Planning for Instruction

Planning for Instruction Brown, III, H. F. & Wiedmaier, C.D. (2003). NBEA Yearbook Effective Methods of Teaching Business Education in the 21st Century. National Business Education Association. Reston: VA.

Standards • National Standards for Business Education: What America's Students Should Know And Be Able To Do In Business (NBEA) • Good starting point to guide the development of course content • Review industry, state, and local standards/competencies

Industry Standards • May serve as a guide to develop activities and learning environments that are based on the real world • Resources • The Dictionary of Occupational Titles • The Occupational Outlook Handbook • The National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) • The V -TECS organization • Local advisory board members

State Standards • Check with state departments of education to determine state standards for students enrolled in business classes • State standards must be incorporated into course planning • Many states have developed performance-based competencies based upon the National Standards for Business Education • Kentucky Dept of Education site at http://www.education.ky.gov/ State Standards are Usually the Most Important! Funding is based On compliance.

Local Standards • Individual school districts may have developed a set of competencies or standards • Local school boards may create or adopt standards or classes required for graduation that are above the state requirements

Course Planning • Essential task for any teacher • Effective planning-more than selecting a textbook and calling the chapters in the text "units." • Should include everything from examination of national curriculum standards to workplace skills • The National Association for Business Teacher Education (NABTE)suggests • Curriculum should integrate real work experiences • Include the development of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning objectives for courses, units, and other experiences

Syllabus • The first step in the planning process-develop a syllabus • Outlines the entire course • Shows how it will be structured, managed, and taught. • A contract between the teacher and the student • Outlines the competencies that the student will gain/master, the topics for the course, and the policies and procedures that will be used to manage the learning environment

Syllabus • A syllabus typically includes the following parts: • A header containing general course information (course title, time, location, instructor, etc.) • List of general competencies/abilities to be mastered by the end of the course • Overall course goals • The unit objectives and topics to be covered (this section outlines the entire course content by general topic

Syllabus • Outline of the course content • Required materials, including textbook(s) and other materials, such as laboratory supplies • Policies, procedures, and rules for the class • Grading scale and information on how the grade will be determined • Students should be able to read a syllabus and know what is expected of them, how they will be evaluated, how they are to act, and what the teacher's role is in the learning process • The syllabus sets the tone for the course early in the instructional process

Course Content • Syllabus should include an outline of the main course content • Includes the main topics or competencies • Gives the students and the teacher a clear framework • Not a detailed account of every minor topic that will be covered • A categorization of the entire course into main topics or units

Course Content • Create a detailed outline of everything to be covered in the course • The outline should then be condensed to no more than a dozen first-level headings • The headings then become the units of instruction • The remaining subheadings of the outline help create the individual lessons that make up each unit of instruction • The general organization of planning elements from most general to most specific is syllabus, unit, and lesson

Course Content • To determine what should be taught in the specific topic area, educators should examine available local, state, and national curriculum standards • The National Standards for Business Education are a good starting point for planning a course

Course Content • The National Standards also provide a developmental level framework • Aids educators to determine which content should be taught at the various educational levels (elementary, middle, secondary, or postsecondary, and referred to as "developmental learning levels")

Unit Planning • Unit Planning • Developing a sequence of daily plans that addresses the topic of the unit in a cohesive way

Unit Planning • Six steps for unit planning • Select the overall goals and the more specific objectives for the unit • State the rationale for the unit • Outline or organize the content • Plan a sequence of daily lessons with appropriate instructional activities • Plan and prepare for ways that students will be evaluated • Gather and prepare the materials needed for instruction

Unit Planning • Organizing unit content • Subheadings should become the individual lesson topics within the unit plan • Lesson objectives can be generated to determine specifically what outcomes are expected from the students • Determine how best to assess or evaluate the completion of the unit All of these elements are combined to create the unit plan

Unit Planning • Creating unit plans • Each unit plan begins with header information identifying the course, unit topic, sequence number (1, 2, 3. ..The order of the units), and any other identifying information • The teacher outlines and lists the individual lessons by topics • Listing the specific lesson objectives

Unit Planning • Specific materials and supplies that are needed should be recorded (so that they may be obtained prior to beginning the unit) • Outline the type of assessment that will be used • May specify the number of formal assessments (e.g. Tests, quizzes, and projects) and the lesson topics/content to be included in each • A statement - how the unit can be adjusted for special needs students might be included • A unit plan is similar to a lesson plan in format, but more general in the statement of topics and objectives

Unit Planning A Unit Plan Format

Unit Plan Example

Unit Plan Example Broad topics, more specific topics are used in lesson plans These topics become lesson plans later To answer, ask yourself “Why should students study this topic?”

Unit Plan Example Much of this information will later Transfer to the lesson plan

Lesson Planning • Focus should shift to generating the individual lesson plans • The unit plans already identify the lesson topics and objectives--the teacher will transfer those elements to individual lesson plans for further planning

Lesson Planning • Nine events of instruction that should be considered • Gaining attention • Informing learner of the objective • Stimulating recall of prerequisite learning • Presenting stimulus material

Lesson Planning • Providing learning guidance • Eliciting the performance • Providing feedback about performance correctness • Assessing the performance • Enhancing retention and transfer Most of these nine events should be incorporated into the "instructional activities”

Lesson Planning • Lesson plan format • Lesson planning is greatly simplified if the syllabus and the unit plans are already generated • Should be specific enough that a substitute teacher can pick up the lesson plan and teach from it

