After watching the lesson planning process last class, I couldn't help but wish that someone could ask me the tough questions when I prepare my lesson plans. As a student, we are expected to ask these questions ourselves and bring ourselves back from tangents. I wish that our program would implement a talk through lesson plan where the students could meet with the professor and discuss their idea for a lesson (much like a conference about a paper). This way we could practice getting feedback and hearing the questions like "where's the point of this lesson" and allow us to bounce off ideas with our instructor. I have found lesson plans to be very hard to conceptualize because I'm not sure how students act in a classroom. Having a peer to bounce ideas from would be a great resource that we could take advantage of.
I also liked the lesson plan format that we were given from the session. The student learning targets are right at the top which follows the UBD backwards design process. The objectives are the first thing to think about, then how do they compare to Common Core standards? It was also interesting to see a section about "language". Since we are currently working in an urban school setting filled with many cultures, it is important to think about language conflicts that might arise. Are there words that the students haven't encountered yet? Are there things that the student might not have prior knowledge to draw off of? In the same top section there are sections for "per-assessment" strategies and also "evidence of learning". For anyone who is observing the class, all the information they need is right at the top of the lesson plan. Basically, here's what we want to accomplish and here's how you can see it was achieved.
Watching the lesson planning process helped me to see what I've been missing; I need to visualize my class. Of course this sounds silly and like I should have thought of it sooner, but I found it hard to teach people that I didn't know. One of the teachers in the demonstration easily knew her students' strengths and weaknesses and was able to adjust her lesson accordingly. I need to imagine my students (or try to learn the students from my observations) enough to understand how I should differentiate and adjust my lesson.
Did you guys have trouble visualizing your students?
How did the lesson planning demonstration influence your process? (Or not?)
For me, I did get to know the students a little bit before I got to teach them. I also just got a list of a few accommodations that students with IEPs need in the classroom. I think the best thing, if you can't learn it from your observations, is to ask the cooperating teacher what kinds of accommodations you will need to make.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that it would be a great resource in the education department if we could work with someone to go over our lesson plans with that could really push us. I get that we could probably ask our classmates because they might have a fresh perspective on it, but if we had a Dean of Pedagogy, that would be nice. I think RICMSA might also be trying to plan an event where students can bring in their lesson plans to be peer reviewed, so I will make sure to bring that up again.
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ReplyDeleteI think the more criticism we get on our lesson plans the better. I would hate to have to attempt to implement a lesson without having anyone to at least glance at it and recommend modifications or point out whether something is missing. I have little confidence in my lesson plan designing abilities not only because I have trouble visualizing, but I have never implemented a lesson at this magnitude. The lesson plan panel at least gave me a list of questions I need to ask myself prior to calling any lesson plan complete (Check out my blog for the list). Also, thank god for these observations, as I at least can get an idea of how students react to certain methods. Sarah makes a good point in her comment, don't be afraid to ask the teacher prior to your lesson planning if there are any students who will need accommodations. I am sure they will be more than willing to elaborate.
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