lesson plans

What are five ways to differentiate a lesson plan?

Central to the process of teaching is the construction and delivery of lessons. A model for academic and social cognition defines the various cognitive processes that individuals use and links these processes to the various factors that can influence thinking and feeling. In so doing, lesson-planning represents the thoughtful preparation and delivery of predetermined material or content that is deemed to be important.

Applying the Model to the Classroom with a Checklist to Aid in Lesson-Planning

 

Applying the model to the process of lesson-planning can help the teacher anticipate many of these factors and, as such, make for more effective and efficient student-focused/student-centered teaching. This is very important because when we do our lesson plan we have objectives that sometimes don’t reach. Therefore this way to develop a lesson planning help us to be more effective our lessons.  

     

 Lesson-Planning: Delivery and Construction

This content reflects agreed-upon learning objectives that are considered appropriate for a given age and developmental level. When teachers elaborate the lesson plans firs table they have to keep in mind what are the objectives and these have to according to the level that they are teaching.

A Lesson Chart: The Four Kinds of Sentences

One major component of lesson-planning is that the students are informed about the general assignment, procedural guidelines for presentation/ implementation, and, most importantly, the purpose of the lesson. This causes it to have relevancy in their combined and individual perspectives.

Addressing the Model through the Four Kinds of Sentences Lesson Plan

When assessing students, the teacher takes into consideration the internal and external components of the model by addressing the students’ cognitive collective for social acceptance and interaction. This lesson consists on the every single student could identify every type of sentence, so we can see that the lesson plans are based in all the things that students need in order to have a good knowledge and an excellent learning. Therefore we, teachers, must create the lesson plans because these will help us to our classes being successful. We as teachers have the responsibility to make good students and we will reach this beginning with the elaboration of lesson plans.

What is a teacher´s style of delivery and what is your style of delivery?

I think that every single teacher has his/her own way to teach, but I consider that the teacher´s style delivery has to be based in the students’ needs. So we have to take into account many aspects. For example: What belief and value systems do you bring into the classroom? How do these allow you to connect to the students or prevent you from doing the same? Similarly, what thoughts, ideas, opinions, and judgments about our subject matter do we bring with us? To be sure, our enthusiasm for subject matter comes from these and what we believe to be important information for student learners. And conversely, we should note that these can also preclude us from teaching certain items or at least doing so without any great love. Therefore I think that we have to focus in the student’s needs, and if we do this, students learning will be successful. I believe that the teacher’s style delivery has to be interested in students’ knowledge and what they like and dislike, too.

On the other hand when I teach I try to adapt to my students needs, but sometimes is difficult because I don’t have the resources. I know that no all the students learn in the same way. So I try to develop different activities in order that all they can do them, and always are students that finish them quickly, when this happens I give them an extra activity. I do my best to my students and I always think what is complicated to them and what can I do to help them. I know that sometimes is difficult for me changes activities that I have planned. But if they don’t get involved of them, I have to change them. But doing this is a way to help them because they are more important. So I consider that my style delivery is focused in what my students need and to know what is difficult and easy to them. Knowing this will increase their knowledge day after day. Also when I develop my classes I always try to create a good environment because this is really important in the world of teaching. A good environment will help them to feel comfortable and their learning will be better.

Convergent and divergent questions

What are convergent and divergent questions?

Convergent Questioning

 In order to initiate learners addressing reasoning as an active process, there need to be questioning skills that apply to provide this result. One type of questioning involves convergent statements that stimulate this form of thinking. This type of questioning involves recall and limits answers to questions to a single or small number of responses. It is referred to as closed questioning. There is no specified requirement for the learner to be involved in thought processes involving analysis, making a generalization, synthesis, prediction, or reflection. These kinds of questions are limited because the students don’t have to analyze or reflect in order to answer the question.

 Divergent Questioning

This type of question encourages a general or open response of the learner. This relates to indirect teaching strategies. There is no single best answer. Nonetheless, there is the potential for incorrect answers to divergent questions. Subsequently, it is often appropriate and necessary to follow up divergent questions with more detail, new information, or encouragement regarding deeper thinking/reflection. In this sense, divergent questions become a rich source of lively, spontaneous additional material that can make a teaching and learning situation interesting. This kind of question is not so limited and the student can share his ideas and can analyze what she or he is going to answer.

How can these types of questions help students?

Well I think that these can of questions help students to develop their speaking and writing skills, because they use the language that they are studying to answer these questions. Also these questions can help to those students that many times feel afraid to participate. Many times students prefer to write the answers because they take their time to answer, but it helps them to improve their writing skills.

I think that we as teachers have to use convergent and divergent questions when we teach, because if we do this we can help to our students to practice more. Besides this kind of questions help them to think and to reflect and also to share their ideas because for instance we ask them: what did you do yesterday? They won’t answer just yes or no; they will share how his/her day was. That’s why we must ask to students because doing this they will learn and develop their skills.

Also we, teachers, have to encourage them and we must be interested about what they talk in order to they feel comfortable given responses.

CLASSROOM DESIGN

What are two ways classroom design has changed over the past twenty year?

Well there two ways of classroom design, these are: Traditional classroom design and nontraditional classroom design.

