2.6 Instructional Design
Candidates model and facilitate the effective use of research-based best practices in instructional design when designing and developing digital tools, resources, and technology-enhanced learning experiences. (PSC 2.6/ISTE 2f)
Artifacts
Reflection:
To show the facilitation and modeling of instructional design I was able to create a syllabus for my online course for World History. I created this syllabus under the pretense that I was going to teach World History the next year and use this syllabus for my Online Learning Project. However I ended up changing content to American Government. This syllabus uses multiples digital tools, resources and technology that all used under research based practices. One of the big features incorporated would be blogs for students to show their comprehension of the topic and elaborate on the cause and effect relationship in history. This syllabus also provides a guidelines and expectations for my students to follow as they go through the course.
I was able to model how to design a syllabus showing effective instructional design and provide this resource to my World History teacher the following year. I was able to work with him to help him facilitate this syllabus and incorporate these concepts into our LMS for our school. By modeling and facilitating this new teacher use my syllabus and online outline I was able to provide his course with many research-based best practices. Some of the research-based best practices used were providing students multiple student directed learning through projects like timeglider and blog discussions for students to prove knowledge while creating their own concepts of the topics. Also allowing for collaboration for students to help differentiate the lesson and assist each other as they go through the unit and multiple methods for students to obtain the knowledge through all of their learning styles.
By completing this assignment I was able to learn the details needed to complete an online course syllabus and the details that needed to be planned in order to create an online course. Many of the details needed to be thought out ahead of time since students will be taking the course online and you won’t be there to assist them with their needs. One change I would’ve made to the syllabus is to include some of the major assignments that I would provide the students with rubrics so they could prepare themselves ahead of time for what they are going to encounter. I would also include the Hall County grading scale and the requirements needed to achieve the desired grade.
By creating this website I was able to assist another teacher creation of his LMS through Canvas and using my syllabus. I was able to help him develop his website and helped him create lessons that would impact student learning. Specifically we designed lessons that would require students to think and use the knowledge they have gained. This would be evident in the improvement of SLO scores and the student’s improvement in quality of work and ability to handle higher level questions. The use of student directed assignments and collaboration are two aspects used in this website and pushed through our School Improvement Plan, and this teacher would be using these both to his full advantage using this syllabus to create his web course.
To show the facilitation and modeling of instructional design I was able to create a syllabus for my online course for World History. I created this syllabus under the pretense that I was going to teach World History the next year and use this syllabus for my Online Learning Project. However I ended up changing content to American Government. This syllabus uses multiples digital tools, resources and technology that all used under research based practices. One of the big features incorporated would be blogs for students to show their comprehension of the topic and elaborate on the cause and effect relationship in history. This syllabus also provides a guidelines and expectations for my students to follow as they go through the course.
I was able to model how to design a syllabus showing effective instructional design and provide this resource to my World History teacher the following year. I was able to work with him to help him facilitate this syllabus and incorporate these concepts into our LMS for our school. By modeling and facilitating this new teacher use my syllabus and online outline I was able to provide his course with many research-based best practices. Some of the research-based best practices used were providing students multiple student directed learning through projects like timeglider and blog discussions for students to prove knowledge while creating their own concepts of the topics. Also allowing for collaboration for students to help differentiate the lesson and assist each other as they go through the unit and multiple methods for students to obtain the knowledge through all of their learning styles.
By completing this assignment I was able to learn the details needed to complete an online course syllabus and the details that needed to be planned in order to create an online course. Many of the details needed to be thought out ahead of time since students will be taking the course online and you won’t be there to assist them with their needs. One change I would’ve made to the syllabus is to include some of the major assignments that I would provide the students with rubrics so they could prepare themselves ahead of time for what they are going to encounter. I would also include the Hall County grading scale and the requirements needed to achieve the desired grade.
By creating this website I was able to assist another teacher creation of his LMS through Canvas and using my syllabus. I was able to help him develop his website and helped him create lessons that would impact student learning. Specifically we designed lessons that would require students to think and use the knowledge they have gained. This would be evident in the improvement of SLO scores and the student’s improvement in quality of work and ability to handle higher level questions. The use of student directed assignments and collaboration are two aspects used in this website and pushed through our School Improvement Plan, and this teacher would be using these both to his full advantage using this syllabus to create his web course.
