Reflections on the Week
Reflect about the information that you have encountered this week, the conversations you've had, and the progress you have made in this class. Post a reflection post to your blog that outlines your areas of confusion, celebration, and of interest. How might this week have been better for you?
One of the frustrations that I had with these readings, is that I felt like I was wading through a sea of justification for the approach before getting to the meat of the Understanding by Design stages of backward design. When reading through the approach, it seemed pretty similar with other sorts of approaches I have been exposed to in the past. The idea of starting with what you want kids to know is a pretty basic idea in education. But for me, this approach starts well before I am planning for the class, it starts with the consideration of the text I want to adopt for a particular course.
Now I understand that this may appear to fly in the face of the backwards design process, but when we are adopting a textbook I am looking critically at that resource to make sure that it is meeting the objectives of the learning I want to take place in the classroom. We have one shot at textbooks every five years or so and I want to make sure that this resources is one that meets the needs of the course.
As an example, last year when I was asked to teach a personal finance class for this year, I had very clear objectives in mind of teaching very practical math skills within the context of what students will use in their personal lives. I wanted to make sure they understood the practical use of math and that they gained skills in understanding banking, credit, investments and building a budget. Additionally, I wanted these kids to learn how to use spreadsheets as a way of analyzing financial decisions. I believe their learning, and true understanding of mathematical relationships can be enhanced by using spreadsheets and transferring their knowledge of math and simple linear equations to a very practical application. Also, because I knew that most of the kids taking the class would be kids who struggle with math, getting them to use this tool would give them an opportunity to see a practical application of, what can be, fairly abstract concepts. It was with this in mind that I chose the book I did. THEN and only then do I then look at the book and see if the sequence of lessons and the lesson content meets up with the specific goals of learning.
Last year when I was teaching psychology, I found a book I really like, but the sequence did not make sense. Likewise, I am teaching earth science this year, and the sequence has been changed, in part, so I can teach the astronomy unit during a time when it is dark outside and we can do some observations in the morning. But also because it seems to me more intuitive to talk to kids about the formation of the solar system before I talk to them about something like the rock cycle.
Part of my approach in the design of our classes is because I teach so many subject AND because I need to make the classes work BOTH as an independent study class and as a traditional class. So perhaps one of the the steps that was SKIPPED in the design process is an assessment of the purposes and resources that are available to you as an instructor. I deal with this all the time when I am teaching high school science, because I have no lab equipment. So I have had to move towards virtual labs. Also, as a teacher in a small alternative school in the bush, I am not teaching one subject or even one discipline (math, social studies, language arts etc.) I literally teach everything. So design is constrained by time, by resources, by my own limitations as a teacher. Contrast this with some teachers in large district who may teach one or two preps (three periods of Algebra and two periods of geometry for example). In that context you have much more latitude for design and you can hone your expertise.
As for confusions, frustrations etc. I find that trying to contort my design process to someone else's template is extremely frustrating. At times I am unclear as to what is supposed to go where and I find the form an impediment to the end product rather than an aid. This is especially frustrating because I want my project for this class to be something I can implement immediately in the classroom. And I have, in fact, already started building some electronic resources as part of the personal finance class I am teaching.
I also note that they say in the textbook that these templates are sort of like training wheels, and I feel like I have been riding my figurative mountain bike for a few years now and suddenly the training wheels are back on the bike. I have my own work flow process, and the templates get in the way.
As for one insight. I never can remind myself enough time to go back to the central question of why we are teaching whatever we are teaching and I DID find myself being more explicit with my students about the purposes of what we are doing.
One of the frustrations that I had with these readings, is that I felt like I was wading through a sea of justification for the approach before getting to the meat of the Understanding by Design stages of backward design. When reading through the approach, it seemed pretty similar with other sorts of approaches I have been exposed to in the past. The idea of starting with what you want kids to know is a pretty basic idea in education. But for me, this approach starts well before I am planning for the class, it starts with the consideration of the text I want to adopt for a particular course.
Now I understand that this may appear to fly in the face of the backwards design process, but when we are adopting a textbook I am looking critically at that resource to make sure that it is meeting the objectives of the learning I want to take place in the classroom. We have one shot at textbooks every five years or so and I want to make sure that this resources is one that meets the needs of the course.
As an example, last year when I was asked to teach a personal finance class for this year, I had very clear objectives in mind of teaching very practical math skills within the context of what students will use in their personal lives. I wanted to make sure they understood the practical use of math and that they gained skills in understanding banking, credit, investments and building a budget. Additionally, I wanted these kids to learn how to use spreadsheets as a way of analyzing financial decisions. I believe their learning, and true understanding of mathematical relationships can be enhanced by using spreadsheets and transferring their knowledge of math and simple linear equations to a very practical application. Also, because I knew that most of the kids taking the class would be kids who struggle with math, getting them to use this tool would give them an opportunity to see a practical application of, what can be, fairly abstract concepts. It was with this in mind that I chose the book I did. THEN and only then do I then look at the book and see if the sequence of lessons and the lesson content meets up with the specific goals of learning.
Last year when I was teaching psychology, I found a book I really like, but the sequence did not make sense. Likewise, I am teaching earth science this year, and the sequence has been changed, in part, so I can teach the astronomy unit during a time when it is dark outside and we can do some observations in the morning. But also because it seems to me more intuitive to talk to kids about the formation of the solar system before I talk to them about something like the rock cycle.
Part of my approach in the design of our classes is because I teach so many subject AND because I need to make the classes work BOTH as an independent study class and as a traditional class. So perhaps one of the the steps that was SKIPPED in the design process is an assessment of the purposes and resources that are available to you as an instructor. I deal with this all the time when I am teaching high school science, because I have no lab equipment. So I have had to move towards virtual labs. Also, as a teacher in a small alternative school in the bush, I am not teaching one subject or even one discipline (math, social studies, language arts etc.) I literally teach everything. So design is constrained by time, by resources, by my own limitations as a teacher. Contrast this with some teachers in large district who may teach one or two preps (three periods of Algebra and two periods of geometry for example). In that context you have much more latitude for design and you can hone your expertise.
As for confusions, frustrations etc. I find that trying to contort my design process to someone else's template is extremely frustrating. At times I am unclear as to what is supposed to go where and I find the form an impediment to the end product rather than an aid. This is especially frustrating because I want my project for this class to be something I can implement immediately in the classroom. And I have, in fact, already started building some electronic resources as part of the personal finance class I am teaching.
I also note that they say in the textbook that these templates are sort of like training wheels, and I feel like I have been riding my figurative mountain bike for a few years now and suddenly the training wheels are back on the bike. I have my own work flow process, and the templates get in the way.
As for one insight. I never can remind myself enough time to go back to the central question of why we are teaching whatever we are teaching and I DID find myself being more explicit with my students about the purposes of what we are doing.
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