Lesson Planning

Okay, so this really shouldn’t be something I complain about as it is what my future career will require me to do day in and day out, yet, I still feel compelled to complain about lesson planning. I am someone that the more detail the better when it comes to designing a lesson as you never know when another teacher may be asked to use that plan. However, this does not make it easy for me, I am constantly revising the information that I have recorded in the lesson ensuring that I have not missed a step or forgotten a key resource. I keep hoping that as I become more comfortable with conducting lessons the less information I will include in the lessons. Below is a step by step guide of how I go about planning my lessons.

(1) Outline learning objectives

The first step is to determine what you want students to learn and be able to do at the end of class. To help you specify your objectives for student learning, answer the following questions:

• What is the topic of the lesson?
• What do I want students to learn?
• What do I want them to understand and be able to do at the end of class?
• What do I want them to take away from this particular lesson?

Once you outline the learning objectives for the class meeting, rank them in terms of their importance. This step will prepare you for managing class time and accomplishing the more important learning objectives in case you are pressed for time. Consider the following questions:

• What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to grasp and apply?
• Why are they important?
• If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted?
• And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time

(2) Create a realistic timeline

GSIs know how easy it is to run out of time and not cover all of the many points they had planned to cover. A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your list to the two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn. Instructors also agree that they often need to adjust their lesson plan during class depending on what the students need. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on the spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Having additional examples or alternative activities will also allow you to be flexible. A realistic timeline will reflect your flexibility and readiness to adapt to the specific classroom environment. Here are some strategies for creating a realistic timeline:

• Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for each
• When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you expect it will take
• Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum up key points
• Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left
• Be flexible – be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students’ needs and focus on what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan

(3) Develop the introduction

Develop a creative introduction to the topic to stimulate interest and encourage thinking. You can use a variety of approaches to engage students (e.g., personal anecdote, historical event, thought-provoking dilemma, real-world example, short video clip, practical application, probing question, etc.). Consider the following questions when planning your introduction:

• How will I check whether students know anything about the topic or have any preconceived notions about it?
• What are some commonly held ideas (or possibly misconceptions) about this topic that students might be familiar with or might espouse?
• What will I do to introduce the topic?

 (3) Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the lesson)

Prepare several different ways of explaining the material (real-life examples, analogies, visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of more students and appeal to different learning styles. As you plan your examples and activities, estimate how much time you will spend on each. Build in time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move on quickly to different applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check for understanding. These questions would help you design the learning activities you will use:

• What will I do to explain the topic?
• What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?
• How can I engage students in the topic?
• What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that can help students understand the topic?
• What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?

(5) Plan to check for understanding

Think about specific questions you can ask students in order to check for understanding, write them down, and then paraphrase them so that you are prepared to ask the questions in different ways. Try to predict the answers your questions will generate. Decide on whether you want students to respond orally or in writing. You can look at Strategies to Extend Student Thinking,http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P4_4.php to help you generate some ideas and you can also ask yourself these questions:

• What questions will I ask students to check for understanding?
• What will I have students do to demonstrate that they are following?
• Going back to my list of learning objectives, what activity can I have students do to check whether each of those has been accomplished?

When planning your lesson, decide what kinds of questions will be productive for discussion and what questions might sidetrack the class. Think about and decide on the balance between covering content (accomplishing your learning objectives) and ensuring that students understand.

(6) Develop a conclusion and a preview

Go over the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. You can do this in a number of ways: you can state the main points yourself (“Today we talked about…”), you can ask a student to help you summarize them, or you can even ask all students to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points of the lesson. You can review the students’ answers to gauge their understanding of the topic and then explain anything unclear the following class. Conclude the lesson not only by summarizing the main points, but also by previewing the next lesson. How does the topic relate to the one that’s coming? This preview will spur students’ interest and help them connect the different ideas within a larger context.

Lastly it is important to reflect about how the lesson went. Think about what went wrong, what went right, what can be improved and how would you do the lesson in the future?

