw a box in the center of a large piece of paper. With a different color students will draw a smaller box inside of the first box. In the outside box students will answer the question “What do I know about career plans? In the inside box students will answer “What do I want to learn about career plans? Now back to the outside box students will answer “What else do I know about career plans and how does it fit?” In the inside box students will draw a visual representation to explain the topic of career plans. Lastly, in the middle of the boxes the student will write a summary of “What does this all say?”

B.      Formative Assessment: Students will choose a career and develop a career plan that includes educational requirements, skill development, and income potential.

C.      Summative Assessment: For the Unit test students will be able to define career plan, educational requirements, skill development, and income potential are. They will also be able to label them correctly on a career plan. 

 FEEDBACK COMING SOON

Suchman Inquiry Lesson Plan Tips & Template

Tips: This model is similar to a game of twenty questions, where the students can only ask yes or no questions. You need to have a very clearly articulated "theory" or "answer" at which you want your students to arrive. You need to know your target in order to get your students there.  

Here is a template to use when developing a lesson plan using the Suchman Inquiry model:

Lesson Plan template Suchman Inquiry by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Problem Based Inquiry Lesson Plan Tips & Templates

Tips: This is a much messier inquiry model than the Suchman. In this model, every student can come up with a different "right" answer, so you have to be willing to relinquish control to make this one work. This works well with higher-order thinking indicators. Oh, and don't think you need to use the Inquiry chart that's in the text! Simply provide a graphic organizer (a pro-con grid, a Venn diagram, a study guide, a matrix, etc.) that will appropriately allow your students to keep track of what they're learning.

Here is a template to use to develop a lesson plan using this model:

Problem Based Inquiry Lesson Plan Template by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Problem Based Inquiry Lesson Plan with Feedback

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION            

Problem-Based Inquiry Lesson Plan

Karin Petty, Benjamin Crisanto, Heath Stevenson

Business Management

Grade Level: 10-12

I.                    Utah State Core Curriculum Standard(s) and Objective(s)

a.       Standard: Students will analyze and understand the importance of financial information.

b.      Objective: Analyze and interpret the data that appears on financial statements, for managerial decisions making. (e.g., ratio and breakeven analysis)

II.                 Learning Objective(s)/Indicator(s)

a.       Students will explain the unit price needed to be charged in order to breakeven on a product.

III.               Preparation

A.     Teacher

a.       Bring poster board and markers

b.      Bring 30 copies of assignment requirements

c.       Bring 30 copies of project requirements   

B.     Student

a.       Know basic principles of determining a unit price

b.      Come prepared with homework completed and ready for discussion.

IV.              Technology Use

a.       None

V.                 Instructional Procedures

1.      Explore the Problem

a.       Students will identify the problem of what unit price we need in order to break even. Using prior knowledge they will need to determine all the information needed to determine the unit price. (i.e. expenses for material, shipping costs, labor costs, etc.)

2.      Use an Inquiry Chart to Map Learning

a.       Students will be divided into groups of 5 and decide on a product

b.      Student will then list various expenses on the left side of the poster board

c.       On the right side of the poster board students will show how they determined what unit price they needed in order to break even. 

3.      Share Different Solutions

a.       Each group will present to the class their product, expenses, and how to determine what unit price was needed.

b.      Other groups will then ask questions or critique their product expenses to see if something was missed.

4.      Take Action

a.       For the unit project students will need to create their own product that includes a logo and a brand. In addition students will need to show how they determined their break-even unit price. These will be presented in class and the class will vote on a product.

 VI.              Accommodation(s) for Diverse Learner(s)/Differentiation

(readiness) Give students examples of a popular product, for example apple, and how apple may have determined what they needed to charge in order to break even.

(interest) As groups students will be able to choose a product that interests them to present about.

(profile) Kinesthetic learners will be able to learn using hands on activities. Visual learners will be able to learn by observing classmates presentations.

(affect) Be aware that students may not have the resources to create their own product. Have after school hours and provide material to allow those students to come to the classroom and use the resources to create their own projects.

VII.            Evaluation/Assessment of Student Progress

A.     Pre-Assessment

a.       Before starting class we will go over the previous lesson that discussed what a unit price is, what a break analysis is and why they are important to a business.