Traditional classroom design: This classroom has, at its core, a design that is structured and set in place throughout the school year. The students’ desks and hard chairs are organized, with one being behind the other. The students face the teacher’s desk, which is customarily in the front of the room and well within the line 

of vision of all his/her students.

Nontraditional classroom design: the students’ desks are arranged in a U shape or semicircle, circles, or clusters, students are primarily looking at one another. Possibly, there’s a section of the room where a carpeted “comfy corner” has been provided. Flip-style seats, or beanbags, a rocking chair or two, and/or cushioned television-style seating are present.

According to these ways of classroom design, I consider that they haven’t changed too much, because many schools use the same type of arrangement which is traditional. Maybe because the rooms are too small, so teachers don’t have the opportunity to change the desks.

On the other hand I think that the teachers that use nontraditional design are those that work in big rooms although they just arrangement the desks in U, but students can work better. I think that the arrangement of desks is really important because students learn in different ways, so working in a good classroom can help them to learn easily. The environment of the class play an important tool, therefore students need to develop a lot of activities which sometimes apply the desks arrangement.

For instance, I’m teaching high school and the classroom is too small, so for me is a little difficult to develop activities because I need space and I don’t have it.  The desks are just in one position and I cannot move them, so it is a problem in teaching and learning,

So for me these haven’t changed too much, because as at the beginning said many school works in the same way and have traditional classrooms where the teachers are in front of them and students are one behind the other or just in semicircle, because of the space. We as teachers can create different ways of arrangement desks in order to students get involved in the activities thus they will learn in a good environment too. But on the other hand some schools have many equipment and wallpapers on the rooms and years ago the rooms weren’t in this way.

So I can say that just some things have changed, because now we use technology to teach and years ago we didn’t.

If we have nontraditional classroom the world of teaching would be wonderful because we had all the resources that students and teachers need to larn in a good environment and having this their knowledge would increase day after day.

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What are the types of comprehension, and how do these differ from one another?

         

Each day, we face the task of living, learning, thinking, framing, and reframing reality. These phenomena are natural, identifiable, and capable of being described. The person who is aware of memory acquisition, how cognitive and metacognitive processes work, and how comprehension is formed and occurs, is most able to take responsibility for learning—while being best prepared to learn and teach.

The memories we have of past experiences shape the personality we, as learners and teachers, exhibit on a daily basis in the present. And we all have different memories, because we’ve had different experiences, although shared memories may evoke the same feelings, or ones quite dissimilar. Memories help to acquired knowledge every single day. Comprehension involves memory, cognition and metacognition.

Memory:

Memory is the ability to recall information or experiences from the past and bring them to the present. Memory is the act of keeping or recording thoughts or feelings.

Cognition:

Cognition is the process and/or processes that occur and are labeled, “thinking.” However, in a finite sense, cognition refers to the ability of the brain to process, store, retrieve, and retain information.

Metacognition:

Metacognition is thinking processes at the highest levels. It involves the intricacy with which one processes, stores, retrieves, and retains information.

Memory, cognition, and metacognition differ one and others in the way that memory deals with all the past memories a person has about his or her whole life and experience, while cognition is when we think or use a conscious mental process that is a specific knowledge we have recorded in our mind. It involves emotions and the need to make sense, and metacognition is the control we have about our own thinking, it means we can manipulate such thinking. It also deals with problems solving.

Feedback

FEEDBACK CAN TRANSFORM A STUDENT’S LEARNING

Basically, feedback is information about how we are doing in our efforts to reach a goal. Effective feedback requires that a person has a goal, takes action to achieve the goal, and receives goal-related information about his or her actions.

Effective feedback is concrete, specific, and useful; it provides actionable information. Thus, "Good job!" and "You did that wrong" are not feedback at all; and teachers often tend to forget the real purpose of giving feedback. Moreover, we can easily imagine the learners asking themselves in response to these comments, what specifically should I do better next time, based on this information? No idea. They don't know what was "good" or "wrong" about what they did. Particularly, I have experienced this situation several times, and I have felt confused because I did not know what to do better next time.

The sooner teachers provide feedback, the better because in that way, students can immediately notice what they have done, and how they have done it.

I believe that providing feedback means giving students an explanation of what they are doing correctly and incorrectly; however, the focus of the feedback should be based essentially on what the students are doing right. Giving feedback means pointing out students’ strengths and weaknesses. When providing feedback, teachers sometimes tend to just point out students’ weaknesses; however, it is essential to praise and reward them every time they do anything great. 

Another important aspect to take into account when providing feedback is finding the correct moment to give it. When feedback is given immediately after showing proof of learning, the student responds positively and remembers the experience about what is being learned in a confident manner.  If we wait too long to give feedback, the moment is lost and the student might not connect the feedback with the action.

Also, it is vital for teachers to take into consideration each student individually when giving feedback.  Our classrooms are full of diverse learners, and each student has his or her own learning style. Some students need to be pushed to achieve a higher level of proficiency and others need to work slowly to complete a task more effectively.

Furthermore, students are often dissatisfied with the feedback they receive, and hence many of them become depressed after a presentation or any other activity. Others work very hard to do it better next time, and improve what they have just done.

“Feedback gives students the chance to compare their work with that done by the rest of class, which can build more accurate self-assessment skills”