One of my weaknesses is failing to write clear objectives. Too often, I write agendas. As for assessing whether my students are ready for "higher level" assignments, my field and the long four-hour classes often demand that they apply what they have learned right away. So I generally check understanding by assigning each student part of some in-class exercises we go over together.
This course has been great for giving me some direction. Our classes are taught by instructors who have been in the field for quite some time. This gives people with a wealth of knowledge a chance to share with future technicians but can be a challange to present material with no education background. This course lays out what a lesson plan is and how to impliment it. Wish I could have had this course PRIOR to teaching.
Anthony,
Instructors at my school are encouraged to create their own lesson plans as well. Exemplary lesson plans are shared with other instructors, in order to establish a system of "best practices".
Tremayne Simpson
Tim,
Although you do not have control over the creation of lesson plans, are you given opportunities to provide feedback and suggestions for revisions? Standardized lesson plans work best, when they are created with the input of the instructors that are credentialed to teach the course in question.
Tremayne Simpson
Hi Ward, I have found that case studies work well for me too. I teach seven allied health science courses including phlebotomy theory. At the beginning of a 12 week phlebotomy theory term the students need to remember the correct lab tubes along with the appropriate additive. By the end of the term the students must select the correct tubes and order of the draw based on the diagnosis given to them in scenarios. This method requires that the student analyze the data given to them and then choose the correct labwork/tubes and give a rationale for their choices. It makes them integrate knowledge from A & P, pharmacology, pathology, and phlebotomy theory. These are skills they will need in the workplace.
I agree. My college has no such thing but I often think how useful it would be to have a committee or group of this nature. As it stands now, my instructors are given the freedom to design their lesson plans however they see fit based on their expertise.
The Learning Taxonomy has opened my eyes to many opportunities and strategies I can use now for targeting my classroom audience. The goals in my current lesson plan were very broad and not specific. I can now plan a more stratified approach to my objectives and also search for more measureable topics that can be assessed for learning retention.
Like many technical schools, we have a curriculum department that is solely responsible for writing lesson plans. I have, in the past written lesson plans and have indeed used the taxonomy principles (without formal knowledge of them). When writing a lesson plan, you must have a clear understanding of what the specific objectives of the course are, how to best help your students understand them and how to accurately assess their proficiency level. Even though I have no control over the official lesson plan, I have complete control over how I present it and that allows me to insure the students are successful.
By organizing and categorizing the course content knowledge according to factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive,I am more confident that I am meeting industry standards and prepare my students for "higher level" assignments.
It is important that you have input in the lesson plan so you can be passionate about the material
Sheila,
Are these oral or written quizzes?
Tremayne Simpson
We ahve the same issue of pre written lesson plans. We have the flexibility to share factualism and true life experiences during lecture and demo's
I ask students about prior experiences and quiz them to determine their individual weekness. I work with them gradually asking harder & harder questions each time.
There is no established time to do this. In my classes, sometimes a student 'stumbles' onto some high order thinking. So I cannot plan when this will occur. In fact, just recently, I shared with my students about Project-level finance and one of the undergrad students remarked how project-level finance is right in keeping with what he is doing in Quality Mgmt only that there are no revenues in such a project, only cost reductions. KGBishop
Navinthran,
Do you have these meetings with other faculty that teach similar subjects, or with school administration?
Tremayne Simpson
By having meetings at the beginning of each term to review all course syllabus, structure and raise any new questions or concerns.
In my program, the students have to complete a standardized board exam at the end their schooling. The exam has a certain percent of questions based on the learning taxonomy model, with most of the questions being application level. Depending on where the students are in their schooling, I modify my expectations. For example, in the beginning of the program, I expect the students to primarily be able to answer knowledge questions. Midway though the program, we begin testing more comprehension and application questions.
I can determine within the first week the strenghts and weakness's of the class and while teaching what the objectives are I can change my delivery of the content to make sure the class understands
Finding out what the students know and applying that to the lesson plan is very important. When they are ready to move on to showing what they know I either move my lesson up or if they are not quite ready push it back. Then the student shows what they learned at the end of the course and we all feel very accomplished at the end.
Deborah,
I agree. For instructors that have large classes, discussion boards can be used in a similar manner, to assess whether the students have approached a particular, level of mastery.
Tremayne Simpson
