by Mieder van Loggerenberg
Traditional Lesson Plan
Traditional lesson planning begins with teachers looking at standards and learning objectives, and then planning their instructional activities based on those standards. Even though there is no standard format for lesson planning, it usually consists of more or less ten components.
1. Concept
2. Standard and Indicators
3. Learning Objectives
4. Content
5. Integrated Content
6. Learner’s Key Competencies
7. Desired Characteristics
8. Learning Activities
9. Media
10. Assessment
Understanding The Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D. 2008)
Since the planning of the lesson plan is based on the Core Curriculum it is essential to first understand the key components, what they consist of and what those components actually mean.
Important Terminologies
Learning Areas
Subjects to be learned. Learning areas comprise bodies of knowledge, skills or learning processes and desirable characteristics, attainment of which is required of all basic education learners.
Strand
Skill to develop for that learning area.
Standard
The learning outcomes, moral & ethical values, and desirable characteristics to be achieved.
Indicators
What students should know and be able to practice, reflect the standard of learning, prescribe the content, and organize the teaching-learning activities.
Grade Level + Key Stage Indicators
These indicators specify the goals to be achieved in developing learners for each level of compulsory education, which is Primary Education (Grade 1-6), Lower Secondary Education (Grade 7-9), and Secondary Education (Grade 10-12).
Standards
The Basic Education Core Curriculum prescribes a total of 67 standards for the 8 learning areas.
All Learning Areas & Standards: https://bit.ly/StrandsandLearningStandards The Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D. 2008): https://bit.ly/CoreCurriculum2008
The Backward Design Process
Assessments are often seen as something that must be done only at the end of a course and is not always directly linked to the standards, learning objectives, content and the learning activities students did throughout the course. Research, however, suggests that when developing the lesson plan the focus should be on the standard or learning outcomes, learning objectives of the content covered and assessments. In so, the planned assessments must evaluate if the students have mastered the content and only then can teachers plan an effective instructional activity. This type of planning is referred to as backwards design. This design consists of three steps.
Step One: Effective Learning Outcomes
In Thailand teachers are expected to apply the standards from The Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D. 2008) into their lesson plans. The first step in the backward design is to analyze those standards and create a more student-centered learning objective. This is where the significant difference is between traditional planning and backwards planning. Traditional planning focuses on what the teacher needs to teach like the content or a specific topic, whereas backwards planning focuses on what students must be able to do at the end of the lesson or course. This so implies that the focus should be on the Standard. These standards or learning outcomes are set by the Ministry of Education and a course can only be seen as successful if students have achieved these standards.
In the development process, it is important for teachers to examine not only the standards of The Basic Education Core Curriculum but also the Goals, Learners’ Key Competencies, Desirable Characteristics and determine what changes must be made to the learning objectives, content and learning activities to ensure some of the Goals, Learners’ Key Competencies, Desirable Characteristics can be achieved.
The learning outcome should be seen as an overarching principle that guides decision making. The learning objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely steps that can be taken to meet the learning outcomes and to effectively write those objectives, Bloom’s Taxonomy would offer a framework to help categorize it. The framework consists of three learning domains: Cognitive: mental skills (Knowledge), Affective: growth in feelings or emotions (Attitude), and Psychomotor: physical skills (Skills).
Questions to ask as you write the objectives.
S - Specific:
What exactly will you accomplish?
M - Measurable:
How will you know when you have reached this objective?
A - Attainable:
Is achieving this objective realistic with effort and commitment?
R - Relevant:
Why is this objective significant to this lesson or course?
T - Time Bound:
When will you achieve this objective?
When writing SMART objectives, it is important to use active verbs. Here are some examples for each domain.
Cognitive domain
This refers to the student’s ability to think and use their brain power.
The cognitive domain is further divided into two sub-categories: Cognitive process dimension and the Knowledge dimension.
