EFFECTIVE LESSON DESIGN: A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS AT&L November 10, 2015

LESSON PLANNING IS LIKE BAKING A CAKE BECAUSE . . .

Bellwork:

LESSON PLANNING IS LIKE BAKING A CAKEBECAUSE . . .

Baking a Cake

Oven temperature

Ingredients

Combining the ingredients

Baking time

Checking on cake

Cooling time

Lesson Planning

Climate of your classroom

Standards/Curriculum

Components of lesson

Presentation of components

Time spent practicing

Checking for understanding

Time to think and reflect

Eating the cake is the ultimate assessment!

Number #1 Reason:

You wouldn’t bake a cake

without following a recipe . . .

(and the same holds true for teaching)

…you can’t teach a lesson without an

effective lesson plan!

AT&L OBJECTIVE FOR TODAY

AT&L OBJECTIVE FOR TODAY

SWBAT apply concepts of effective lesson design that engage the young brain by creating a lesson plan that supports brain research, aligns with curricular standards, and engages the learner.

WHAT LESSON PLANNING NEEDS TO BE:

Purposeful

Intentional

Rigorous

Focused on: Learning Standards, Targets, and Goals

Built on a continuum which fits with the lessons that preceded and proceed it

WHAT LESSON PLANNING SHOULD NOT BE:

Something you happened to write on a post-it note.

Just an interesting thought you had on you way to school that morning.

I have a great activity that we can do and I’ll just make it work.

I’ll just do the same thing as the person next door to me. No need to question it.

Keeping pace with the pacing guide regardless of student readiness.

Recipe Effective Lesson_

Ingredients:Anticipatory Set

Stated and Written Lesson Objectives

Input/Modeling

Guided Practice

Checking for Understanding

Independent Practice

Assessment

Closure

THE CHEMISTRY OF COOKINGBrain Research

WHY IS BRAIN RESEARCH IMPORTANT?

“Why are we 75% better at curing cancer than 10 years ago? Not because we care more or work harder, but because we know more.” (Madeline Hunter)

“Teachers try to change the human brain every day. The more they know about how it learns, the more successful they can be.” (David Sousa)

“Knowledge is power.” (Francis Bacon)

LEARNING AND THE BRAIN

THE LONG JOURNEY

WHERE DO I BEGIN? BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

WRITING LESSON PLANS

1.Identify the objective

2.Determine the assessment

3.Select activities that will help students achieve mastery of the objective.

Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov

OBJECTIVES OR LEARNING TARGETSWHAT ARE WE BAKING?

A learning target or objective, in language students can understand, IS what students will learn in today’s lesson.

A learning target or objective IS NOT an activity or assignment.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/making-lesson-objectives-clear

WHERE DO OUR OBJECTIVES COME FROM?

Use your curriculum standards and Olathe School District curriculum to identify objectives.

HOW DO I KNOW I HAVE A GOOD OBJECTIVE?

Can you answer YES to these questions about your objective?

Does it describe what a student will be able to do (rather than what was taught)?

Does it include an action verb that reflects an important behavior?

Is the behavior observable?

Does it suggest evidence that would reflect achievement (assessments)?

Is it meaningful and measurable?

WHY DOES THE BRAIN NEED THIS?

The brain needs to be primed.

ACTIVITY

Students complete an activity to better understand the content.

Activities often include the following verbs: write, illustrate, act out, solve, construct, solve, observe, produce, etc.

WHICH IS AN OBJECTIVE? ACTIVITY?

Students will measure flour accurately using a measuring cup.

Students will understand basic measuring methods.

YOUR LESSON PLAN

ANTICIPATORY SET: GETTING YOUR STUDENTS TO OPEN THE COOKBOOK

Sometimes called a “hook” to grab the student’s attention, the teacher focuses the students’ thoughts on what will be learned.

KWL

Video clips, pictures, artifact

Books

The whole purpose is to: GET STUDENTS INTERESTED

WHY DOES THE BRAIN NEED THIS?

The brain is constantly trying to make new information meaningful:

The brain constantly searches for patterns and context in which to place to learning.

It looks for how it is relevant to where we’ve been and where we are going.

The brain also loves emotional ties to new content.

YOUR LESSON PLAN

INPUT/MODELING

The new knowledge, process or skill must be presented to the students in the most effective manner.

▫Brainstorming/Discussion ▫Drawing Artwork ▫Field Trips ▫Games ▫Humor ▫Graphic Organizers/Semantic Maps/Word Webs ▫Manipulatives/Experiments/Labs/Models ▫Metaphor/Analogy/Simile ▫Mnemonic Devices ▫Movement ▫Music/Rhythm/Rhyme/Rap

▫Project/Problem-Base Instruction ▫Reciprocal Teaching/Cooperative Learning ▫Role-play/Drama/Pantomime/Charades ▫Technology ▫Visualization/Guided Imagery ▫Visuals

▫Work Study/Apprenticeships ▫Writing/Journals ▫Storytelling

QUESTIONING AS FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

It is important to make sure the students understand what was presented. One way this can be done is by asking the students questions.

The best questions are planned ahead.

Questions should be from various levels.

HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

Chunking

Ages 5-14 = 5 (+/- 2)

Ages 14+ = 7 (+/- 2)

REVISIT LEARNING PYRAMID

Arrange the following strategies from least

(at top) to greatest (at bottom) impact

with respect to their capacity to foster

retention:

Lecture

Practice by doing

Teach others

Discussion group

Audio-visual

Demonstration

Reading

LEARNING PYRAMID

KEEPING THE BRAIN’S ATTENTION

Be aware of attention cycles.