Lesson Planning • Parts of a typical lesson plan • Header includes the lesson topic, order number, course information, classroom location, time/schedule for the class, and any other identifying information • Lesson objectives include measurable and specific objectives beginning with action verbs. Objectives should be short, concise, and written so that they could begin with the phrase "the student will.. ." (i.e., Student-centered not instructor- centered). Local, state, and national standards should also be correlated to these lesson objectives • Prerequisites to learning

Lesson Planning • Lists the materials and equipment, including text books, handouts, audio-visual aids, and computer technology that are needed to complete the lesson • This category may be subdivided into those materials and equipment needed by the student and those needed by the instructor • Attention-getter/anticipatory set/advance organizer attracts the students' attention and allows them to relate previous knowledge to the current lesson

Lesson Planning • Instructional activities • Instructor-centered steps that are used to deliver the instruction (needs to be specific) • Instructional activities (constructivist view) • More student-centered • Activities might include "discovery learning" and "student exploration" types of activities, or student-guided projects that allow the students to organize their own paths to learning. One size does not fit all

Lesson Planning • Closing activity/Summary/ Assessment/Evaluation • Includes elements that give resolution to the lesson • Evaluations and assessments may be formal or informal • Lesson may include a summary or closing activity to bring closure and reinforcement to the lesson

Lesson Planning • Special needs accommodations • A descriptive paragraph detailing how the lesson should be adjusted to meet the needs of students with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, or limited English proficiency • Comments • Optional but provides the teacher space to make notes about what went well or poorly during the lesson, with ideas on changes

Lesson Planning • Lesson objectives • Clearly define what the students should learn in the lesson • Good lesson objectives should be designed so that they could begin with the stem "The student will …” • Ensures that they are student-centered and not instructor-centered

Lesson Planning • Begin with action verbs that identify what the student is expected to do • Example, "Define computer terms.“ • Very specific objective • Clearly directs the student to complete an action. Notice that it could begin with the stem, "The student will …” • The objective is also measurable

Lesson Planning • Avoid verbs such as "understand:' "know," and "learn” • These qualities are not easily measurable • Contrast the verbs in this example: "Know computer terms" vs. "Define computer terms." ("Know" is not an action verb and is not readily measurable, whereas "Define" gives clear instruction and is easily measurable in an assignment and/or a quiz.)

Lesson Planning • Objectives should refer to a specific behavior or action • Example, "The student will demonstrate formulas in Microsoft Excel: “Objective is too general and fails to specify whether it means simple adding and subtracting, complex functions, or basic formula syntax. • Way to measure this objective is unclear-the activity to be completed is unspecific • Choosing a specific task ("Master basic formula syntax") improves the objective's assessment capability

Lesson Planning • The constructivist viewpoint amplifies the approach • Suggest that objectives be strictly learner-oriented • Allowing students to select their own paths through the learning process • Method, known as discovery learning, allows students to explore and discover the solution to a problem without directed instruction from the teacher • Focuses on the idea that students learn in different ways

Lesson Planning A Simple Lesson Plan Format Tonya Skinner’s Business Education Lesson Plans & Resources

Learning Domains • Students learn in different ways • Instructors should design their planning to deliver different types of instruction • Some instruction may involve hands-on, skills-based learning activities, or the psychomotor domain • Other instruction may be designed to deliver basic information and promote information processing, or the cognitive domain • Instructor may want to help students develop values and behaviors that are appropriate for the world they live in, part of the affective domain

Learning Domains • Instructional planning should address some of the higher level cognitive objectives in the lesson • Teachers who include these higher level cognitive objectives provide students the opportunity to strengthen their critical thinking skills

Standards Alignment • Business educators need to ensure that they are teaching what is required by industry, the local district, the state department of education, and national standards • Standards correlations may require educators to show proof that the lesson has met all state requirements • Individual state standards, which are the most commonly used for lesson planning, are generally based on the National Standards for Business Education

Real and Relevant Curriculum • Relevant curriculum helps motivate students to learn • Prompts students to understand the importance of the skills, behaviors, and knowledge they are mastering • Prepares students for success in the workplace • Performance-based curriculum should provide real-world problems and experiences

Real and Relevant Curriculum • Business educators may consider the following activities: • Consult with advisory board members to determine the skills, knowledge, and behaviors actually performed in their organizations • Conduct observations of workers in area organizations to record the skills, knowledge, and behaviors used by workers in specific job titles • Review actual job descriptions and policy/procedure manuals for job titles in organizations that may employ the students • Provide job-shadowing experiences for students and have them report their experiences to the class.

Real and Relevant Curriculum • Scenarios • Case study situations or simulations that integrate more specific academic and workplace skills • Incorporate the use of skills standards, technical skills, workplace skills, academic skills, and higher order thinking skills in a real-world situation found in business/industry, community, or other related settings

Assessment • The assessment should measure achievement of learning objectives • Students must demonstrate that they have learned the necessary skills, knowledge, and behaviors to the proficiency level set by the standards of the educator, the state, the school district, and the industry

Assessment • A variety of assessment activities may be necessary • Determine the assessment method that best validates student learning

Summary • Planning for instruction is a process • Educators plan course content and syllabi, units , lessons, and assessments based upon the goals for learning and upon industry, state, local, and the National Standards for Business Education and/or related competencies • Thorough planning helps educators become more effective in the classroom

Summary • Well-planned courses, units, and lessons provide students with an organized learning environment that result in better retention of the material and a more meaningful learning experience • While developing lessons and assessments, educators should address multiple learning domains • The integration of essential skills and course content must be a part of the planning process

Summary • When skills, behaviors, and knowledge are learned in real-world situations, students can identify the importance or relevance of their learning • Teaching in context leads to increased student retention of content • Assessment should be conducted in a real-world context and account for differences in learning styles • Students should be allowed to demonstrate what they know; as well as what they can do

Planning for Instruction