1. Cognitive process dimension
This domain involves the process we use to apply and highlight our intellectual skills. Ranked from lower to higher order complexities: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and then finally create.
2. Knowledge dimension
Students have diverse ways of highlighting and applying their knowledge just as much as they learn in different ways:
Metacognitive:
Learners focuses on contextualizing, self-knowledge, strategy, and cognitive tasks.
Conceptual:
Learners focuses on theories, assemblies, categories and groupings, ideologies, and generalizations.
Factual:
Learners focuses on facts, specific details, and terminology
Procedural:
Learners focuses on using different algorithms, techniques, and methods, following step-by-step guidelines for specific scenarios.
Essentially, the cognitive domain refers to the kind of intellectual learners we are whereas the knowledge domain identifies the ways in which we use knowledge.
Affective domain
This domain refers to the emotional capability of an individual and in which ways they act and react towards is. It puts emphasis on five subjective influences such as values, emotions, motivations, appreciations, and personal attitudes.
Psychomotor domain
This domain refers to a student’s physical ability to use an instrument or tool. It is the learning and combination of old and new skills that involves physical movements.
Once you understand the behavior of your learners you will be able to adapt your learning objectives accordingly.
Step Two: Assessments
The second step in backwards design is to plan what type of assessment you will implement. Once the learning objectives are set you need to determine if the students have met the standard. The assessment method you chose should not be limited one test at the end of the unit or semester but instead be an ongoing process that starts prior to any new content introduced.
Knowing one type of assessment from another can be useful to understand how best to assess your students. What all assessments have in common is that they give a snapshot of student understanding at a particular time in the learning process.
Assessment Tools
In your classroom, assessments generally have one of three purposes. Each type of assessment, systematically implemented, contributes to an overall picture of an individual student’s achievement. We have three types of assessment.
Assessment OF learning
This helps teachers in using evidence of student learning to assess achievement against outcomes and standards. Also known as summative assessment, which occurs at the end of a unit or semester and is used to rank and grade students. The effectiveness depends on the validity, reliability, and weighting placed on a task.
Assessment FOR learning
This helps teachers in using evidence about students’ knowledge, understanding, and skills to guide their teaching. Also known as formative assessment, which occurs throughout the teaching and learning process.
Assessment AS learning
This is when students take on the role as their own assessor. They monitor their own learning, ask questions, and use a myriad of strategies with the support of the teacher to measure what they know and can do, and how to use assessments for learning effectively.
(Chappuis et al., 2012; Fenwick & Parsons, 2009; McNamee & Chen, 2005; Rowe, 2012; Schraw, 2001; Sparks, 1999)
Assessment Method
Think of assessment as a long-distance race that has a start and finish line with water stations placed strategically along the racecourse. The race itself can be seen as the instructional period of time that can be a unit, midterm or full academic year. The students are the runners, and the teacher is the coach trying to find the most effective way (assessment type) for students to win the race.
The diagnostic or pre-assessment is to help determine before the race, what running strategy would be best. Formative assessment is beneficial during the race to track progress and to see if any adjustments should be made to the running strategy. Interim assessment would be to see if the whole running team are running effectively. Summative assessment is at the end of the race to review the performance, see the outcome and to see how to improve the running strategy for the next race.
Assessments help the teacher determine what to teach, how to teach, and in the end, how effectively they taught it. It also helps the teacher gauge the strengths and weaknesses of each student so that he/she can adjust and guide student learning accordingly. When designing a course or lesson plans it is essential to use the following types of assessment during the learning process:
Diagnostic or Pre-Assessment
Diagnostic assessments happen at the start to gauge pre-knowledge.
Formative Assessment
Formative assessments are used in the middle of a lesson or year to determine how students are progressing.
Interim Assessment
Interim assessments are given across an entire school to compare results of groups of students.
Summative Assessment
In a summative assessment, success is measured at the end of the semester or academic year.