 

Another look at EDX2170

Oh how I love to write about the things that frustrate me, the things that I don’t understand that the subjects that I just want to throw out the window. So right at this point in time I have been revising the information covered in EDX2170 this particular course provides an insight into the different factors required to effectively engage students when learning about different aspects of English. Now don’t get me wrong this is not an English course it is a literacy course, it takes into account not just the written word, but looks at issues such as mode of delivery, social background of the student so on and so forth. This is all very interesting, however, the main topic that I came across when completing the course work is the concept of multimodal literacies. You may ask what is multimodal literacy? Well it was first proposed by Professor Gunter Kress and Professor Carey Jewitt, Institute of Education, University of London[1], is about understanding the different ways of knowledge representations and meaning-making. Multimodal literacy focuses on the design of discourse by investigating the contributions of specific semiotic resources, (e.g. language, gesture, images) co-deployed across various modalities (e.g. visual, aural, somatic), as well as their interaction and integration in constructing a coherent multimodal text (such as advertisements, posters, news report, websites, films).

While we may acknowledge this changed paradigm, we are a long way from understanding how these changes can be realised pedagogically. We need to investigate the way meaning is constructed through multimodal texts and different semiotic systems. The synchronous functioning of the modes of image, movement, colour, gesture, 3D objects, music and sound on a digital screen require a different type of ‘reading’ or ‘writing’, a literacy that entails non-linear and simultaneous processing. We need to understand the impact and demands of new forms of literacy mediated through more varied technologies including digital communication devices, internet search engines, social networking, interactive gaming, digital imaging, film and video. In addition to understanding how these are influencing students’ motivation and learning, we need to know how to develop classroom learning experiences that are appropriate for both conventional and new forms of literacy.

Much of the current discourse of adolescence is best described as emblematic of modernity, as colonial, as gendered, and as administrative (Lesko, 2001) working to maintain “progressive” school literacy practices that ignore adolescents’ new “cyber-techno subjectivity” (Luke & Luke, 2001) and creativity in the “new media age” (Kress, 2003). School curricula often do not acknowledge the range of skills adolescents acquire outside formal education. Youths’ new multimodal social and cultural practices—as they fashion themselves creatively in multiple modes as different kinds of people in “New Times” (Luke, 1998)—points to the liberating power of new technologies that embrace their imagination and creativity.

 

One Fish, Two Fish, I’m a blue fish.

So honestly the title of the blog post has absolutely nothing to do with what I am feeling or what I will actually be writing about in this latest addition who knows what. So as I write this post on a Saturday night where many if not all other people my age are doing something more exciting I sit an contemplate what I have actually learnt in the past 9 weeks of the semester.

1. I have discovered a great distaste for online education- for the past few weeks having to watch lectures and complete online tasks has just been draining and rather tedious if I am to be perfectly frank.

2. I have a very basic knowledge about nothing and in less the 18 months I will have completed my degree and have absolutely no idea what I will actually be doing.

3. When people give you advice on how to complete a task, take that advice modify it so that you understand the task and run with it. Because honestly there is no point second guessing yourself.

4. I am beyond hopeless at creating marking criteria sheets (for me differentiation between different ability levels is rather confusing at times)

5. EDH1150 is a subject that I rather hope I will never have to take again. Although it is rather interesting.

6. Prac is no less daunting the 4th, 5th or 6th time around. The more you know the less you think you can actually effectively teach the students sitting in front of you.

Now these are only a few of the things that I believe that I have learned so far. I am sure that as I progress further along with my course I will find other things to add to this long and ever growing list.

Losing motivation.

As we approach the half way point of the semester I find myself losing motivation, losing focus and wondering to myself if the stress and anxiety that I put myself through every semester is worth it. There is a lot to do in a very short space of time, and honestly I don’t think that I will be able to complete all of them before they are due. The other thing that is weighing on my mind is the fact that Professional Experience is fast approaching and I am doubting whether or not I will actually be able to incorporate ICT effectively into the learning experiences that I create.

Reflecting on the past assignments..

Looking back on the last couple of years I decided to read over past assignments. I sometimes wonder how I was able to complete these assignments, and more to the point what did I actually learn when I completed each assignment. In class today we have been talking about disposable assessment. Below is a part of an assignment that I completed for EDH2253, although I finished this assignment and did quite well on it I still don’t believe that the assessment piece was a true reflection of what we were learning about in the course. We are taught to connect assessment to the content but does that not mean that our uni assignments should be the same?

