September: Ch 2 - Planning that Ensures Academic Achievement
How do you decide what you will teach each day (or week)? How do you make sure your lessons focus on those objectives? This chapter covers mostly behind-the-scene techniques that include Begin with the End, 4Ms (Manageable, Measureable, Made First, Most Important), Post It (the objectives), Shortest Path, Double Plan, and Draw the Map.
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I especially like the "Double Plan" idea where you plan not only what you will be teaching throughout the lesson, but specifically what students will be doing themselves throughout the lesson. In the past I would design my lessons somewhat like this. I would plan into the lesson things the students would do every 1-2 minutes (put up a green check, write something on the white board, type something in chat), and engagement seemed better. I agree that if I don't plan these things into the lesson, I often forget to involve students throughout the lesson. I also agree that engagement is much better if I am planning what students will be doing as I teach. Along the same lines, I read in the chapter about a teacher who plans and rehearses her questions before class. I am trying to infuse my lessons with more effective questioning this year, and I am going to try to plan them more ahead of time like this.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of planning out your questions to your lesson along with the lesson. Far to often in classes I would find myself with a question tumbling around in my brain, but unable to make it clear for the students without a few attempts at it, which was confusing for my students and distracted from the lesson. I feel planning my questions in advance would have helped to clear up this confusion.
Deleteok....I have tried this 3 times now...not so easy as you made it sound to blog...I use the double plan regularly in my classes and have them check, write in chat , applaud, use different emoticons...since I include a variety of math topics in my lessons which cover a week of assignments...it seems to be fairly effective and I can assess that students are getting the ideas and are engaged
DeleteNancy, what do you do if a student is not engaging? I am looking for some ideas other than ignoring them. Thanks
DeleteAlso Nancy - what do you mean by "check"?
DeleteThese are all great tools, Nancy!
DeleteI also agree that planning them into the lesson is a key factor. When preparing for class I will often times think - I will ask for input on 'this' and then the class comes and goes without me doing that. I have now started building them into my powerpoints and I think it works much better. I am still struggling with getting all of the student's to respond however.
DeleteRachel....I have many ways to "poke" them.....I call on students by name, sing "are you sleeping", mention that I only see 25 have answered and look at who is not.cheer as the number of responses goes up....I get everyone to chime in when I have them answer with one of the emoticons in the chat...they love putting in the lips and rainbows, etc...
Deletecheck means the check response with the polling...that is easy to see who is tuned in....I have found most are engaged after a few times of my singing,, that's for sure....
Great ideas Nancy. I think math is fairly easy to get students involved asking for next steps, putting examples on the whiteboard for students to write, using multiple choice questions and polling, and correcting mistakes in steps on the board. I am hoping to get better at involving students in the same way I did in the brick and mortar classroom now that I can't "see" their faces.
DeleteYou have a lot of great ideas Nancy. I will also watch each one as they write on the board answering and say I only see 11 responses, so I need 4 more. I will call each student by name that I do not see engaged to ask them specific questions.
DeleteDuring my class connects I always list what we will do for the day. I try to plan activities to keep them engaged, such as writing on the board or posting responses in the chat. I also try to get them to practice their language skills verbally; this year's group seem kind of shy. I keep trying though. I like to show YouTube videos in French when I can find ones that go along with the week's vocabulary; some are pretty goofy, but at least it gets their attention.
DeleteToday when I was going over my lesson I thought I need to ask this question here, so I enterd a polling question with an open response area. It worked pretty good.
DeleteI really like to have something happen on at least every other slide slide, some kind of interactivity. I have been putting icons at the bottom of the pages to remind me and to prepare the students what kind of activity we are doing. If it is a word splash I include the text icon on the page or if it is an activity using chat I have a picture of the chat bar there. That way there is no question what the student is supposed to be doing, like a person putting their answer in chat as opposed to the white board and so on.