Summary of Online Learning Experience
I was able to create and Learning Management System (LMS) using Canvas. Canvas is an LMS that is used by my school for our teachers to eventually replace our websites with a collaborative site in which our students can interact with the course and in times of need work as an online course if needed if we were to encounter lost school days. I designed my course to work in lieu of my brick and mortar classroom as an extra resource and for a couple of units as a flipped classroom. My class is a semester long Honors American Government class, whose demographics are 60% Caucasian and 40% Hispanic. All of these students will have access to Chromebooks, in which my classroom comes with 30 for students use. Students also have access to the library every morning and afternoon and access to my classroom in the mornings. 90% of these students have access to internet at home using Wi-Fi or through cellular phone service. 85% of them have access to computers to complete projects, type word documents or review power points.
The government course provides students with a background in the philosophy, functions, and structure of the United States government. Students will examine the philosophical foundations of the United States government and how that philosophy developed. Students will also examine the structure and function of the United States government and its relationship to states and citizens. In order to accomplish this goal, the course is divided into 6 modules: Origins of Government, Powers of Government, Elections and Voters, Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and Judicial Branch. As we go through each unit the purpose is to help our students in the end become informed citizens of how our government is formed and how they can participate in the government through being an informed voter.
During the first module (Origins of Government) the goal for the unit is for my students to understand what influenced our forefathers to create our form of Democracy, using Federalism and Presidential forms of government. During this module and each module I have included PowerPoints for the students to review, as well as videos from Crash Course U.S. Government found on YouTube. In this particular unit I have included a group discussion on what is government to understand what concepts that have already and I have discussions on how things would have been different under the articles of confederation to have the students apply knowledge. There are also a Venn diagram describing federalist and anti-federalist and having the students read the Declaration of Independence and create a modern day version. Finally the unit is completed with a study guide and test to wrap up the unit.
Module 2 (Powers of the Government) is designed for students to understand how the powers of the federal government are divided. In order to accomplish this I have the students creating a Glogster of the branches of government, Venn diagram of federalism powers, constitution scavenger hunt, and a Bill of Rights alien activity for the students to show understanding and application of each of the powers of the government. As mentioned earlier, they will also have PowerPoints and YouTube videos to help understand the main concepts. Finally in order to assess the students I have a test as well as the other assignments mentioned as well.
Module 3 (Election and Voters) is designed so that students can understand the process by which we elect our President. In order to evaluate this we will have students perform a mock election in the classroom, while performing some of these duties while on-line. During this unit the plan is to run a flipped classroom and have the students work on-line at night to complete the module, while working on the mock election while in class. During this they will use movie maker to create commercials for their campaign, Glogster for their online campaign posters and we will use our collaboration on Canvas for the students to critique our in class debates. Finally at the end of the unit we will have a popular vote to decide the winner of the election, the curveball is I am going to use their group populations in the class and how they voted to illustrate the use of Electoral College. Once we review the Electoral College students will survey adults using Survey Monkey and then place their results on our discussion board for the class to review and then decide on whether we believe the U.S. should continue to use the Electoral College.
Module 4 (Legislative Branch) is designed for the students to understand how a bill becomes a law. Aside from the lecture and videos, to accomplish this goal we are first having the students create their school rule law. Using this law we will run a mock congress during class time and have the students follow the same parliamentary procedures that our congress follow. Finally they will finish with a discussion describing how a bill becomes a law and compare it to the first post they will make answering the same question. Students during this module will also write and mail a letter to their representative asking for a change in a law of their choosing, using valid research and sound reasoning.
Module 5 (Executive Branch) has the students researching the powers of the Executive Branch and understanding the various roles of the President. In order for the students to achieve this goal I have the students first researching Presidents using multiple methods to allow for differentiation. In their research they need to explain the powers of the President and how they were effective or ineffective in using these powers. They are also going to have a discussion about the unwritten qualifications of the President and which are more important to them. During this unit we are going to have a collaborative discussion while watching the Presidential debate and discuss how well each candidate will do at each role and which power they are focusing on.
