One important factor I use to assess when students are ready to handle "higher-level" assignments is when most of the class is able to answer and or perform the base material needed to combine one or more theories.
In planning my lesson plans, I will carefully choose the "operative verbs" to express what it is I'm ultimately trying to achieve from the beginning and what level of acheivement my students get to by the end of the course. In addition, those operataive verbs such as "demonstrate, perform, use abstractions, [and] find solutions" will have a direct correlation to my assessment rubrics. This way every all of the tools of the course are tied together.
I teach Electronic Health Records at my campus. 90% of this course is hands-on (real life based labs). I give them two hands-on exams: midterm and final. I counsel the students that fail the midterm.
Patrick,
Forgive me if you have mentioned it in one of the other Forums, but what is your field of instruction?
Tremayne Simpson
In my field, students are coming from very diverse environment and structures. Most of the students have already a job not related with what I teach. I use learning taxonomy to evaluate the lesson to make sure that all students will be up to the task.
Karen,
Is this an introductory course for students? If not, it may be a good idea to use a diagnostic assessment to evaluate their prior subject knowledge.
Tremayne Simpson
When teaching students about a disease process, I have to determine that the students first have a firm understanding of anatomy and physiology of the organ system(s) involved in the disease. I must first teach the students the "what" and"how" of normal anatomy and physiology, before they can use this basic knowledge to comprehend pathology. After that, I can work on getting the students to apply that knowledge to determine possible treatments or remedies for the disease.
I asses the students' knowledge by in-class assignments, homeworks, and quizzes.
Jeffrey,
I agree. Placing this idea within a collaborative activity, can be highly effective for presenting some of the course lessons. On many occasions, I have assigned course chapters to individual groups to present and I have continuously been impressed with the results.
Tremayne Simpson
The organization of all learning requirements in the lesson plan helps me to assess my students' knowlede.
In addition the lesson plan helps my students to understand what requirements are.
Challenging the other students in the class to see if they can explain it can work as well. (used infrequently to keep students attention)
Dena,
Are instructor lesson plans critiqued by a committee or just a department supervisor?
Tremayne Simpson
Our lesson plans are reviewed and critiqued and that assist greatly with the organization and clarification.
Where I teach, the lesson plans are already created. However, after completing this module, I can discern Learning Taxonomy was used in the creation of the lesson plans.
Angela,
Many instructors have used the Learning Taxonomy, however they were not aware that they were using it. If you have structured your assignments, activities and assessments on a basis of perceived student improvement, then that would be an informal usage of the Learning Taxonomy. Now that you have learned more about the concept, you will be able to structure your class in a more formal format.
Tremayne Simpson
I have not used this concept before, as I am a fairly new instructor. We have a lesson plan structured that I go by, and use work related experiences as examples.
I also have the students share what they are experiencing out in the clinical setting as they are going through the program.
I use scenarios that we act out in class, as a group discusssion along with tests to evalutate the level of understanding of my students.
Kelly,
This is an excellent method for implementing the Learning Taxonomy. By creating a "gateway system" within the course content, the instructor is assured that their students will be ready to move on to higher-level assignments. Students that do not advance through the content, can be provided with additional practice and assistance that will enable them to move forward.
Tremayne Simpson
olga,
I agree. In addition, "Post Tests" are equally important, because it gives the instructor an opportunity to assess the "transfer of training" that occured during the course.
Tremayne Simpson
Pretests are a key factor, they provide us with the current knwoledge level of students before starting any course.
I have used Bloom's Taxonomy in my classroom for the last 6 years. It is wonderful method to ensure all students are learning as much as possible. Combining proper oral questioning techniques with Bloom's Taxonomy prevents students from falling behind in class. In addition, the implementation of the 4 major learning styles into any instructor's presentation is paramount to a student's overall success.
By outlining the knowledge, comprehension, and application requires of each section, the students will understand what is required to advance. Through assigning reading, exercises and labs I will require that the students achieve specific test scores and be able to explain concepts before the class advances. I will also require specific hands on abilities/assessments prior to advancing to a new section.