DeleteI like to use "post it " notes on some of my slides with a question already prepared for the students- this helps to keep me "focused" and on topic as much as possible with first graders. Allowing students to choose their own writing area ( I use colored rectangles- they write their name in the rectangle of choice) I then use the snipping tool to place a copy on my 2nd monitor, I then know who is writing the answers , but the students do not.... I began using this idea after many attempts at getting first graders to write on the board, which often ended in a scribbled mess all over the whiteboard. :)
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ReplyDeleteThe other thing that stuck out to me was planning your lessons by starting with the end in mind. Start with the objective, plan how to assess that objective (are our OLS lessons assessing the objective?). Finally we plan the activity or lesson to match the objective and assessment. I read in Harry Wong's The First Day of School that the questions on assessments should never be a surprise. The students should feel prepared for the questions not because we "taught to the test," but because our instruction was aligned with the test.
ReplyDeleteFor every lesson I put the agenda at the beginning of the slides so students know what is going to be addressed.
DeleteI also list the topic of the cc in the weekly announcements...this gives the students a key to what the recording will be covering if they didn't make it to class ! Saves effort when students look for a review.----most of my cc are specific reviews along with topics of the week.
Yes, Harry Wong's book was very helpful! By creating the lesson based on the objective a question could be stated in many forms and if the students learned the objectives they will be able to answer the question.
DeleteI think the k12 assessments are very well-written and follow the lessons. I think this system makes it easier to begin with the end in mind because everything is set up for the teacher. If we review the lessons and teach according to the examples using our personality and techniques we know work from previous experience, the assessment is no surprise. The Unit Reviews are really well thought out. If students do them before marking them complete and ask questions before taking the Unit Test, they really will be successful on the test. I go through much of the review in class connect.
DeleteI like the idea about the "shortest path" to the learning objective and giving kids multiple ways to be able to show that knowledge. It's hard to get through all the content in such short CC times, but if we can narrow our focus for the kids- I think those are the lessons that I walk away feeling like 'went well'- and that the CC was positive and successful for the students. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree, we want to help so much that sometimes we plan to much to cover. I really don't like the objectives that are listed by the company for the lessons because they list so many things they are trying to accomplish. I would like it better if there was a short list of what you should accomplish by the time you were done with the lesson. In an hour Class Connect I was mostly able to accomplish one possibly two objectives. The more objectives get added, the less well they seem to go.
DeleteDo you think that we get sucked into covering too much because we have such limited time and so much curriculum to cover? I wonder if we would feel the same way if we taught 5 days a week for all of our classes, like brick and mortar?
DeleteI totally agree, Jenn, and yes, Rachel, I think one of the main reasons I try to cover too much is because we only meet the students once per week. Today I feel I focused on "Most Important." Although sometimes I focus on preparing students for the unit test, today I decided to focus on actually reading the stories with the students (so important to increasing literacy skills). I chose key passages that would allow the students to master unit objectives. This helped us all dig deeper into the text while also allowing students who probably don't do the reading to actually read. I also resisted my temptation to cover everything that would be on next week's test. This gave us time to really focus rather than just touch on too much. I felt it was more effective, and I think the students felt better about it too.
DeleteI believe that students are actually learning more if they really make the effort to learn the material for the week without being directed by the teacher. To struggle with the topics and then come to class knowing where the issues for them are, makes the class much more meaningful. It happens in math a lot,,,and they need to have the material sit in the brain and mold a little before it truly makes sense...the student actually making his brain go through the process first then ask the needed questions makes a lot of sense!!, I think!!!
DeleteCovering too much is definitely a problem. I try to cram all the grammar and vocab into my session each and sometimes I even overwhelm myself. I do wish the foreign language platform would go a tad slower because I don't feel the students can really absorb and learn the amount of material we present.
DeleteI also like the shortest path - sometimes I feel guilty about not covering absolutely everything, but on the other hand, I think that it is important to focus on a few key concepts and let the student's process them.
DeleteIt is exciting to see that I can cover a topic- objective in less than an hour! Using the Shortest Path method has created a Less Stressed learning environment for myself and students. We can spend more time digging deeper or practicing the skill we are focused on.
