Align, Assess, Activate

Aligning outcomes, assessing growth, and activating ownership through blended activities is the missing link in the chain of revolutionized education. It requires thought, an introspective look at what all of the learners involved, teachers included, should consider and the non-negotiable factor which is ownership. According to Fink (2003) application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn are essential perspectives to consider when planning ways to exchange the current sit-and-get method of learning for one that actually demonstrates growth in our learners.

Worksheet 1: Learning Environment & Situational Factors to Consider

1. Specific Context of the Teaching/Learning Situation

How many students are in the class? - about 70 students split between 3 class periods

Is the course primary, secondary, undergraduate, or graduate level? - 7th

How long and frequent are the class meetings? M - F for 90 minutes

How will the course be delivered: live, online, blended, flipped or in a classroom or lab?

What physical elements of the learning environment will affect the class? - 30 desks, COW (computer on wheels), wifi, open windows, space for gallery walks and stations.

2. General Context of the Learning Situation

What learning expectations are placed on this course or curriculum by: the school, district, university, college and/or department? - The school expects students to reach a goal of 86% or higher which is considered mastery level for the state of Texas.

The profession? - Most ELAR educators understand the challenges of the classroom as well as what learners face at home that contribute to their frustrations.

Society? - Society assumes because students are in school they are reading and writing on grade level and teachers are miracle workers for those who are not there yet.

3. Nature of the Subject

Is this subject primarily theoretical, practical, or a combination?

- ELAR is both. You have to understand theories such as elements of fiction and the breakdown of poetry as well as practical things like literary nonfiction and genres.

Is the subject primarily convergent or divergent? - convergent

Are there important changes or controversies occurring within the field? - there can be controversies in ELAR especially when teaching ELL (English language learners) and LEP (limited English proficiency) students.

4. Characteristics of the Learners

What is the life situation of the learners (e.g., socio-economic, cultural, personal, family, professional goals)? - 90% of my students are coded as Hispanic, and/or ED (economically disadvantaged)

What prior knowledge, experiences, and initial feelings do students usually have about this subject? - while I can not speak for every student many have expressed they are the first or only ones to go through school or who have plans to go to some sort of higher education

What are their learning goals and expectations? - unexplored (YET)

5. Characteristics of the Teacher

What beliefs and values does the teacher have about teaching and learning? - standardized test ruin true learning and there should be a better way to measure implemented for all schools

What is his/her attitude toward:

the subject? - I, the educator, love ELAR

students? - every student has the potential to learn and contribute to their success as a learner

What level of knowledge or familiarity does she have with this subject? -

What are his/her strengths in teaching? - adaptability, flexibility, clarity checks

Worksheet 2: Questions for Formulating Significant Learning Goals

"A year (or more) after this course is over, I hope that students will be able to explain how blended learning enhances the basic components of ELAR, make real world connections, and be able to creatively display and demonstrate the things they have learned.”

My Big Harry Audacious Goal (BHAG) for the course is: learners will analyze, discuss, and develop various methods for understanding literary concepts and the components of expository writing through internal and external cohesiveness and inferencing; demonstrated through blended learning.

Foundational Knowledge

What key information (e.g., facts, terms, formulae, concepts, principles, relationships, etc.) is/are important for students to understand and remember in the future?

- authors purpose

- elements of fiction

- genres

- expository writing

What key ideas (or perspectives) are important for students to understand in this course?

- elements of fiction

- desired outcome of the author

- summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize text to maintain meaning and logical order

- make connections across text

- reflect in understanding (comphrension)

Application Goals

What kinds of thinking are important for students to learn? - Critical thinking, in which students analyze and evaluate - Creative thinking, in which students imagine and create - Practical thinking, in which students solve problems and make decisions
What important skills do students need to gain?

- inferencing

- paraphrasing

- synthesizing

- cross text connections

- authors purpose

Do students need to learn how to manage complex projects? - Yes

Integration Goals

What connections (similarities and interactions) should students recognize and make…:
Among ideas within this course? - reading a text and writing an essay have major similarities
Among the information, ideas, and perspectives in this course and those in other courses or areas? -
Among material in this course and the students' own personal, social, and/or work life? - reading and writing are essential tools to express yourself and help enhance your voice in determining how you learn and what is best for you.

Human Dimensions Goals

What could or should students learn about themselves? – they have autonomy in how they learn best
What could or should students learn about understanding others and/or interacting with them? - everyone has a voice and their own individual ownership to take in their learning process

Caring Goals

What changes/values do you hope students will adopt?

Feelings? - ELAR is not a monster

Interests? - reading can elevate you in life

Values?

"Learning-How-to-Learn" Goals

What would you like for students to learn about:
how to be good students in a course like this?
how to learn about this particular subject?
how to become a self-directed learner of this subject, i.e., having a learning agenda of what they need/want to learn, and a plan for learning it? – students should seek which way they learn best through blended learning and see the value in the way others learn

3 Column Table

REFERENCE:

Fink, L.D. (2003) A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.