Attention Spans:

Adult attention spans = 18-20 minutes

Attention spans for 5-13 year olds = 5-10 minutes

Attention span for 14+ = 10-20 minutes

Implication:

“chunk” instruction and incorporate engagement strategies!

KEEPING THE BRAIN’S ATTENTION

Implications:Teach new information first

Avoid using prime time for

housekeeping tasks

Follow new information with

practice during down time

Provide meaningful closure.

Use a lesson design that

creates many beginnings and

endings.

LESSON PLANNING GUIDE –MENU OF IDEAS TO USE

THINK-PAIR-SHAREAfter reviewing the Lesson Planning Guide:

THINK about the brain-compatible strategies that you use and strategies that you would like to try. Code the table with the following:Put a check beside the strategies that you have used.

Put a star beside strategies that you would like to try.

PAIR up with a shoulder partner to discuss a strategy that you have used successfully and one that you would like to try.

Be prepared to SHARE your partner’s response.

YOUR LESSON PLAN

GUIDED PRACTICE

An opportunity for each student to practice and demonstrate grasp of new learning by working through an activity or exercise under the teacher's direct supervision. The teacher moves around the room to determine the level of mastery and to provide individual remediation.

GUIDED PRACTICE

An activity that provides students the opportunity to grasp and development concepts or skills and requires teachers to monitor student progress.

Guided Practice Steps:Model: I do it. My turn.

Prompt: We do it. Let’s do this together.

Check: You do it. Your turn.

THE BRAIN AND PRACTICE

Practice does not always make perfect…but it does make it permanent.

Ensure that students practice the new learning correctly from the beginning

done in the presence of the teacher

Offer corrective feedback to help students analyze and improve their practice

This strategy leads to perfect practice, and, as Vince Lombardi said, “Perfect practice makes perfect.”

YOUR LESSON PLAN

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING

“Good cooks check and stir the icing as it is heating every few seconds so that it doesn’t

burn and get stuck to the pan.”

Good teachers regularly check for understanding during a lesson to determine if their students are “stuck.”

Don’t simply ask students if they have any questions.

Use a variety of strategies throughout the lesson to informally assess what students have learned and what to reteach.

CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING

Thumbs up/Thumbs down

3-2-1 EPR

Stoplight Sticks

White Boards

Think Pair Share

Think Write Pair Share

YOUR LESSON PLAN

CLOSURE

Those daily actions or statements by a teacher that are designed to bring a lesson to an appropriate conclusion. The objective should

be restated at the beginning of closure.

Examples:

Exit Slips

Think Pair Share

Think Write Pair Share

3 Whats-What did we learn? So what? Now what?

Today, we did this…..tomorrow we will continue by doing that….

HOW THE BRAIN LEARNS

Brain research has determined that an important step to moving newly learned material into long-term memory is “procedural closure.”

Procedural closure is an internal process whereby the learner’s working memory summarizes for itself its perception of what has been learned.

YOUR LESSON PLAN

CLOSURE: THE ICING ON THE CAKEThose daily actions or statements by a teacher that are designed

to bring a lesson to an appropriate conclusion. The objective should be restated at the beginning of closure.

Examples:

Closure log

Ticket out of class

3-2-1

Filling out a mind map or skeleton outline

Exit slips

Three Ws

Postcard

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/celebrating-student-achievement

The defining element of the closure activity is that which your students will soon come to realize: class isn’t over

until it has taken place.

Rod Lucero

Professor of Teacher Education and Principal Preparation

Colorado State University

Is it done?

YOUR LESSON PLAN

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:

A relevant activity in which students, alone or in groups, apply their new knowledge without the teacher monitoring the process. Independent practice should only be given after successful guided practice

Independent Practice Examples:

Homework

Reading

Project—oral, written, hands-on

Writing

Problem-solving activity

HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

Rehearsal

Necessary Repetitions

Increase the Type of Repetitions

THE BRAIN AND PRACTICE

Practice and Rehearsal Over Time Increases Retention

Practicing new learning during time periods that are very close together is called massed practice.

Sustained practice over time, called distributed practice or the spacing effect, is the key to retention.

THE BRAIN AND PRACTICE

Practice and Rehearsal Over Time Increases Retention

Rote Rehearsal, like memorizing lists through mnemonics or other techniques can speed automaticity and information recall.

Elaborative Rehearsal, like paraphrasing or summarizing, predicting, asking questions, etc. seems to be more effective in supporting long-term memory.

REMINDER“CLEAN UP AS YOU GO ALONG”

MANAGING THE LESSON:

Withitness-correcting misbehavior before it intensifies or spreads and also targets the correct student.

Overlapping-handling two or more simultaneous events.

Momentum-keeping a lesson moving without dwelling too long on individual parts of a lesson, direction, or skill and by breaking an activity into too many parts.

Smoothness-a lesson with continuity rather than jerkiness. This avoids distracting or incomplete information.

WHAT STUCK WITH YOU TODAY?

IN A LESSON PLAN, HOW ARE THE OBJECTIVE, FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT, AND

CLOSURE CONNECTED? Closure:

LET’S HEAR FROM THE EXPERTS

Kindergarten – Room H

1st Grade in Room G

2nd Grade in the Library Atrium

3-5th Grade in ABC