As teachers, before starting any teaching process, we have to be able to set clear goals to be accomplished. We have to know clearly what is what we really want our students to learn and mainly understand. Which are our understanding desires and how we will manage to create skills and how to develop strong knowledge and understanding in the classroom. In this chapter, we will learn how to set our goals for the learning process and how we can accomplish them, through the Ubd doctrine.
One of the mains ideas this model shows, is that we can’t plan our lessons before knowing what we want our students to learn and understand by the end of it. We have to set long term aims, and through these create short long terms aims, getting all together. We can’t look for short term aims to be achieved individually, they have to be part of the final goals we want to accomplish with our teaching. As in common life, everything needs to have long terms objectives, what is what we want to achieve at the end of any project, idea, etc.
Let’s suppose a vocabulary lesson, before starting to prepare it, we have to be clear in what we want our students to learn at the end of the lesson. The teachers says;“Today we’ll be learning about classroom instructions” Surely you’ll expect your students to be able to know and learn each concept. But really you’ll expect your students to really understand when teachers apply those concepts in every class. So your class has to be planned for this to happen, preparing it in the search of accomplishing your objectives. So what you first have to plan is your long term aim, before getting anything started and then focus in the main ideas.
Secondly, this chapter also makes us realize that standards or learning outcomes need to be unpacked, and we need to difference the big ideas and core tasks, to create a better understanding in our students. Mostly of the time, these standards are overloaded and there’s not enough time to teach and learn every aspect of it. Sometimes standards are too big, too global, and they’re too difficult to measure, and it’s hard to difference what are the most important aspects to develop. Not as small standards which are easily measurable, but generally misses the big ideas and we run the risk of sending a wrong message to our students, encouraging them to memorize concepts instead of really creating understanding. Also sometimes, this standards are too vague, too abstract, so surely each teacher will interpret it in a different way, which differs one of the main intentions that this standards have, clarity, consistency and coherent goals. That’s why we have to be able to “unpack” these standards, and identify the big idea and the core tasks. The problem is that as teachers we take too much time trying to teach every content of the program instead of making it according with reality. “Yet educators have been slow to translate these requirements into more familiar program and course objectives, to the detriment of student performance” (Wiggins) It’s hard to cover every fact and skill of the standards, so that’s why we have to be able to difference what it’s really important and what isn’t. We need to focus certain groups of ideas in order to create essential questions to be responded, and assess our students in a valid way. We can’t expect them to learn something we haven’t set as a priority. We have to teach through experience and practice, applying the contents with real life issues to reach understanding. For example, if we’re practicing a reading comprehension, it must be about something that is connected to their reality, so they can be more related with the lesson and at the same they it is going to be easier to understanding and have an efficient learning.
Last but no least, as teachers we have to be able to get into our students minds. Ideas we may find powerful and meaningful, might be confusing or irrelevant for students. We may expect that our learners to see these ideas clearly, but most times these ideas are abstractions, and the challenge for us, is to bring this abstractions to real life. One of the best examples is to use a lot of visual aids, videos and photographs. We need that our students learn these ideas, asking and re-asking about them, and at the end making them meaningful for them. For example, we must let students know that English is crucial for people these days, that is why we must incentivate them to learn the language through different activities to acquire English as a second language, as song lyrics, videos and games that are actually in English.
As teachers we must be prepared to plan a class from the beginning to the end focusing in everything what implies to accomplish our main purposes and concrete our final goal; reach understanding.
One of the mains ideas this model shows, is that we can’t plan our lessons before knowing what we want our students to learn and understand by the end of it. We have to set long term aims, and through these create short long terms aims, getting all together. We can’t look for short term aims to be achieved individually, they have to be part of the final goals we want to accomplish with our teaching. As in common life, everything needs to have long terms objectives, what is what we want to achieve at the end of any project, idea, etc.
Let’s suppose a vocabulary lesson, before starting to prepare it, we have to be clear in what we want our students to learn at the end of the lesson. The teachers says;“Today we’ll be learning about classroom instructions” Surely you’ll expect your students to be able to know and learn each concept. But really you’ll expect your students to really understand when teachers apply those concepts in every class. So your class has to be planned for this to happen, preparing it in the search of accomplishing your objectives. So what you first have to plan is your long term aim, before getting anything started and then focus in the main ideas.
