Beginning in Class 4, we began a study of historical thinking skills based on the work of Sam Wineburg and the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG). We focussed on three key skills – Sourcing, Contextualizing and Corroborating. Students were assigned the task of designing their own historic thinking skills lesson based on that model and collecting them in a shared Google presentation. We took time in Class 5 to do some peer evaluation of the work. As a final assignment, students were asked to reflect on the process and use their lesson as the basis for a blog post. See them all here.
Class 2: Designing Lessons / Social Media Audits
This week we consider two very different themes – social media and instructional design. The class begins by addressing key elements of lesson design :
- Higher-order thinking
- Student choice and reflection
- Effective classroom strategies
This portion of the class lesson includes three major elements:
- Practical examples of Bloom’s taxonomy in the form of sample exercises and questions. They are used to anchor a conversation on Bloom in action.
- How student choice can impact key lesson elements – content, process, product, evaluation.
- Demonstrate a student-centered approach to a teacher presentation as a way to foster reflection (instead of listening to a straight lecture on the subject)
The lesson is driven by a Keynote presentation. Handout (42MB pdf) We will use an audience response system to gather student input. The lesson includes multiple activities that illustrate the content. Student will be led through discussing their reactions to the activities to connect them to the content. This lesson will serve as a kick off to their first assignment to write and share a Lesson Study.
In the second half of the class we’ll meet in small groups to share our personal social media audits. We’ll be focusing on rolling out our new Google+ Community and learning how to use some it’s features. It’s a private group and will serve as an extension of classroom discussion through posts, comments, and Hangouts.
Assigned Readings for Class 3: None
Written assignment for Class 3:
Lesson Study I is due next week.
The goal of this assignment is two-fold. First to offer supportive feedback on your lesson development through a peer review process. Second to offer some “lenses to look through” that help you easily see the essentials of a lesson. It is not a substitute for the School of Education lesson plan format. Think of it as a pre-lesson plan planning guide. This is not some exercise for the benefit of your instructor. This should be a process that works for you. So feel free to modify to meet your particulars. Use a scale that works for you – focus on just a small segment of a larger unit, or look at the entire unit. Don’t like Bloom? Use another schema to discuss the kinds of thinking that your students will need to successfully complete the assignment. Assignment here. (383 KB pdf) Sample lesson study (378 KB pdf)
See results of this assignment in the first student posts