Exemplar Paper Attached
Scoring Rubric Attached
Essay Instructions:
Five-day unit plan applying a curriculum design approach to a content area you teach in, using your own setting or a provided simulated educational setting. Justification of plan based on brain-based concepts and learning theory and research, using a narrated screen-capture presentation to walk through the plan or annotating the plan with comments to explain your decisions.
As you think about the design of curriculum, when addressing issues such as sequencing, alignment, scope, and continuity or integration of concepts across lessons, it is helpful to draw upon key brain-based principles, different approaches to curriculum design, and learning theories or paradigms to make strategic decisions that help support student learning.
In this course, we focus on a few key learning approaches in particular: collaborative, cooperative, design-based, and discovery learning. The following provides high-level descriptions of these approaches. Further information about each of these is provided in the resources for this course.
Collaborative and Cooperative Learning Approaches
Since the 1960s there has been a growing interest in small group learning and approaches that include learning through and with others. Collaborative and cooperative learning theories are not synonymous, though they do share some commonalities. Collaborative learning is an educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of students working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product.
According to Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence (n.d., para. 1), “Collaborative learning is based on the view that knowledge is a social construct. Collaborative activities are most often based on four principles:
The learner or student is the primary focus of instruction.
Interaction and ‘doing’ are of primary importance
Working in groups is an important mode of learning.
Structured approaches to developing solutions to real-world problems should be incorporated into learning.”
Reference
Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence (n.d.). Collaborative learning: Group work. Retrieved from https://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/engaging-students/collaborative-learning.html
Design-Based Learning and Discovery Learning Approaches
Design-based learning (DBL), also known as design-based instruction (DBI), is a form of project-based learning in which students learn the curriculum in real time. DBL is a form of problem-based learning that requires the student to develop or design something to solve a problem. This type of learning is common in STEM programs, most often utilized in the classroom in math and science curriculum. Usually involving a hands-on approach, the result is a demonstration of learning of the concept. This problem-based learning approach addresses higher-order thinking skills in the application.
Discovery learning “is an inquiry-based, constructivist learning theory that takes place in problem solving situations where the learner draws on his or her own past experience and existing knowledge to discover facts and relationships and new truths to be learned. Students interact with the world by exploring and manipulating objects, wrestling with questions and controversies, or performing experiments” (Learning Theories, n.d., “Key Concepts” section, para. 2).
Reference
Learning Theories. (n.d.). Discovery learning (Bruner). Retrieved from https://www.learning-theories.com/discovery-learning-bruner.html
Demonstration of Competency
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competency and assessments scoring guide criteria:
Competency: Integrate research, theories, and models addressing curriculum design and teaching in different content disciplines.
Apply a specific curriculum design approach to develop a unit plan.
Incorporate effective content-specific teaching strategies into the design of a unit plan.
Utilize brain-based learning principles in the design of a unit plan.
Apply learning theory to design a unit plan.
Instructions
Apply to Your Educational Setting: Pick a content discipline (math), age level (first grade 6/7 year old students), and assumed student makeup for a learning environment in which you teach.
The Unit Plan
Your unit plan should:
Apply a specific curriculum design approach to plan the arc of your unit across the lessons.
Apply components of brain-based principles and learning theory to support the curriculum and lesson plan design you chose.
Be sure to consider the specific student population you work with or the one provided in the simulation as you design your plan.
Tip: Refer to the Practitioner’s Strategies in Sousa’s How the Brain Learns text to support your planning. Note that Chapters 46 of the Sousa text include discussion of content-specific strategies that may be helpful for you to reference.
Explanation of Choices Made
In addition to the unit plan, explain how your plan applies relevant theories and approaches. To accomplish this, annotate your unit plan using the comments feature of Word explaining why you made the decisions you did, based on brain-based learning principles and learning theory.
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