Secondly, this chapter also makes us realize that standards or learning outcomes need to be unpacked, and we need to difference the big ideas and core tasks, to create a better understanding in our students. Mostly of the time, these standards are overloaded and there’s not enough time to teach and learn every aspect of it. Sometimes standards are too big, too global, and they’re too difficult to measure, and it’s hard to difference what are the most important aspects to develop. Not as small standards which are easily measurable, but generally misses the big ideas and we run the risk of sending a wrong message to our students, encouraging them to memorize concepts instead of really creating understanding. Also sometimes, this standards are too vague, too abstract, so surely each teacher will interpret it in a different way, which differs one of the main intentions that this standards have, clarity, consistency and coherent goals. That’s why we have to be able to “unpack” these standards, and identify the big idea and the core tasks. The problem is that as teachers we take too much time trying to teach every content of the program instead of making it according with reality. “Yet educators have been slow to translate these requirements into more familiar program and course objectives, to the detriment of student performance” (Wiggins) It’s hard to cover every fact and skill of the standards, so that’s why we have to be able to difference what it’s really important and what isn’t. We need to focus certain groups of ideas in order to create essential questions to be responded, and assess our students in a valid way. We can’t expect them to learn something we haven’t set as a priority. We have to teach through experience and practice, applying the contents with real life issues to reach understanding. For example, if we’re practicing a reading comprehension, it must be about something that is connected to their reality, so they can be more related with the lesson and at the same they it is going to be easier to understanding and have an efficient learning.
Last but no least, as teachers we have to be able to get into our students minds. Ideas we may find powerful and meaningful, might be confusing or irrelevant for students. We may expect that our learners to see these ideas clearly, but most times these ideas are abstractions, and the challenge for us, is to bring this abstractions to real life. One of the best examples is to use a lot of visual aids, videos and photographs. We need that our students learn these ideas, asking and re-asking about them, and at the end making them meaningful for them. For example, we must let students know that English is crucial for people these days, that is why we must incentivate them to learn the language through different activities to acquire English as a second language, as song lyrics, videos and games that are actually in English.
As teachers we must be prepared to plan a class from the beginning to the end focusing in everything what implies to accomplish our main purposes and concrete our final goal; reach understanding.
You are right! the main idea of this text is plan your lessons and let the students know what are they going to learn. However do not forget set first what students should learn and then you have to do your lesson plan.
ResponderEliminarGood thinking!! planning lessons and setting goals are important to organize the class and make a more effective learning. The idea of the lessons is that those should be as meaningful as possible. ^=^
ResponderEliminarYour first idea is very well explained. The key for successful teaching and learning, therefore understanding from students' part, is that the objective should be planned and thought in a way these contents were useful and meaningful for students. And also, these objectives should be clearly set in order not to turn them the wrong direction.
ResponderEliminarI also think that teachers have to set a clear goals for the course when they are planning. Without it, their lessons can present a lack of sequency and purpose. It is necessary that students know these goals before hand, so they are more willing to participate in the class.
ResponderEliminarThe most complex exercise for teachers is to get into students mind to help them in their learning because when teachers try to explain something is extremely necessary to be clear and meaningful at the same time. They have to know something to explain it as simple as possible.
ResponderEliminarI like your example of the vocabulary lesson, because it makes more clear the idea of having a purpose and then achieve the expected knowledge from students.
ResponderEliminarwell, the importance of unpacking the contents standards is well explained. As teachers, we should know how to unpack these standards in order to take students to the core of the contents and skills. Teachers have to discriminate in what is better for students to learn.
ResponderEliminarAs you said in the post, we have to be able to set clear goals to be accomplished, because, as teachers, we really want our students to learn and mainly understand, but this will only be accomplished once we really show a commitment in teaching.
ResponderEliminarHas señalado acá un problema que frecuentemente encontramos como profesores en nuestro trabajo: el desafío de tener estandares que son demasiado complicado o que exigen demsiada información de nuestros estudiantes. Y justamente mencionas la necesidad de no centrarnos tanto en los detalles, sino en los temas universales. Si agrupamos las ideas grandes, podemos ver cómo podemos enseñarles la información esencial que después pueden transferir en las situaciones muy detalladas.
ResponderEliminar