Amelia Robinson

It is critical to provide activities and resources that will keep students engaged. Technology resources are particularly important, as students tend to be tech-savvy. Use of tech resources in the classroom must be monitored, witha definite goal to accomplish by the end of the class session or students may lose focus and be distracted by social media, games, or other distractions the technology provides. TEchnology should also be chosen in conjunction with field standards. I will include resources for interaction, whether technology or printed in each of my lessons.

Objectives are the foundation of content planning and assessment and must be aligned to standards. Obejctives for learning facts, concepts, and procedures can be aligned to the first three levels of Bloom's taxomony, each of which includes specific verbs to use in formulating them. Objectives must include audience, behavior, condition and degree to be effective and measureable. I will formulate sound learning objectives prior to developing content for courses.

Lesson plans should include all relevant information. The most critical are the objectives and rationale, which help provide relevance for students and ensure you are teaching what they will need to know for effective future performance. They can also help you to maintain focus and emphasize the correct content. Materials and assessment strategy can help students know what they will need and what will be expected of them in terms of assessment. Procedures are particularly helpful in case of a substitute or succeeding teacher, who can easily see what content and activities to use that day to keep the learning… >>>

I've learned it is important to determine the level of previous knowledge and get an idea of cognitive abilities in order to plan lessons that utilize time effectively and determine how much time a lesson may take. Time should be left within a session timeline to answer questions, offer extra help and address emergent matters and extra work should be provided in case the content goes very quicky and time is left in the session. Also, it is important to engage learners with resources such as newspaper articles, books, and Internet resources that are relevant to the subject matter. I… >>>

I learned from this module that there are many options for testing both knowledge and performance. Performance testing must simulate the performance environment and practice as closely as possible, while knowledge testing must be valid and reliable and may be used for diagnostic or summative knowledge testing. I learned a number of points for selecting and constructing valid and reliable test items, and was exposed to negative grading. I will use the information on constructing test questions to improve the tests I create and consider where the use of negative grading may be useful in managing classroom behaviors.

You must choose assessments appropriate to the level of learning indicated by Bloom's taxonomy to accurately measure learning at high levels, and ensuring what you assess meets the objectives. CATs, usually ungraded, work on a small scale, usually ungraded, to provide feedback and help students self-monitor. Group Process Assessment Techniques focus on the work of a group and are often accompanied by individual papers, and experiential assessments provide assessment at the highest learning levels. Several different types of assessment are tailored to each of the six general education goals, except for values and attitudes, which must be assessed through performance… >>>

CATs, focusing on group assessment, and experiential assessment, such as the watermelon catapult measure higher levels of learning and promote general educational goals. They provide excellent methods of measuring learning.

Questioning can improve student participation, allow students to think about the why and not just the what, and enourage further thought about a subject. I will use Socratic questioning whenever possible as a more effective  method than expository lecture.

Different learning styles can improve performance by approaching students in the sensory mode they are strongest in. So using a variety of delivery and assessment techniques, such as media and colorful presentations, readings, group projects and games and audio or lecture, you can help them to achieve the greatest success.