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INTASC STANDARD 7: PLANNING FOR INSTRUCTION
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The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon the knowledge of content area, curriculum, cross disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
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artifact: mitosis unit plan (click to view)
This unit plan was a semester project created for EDTP600 and submitted on July 21, 2014. It composed 20% of the overall grade. The goal was to create a unit plan within our subject area that was relevant to the state standards. My development of the unit began with exploring the Maryland State Science Standards for Biology at MDK12.org. I then chose a lesson that is historically difficult for students to comprehend: Cell Mitosis. I read through biology planning materials and lesson ideas from other teachers as well as county curriculum guides. Ultimately I decided upon a series of tasks that would provide varied instructional strategies that would allow for student centered learning.
Rationale:
This lesson plan is part of a multi-day series that culminates in a group-project in which students create posters (either by hand or computer) that illustrate and explain the 5 stages of mitosis. The first task has students apply reasoning and prior knowledge to attempt to order a series of pictures that depict cells undergoing various stages of mitosis. Student responses are collected via clickers and allow me to create a classroom average order (as well as see individual prior-knowledge. A repeat of this exercise after the unit will allow me to see student comprehension. The group assignment is setup in the jigsaw fashion where students form "expert" groups where they research and learn about one of the 5 stages. They then return to home groups where they teach their fellow students about the stage they learned. The home group then works together to create a final product which is graded based on a rubric. The homework assignment works to reinforce terminology needed to understand the labeling and group project.
By pre-assigning the groups I am able to adapt the lesson to fit a variety of physical and psychological, and intellectual differences among my students for optimal comprehension and ease of work.
The development of this artifact allowed me to apply my knowledge of content into learning tasks for students that reflected upon the teaching strategies explored within my graduate education. I gained a better understanding of how strategies such as “jigsaw learning” can be used in application. I also gained an understanding of the depth of instruction needed to meet state learning goals. The experience gained in designing this artifact equips me to create future lesson plans in the constructivist manner.
This artifact exemplifies my ability to organize and develop lesson plans that incorporate a variety of instructional strategies. It is reflective of my ability to discover and implement activities that allow my students to engage themselves in new material in fun and interactive ways. It also shows my awareness of the different needs of my students and how I can adapt my lessons to meet IEP requirements. The artifact also shows my focus on having students use cross-disciplinary skillsets in learning and solving problems. The unit ends with self-reflection to allow me a chance to continue improving ways of differentiating and adapting my instruction in order to best meet all students learning needs.
By pre-assigning the groups I am able to adapt the lesson to fit a variety of physical and psychological, and intellectual differences among my students for optimal comprehension and ease of work.
The development of this artifact allowed me to apply my knowledge of content into learning tasks for students that reflected upon the teaching strategies explored within my graduate education. I gained a better understanding of how strategies such as “jigsaw learning” can be used in application. I also gained an understanding of the depth of instruction needed to meet state learning goals. The experience gained in designing this artifact equips me to create future lesson plans in the constructivist manner.
This artifact exemplifies my ability to organize and develop lesson plans that incorporate a variety of instructional strategies. It is reflective of my ability to discover and implement activities that allow my students to engage themselves in new material in fun and interactive ways. It also shows my awareness of the different needs of my students and how I can adapt my lessons to meet IEP requirements. The artifact also shows my focus on having students use cross-disciplinary skillsets in learning and solving problems. The unit ends with self-reflection to allow me a chance to continue improving ways of differentiating and adapting my instruction in order to best meet all students learning needs.