Model Lesson Development - Part 1

Video Transcription

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you're having a wonderful day today. Today, we're going to go ahead and look at modeling that lesson development, specifically focusing in on planning that instruction using the Understanding by Design format within stage 1. So by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to, first, review the instructional planning. But then, secondly, using that Understanding by Design stage 1, both how you can do that and then looking at an example of that planning.

So let's go ahead and get started. What I'd like to do first is just review over the major elements that you want to cover in stage 1 when you are planning that instruction using the Understanding by Design method. So stage 1 is really about identifying those desired results and setting those instructional goals. So as we go through, you're going to notice that we will focus in on selecting the standards, develop those competencies and understandings, as well as the essential questions and the key knowledge or skills.

Let's go ahead and take a look at those broken down. First, you're going to want to make sure that you select the content standards. When you do this, you want to focus in either on those Common Core State Standards or other state standards as it's applicable to what you are working with. Now, sometimes you might have to look in two or more different content areas if you are incorporating multiple disciplines within your planning and instruction.

Next, you're going to want to take a look at those transfer goals and competencies. So when we talk about transfer goals, what we mean is applying what has been learned in other contexts into what we're going to learn in this context or how we're going to be able to take what we learn in this context and apply it to the real world or other content areas, ensuring that students really understand what they're doing and why they're doing it, how that will work.

From those standards, we will also develop the competencies for the standards. So for example, in the Constitutional Rights model, which we're going to look at, you'll notice there these are under the word transfer. So these can be referred to in a couple of different ways. But competencies are really linked to those ideas of long-term learning. So we're looking at those outcomes that students will need when they enter into that workforce later on in their career.

The next major thing you want to do is focus in on those essential questions and what we're going to call the understandings. When we look at developing understandings, what we're really looking at here between those and the essential questions are the big ideas of the unit. And they all should go back to support the development of those competencies that we discussed earlier.

So sometimes understandings can be written out as content statements, like, I want my students to know this. And whatever comes after that is really the understanding. When we develop those essential questions, what we're looking at are the big ideas and those unanswerable questions. There are no right or wrong answers with those essential questions. They're really open-ended to encourage students to discuss and argue and investigate them further.

Finally, you want to identify those key knowledge and skills that we want students to use as they go through the lesson. So here's where we're looking at vocabulary, facts, various procedures that you want to include. Oftentimes it's really good to align these to those standards and use Bloom's taxonomy to develop them. So with the knowledge, we're looking at the lower two levels of Bloom's taxonomy, as opposed to the skills where we're looking at some of those upper four levels.

Now, it is important to remember that we don't typically differentiate the learning standard. The standard tends to be the same for all students. However, students will achieve those knowledge or skills or the understandings, the competencies, at different levels of proficiency. And that's where we're able to differentiate.

Don't choose different standards for students to reach, but differentiate how they are able to get about them. So again, the goals stay the same. But how we would like to see that students have achieved those goals, or the level to which they have demonstrated that mastery, can be different.

What I'd like to do now is I'd like to walk through a sample lesson instruction plan and really follow through so that you can see what each of those elements within stage 1 looks like. So for today, we're going to go ahead and look at the constitutional rights. This is a lesson, a unit plan, for grade 9 in US history.

Now, as we go down, what you're going to notice first is the introduction. This is sort of a broad overarching review of things. But what I'd really like to get in here is stage 1, so looking at those desired results. As you focus in, you can notice that right on the side over here is where we have our standards selected.

That was the first step within stage 1, considering the state standards or the Common Core State Standards. In this case, we're looking at the MAT History and Social Studies Curriculum Framework Standards as well as the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework Standards so that we are bridging these two different content areas within this unit.

The next step was to consider those transfer goals and those understandings that we want students to focus in on. And that you'll notice right over here. You can see that those transfer goals are really listed there, following in line with "the students will be able to independently use their learning to--" and then we've established some of those transfer goals that really focus in on applying what the student has learned outside of this class.

We then move down into the making meaning of the learning where we look at both the understandings, so students will understand these following areas, as well as some of those major essential questions, those unanswerable no right, no wrong answer questions that we will continue to look at throughout the lesson or the unit.

Finally, what we focus in on are some of those key knowledge area and skills, really looking at that acquisition. And you'll notice here that we have separated out what students will be able to know, some of the key vocabulary, and then the skills that students will be able to use as it's defined over here.

Now that you've reached the end of the unit or this lesson, you are able to review the instructional planning using Understanding by Design stage 1.

Now I'd like to give you just a moment for reflection. I would like you to think back to all that you've learned about stage 1 in Understanding by Design lesson development. And think, what would be the first step you would take in developing a lesson using the Understanding by Design method?

As you reflect on how this new information can be applied, you might want to explore the Additional Resources section that accompanies this video presentation. This is where you'll find links to resources chosen to help you deepen your learning and explore ways to apply your newly acquired skill set.