Assessment Criteria
Assessment criteria make it clear to students what they are expected to do and how they will be graded. Sharing this information with students at the beginning of the course is an effective way to help students build confidence in their learning and improve their performance. It helps students to recognize what is important and valued in the curriculum. It shows them how they can demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcomes.
Assessment criteria include two elements: criterion and performance standards (Sadler, 1987). Criterion is a property or characteristic by which the quality of something may be judged by using a rubric but makes no statement or assumptions about actual quality. Standards are about definite levels of quality, achievement, or performance.
When designing the lesson plan, we focus on how the students can be assessed fairly and effectively by using an analytic or holistic rubric. A rubric communicates clear success criteria to students and helps teachers maintain consistent grading. A well-crafted rubric lets multiple teachers grade the same assignment and arrive at the same score. It is an important part of assessments FOR and OF learning and teaches students to take responsibility for the quality of their work.
Analytic Rubrics
The analytic rubric generally has three key components:
Criteria:
The first component of a rubric will be criteria for assessment. These criteria are the expectations for the assignment, or by what standard the teacher intend to grade the assignment.
Performance rating:
A rubric should also contain performance ratings. These are designed to measure how students perform for each criterion. Points-value can be assigned with a description that equates the performance in terms of grade.
Performance descriptions:
The performance descriptions describe the traits that correspond with each criterion and performance rating. The language for the performance descriptions should spell out how a student earns a particular performance rating for each criterion.
According to Balch, Blanck, and Balch (2016), analytic rubrics are advantageous in that they help the teacher give students valuable feedback, while at the same time giving students clear ideas about how an assignment will be graded. Additionally, they provide the instructor with the ability to grade objectively and consistently. The disadvantages are that they take considerable time to create because they require so much detailed information to be effective. Since they are so detailed, it is possible that students may not take the time to read them. (Balch, Blanck, and Balch, 2016).
Holistic Rubrics
This type of rubric is more general, that is both easy to use and create. It gives a “whole” picture description of what is expected for an assignment, and it aligns these expectations with a corresponding grade or achievement level.
According to Balch, Blanck, and Balch (2016), the advantages of using holistic rubrics are that they are easy to create and allow the teacher to grade an assignment quickly. The disadvantage is that they are very general and do not allow room to provide students personalized feedback.
Assessment criteria should enable teachers to assess students’ work openly and fairly. It should help provide valuable feedback to students and easily justify how marks have been awarded.
Step Three: Learning Activities & Strategies
Once the student-centered learning objectives have been written, and the teacher has determined how the students will be assessed, then the learning activities and strategies can be implemented. The learning strategies are the methods used by the teacher to present new content to students. It can be through direct instructions, demonstrations, or even cooperative learning. The learning activities are the ways in which students will interact with the content.
The essential task of a teacher is to get students to engage in learning activities that are likely to result in achieving the intended learning outcomes. It is helpful to remember that what the student does is more important that what the teacher does. (Schuell, 1986, p.429)
Every learning activity in the lesson should be intentional, meaningful. and useful. If the activities are aligned to the intended learning outcome, then the intent is clear to both the teacher and students. The activities are meaningful when students are engaged in active, constructive, intentional, authentic, and cooperative ways. It should also develop their skills, knowledge, and understanding and should be progressive where activities are built on previous lessons. For the activities to be useful students must be able to take what they have learned from the activities and use it in a different context or with integrated content.
In addition, it is crucial to plan the activities based on students’ learning preference or style. There are five established learning styles that can dictate what activity must be used in class: Visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic and multimodal.
Visual Learner
Students learn best when they use graphical depictions such as maps, diagrams, and body language.
Auditory Learner
Students learn best when they listen to instructions and discuss topics.
Reading / Writing Learner
Students learn best when they read texts and take notes.
Kinesthetic Learner
Students learn best when they get to try things out and put theory into practice.
Multimodal Learner
Students with no distinct learning preference are multimodal.