Biomechanics is physics (mechanics) of motion exhibited or produced by a biological system (McLester & St Pierre, 2007).  In sport and exercise, biomechanics refers to the study of human movements, including the interaction between the athlete, sport equipment and exercise environment. Sport Biomechanics emphasises how biomechanical function has a profound effect on how movement patterns are controlled and compensated for during movement or a series of movements (Amiot, Gaudreau & Blanchard, 2004). Using this information, improvements to human movement are able to be made and coaches and athletes are able to formulate practical sports techniques (Abernethy et al., 2013).Sports biomechanics includes but is not limited to technique, skill attainment, training, strength and conditioning, exercise, coaching, teaching, equipment, modeling and simulation, measurement, and injury prevention and rehabilitation (Bartlett, 2004).

 

In sports biomechanics there are five main elements that coaches and athletes must understand to improve athletic performance; motion, force, momentum, levers and balance (Australian Sports Commission, 2014a). Motion is the process of change in positon with respect to both spatial and temporal frames of reference. Speed and acceleration are essential components of motion (McLester & St Pierre, 2007). Force is something that possesses the capability to cause a change in the motion of a system. It is a push or pull that causes a person or object to accelerate, slow down, stop or change direction. When an athlete requires using top force they need to move their body parts sequentially (Coutts, 2001).  Momentum is the quantity of motion a body has and is a product of weight and velocity. There are two classifications of momentum; liner momentum which is the product of an object’s mass and its linear velocity and angular or rotation momentum which is the quantity of angular or rotational motion a body has and is the product of the moment of inertia and rotational velocity (McGinnis, 2004). A lever is a rigid object such as an arm or a leg, that is used with an axis to either multiply the mechanical force (effort) or resistance force (load) applied to it (McGinnis, 2004). Balance is the ability to control the current state of equilibrium, and it requires conscious effort and coordination. Balance is subjective to the size of the base of support, height and movement of the center of gravity and the mass of the athlete (Australian Sports Commission, 2014b).

Understanding the structure of the human body and how it moves is important for coaches seeking to improve their athlete’s performance. A coach with an understanding of biomechanical principles, together with knowledge and experience of their own sport, can analyse an athlete’s performance (Klomp, Bosch, & translation by Dee Wessels Boer-Stallman, 2005).  Understanding proper sport and exercise movements will allow the participant to be more efficient, technically sound and prone to good habits for long-term development. An athlete who incorporates proper biomechanics ensures that they minimizes the risk of injury, enabling them to pursue their potential to its highest level (Goodman, 2006).

Biomechanics and kinesiology are both areas of study that examine the movement of the human body; anatomy and physiology form the foundations of these studies (Timothy, Ackland, Elliott & Bloomfield, 2009). By understanding these areas coaches are able to; decrease and or avoid injuries, change technique to improve performance, select appropriate techniques and equipment to suit an athlete’s individual needs and maximize economy and efficiency of movements. A knowledge of biomechaincs also assists coaches in designing a training program talior made for the athletes specific situation.

Coaches and athletes need to have a good understanding of the application of physics to sport, as physical principles such as motion, resistance, momentum, levers and balance play a part in most sporting events (Geiblinger, 2015). When coaches and athletes understand how forces work on muscles and affect motion in sports, they have advantage over those who lack this knowledge and its applications. Knowing the reason behind learning a challenging technique gives an athlete more motivation to master it (Gill, 2000).

There is more to the story…

So I have been doing the first assignment for my course EDH1150 and in this assignment we were asked to research an incident that disenfranchised an athlete/s in some manner. Going with this I originally thought that I might do the boycott of South African sport from the late 50’s to the early 90’s but when researching this topic I came across the “Black Power Salute” now that is not only an interesting topic but a controversial one. Below is a snippet from my overall assignment.

