For+Wednesday+the+27th

Assignments Due On Wednesday the 27th. Tomlinson: 1-44

Discussion Notes: How could the Plant Parts Lesson have been improved given this reading...what would you have done, not done?

//I think Tomlinson writes with great clarity and heartfelt feeling for the relationships that support the kind of teaching that makes school and schooling a good thing for all the human beings who walk in the schoolhouse door toting their own unique baggage. There’s a belief in what she says that we can succeed at this. It is a noble belief, and it is one of those goals to which I aspire, and it is damn hard work, always to be approached, rarely gained.

Plant parts. Not knowing the class, I am going to assume they are “normal” in their need for differentiation. The overwhelming majority would shy away from the linguistic smarts to those that are more kinesthetic, visual, musical, even mathematical. (A little hint of [|Gardner] here.) There are also those whose need for structure (clear, sequential directions) is high; and others who are comfortable with the ambiguity of more open-ended directions. So, in the absence of a real class, I’d set up three to four different activities all aiming for the outcome that everyone gain knowledge of plant structures that are common to most plants; that structures look different (form) but share the same function across individual plant types. I let the learners choose two activities the day before we started; I’d look at the groups, assign some roles, and over the next two days make sure every student got to do at least two of the activities. I’m a strong believer in redundancy. I’d expect a group outcome and an individual outcome. Kids could help each other when help was asked for. Bottom line would be each child would have to choose four to six plant structures, identify them in at least two different species of plants, and demonstrate knowledge of how the structure functioned with respect to each plant. The activities would be described on cards and the materials would be boxed up so everything each group needed would be ready for them.// ***The use of group work places the responsibility of learning on the students and makes them work extra hard to accomplish their goals. I loved how Tomlinson acknowledged that teachers are there to support the students in their learning, not force feed them every bit of information. The groups should be established by choice, but specific roles would need to be clear. Examples of roles could be: the recorder, the fact finder, the manager, the time keeper, etc.*Tara** A word I have heard a number of times for this type of set up is to give the students "ownership". When a student or students feel that they have control and are responsible for whatever outcome they create the effort they will show you is much great then if you had students going worksheet after worksheet. Hannah

I also feel that with student "owning" their work, It also has a much better chance of becoming a longer-lasting lesson, not necessarily one that will be forgotten shortly after the exam or the paper. I think Tara's suggestion on roles also helps individuals to gain perspective in a way that may be more appropriate for them as an individual with unique learning styles. JB

//I see this as differentiation by the variation of process and product according the children’s interests; outcomes, hopefully, would be quite similar. I think I could write the activities but were I to do that, this entry would be way too long. Maybe we could do this in class.//

//Jump in folks, anywhere! CBone//

The guru of DI, Carol Ann Tomlinson, opens a window into an aspect of teaching that I find very interesting and approachable as a young teacher. I found her point that Differentiated Instruction needs to be student centered the most important aspect of the reading. Why wouldn’t a teacher want to know those they are teaching and learning from? In my opinion getting to know the person sitting in front of you is the most important lesson in the classroom. When the groundwork is laid, many other elements normally found in a lesson can go smoothly.
 * The Plant Lesson through the eyes of TM:**

The Plant Part lesson we examined in class has the potential to be a great lesson for students, particularly with the inclusion of a few DI strategies provided by Tomlinson. Remembering that this class is for sixth to eighth graders, I would plan accordingly. The following are a few ideas I had while focusing on the reading and this lesson. I would…


 * 1.** Be very clear with the objectives and assessments I desired from my students. I agree with Tomlinson when she says, "engage your students in talking about classroom procedures and group processes."(38) The objectives and assessments I would have for the lesson would be something I could see or hear along the way and at the end of the lesson. I would state the goals for the class, as well as provide them on the board and on “task cards” in groups (I loved that idea by the way- pg 35). I would tell them something along these lines:

a. **(know)** At the end of today I would like you to tell me eight of the eleven parts to a plant and their job in a plant. b. (**understand and do**)I would like you to show me how plant parts work and impact one another in **one** of the **three** ways: I would also provide **ONE** rubric for all three of these assessments. This provides the students with one commonality, although they are approaching their learning in different ways.
 * i.** A visual model of a plant, their parts and their role inside the plant. The visual representation can come in any form you desire. Just let me know what you are thinking…
 * ii**. Create a skit for an episode of [|Bill Nye the Science Guy] devoted to plants, their parts and their job inside a plant.
 * iii.** Write an “I” reflection about the plant parts. Pretend that you and your group members are each a part of the plant. What would happen if you were all working well in the plant? What would happen if one of you left the group (or the plant)?

