Class, Class, Classidy, Class...
Coincidentally, I went to a Professional Development day for Ann Arbor Public School teachers today and the main focus of the morning was effective instruction- not only in the classroom, but promoting consistent methods techniques throughout a school building. This morning's session was a course wrap-up for everything we have discussed in SI 643 so far. The speaker spoke of growth (flexible) mindsets vs. fixed mindsets, experts and novices (inclusive of students and teachers), and effective instructional design.
My main takeaway from the seminar this morning, was also the same guiding principle I took from this week's lecture- finding a way to present consistency to my students through establishing classroom (or learning) norms that promote student achievement. As we found through our exploration of Google Reader screencast tutorials- there is no standard and no consistency for what instructors consider necessary to inform learners. I think part of this comes from the teacher not understanding who they are teaching- especially in a screencast just uploaded to YouTube in hopes that someone might find it. The information presented can be what the teacher thinks the students should learn and not what the students want to learn. The teacher also does not know what knowledge the learner already possesses.
This is where knowing your learner and the ADDIE cycle comes into play. My hope as a school librarian is to implement the ADDIE cycle so that my lessons are focused on the learners' needs. In past coursework, I have learned that this is referred to as "Backward Design". Before deciding what you WANT to teach, you have determine what your learners need to be able to accomplish and THEN design the lesson accordingly. Though the ADDIE cycle is a continuum, I plan to start planning my lessons with the "ASSESS NEEDS" and "ANALYZE LEARNERS" components before I "IDENTIFY CONTENT" for my lesson. Initially these steps will be the most difficult for me to complete, but hopefully, as I gain knowledge of my students these steps will become easier to accomplish.
This is where knowing your learner and the ADDIE cycle comes into play. My hope as a school librarian is to implement the ADDIE cycle so that my lessons are focused on the learners' needs. In past coursework, I have learned that this is referred to as "Backward Design". Before deciding what you WANT to teach, you have determine what your learners need to be able to accomplish and THEN design the lesson accordingly. Though the ADDIE cycle is a continuum, I plan to start planning my lessons with the "ASSESS NEEDS" and "ANALYZE LEARNERS" components before I "IDENTIFY CONTENT" for my lesson. Initially these steps will be the most difficult for me to complete, but hopefully, as I gain knowledge of my students these steps will become easier to accomplish.
I am also thinking of how I can use ADDIE. I think it is similar to Backward Design - but more flexible. I think it will be particularly helpful as I try to define an audience for a subject guide I am redesigning.
ReplyDeleteI love hearing about your student teaching experiences! I wonder if/how the ADDIE design cycle would differ in the context of school libraries. The analysis step might need an addendum such as asking teachers for their input.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great point Claire- of course school librarians should always be asking for input from the classroom teachers- collaboration is key:)
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