Strategic Lesson Planning
Course Outline
Course Description
This course is designed to assist teachers in public and private schools in creating more effective lesson plans by aligning their plans with their students’ learning styles. Lesson plans are a teacher’s self-created guide to content presentations that maximize mastery by the student. This course combines meta-analysis with current action research. By combining these two fields of educational research, you will be able to create lesson plans that are both efficient and effective. Research based lesson plans address both today’s high standards and the differentiated learning styles of the student. The identification and approach to each of the learning styles presented in the book, The Strategic Teacher by Harvey F. Silver, Richard W. Strong & Matthew J. Perini, will form the foundation for the course. The course will explore the following:
- Direct and indirect instruction
- Reading for meaning
- Concept attainment
- Compare and contrast
- Reciprocal learning
- Decision making
- Task rotation
- Competition and cooperation within game learning
Objectives
- Identify and utilize the correct strategy for each lesson.
- Plan lessons that incorporate direct instruction to create questions designed to take students through the steps that lead to mastery.
- Design indirect instruction to guide students to mastery by exploring the common attributes of concepts, terms, data and events.
- Assist students in creating simple statements and questions that will enable them to preview, predict and identify relevant material while reading for meaning.
- Structure concept attainment by identifying key concepts and their critical attributes.
- Raise achievement through structuring a process that identifies similarities and differences.
- Effectively pair students to form learning partnerships that are mutually beneficial.
- Structure lessons that teach students to make informed decisions that can be applied to other content areas.
- Present students with four different types of tasks which differentiate both teaching and learning styles.
- Optimize content mastery through the use of games, tournaments and teams.
- Combine and shift strategies within a lesson to address the wide variety of learning styles in the classroom.
Curriculum Design & Time Requirements
The following methodologies will be used during the course: lectures, readings, reflections, group and individual discussions, applied practice assignments, presentations, papers and a final exam or exercise. This course is a forty-five hour three-credit graduate level course that is taught in the classroom and online.Course Materials
The required text for this course is The Strategic Teacher, by Harvey F. Silver, Richard W. Strong, Matthew J. Perini. Published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. A variety of readings, graphs and charts will be referenced throughout the course. In addition, participants will be directed to several web-sites that will provide them with a greater breadth of understanding. Students will also receive a student guide.
Session Outline
Session 1: Introduction and Overview, Direct Instruction: Modeling and Practice Contents:
- Master the four phase process for maximizing instruction
- Plan a direct instructional lesson
- Utilize the command strategy
Contents:
- Teach identification & categorization
- Determine methods of grouping
- Plan an inductive learning lesson
Contents:
- Prepare focused guiding statements
- Support, preview, predict & identify strategies
Contents:
- Identify key concepts
- Recognize critical attributes
Contents:
- Identify similarities and differences
- Facilitate the use of Comparison Organizers
Contents:
- Initiate student pairing
- Enhance learning through peer coaching
Contents:
- Enable informed decision making
- Apply decisions
- Organize ideas and testing conclusions
Contents:
- Objectives: Identify dominant learning styles
- Differentiate assessment
- Rotate teaching styles
Contents:
- Foster cooperative learning
- Construct games that address learning styles
- Optimize mastery through games
Contents:
- Engage multiple styles simultaneously
- Build reflective skills through note taking
- Increase meaningful discussions
Grading
| Assignment | Points | Grading Scale | |||||||
| Class Participation/Attendance | 20 | 100 – 93 | A | ||||||
| Completion of Lesson Plans | 20 | 92 – 85 | B | ||||||
| Final Group Presentation | 20 | 84 – 77 | C | ||||||
| Website Reviews | 20 | ||||||||
| Final Exam | 20 | ||||||||
| Total Points | 100 |
Student Requirements
| 1. | Students are required to attend all classes for the posted hours and participate in all individual, small group, and class discussions. | |
| 2. | Discussions and presentation are an essential element of this course and participation is considered in grading. | |
| 3. | Assigned papers and reflections must be submitted on the due dates. | |
| 4. | All written work must be well reasoned and original. |
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| 5. | Reflections - At the conclusion of some sessions there are assignments that you are asked to complete. Direct any questions regarding these reflections to your instructor prior to submission. | |
| 6. | Review the bibliography in the Student Guide. Select two (2) entries and be prepared to discuss them with your group or the class. | |
| 7. | Select one (1) website to review. Submit a typed summary/review on the second Sunday. |
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| 8. | Write complete lesson plans (2), based on Games & Competition and Reading for Meaning. Submit to instructor on the last day of class. | |
| 9. | Final Requirement – A final examination or other exercise will be based on the research and strategies identified in the course content. |
Student Academic Integrity
Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined by our partnering colleges and universities and is subject to academicdisciplinary action.
