Assess Lesson Design

What does a sound, tech-integrated lesson look like?

Introduction

Your work in this Peer Coaching session, and the next two sessions, is focused on learning how to coach for effective lesson design. In Sessions 3-5 you will:

• Create a working definition of "effective lesson design".
• Use this definition to coach each other in improvement of classroom lessons.
• Learn about technology integration and coaching skills.
  

The Peer Coaching Program does not teach an in-depth, whole-curriculum-revision approach to effective lesson design. Instead, we concentrate on key elements of curriculum development and coaching skills to prepare you to deliver practical and effective assistance to the colleagues at your schools.

Section A: The Coach's Role and Technology Integration

As a coach, you will provide instructional support to teachers as they learn how to enhance student learning by integrating technology. To do this, it is critical for you to be able to answer several questions:

What does it mean to enhance learning with technology? How can technology be integrated into the curriculum to help achieve standards? What are the principles of sound lesson design?

Please enter your answers here:

 

In Integrating Technology: Some Things You Should Know (1999), Laurie Dias states that technology integration occurs when technology supports and extends curriculum objectives, engages students in meaningful learning, and is used daily in the classroom.

Dias, L.B. (1999, November). Integrating Technology: Some Things You Should Know. Learning & Leading with Technology, 27(3), 10-21.

Technology Integration Adds Learning Value to Lessons

Sometimes students' excitement about learning a new technology significantly increases their engagement in a learning activity. But increased engagement is not enough: Technology integration must add learning value.

One of your tasks as a coach is to help your collaborating teacher(s) integrate technology so that one or more of the following objectives is met:

• Students gain access to information or points of view they could not readily find elsewhere.
• Students investigate a concept in ways they could not without the technology (for example, virtual dissection).
• Students organize information to facilitate comparison, analysis, or synthesis.
• Students use the same problem-solving tools adults use.
• Instruction is differentiated to meet the needs of different learners.
• Students collaborate with remote groups or subject-matter experts outside the classroom. 

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What is a Learning Activity Checklist?

Introduction

In this activity we'd like you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of two learning activities using a checklist of best instructional practices.

Getting Started

Section B: Learning Activity Checklist

Open the Learning Activity Checklist.

• The Learning Activity Checklist can provide coaches and collaborating teachers with a common frame of reference for what makes a strong lesson, unit, or project.
• You can see that we laid the foundation for the checklist in our Scavenger Hunt from earlier this morning.
• The Learning Activity Checklist was compiled from a wide variety of research sources.
• It is not THE complete list but is reasonably thorough and contains significant findings from a substantial body of research in the fields of cognitive science and education.

Review the Checklist

1. As a whole group, how did the results from the Scavenger Hunt fit in with the checklist?
2. Are there elements you or the group generated during the Scavenger Hunt that are not captured on this checklist?