This course is an examination of theory, issues, organization, and application of instructional design for teachers in planning and developing a curriculum. Students will:
- Design an instructional unit incorporating the principles of backwards design.
- Apply the concepts of Understanding by Design to develop lessons, curriculum and assessment to be implemented during the internship.
- Implement a variety of formative assessments to collect and analyze data related to student learning in order to differentiate instruction.
- Participate in discipline related professional communities in order to implement best practices in pedagogy and assessment related to the academic discipline.
- Critique the unit plans and lesson plans of other students in order to provide thoughtful response to improve instruction and assessment.
- Reflect on practice and discuss instructional issues with colleagues in online forums and discussions during web-conferences.
- Use the appropriate standards and grade level expectations as the basis for instructional planning.
Blog Post Prompts
- Due 9/16: Blog #1: What are examples of place-based and culturally responsive curriculum/instruction at your school? Be prepared to discuss in class.
- Due 9/23: Blog Post #2: Research the GLE’s (Grade Level Expectations) and Alaska State Student Standards for content and performance for your discipline. What are you teaching at the moment that might be considered a big idea? Why is it a big idea? Anything that might be considered “worth being familiar with” or “ Important to know and do?”
- Due 9/30: Blog Post #3: Using the three stages of backward design, choose one subject (class) you will be teaching this year and to the best of your ability briefly describe a daily lesson or sequence of activities using your understanding of backward design. The template on page 22of UbD, Ch. 1 is a great place to start!
- Due 10/28: Blog #4: What are the requirements and guidelines for curriculum and assessment in your school? How does your host teacher address district goals and mandates? How does this relate to teacher evaluation?
- Due 11/18: Blog Post #5: What is “authentic” about “authentic assessment”? Why are authentic assessments a more valid measure of student learning? Describe any authentic assessments employed or discussed by your host teacher or another teacher at your school.
Image Source: Creative Commons – Curriculum
http://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/tablet/images/curriculum.jpg
