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A
Proposed Framework from Vivian Boyd: Framework
for Developing Lessons Standard(s)
to be addressed: · What should students
know (declarative knowledge?)?
and/or · What should students
be able to do (procedural knowledge?)? · How will you know
that students have been successful? Lesson: · What must be taught
(direct instruction, i.e.: how to make a bibliography, how to convert
fractions to decimals, etc.) · How will learning
be facilitated (i.e.: partner/group work, differentiated instruction,
literature circles, etc) · What products will be produced (i.e.: essay, poster, worksheet,
etc.) ·What materials are needed to accomplish this (i.e.: textbook,
internet access, visuals, etc.) ·What research supports this lesson design (i.e.: “How to
Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms” by Carol Ann
Tomlinson, etc.) Reflection · Review the
lesson at its completion · What went
well and why? · What should
be revised and why Vivian
reminds us that the Planned Lesson, the Used Lesson (modifications while
teaching), and the Revised Lesson (Lesson Design after reflection) are
not the same thing. Does anyone
know where we could find examples of the evolution---several examples
of the three forms of a Lesson (Carrie: Your Lesson on active listening
has quite a bit of that sense of an evolving Lesson.)? Finally, the Friday night session closed with a description of the Lesson
Design for the Harkness Table (This is an enhanced description to illustrate
the influences on Lesson Design). I. The Subjects Taught A. The Public Statement:
A Mission Statement, including Standards and Subjects, focusing
on (1) Disciplinary Knowledge and Disciplinary Habits of Mind and (2)
Citizenship (Learning to go to school, to be a part of the school community) B. The Teacher Statement: A Curriculum Guide
to Explicate Subjects Above NOTE: The Mission Statement is a more general statement
of State Standards (public consumption) and the Curriculum Guide is
a more specific statement (teacher consumption). Students receive a
schedule of Topics and Assignments (and they may consult the Mission
statement and the Curriculum Guides to some degree, the Mission Statement
is an effort to Project an image of the IDEAL student and the IDEAL
teacher. These ideals enable everyone to estimate the quality of performances
of student and teacher roles. Most schools do not attempt a Mission
Statement projecting these ideals. II. Public Policy A. Testing: A Clear Listing
of the Major Assessments for the Year (Dates and Subjects) B. Space/Furniture: The
Harkness Table (Limits class size, the table is oval, indicating Roles
of Teacher and Student) NOTE: Ruth Nathan and Marcia Russell
will report later on how Space Designs influence Lesson Design C. Certification: Posting
Teacher’s Degrees, Awards, Publications, Special Projects III. School Culture A. Making School Visible: Formal Instruction on how to go to school,
including specific rules and procedures adopted by the school NOTE: Connie Davidson gave conference
participants an excellent summary
on the importance of Timing in Lesson Design. She reported at the beginning of the school year she sets aside
most of the subject matter and focused instead on teaching students
how to go to school. She argued
that students needed to be taught the specifics of (1) what materials
to bring to class, (2) what the rules are in class discussions (raising
one’s hand, treating the comments of others with respect), (3) what
the rules are in the hallway (getting to class on time, not throwing
objects), and so forth. She argued that this period of “teaching students how to go to school”
was a critical preparation for the Lessons that followed. Vivian Boyd added that the books by Wang publications
gave new teachers much help in teaching students how to go to school
(publication available at conference resource table). B. Making Student Work Visible (the school
as museum for exhibiting student performances) C. Making the Community Visible: parent participation,
community events D. Effort and Aptitude: Most US schools are
organized around “rewarding” Aptitude (Time Limits on almost all assignments).
Few opportunities for encouraging effort (opening up time allotments
in Lessons)
A. What is the teacher’s authority in Lesson
Design? B. Do Teacher’s have a professional community
(resources, norms, service ideals) C. What are the teachers’ roles in the school? D. What does the Individual Teacher
bring to the Lesson?
A. Statement of Commitment: The students sign the Harkness pledge to
come to the Harkness Table prepared to contribute to the topic under
discussion, to complete the assignments given, and to ask for help when
desired. B. Parent/Cultural Demands for Visible, Explicit
Structure: Miles pointed
to the work of Basil Bernstein and Lisa Delphet as two helpful researchers
on this issue (that is, visible, explicit structure can be a cultural
demand) C. What does the Individual Student bring to
the Lesson?
Levels
of Focus in Lesson Design The
Daily Lesson: The Immediate Interactions of Student, Teacher,
and Subject Materials The
Unit (Collection of Lessons over time):
The Interactions of Public Policy (Class size, Testing), School
Culture (Bell Schedule and Grading Periods), and Teacher Networks or
Communities (Possible Writing Topics, Reading Rubrics) The
primary focus at the conference is on Lesson Design in the classroom---Teacher,
Student, and Subject Materials. But Helen Duffy reminds us of the way policy and other so-called
external matters creep into the classroom. She suggests that Teachers
bring into the classroom some attitudes/dispositions toward External
Forces. A Great Point! Helen has been kind enough to
share a proposal she is now working on.
Send her comments if you have suggestions.
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