Reflection on Standards and Objectives in Effective Teaching

Reflecting on this week’s activities I would say it challenged me to an extent where at a point I was confused about the differences between standards, the objectives & the teaching strategies. Using specific wording appropriately for each was a task.

However as I continued to read through the resources it became clearer. My first task was to understand the Common Core State Standards (CCSS )vs. IB Criteria. My school is an IB school that does not incorporate CCSS. In my research I came across an IBO site that had a report on aligning common core to IB which I think was pilot program. This enabled me to venture further and search for possibilities as to how I could align the two standards.For example, in Language and literature in IB the objective C is about producing text where students will “create works that demonstrate insight, imagination and sensitivity” (IBO, 2013) and the CCSS the writing component of the English language Arts standard I chose for this purpose was CCSS .ela- literacy.w.7.3.d “Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.” (Initiative, 2015) I aligned the ideas of producing text through creativity (IB) to using descriptive language to convey experiences (CCSS).

I understood that a backward mapping standard is the root that sets forth the learning experience for a student. The primary goal of backward mapping should be to develop and deepen the student understanding. When clear priorities, purposes, and assessments are determined we can avoid the regular “textbook coverage” oriented teaching practices where no clear priorities and purposes are stated. In my inclusion classes I have observed teachers who had both the text book method and backward mapping used in their instruction. The textbook method of just following through pages of work had no clear objective of the desired result apart from taking the test at the end of the unit. This did not really deepen the student understanding of the application of the content. However in backward mapping the teacher has a clear goal of what areas should be focused on and brings it into perspective of student learning. Therefore the stages of backward mapping could be summarized as 1.  Identify desired results. -2. Determine acceptable evidence. 3. Plan learning experiences and instruction.

When unpacking the standard what really got my attention was by Sarah Tantillo’s article that said ““simple” standards require extensive scaffolding”  (Tantillo, 2014) When following the steps of paraphrasing, identifying the skills to achieve the standard and brainstorming various methods of teaching it gave a clear picture of where the scaffolding should take place. When designing the teaching strategies zooming in on the student performance requirement was essential to see to what extent the scaffolding needed to happen. For example in the standard ccss.ela-literacy.w.7.3.d “Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.” (Initiative, 2015)

one of the my student performances was “Students will use descriptive sensory language to capture experiences.” Therefore when planning on scaffolding a skill I planned on giving them a strategy that they could use in their future assignments. For ex: Teach students the strategy of adding description in their writing. They use the process as follows:

1) Read over their writing 2) Ask themselves, “Using my five senses, how could I add more detail (sensory language)? 3) Add these details to my writing in order to add meaning.

After unpacking a standard It is important to set specific objectives when planning a lesson. Without a specific objective you could spend your time on something that is not important or it makes it difficult to know whether the whole process was worth it. Therefore without knowing the direction the lesson is heading is like taking a purposeless trip. Hence objectives provide teachers a focal point for planning instruction. It is important that learning objectives should not be too broad which render them meaningless or too narrow that it will limit a teacher’s ability to differentiate. A useful strategy in this process of developing objectives would be to follow the SMART rule as in it being Specific,Measurable,Attainable ,Relevant & Targeted. 

Another essential rule in the  aspect of writing objectives is to have a mix of the varied levels of cognition in the areas of knowledge, comprehension, application,analysis,synthesis and evaluation as set in the Bloom's taxonomy thus covering a range of low to high level of learning in processing information.

It is also important for teachers to communicate these objectives to the students as seen in the video Ms. Noonan’s strategy of SWABAT [Students Will Be Able To] where they will make connections between what they are learning and what they are supposed to learn. Through the learning objective they can determine what they need to pay attention to and where they might be needing help. It could also decrease student anxiety about their ability to succeed. I would use this strategy in my study skill lessons for students needing learning support to help them focus on their learning and build motivation to set personal learning goals.

Works Cited

Heer, R. (n.d.). Iowa State University. Retrieved February 14, 2015, from A Model ofLearning Objectives: http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching-resources/effective-practice/revised-blooms-taxonomy/

Initiative, C. C. (2015). Common Core State Standards Initiative.

International Baccalaureate Organization. ( 2013, July). Connecting IB to the Core.

Noonan, T. C. (n.d.). SWABAT Communicating Learning Goals.

Tantillo, S. (2014, January 31). Tools to Unpack the ELA CommonCore Standards.

Teacher & Educational Development, U. o. (2005). Effective Use of Performance Objectives for Learning and Assessment. Retrieved February 14, 2015, from Teacher & Educational Development: http://ccoe.rbhs.rutgers.edu/forms/EffectiveUseofLearningObjectives.pdf