B.     Formative Assessment

a.       Students will explain how they determined the unit price needed in order to break even.

C.     Summative Assessment

a.       At the end of the unit students will be creating a product. The final presentation must include how they determined the unit price needed to break even, their products brand and logo, and their products slogan. Students will then attempt to “sale” their product to their class mates. The class will vote who was the best product.

FEEDBACK COMING SOON 

Direct Instruction

Explain what a “model” is (as in “a model of instruction” and as opposed to “strategy”).

• An instructional model is a step-by-step procedure that leads to specific learning outcomes
• Explain why we are going to spend so much time this semester learning different models of instruction.

• Some students learn better in a highly structured environment; others need a more open setting with many choices. Some learn best through inductive thinking; others favor a deductive approach. Some students learn by themselves; some work better in groups.
• The teacher who appropriately uses a variety of instructional models and strategies is more likely to reach all students in the classroom; moreover, students will be able to expand a preferred mode of learning by being encouraged to learn in a variety of ways.

Summarize the direct instruction model (hint: use words like “scaffolding” and/or “gradual release”).

• Direct instruction is when the teachers explain what the students are required to learn, and demonstrate the steps needed to accomplish the task.
•  Direct instruction uses scaffolding by incrementally improving a learner’s ability to build on prior knowledge. This is done through the steps of the Direct Instruction Model which are:
• Review Previously Learned Material
• State Objectives for the Lesson
• Present New Material
• Guide Practice, Assess Performance, and Provide Corrective Feedback
• Assign Independent Practice, Assess Performance, and Provide Corrective Feedback
• Review periodically, Offering corrective feedback if necessary

• The direct instruction model is designed to scaffold student learning by breaking down knowledge and skills into small steps, modeling, and practice. By following the steps of the model, you are scaffolding student learning. In scaffolding, the teacher models what students are to learn just as in the direct instruction approach. The goal of scaffolding, as in direct instruction, is for students to gradually assume the responsibility of demonstrating the target behavior. This is accomplished through guided and independent practice.

Differentiate between “direct instruction” and “lecture.”

• Direct Instruction emphasis the  use of carefully sequenced steps that include demonstration, modeling, guided practice, and independent application
•  A lecture is an explanation of a given subject delivered before an audience or a class, as for the purpose of instruction

Identify some pros and cons of the direct instruction model.

•  Advantages
• Links to background knowledge, small chunks of information, and guided and independent practice, all with corrective feedback.
• Aligned
• Goals of the model allow lesson objectives to be clearly articulated and all steps of the model are geared toward helping students be successful at demonstrating lesson objectives.

Identify some strategies you could use to differentiate this model.

• Flexible Grouping – allow students to practice new knowledge and skills with a group of peers of similar interests, skills, or background knowledge or with a mixed-achievement group so that peers can share insights and skills. Groups should never be stagnant
•  Varying Questions
•  Can be used with the bloom taxonomy to vary cognitive demand on students.

Identify some indicators from your core (or create some) that could be most effectively taught using this model. (While you’re at it, align some formative assessments to them!)

• Compare short-term and long-term financial goals
• Identify types of destructive and constructive communication
• Develop, monitor, and evaluate a personal budget
•  List the characteristics/traits of each of the four market structures (perfect, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly)

Differentiation

Distinguish between accommodations and differentiation

·         Accommodations are part of the IEP (individual education plan) that is developed by the principal, teacher, parents, and student.  IEP is a legally binding document

o   Translator

o   Wheelchair

o   Oral tests

o   Structure (autism)

·         Differentiation – is up to teacher

Identify four categories of student variation

·         Readiness

o   Previous knowledge

o   Ability

o   In the correct zone of proximate development

o   Language ability

o   How ready is the student to learn the material that day?

·         Learning Style examples

o   Auditory

o   Kinesthetic

o   Visual

o   Language

o   Encompasses black and white thinking (right or wrong)

o   Are they creative thinkers, logical, think outside the box, etc.?

·         Interest

o   What do they like?

§  Personal interest

§  What do they want to be when they grow up?

§  Know this so that you can personally apply what you are teaching to the student.