 

Sport is not only a manifestation of a physical contest. It is also a manifestation of cultural and national elements of a society. National sporting contests are often said to instil a sense of community in a state (Bairner, 2003). A historical analysis of sport demonstrates that sports are frequently used as an outlet for promoting political agendas (Tomlinson & Young, 2006; Allison, 1986). Of all the types of sporting events that exist, the Olympics serve as one of the most powerful vehicles of influence due to the worldwide participation and widespread media attention they receive (Associated Press, 2008). This political platform is often not used by the athletes themselves but rather the governing body of the country. In society, there is a widely accepted notion that athletes should “be seen and not heard” and “shut up and play” rather than stating their beliefs (Bairner, 2003). However, in 1968 two athletes (Tommie Smith and John Carlos), used their medal presentation at the Olympic games as a political platform for the human rights movement in America. Smith and Carlos, winners of the gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200 metre event, went to the ceremony dressed in protest: wearing black socks and no shoes to symbolize African-American poverty and a black glove to express African-American strength and unity. They created one of the most iconic sporting images in history as they bowed their heads and raised their fisted hands while the American national anthem played. It is symbolic not only of the struggle for sporting supremacy, but also the fight for civil liberties (Smith, Smith & Steele, 2007).

 

I have also been reading the a few of the posts done by Maggie and have found them rather enlightening. If you want to see what I mean click the link and have a read. https://maggiestevensblog.wordpress.com/

 

Words that Inspire

Recently I was scrolling through facebook when I came across a picture that a friend of mine had shared, it contained 9 words ‘You are kind, you are smart, you are important’. Now I know that this saying is originally from the move ‘The Help’ but I keep thinking about how relevant it is to the teaching context. How much time do we or did we as pre-service teachers, current teachers and past teachers to remind our students that they are special. Yes there are times when the students are absolute little terrors and you ask yourself ‘why did I ever choose this profession?’ But it is in these moments that we have to remember the impact that we are able to have on a student and their self-confidence. Teaching is more than a profession, it is a vocation. What we do, we do for the love of our students, the knowledge that we are making a difference and the self-satisfaction that we get from seeing our students go on to do more than we ever expected. So remember when it all seems to much and you just want to give up on your students ‘they are kind, they are smart and they are important’ so treat them as such and provide them with the opportunity to prove to the world that they are AMAZING!!!!

Also if you get the chance check out Jodi’s blog she has some interesting insight into what it means to teach with ICTs.

Starting the next one…

So today is a new day, and yet again there is another assignment that needs my attention. Now I know that this blog is supposed to be addressing the issues or learning experiences that we encounter while we undertake EDC3100, but I have found it rather therapeutic being able to write about the stress and anxiety that I face with all my subjects. I have found that this semester has been particularly hard to stay motivated, but with each assignment that I complete I can see that end drawing closer and I start to believe that I will actually be able to finish my degree. That being said if I don’t finish this assignment for EDH1150 I won’t be finishing anything. Sometimes I do truly wonder why I am putting myself through the stress of having to study…

EDH2152 Has me going round in circles

EDH2152 is a subject based on studying the health and wellbeing of the population. Now on paper that sounds rather interesting and fairly straight to the point, but don’t be fooled. There is a lot more to this subject than meets the eye. I never honestly realised the extent of the factors that impact on a persons ability to live a healthy and active life. Below is a snippet of my first assignment for the subject and an insight into what I have been looking at for the last week straight.

In order to improve nutrition amongst adolescent it important to strengthen community action to counteract the affects of malnutrition. Ultimately empowering and encouraging communities to develop, build and maintain healthy eating within their physical and social contexts. Nutrition education can be delivered through multiple venues from multiple stakeholders, and involves activities at the individual, institutional, community, and policy levels (). By implementing public awareness campigns about good nutrition using a range of different media outlits such as newspapers, posters, flyers and other means of advertisement awareness about this health issue is able to be raised within the community.  “Encouraging consumers to choose products that are best for them… allows individuals to learn about the wide variety of lifestyle  … choices available to them and choose the ones that they find best” for their own health (WHO, 2003; Nessa, 2004). Public campaigns that promote healthy eating habits such as hydration, comsumption of fruit and vegetables and the selection of nutritious foods in favour of unhealthy choices, are ways that the commuinity is able to become informed about the subject and aware of their actions (Tasmanian Government, 2010). To be effective these campaigns need to be present in all community settings including; schools, shopping centres and eatery outlets. Advertising for food and beverages communicates potentially powerful food consumption cues. Alkharfy (2011) highlighted that ‘controlling exposrure to food advertisement.. [there will be] a positive impact on the way the community perceives food’,  consequently, by altering a person’s current attitudes can an effect on their lifelong habits, behaviours and belifes (Folta et al., 2006; Harrison & Marske, 2005). Unfortunately, barriers are created when adolescents choose not to engage in the promotion in bettering their health.