//Tara, I love the assessment options you've provided your students here. Clearly you're creating pathways for multiple intelligences but each promises to assess the objectives we've laid out very well. Would the three under b be final assessments or intermediate ones. They feel like closing activities to me, combining assessment and extension. TA//


 * 2.** Structure the lesson a bit differently. Using the “wave model” Tomlinson mentioned on page six, I would start the day with the entire class. As a whole class we would dive into this topic using a hook or pre-assessment to determine where a student in relation to the material. I might provide the students with some individual reading time (for background information) and after a brief discussion on the content. The articles could come from a variety of sources with the same or similar content.
 * 3.** Echo the use of groups that Charlie mentioned to accomplish the specific goals for the lesson (whatever those may be).
 * 4.** Include formative assessment (seeing where a student is in their progression) by asking for ongoing feedback and reports from the groups.
 * 5.** I would also extend the in-class time for this lesson to three to four class periods (depending on the length of the class and the population of students).

I know that I got a bit specific in relation to objectives and what I would want the students to know, understand and do. But the great thing about this DiscoverySchools.com lesson plan is that it can go anywhere you and your class would like to take it. It is meant to be a starting point and a place where ideas can grow from. See you tomorrow! **Tara**

“What we share in common makes us human. How we differ makes us individuals.” Wow, Tomlinson really does a great job of dissecting Differentiated Instruction. This statement was one of many that rang true for me, and ironically it came at the beginning of the reading on page one. I especially liked the metaphor used on page 17 where the teacher acts as the director of an orchestra. Differentiated instruction always stuck in my head as separate assignments for students that engaged them in multiple ways, and worked at improving upon both weaknesses and strengths. This reading really helped me to start thinking about the ways in which group work can facilitate DI.
 * Laurie's Take on DI and the Plant Lesson**

As both Charlie and Tara have stated (and since these readings really opened my eyes to its effectiveness) I would use a group strategy to communicate the basic concepts of the plant lesson.
 * Plant Lesson Ideas (REALLY rough):**

I see three topics listed in the original lesson plan: 1. The structure and function of roots, stems, and leaves 2. Identifying the parts of a plant 3. Understand the importance of plants for animals’ existence

After taking a short assessment of where both the students interests and knowledge levels were, I would create groups that would come together to teach the class about one of the three topics. However, before the group work starts, I would ask the students to take two nights to research their focus area so that they could be active and informed members of their group. –This could be a great place to integrate the RSS information we talked about today too!

Upon the commencement of day 3, I would give students roles in each group (timekeeper, recorder, facilitator) to empower each of them and give them some ownership in their own learning. During this class time, students would be given the time to decide upon the best way to best deliver their information. Each participant in the group would need to take part in the presentation in some way (whether that means helping to create visuals, composing music to go behind a skit, verbally presenting material, creating a supporting wiki or web site for peers to review, etc.)

After all of the groups had presented their material (day 4 and maybe 5), I would take a post assessment to measure the amount of information that my class had learned.

Reflect, Rework, Retry…


 * I would love to be able to have a learning center for the first two topics as they seem more like concrete information. I am just having a difficult time figuring out logistically how this would work. Anyone have any ideas? My brain has melted from today's heat. **LG**

The reading on Differentiated Instruction was extremely informative and gave great examples/strategies to go by. Tomlinson cleverly reminds you throughout the reading how important it is to be in tune with your students and take the time to get to know them on an individual basis, not only as a human being, but to assist you in assessing their readiness, interests and learning needs.

I think overall the Plant Parts lesson was pretty good and can lead to some really fun activities. I would start off the lesson using a hook to introduce what we would be doing and cover key concepts at this time. Also clearly state what they need to know and how they will be assessed.

I do feel the objectives in the Plant Parts lesson need to be modified and restated so they are more specific. For fun activities, the students would rotate through 3 stations that would revolve around the objectives. For example, one station might have a microscope set up where students can analyze the internal structures and then draw what they see and label those parts. Another station would be work done in pairs.

We talked about it earlier today in class about the assessment in this lesson plan being too vague and I would just state the type of criteria I was going to use to determine whether the students know and can do what the learning objectives ask. Instead of creating a whole rubric, maybe some type of a checklist would be sufficient. I understand the idea of Differentiated Instruction and am really excited to learn how to write lesson plans in hopes of being effective and reaching out to different leveled learners. HH

It tends to be a common thread, but I too have found Tomlinson's writings on DI to be extremely clear and communicated. I loved his visuals, and found that, even in his writings, he used a lot of different strategies to communicate his ideas. I especially enjoyed when he tied everything into a bigger picture, not allowing you to loose sight of the goal.