The next step in planning the learning activities is to design, develop, and infuse digital learning experiences that utilize technology by using the SAMR model. Teachers create activities at all levels of SAMR based on what will best support student needs and instructional goals especially for online learning. “SAMR” is an acronym that stands for four levels in the technology integration process: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition.
Substitution and augmentation strategies use EdTech to enhance learning and add value, whereas modification and redefinition stages harness EdTech to transform learning and make new things possible. The effectiveness of these four strategies depends on when and how it is used in the classroom. Here is how to use each stage for more technologically integrated learning activities:
Substitution
This stage is used as a direct substitute for traditional practices like pen and paper tasks. It also provides a more accessible introduction to technological soft skills where students can get accustomed to integrating technology into their learning. Substitution does not change the learning process or outcome and should only be used if it benefits or is convenient for the students.
Examples of Substitution
- Students type their work instead of writing it by hand
- Students can do online quizzes instead of doing it with pen and paper
- Students can download and upload documents (pdf) as opposed to photocopying
- Both teachers and students can use digital interactive whiteboard as opposed to a traditional whiteboard and save the results as a digital document.
Augmentation
At this stage, technology offers students more than convenience. It can help students to comprehend complex topics by allowing direct interaction with the content which promotes a more independent and student-centric learning method.
Examples of augmentation
- Students can give more informative and engaging presentations through PowerPoint or Prezi
- Students can do independent research through the internet.
- Curriculum content can be gamified to increase engagement and allow tracking student progress in an accessible way.
- Content can be supplemented through videos to enhance the learning experience.
Modification
This is the transformation stage; technology is used to design interactive and dynamic tasks that go beyond the limitations of a traditional classroom. Students are no longer limited to the classroom but can collaborate in pairs or even large groups which nurtures a more cooperative and dynamic class culture. Students are inspired to innovate their learning through technology.
Examples of modification
- Students can create podcasts, online tutorials, or even study groups through vide conference.
- Students can use technological tools to make abstract concepts easier to understand through visual or interactive technology like VR or Augmented reality, or programs that can give hands-on experience.
Redefinition
This is the most sophisticated stage of SAMR, technology is used to make entirely new learning opportunities possible and connect learning with the real world and produce authentic outcomes. It also gives students strong technological soft skills such as digital collaboration, communication, technological literacy, and the ability to adapt to new systems and processes.
Examples of redefinition
- Students can connect globally to any platform that will allow them to share and collaborate knowledge and experience.
- Students can experiment with or produce extensive multimodal elements that will offer both academic and vocational experience.
- Students can enhance their learning experience through various platforms that can offer differentiated lessons and support.
Remember, technology is used for enhancing the learning experience and should not be a replacement for teaching. When using technology in/for the classroom it is important to always ask the following questions:
- What are we hoping to achieve by using this technology?
- How will it make a difference to the students’ learning?
- Are the students equipped to use this technology?
- How much time must be invested in learning to use this technology?
- Will this technology help students in achieving the learning outcomes?
Conclusion
Backward design focuses on the process of learning, encouraging the teacher to think purposefully about how in-class activities and assessment will ensure that the learning objectives are met. Some teachers might find it difficult to think about the learning process instead of the content. However, Backward Design can help the teacher determine what material is necessary for students to meet those learning objectives. This can help decide what content is or is not important. It also tells the students what is expected of them at all stages of the learning process.
Backward Design can be an iterative process and so it follows the PDCA model, which is essential in assuring quality within a program or course. As you develop your assessments you may find you need to refine your objectives. Similarly, as you design your instruction you may produce creative ideas on how to assess students that lead you to change your original assessment plan.
Implementing a new strategy for designing a lesson or course may seem overwhelming, but Backward Design can offer a more efficient, transparent, and effective approach for teachers and their students. By focusing on learning outcomes rather than course content, teachers using Backward Design may improve both student learning and their teaching.
References
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