If you work in the Georgia public schools, you are probably required to post your standards and your instructional goals on the board. We don’t do that at GHP, of course, but it is nonetheless a good idea for you to formulate explicit, written instructional goals for design purposes.
Couch them in terms of the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that you want the students to leave with.
As you design your class, if it all seems fuzzy (“…and then a miracle happens”…) try this: On one side of a sheet of paper, write When you finish this activity/lesson/unit/class, you will
- have a better understanding of…
- be able to…
- apply…
Complete the sentences as if you’re talking to the students as you begin the unit.
On the other side of the paper, write We will know you are making progress toward meeting this goal when you… List 1-5 evidences that span whatever cognitive hierarchy you like to work with.
You can see how this little exercise would clarify your thoughts on the matter. (Remember the quote, “There is nothing quite like facing the hangman’s noose to focus one’s mind.”)
As we go through the summer, Marcie (and Dale) will be observing your class. It will help you alert us to what we’re seeing if you already have in your head the framework of what’s “supposed” to be going on. Also, at the end of the summer, you’ll get a form to evaluate yourself, and the first thing it asks you is what your instructional goals were. Go ahead and write them now.
Can you change your goals? Absolutely. You don’t know what you’re getting into—you really don’t; none of us did—and more than likely you’ll start making adjustments at lunch on Monday. That’s not only acceptable, that’s good teaching.
I will retread some familiar ground here-
Goals are not necessarily “finish lines.” As we move not just from 6 to four weeks, but also from class to class, when i do _CLOUD ATLAS_ some years the goal is to get through the novel. Other years, it is to get halfway through the novel. On my end, whether it’s the A/S class, AIDS, or anything else, I want kids to have become fine tuned to a number of points or nuances used in communication & be able to pick up on those in any given piece.
Posted by Jobie on May 21st, 2013.
Even after 7 years this is still an ongoing process…
Posted by Gini on May 21st, 2013.
This is good to ground me in specifics. Sometimes I remember being a student at GHP where it wa enough just to be exposed to different kinds of sources that I had never encountered before. But I know that my instructors (including the great Michael Bailey) were very thoughtful and specific about what they shared with us, and why they shared it.
Posted by Daniel Glenn on May 21st, 2013.
As with the other comments, this is useful in grounding us as instructors. Sometimes, I think we tend to think too big picture and leave out salient details.
Posted by Henry Mei on May 21st, 2013.
Got it
Posted by James d on June 7th, 2013.
“There is nothing quite like facing the hangman’s noose to focus one’s mind.” I know a got a slightly late start on this, but I am on it now! In “Little Bets” (Problems Are The New Solutions) I liked the bit about always checking progress against constraints of any process. In this case, my lesson plan must allow for student progress against the constraint of time.
Posted by Rebecca Potter on June 9th, 2013.
Makes sense (especially compared to some other instruments I have seen used with teachers).
Posted by Ben Crosby on June 12th, 2013.
Thank you for this!
Posted by Jordan on June 17th, 2013.
Got it.
Posted by Marley Myers on June 18th, 2013.
got it
Posted by Hugh on June 24th, 2013.