Different stations are such a great way to approach different learning styles and ablities. Small groups with a few different stations with clear, consise instuctions for each station is a great way to reach out to some different types of ablities and styles. A point that Tomlinson touched upon that I hadn't necessarily considered is how you approach the "end" of the lesson. As a teacher who is lesson-planning, it is easy to get caught up in the process and the thick of the activity, but Tomlinson is quick to point out the significance of setting limits; Setting time limits, having a plan for "quick-finishers" and making a plan for "calling it a hault". This is all something that is important to think about!

I love the idea of stations, however the difficult part for me is how to assess that each of the different goals and objectives were obtained. For example, I wouldn't necessarily feel it was approproiate to give a multiple choiced quiz to measure what was obtained at a station where the activity might have involved a more hands-on activity.

I have no quams about the plants part lesson- I think it's a wonderful start. I don't necessarily think that I would "improve" a whole lot, but I would make the next step of applying it to my specific audience. I felt that, when comparing the lesson plan to UVM's standards of a lesson plan, the only parts that were really missing were the parts that accomodated the lesson plan to your specific audience. I think that it's imporant to first understand your class as best as you can before planning and implementing a lesson. This would provide the best opportunity to give the most appropriate DI to your class with your specific needs. JB

Of all the books, articles, etc. I've read regarding DI this one has been the easiest to read and understand. I really like how Tomlinson talks not only about the student and teacher, but also about the parents. She gives some real sound advice on situations that might arise and how to deal with those.

Plant lesson: As a hook I was thinking a K-W-L might work well here. On the first day of the lesson students could discuss what they already know, and what they want to learn. This would allow the teaching the chance to do some preteaching if necessary. This would also give a nice way to close/summarize the lesson when completed (and the teacher would have an informal way of assessing what students know). Like everyone else I would have students working in groups. I would like to have a number of different stations for students to choose from. One station would be very hands-on (similar to the original lesson), another might be more research (reading/writing) based, and a third might be more visual (searching online). I liked Tomlinson's idea of using "task cards" and a tape recording of the directions so I would use those here. Students would still be responsible for demonstrating an understanding of the material. I think choice is the way to go here too. The hands-on group might want to do a demonstration, the research group might create a poster, and the visual group might create a PowerPoint. Each group would be responsible for demonstrating the same amount of understanding, but their approached could be entirely different. I would also create some type of "anchor activity" for students to do if they happen to finish before another group. I was thinking that a journal write on what they found interesting or confusing, or what they might want to go over again. Hannah

I personally felt that the differentiation readings were designed well enough for non- education disciplined individuals, like myself, could immediately understand the purpose, methodology, and goals of differentiation teaching practices. It makes perfect sense: different people learn different ways and educators need to understand the many ways to teach information on any number of plains. In regards to the plant part lesson plan: I would have slimmed down the objectives from understanding the structure and function of roots, stems, and leaves, identifying the parts of a plant, and understand the importance of plants for animals’ and humans’ existence to simply the first two objectives combining where the identification of a part would then be built upon to detail its function.

Maybe by leading into the discussion with an engaging activity or game where students could form groups of there own and create a plant out of a selection of media of there choice, name it, explain its coloring, etc. Provide some pictures of different plants as references, maybe pull up and project a gardening site or botanical garden exhibit as a resource or visual aid. Once the kids presented their different plants begin implementing parts of the Discovery Channel lesson plan with clearer, more defined objectives and goals. Here an introduction to concepts can be achieved through a number of different group activities; maybe a dissection table, where kids can actually deconstruct the parts of the plants up close with a quick step by step video they can follow, possibly a station of microscopes where they can examine their plant pieces on the molecular level and make observations—either drawings or notation, and a station were field guides and biological images can readily explain visually the anatomical features of their plants and their functions. Obviously some youths will excel at varying stations that’s expected, but I hope that the variation in comfort and perspectives will ultimately be overcome by the many different disseminations of the information. In order to assess the students an acceptable amount of information of parts and their functions must be shown. Here is where I begin to struggle though. If an assessment is predefined to the point of having zero negotiability the students’ assessment doesn’t really display their grasp on the given topic. The assessment is rather limited in scope to that of educator’s expectations. However if there is no plan of assessment then the result is equally erroneous having kids with meaningless grades. It seems to me that a rough estimate on what information a class may retain is more reasonable. Rough in the sense that it is pliable and can be adjusted. Perhaps a percentage of the plant parts and functions are to be named? If there are ten parts maybe six parts are sufficient to name and label. Any ideas on this? I am really struggling on how to fully assess students in a holistic manner. - DI

I feel like taking back my carmudgeonly comments in yesterday's class reaction. Tomlinson actually didn't make me feel that bad...sort of. Reading a lot of the principles she's listed, I could remember concrete incidents when I've violated each of them. So as an opportunity to reflect and think about changing my teacher habits, it's really helpful. I am also comforted by her suggestions on page 34 for a phased adoption of differentiation methods. I think I'd like to make my project a unit or a lesson that I can use in the Fall that focusses on differentiation. My school wants me to learn about differentiation, so chances are they will be supportive of these ideas in the classroom.