§  How are you going to make the information relevant to their personal life and when they grow up?

o   Your subject

§  What interests do they have outside of class that relate to your subject?

·         Affect

o   Emotional state

§  What is going on in the student’s life outside of class?

§  How safe do they feel in your classroom?

Identify four classroom elements you can modify in response to student variation

·         Content

o   What you teach

·         Process

o   How you teach (strategies you use to teach the material)

o   How students process the material

·         Product

o   The assessment (how they will show you what you learn)

·         Learning Environment

o   Tone of the classroom

§  Do students have to raise their hand or shout out answers, how are desks arranged, what pictures on the wall you have, what procedures do you have, will you have late work, availability after class, etc.

o   Physical environment

Formative Assessment Techniques

Formative Assessment Techniques by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Daily Alignment

Learning Objectives 1 by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Distinguish among global objectives, educational objectives, and learning objectives. (Note: "Learning objectives" are also called "indicators.")

·         Global objectives are the goals society has for all students

·         Educational objective is the official curriculum that the state and school system determine

·         Learning objectives is the objectives most important to the classroom teacher because they specify what the student will know, understand, and be able to do at the end of the lesson.

o   They are based off of lesson plans

Distinguish among transfer knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and meta-cognitive knowledge. (We talked about transfer knowledge in class last time.)

·         Conceptual knowledge is the knowledge of classifications, principles, generalizations, theories, models, or structures relevant to a particular disciplinary study.

·         Factual knowledge is the knowledge of terminology and of specific details and elements

·         Procedural knowledge is what we need to know in order to perform a task. It is the knowledge that is accumulated about how to do something and knowing when to use specific strategies and procedures.

·         Meta-cognitive knowledge is the ability to analyze, reflect on, and understand ones’ own cognitive and learning process. It includes information about learning, in general, and awareness of one’s own learning, in particular.

Define the following terms: scope, focus, sequence, alignment.

·         Scope – is the breadth and depth of the content that will be addressed in the classroom.

o   Your content core

·         Focus – how you are going to narrow the content core. What are you going to emphasis? Usually comes from the teacher’s passion and strengths.

·         Sequence – is the order of the subject matter. The sequence can be ordered chronologically or thematically

·         Alignment – the correspondence among objectives, assessment, and instruction.

Distinguish between formative and summative assessment.

·         Formative Assessments are assessments that provide information to the teacher and student about how the students are progressing toward the goals. Formal assessments are typically not evaluated for a grade.

·         Summative assessments are assessments that occur at the end of a unit. Summative assessments provide information about student learning that is frequently translated into a grade.

Explain how core standards, objectives, and indicators relate to unit and daily lesson planning

Refer to Learning Objective #1 upside down triangle diagram

Example: Reading Hiroshima

·         Global objective: (empathy)

o   To examine a focal event in American History through the eyes of “the enemy” (to place students in the position of “Other”).

·         State Core/Educational objectives (Unit objectives):

o   1.2 Comprehend and evaluate information text.

o   1.3 Comprehend and compare culturally and historically significant literary forms.

o   2.1 Evaluate ideas and information to refine thinking through writing

·         Daily Learning objectives (indicators)

o   1.2b Evaluate the effectiveness of internal text structures in a variety of texts.

o   1.2c Identify an author’s implicit and stated assumptions.  

o   1.3d Evaluate the impact of setting and historical context on literary works

o   2.1a Evaluate the merit of opposing opinions

Identify the steps of backward design (beginning with the end in mind)

·         What do I want my students to know/do?

o   Determine your objectives

·         How will I know when they know and can do it?

o   Design your assessment

·         How do I prepare them to know and do it?

o   Plan your lesson

Bloom Taxonomy by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Compose learning objectives at all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Refer to Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy sheet

·         Characteristics of a good daily objective (indicator)

o   Measurable

o   Specific

o   Starts with a Verb

·         Learning objectives are important because they help you…

o   Focus on your content

o   Select instructional models and strategies

o   Develop and select instructional materials

o   Determine your assessment

o   Demonstrate what you value

o   Keep teaching and learning focused.

·         Creating, Evaluating, Anayzing, Applying, Understanding, Remembering

o   Remember Under the Apple tree Adam and Eve Created