DeleteI like the technique Post It because students need to know what they are learning. In my opinion, a lesson without a clear objective is like going on a trip without a plan. How do you know where you are going? How do you know you got to where you are going? I don't call them objectives in my class connect; however, they are things we will discuss today. I also set up every class connect session the same way every time. It gets a little repetitive and boring for me, but for the students the lessons hold no surprises so the focus is on learning not trying to figure out what is next.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Having the objectives posted is the students' map. One thing I find very helpful is when that map is in a language they understand and not too full. I try to cover no more than 2 objectives in a lesson with most lessons covering only one lesson and all of them are written in student friendly language. One thing I don't like is the objectives written in the curriculum. There are always way to many to have a clear focus of the purpose of the lesson. It's like driving around side streets instead of taking the main road. You still get there, but why add the confusion?
DeleteI agree that you do need an objective, however, sometimes I like to go on a trip without a plan... This is kind of like in a classroom, you start out with a clear objective and then it wonders off to something else - but sometimes more learning and interaction occurs when this happens. That's just my opinion though...
DeleteCece - I love the "teachable moment," but I have found that the longer I teach, the less that the "teachable moment" is allowed. Kindergarten - 3rd grade should be about the teachable moment - but that is in my perfect world with pink skies and unicorns. I also feel constraint by our platform for delivery and the amount of curriculum.
DeleteInteresting you mention Harry Wong Angelique. "His Effective Teaching" research and presentations have been around a long time and still going strong today. If anyone is interested here is the link to his site http://www.effectiveteaching.com.
DeleteDouble Plan - Last week I made more of an effort to Double Plan and gave the students many opportunities to do things throughout the session. BUT the little activities ended up taking way too much time and I didn't get through the lesson. It was frustrating! I later realized the activities I had them do were just too difficult and time consuming. This week I broke down the skills I wanted students to leave with into more manageable tasks and just asked them to do one small part of the process. For instance, I showed them how to write about literature using the present tense. Rather than have them all write a full sentence using present tense, I just had them find the past-tense verb in a sentence and change it to present tense. I had more participation, and the activity did not take up too much time. I also used these little activities throughout the lesson to assess student learning rather than leaving them all to the end for a TOTD activity. Anyway - I finished on time and had high student participation. It was exciting for me!
ReplyDeleteI like the Post It and use it in my classes. I post my objective for that week's class in the announcements that week, in a kmail to the students the morning of the class, and go over the objective at the beginning of class. I feel it is important for the students to be prepared and knowing what we are doing ahead of time sets the pace for the class so we can meet that objective and get through the material. The students are prepared when they show up knowing exactly what we are dong.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of posting objectives for the week earlier in the week, so you're using Post It not only in ClassConnect, but for their entire week of learning. Your ClassConnect objectives, then, could be a subset of those weekly objectives. Great idea!
DeleteMy lessons are always done with the end in mind....which isn't too difficult because the curriculum is set, and the end assignments are in place. Because we are so limited on time, I try to focus on practicing problems and looking at specific assignments and how to do them, along with some enhanced, advanced lessons.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying more and more to implement new methods to get participation. It's so easy to just say "give me a green check mark." Students are so used to using it too that by incorporating different methods catches them off guard and gets their attention. However, I do not plan which I'm going to use. I think that needs to be flexible. I know that I'm going to ask for their participation, but it really depends on what's going on in the class and the class dynamic.
ReplyDeleteI think being flexible and responding to what is going on in instruction at that moment is important. And if you use Blackboard Plan it's easy to have several options ready to go with just one click.
ReplyDeleteCaolon had posted a comment about this being like teaching to the test and backward design - both which were taught years ago, and I couldn't agree with him more on both of his observations - teach to the test and backward design. I think it is always good to re-visit things, but it's refreshing that we are trying to implement things (TLC) that we have already been doing - if that makes sense....