Tim's Plant thoughts I agree with Tara and others that to optimize the differentiation of this lesson plan there should be an early oportunity for a diagnostic assessment. This might follow out of a 'hook' activity like the one I mentioned yesterday. Let's say we all gather around a cross-section of a tree and speculate on why the rings are the way they are. Or better yet, throw down a couple of different trees from varying environments and speculate about environmental factors in their formation. An early snapshot assessment could be an informal look at student responses. Some students will have prior knowledge. Others will be starting from zero. Perhaps a quick written summary of knowledge following discussion to check on who's retaining the things you've discussed. TA

Schedule for the Wednesday the 27th.
 * Gathering / CyberCafe
 * Report In and Discussion of Readings / 426
 * Charlie Time / 426
 * writing effective student learning objectives
 * reworking the plant lesson
 * knows about the diversity and unity that characterizes life
 * knows the general structure and functions of cells in organisms
 * especially with respect to organ systems
 * designing assessments for same
 * Work Time / Various Places.
 * Share Time / 426
 * Next Steps / 426
 * Tomlinson pp. 45-71.
 * Choose one part of the reading that jumps out at you in a really helpful way. Identify it, tell why it jumped out at you, and relate how it is helpful.

Reactions to Today's Class. //Approximately 100 word entries//. //Please don't add separate pages here. Just add your entry to the one that comes before as a new paragraph. Leave your initials after your last sentence. CR//

My goal in the course of this post is to find some organic excuse to paste an image into this response, mostly because I can. We'll see how that goes. I found the Mager stuff very helpful in guiding my thinking about defining objectives. I don't know why I find it so hard to do in my discipline. It may have something to do with the intrinsic nature of English as a nebulous and subjective discipline, but I think that's probably just an excuse. I think it's partly laziness and avoidance. It's hard mental labor to distill specific definable learning objectives from the big stew of reading and writing and having opinions, and there's a risk of doing it badly. I think I'm one of those former advanced high school learners Tomlinson talks about, who never really got used to the vertigo of intellectual risk because I could usually come up with the "right" answer. Anyway, one of my tasks as I enter the coming school year is to begin concretizing some of the major learning objectives in my discipline. I think the first step is just to brainstorm all the things a high school English should know and be able to do. I liked the following site for objective writing tips. It's a tiny bit sassy. The pitfalls at the end are especially edifying. [|http://www2.gsu.edu/~mstmbs/CrsTools/Magerobj.html] //I liked reading this site. The objectification of why we teach is so reductive. To approach all this with a proper tongue in cheek is a good way to stay sane. I'm going to hang on to this one. I'd really like to hear you talk more about the arc you describe in this next short paragraph. That transparency of the learning path to learners is essential to bringing them on board as participants in their learning. I'm not so familiar how you might do this in the hs english setting. And, congratulations on the link. It's a start... .// cr

The lesson planning we did in groups was also helpful. I wish more of my lessons and units followed a recursive arc like we discussed, letting the culminating assessment be reference or a mirror of the hook activity. It's great when a learner can look back on a journey she's taken, seeing a beginning, middle and end--seeing distance between beginning and end. I don't think I have an image to paste in. I guess a link is a good start. TA

Today’s class was informative to say the least. I found the Mager behavioral objectives breakdown useful in that I really need to work on the wording, specificity, and basic design of my objectives. I found that at times I was working backwards from activity to objective, back to activity only to fine-tune it all over again; making the process, perhaps, more arduous than it need be. I suppose it comes with practice—which is why I was thankful we had the opportunity to collaborate in groups today and bounce ideas off each other. The tangible values we ascribe to a covert skill or idea in order for an assessment to be made is something I am still struggling with, though I’m slowly beginning to piece items together. Oh my. - Dan //Dan, lots of teachers struggle with this. We are held to such high sounding outcomes. Mager continually puts in our face that there are days when we are happy with three commas correctly placed.//cr

I really have to say that today's class was fun in a sadistical way. (hehe) I really enjoyed working on the Mager's type of learning objectives. It really made me push my thinking a bit further than my comfort zone. Also, having been out of the classroom for 3 years, I was a little rusty to say the least. This class continues to get better and better. I had the privilege of working with Hannah today, and had a great time struggling with creating the differentiated lesson based on the plant lesson plan from yesterday. //I guess the struggle is a good thing. Especially when we are held to criteria of "certainty." That's a box lots of us would rather not be in. "Appreciating the asthetics of repeated patterns in squares and cubes" sounds so much better than "application of square roots." cr//

I look forward to hearing more about everyone's projects as our ideas get hashed out. Every idea that was mentioned today sounded so different from my own, but I was really interested in all of them! Stay cool everyone! LG

As I become further removed from my undergraduate years, I find myself becoming more lax around establishing concrete objectives for **every** lesson that align with formative and summative assessments for my students. This is in part due to the craziness associated with the profession as well as focusing primarily on the activity of the lesson that will be in tune with their learning interests. Remember, I noted earlier that the more fun and interesting I can make it for the students the better. Today was a nice reminder that without specific objectives both the students and the teacher can be lost in the details of the lesson, rather than the big picture. Clarity with objectives will bring forth clarity in the lesson. Another highlight of today was working closely with Jenni. I appreciated spending time working through the Mager behavioral objectives and the lesson plan with her. It was a perfect “ah-ha” moment for me. We were both learning from one another. She was pushing me to think in ways related to objective writing and lesson planning that I had not done before. It is unfortunate that more of this cooperative planning and lesson writing cannot happen within the school level.**Tara** //**Amen to that. It does seem like whenever we have the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers, we wonder why don't do it more often, and yet it never seems to become an area of focus in the discussions about how to improve education. People have all kinds of ideas about what teachers should do in the classroom, but very little attention is given to how teachers can be sustained and nurtured enough to actually make such improvements on the human level. I think collaboration and mutual support is one of the keys to that.** Tim// //Ditto cr//

//Sometimes Mager's work keeps us way too honest. But grudgingly, over the years, I have come to at least appreciate what the man has offered us. I wonder a lot about the degree of unanticipated learning that happens when we focus and drive towards achieving specific outcomes. That's not an area that's been researched very much. cr//

I have come to really look forward to this class and what new things we'll be doing that day. I feel that so much interesting and useful information has been covered in such a short time. I really liked having time to work on writing objectives. I'll admit it is not something I do for every lesson; sometimes I feel that there are not enough hours in the day. Today made me realize how important they are to a lesson. I agree with Tara that without solid objectives teacher and students can get lost in the "meet" of a lesson and lose site of the overall themes or ideas. When working with Laurie on the revised plant lesson plan it was a great chance to stretch my thinking a little. Laurie made some great suggestions that I don't think I would have come up with on my own. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone’s revised lesson tomorrow. Hannah //Me too. We'll stay with this plan today. I'm hoping the visualization of the lesson line and our understanding that lessons don't often happen as planned leads to some richer discussions about the benefits of closeup planning. cr//

I LOVED today's class!!! Mager's behavioral objectives guideline really helped me get perspective on what kinds of information need to be stated in the objectives and to break up into groups and bounce ideas of one another was great. I'm realizing more and more how important they are to a lesson and also how they assist in criteria for the assessment. I like that we have the opportunity to collaborate in groups and have an experience teacher's insight that pushes you to think"outside-the-box". I learned a lot and also found that sometimes you might start with the assessment criteria and work your way backwards when designing a lesson plan. Looking forward to finish our group work tomorrow and hear what the others came up with. HH //Very cool that backwards idea. I don't know about you but one of my great challenges in life is to maintain a linear line of thought, especially in planning. Other parts of my brain contiually pop in with "another great thing to do." Starting at the end and thinking backwards does help keep me focused, if not the lesson. Glad the groupings are working for you. cr PS Here's a link on [|instructional coaching].//

I think today's class was probably my first actual exposure to really writing out a lesson plan. I've seen them, read them and worked a bit with them, but never have I challenged myself to originate one! I agree with Tara, it was SO WONDERFUL working with you! I think it's easier to try and write a lesson plan from a book or change one thats already there, but for me it was immensely helpful to have the insight of an already experienced teacher working through a lesson plan step-by-step. What a challenge! I think the hardest part for me in all of it had to do with the level of specificity that I needed (ex. am I too specific? not specific enough? etc.). Researching Megar's behaviorial objectives was really helpful for me, and it was nice to "google" it and get a few different options of websites as opposed to just recieving a handout (Kudos on getting us involved, CR!). All in all, I think today's class was a great start on embarking on my teaching journey in the realm of lesson planning and getting some experienced advice. //JB//