ReplyDeleteFor me the most arresting component of this particular chapter and; indeed, the blog conversation accompanying it, is how each of the afore mentioned skills and teaching practices fit like pieces of a puzzle, albeit a 3 dimensional puzzle. Each piece is an important component to an infinitely varying process. Begin with the End, 4Ms (Manageable, Measureable, Made First, Most Important), Post It (the objectives), Shortest Path, Double Plan, and Draw the Map are all similar to many processes we have learned about or practiced in our classrooms in one form or another over the years. I value the reminder to plan top down (Begin with the End in Mind), post your smartly written brief objective, keep it simple, prepare two different, parallel paths of activity (I have to say I need to work on this more-I tend to plan for the student, but I don’t plan enough for my own efficiency) and finally Draw the Map—this is something I believe that we still do in our classrooms. While we may not put students in rows and line them up in a straight little line, we do arrange the way we place and have students participate in our classrooms, which in turn gives them a more concrete idea of where our lesson is going or the process expected. A good example of this would be when students log into BbC and are given the direction to drop into their breakout (individual or group) room and work on a brief activity before class begins.
ReplyDeleteKing Solomon said “There is nothing new under the sun”, these techniques are not new. They are being reemphasized or reintroduced with the goal of giving us a clear path to effective, emboldening teaching. Each one of them is solid and effective; and all together empowering, lending itself to truly individualized instruction for our students. Even with these techniques and the high expectation mindset continued from the first chapter, I think it might be all too easy for us (or at least I know it would be for me) to fall onto the sword of great techniques and methods and forget about readiness, rapport and individuality.
I can’t help but think of Marie Clay’s assurance that “…if a child hasn’t learnt to learn something we haven’t yet found the way to help him or her” & that “all children will learn with the right task, the right help and enough time.” When a child is not succeeding, we should seek first to understand them and why. We must invest in our students and the process they need to internalize. Then they will learn, grow and ultimately become champions of their own definition.
Thank you so much for your reply! I think you encapsulated the whole purpose of the book and why we are studying it. I completely agree that most of these things are review but that it is worthwhile to refresh our understanding of them and consider how we are using them in our instruction. I also agree these are just part of the big picture of reaching and teaching every individual student.
DeleteI like knowing what I am working for and I feel students are the same way. The phrase that was stated in the chapter, "Why are you teaching the material you'r teaching", is a very important question I fell teachers should always ask themselves before they plan their lessons. Then relay that information to the students. When students understand why they need the information, they take more responsibility for their learning. As we all know, teachers do not have the time to be teaching something that is not going to help students reach their educational goal. I am a huge "Post it" person. I would always post things in my classroom for students to use as references. I feel it is still important to post information for students in Black Board. I need a creative way to make sure I have that information out there for my students. I do know I and going to "post it" on my computer saying "Begin with the End". Reminding myself that this is the goal for an effective teacher.
ReplyDeleteI know that I thought a lot about how to "post it" in the virtual world when we do not have four walls! I was thinking about adding a small area to every, or every other PowerPoint slide with the key concepts for the day so it would "stick" in their head. They would surely get the exit ticket questions that way I hope! I will have to think more on that one.
DeleteI like that idea, Lyndie :-)
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ReplyDeleteFrom Lorena: For me technique 6: begin with the end, is almost already done for me with the ols. At the beginning of class we go over the lesson objectives from the ols which match up to the lesson assessment questions. I have exit questions based on the lesson objectives. Usually the unit assessment is right from the lesson objectives. Sometimes odd ball questions are there as well but when I find them we go over those questions in class.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Lorena's comment above:
ReplyDeleteFrom Faye: I agree. Our format makes this quite easy to do.
From Caolon: I was thinking about how it used to be so horrible to "teach to the test" and on some level (and I'm not judging this), I feel like Begin with the End is like a spin on the original idea (Teach to the Test and having to think about the test in order to know what to teach), making it not only acceptable, but preferable. I agree that the OLS is set up to make it easy to "teach to the objective". As the gentleman at the Lusk PD said, teach to the test, if that's where you want your kids to end up, right? I'm also getting a backwards design feel, here.
Yes, I do also agree that it is easy to teach to the objectives and it's like teaching to the test. However, I think that we need to teach them some of these strategies and how to look for answers when taking a test.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly! Teach to the objective which is aligned with the test. We need to determine what we're using as a measuring tool then we need to plan our units the way we have been trained in completing state standard curriculum mapping!
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