Finally Module 6 (Judicial Branch) we discuss the process by which the Supreme Court functions and impactful Supreme Court cases. In doing so we have the students research multiple cases and describe their impact on the U.S. We have a discussion post on Roe v. Wade and how different that case might be viewed today. We finish this unit using a mock trial and giving each student specific roles in the trial. The point of the trial is to allow the students to understand how the court systems work in the U.S. and compare them to the Supreme Court and how they function.
In order to show growth in this course I have placed multiple avenues to show growth. First in this course I am required to give a PRE and POST SLO, which is 15% of their final grade based on Hall County Schools. Using the data from this test I can truly see how the students improved since the test is exactly the same and truly shows the students growth. Along with the SLO, I have provided multiple discussion questions or early assignments that work as my KWL (What I know, What I want to know, What I learned). Using the information from the discussions I am able to find out what prior knowledge my students are coming in witch and then I am able to adapt my lessons to make sure that I have hit the concepts they didn’t know and allow my students who are really strong in some units help the students who aren’t as strong. Finally the assessments at the end are designed to assess the entire unit and show what the students truly know about the unit, and why they need more work on. There are also multiple methods used to asses these students, including, discussions, tests, projects and in class assignments.
In order to differentiate these lessons I have included a variety of lessons to help students of all modalities. First I have pre assessed all of my students using pretests, as well as their learning styles and technical abilities. Using this knowledge I have provided students with resources to help with their technical abilities and help them better understand the various technologies that we will be using. In order to help students with their learning styles I have created my modules to allow students to learn using their strengths. I have done this by providing PowerPoints and Videos for the visual and auditory learners. For hands on learners I have provided multiple in class projects for them to apply the principles we are learning and grouping students with strength’s in certain fields with those who are weak in order for them to assist each other. Finally I have provided discussions for students to put their questions and to see other posts so they can learn from others posts and their responses.
In order to accommodate students with disabilities we have a couple of methods we use in Hall County Schools. First we of course use their IEP as our guideline for their assistance, some of which call for a co taught class and using a co teacher we can provide individual instruction to help them keep up with the rest of the class. Other supports would be to provide the student with printed material so they can physical touch and read the material, and even using News ELA to lower the Lexile levels for the students so they can still read the same document just at their level. Then once assessing students we can provided them more time, allow them to only see one question at a time to not over whelm them. All of these are guidelines that we use to help our students and would use any further resources to help students based on their IEP or needs in the class. In order to follow our ADA statement and WC3 guidelines we have used tools for the students that cut down on the time to find the results and have proven to avoid human judgement on the evaluation methods. The LMS I am using Canvas, is simple for the students to navigate and doesn’t require any prior knowledge. Also with the additions of the assistance links and site navigations tools, all learners should have the same chances to acquire knowledge.
Overall I am very excited to try out my Government LMS using Canvas as I really feel I have provided depth and breadth to the topic. I feel that my students will be able to become active learners and avoid the normal spoon fed material they get from a normal lecture format government course. I feel that students will take charge of what they are learning and will find multiple avenues in which they can learn the material and show they have mastered the topic. This should also help students whom are behind catch up and students who are ahead stay challenged and keep their motivation toward the topic. I am looking forward to seeing how their motivation is going to be while using this flipped classroom approach.
I was able to create and Learning Management System (LMS) using Canvas. Canvas is an LMS that is used by my school for our teachers to eventually replace our websites with a collaborative site in which our students can interact with the course and in times of need work as an online course if needed if we were to encounter lost school days. I designed my course to work in lieu of my brick and mortar classroom as an extra resource and for a couple of units as a flipped classroom. My class is a semester long Honors American Government class, whose demographics are 60% Caucasian and 40% Hispanic. All of these students will have access to Chromebooks, in which my classroom comes with 30 for students use. Students also have access to the library every morning and afternoon and access to my classroom in the mornings. 90% of these students have access to internet at home using Wi-Fi or through cellular phone service. 85% of them have access to computers to complete projects, type word documents or review power points.
The government course provides students with a background in the philosophy, functions, and structure of the United States government. Students will examine the philosophical foundations of the United States government and how that philosophy developed. Students will also examine the structure and function of the United States government and its relationship to states and citizens. In order to accomplish this goal, the course is divided into 6 modules: Origins of Government, Powers of Government, Elections and Voters, Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and Judicial Branch. As we go through each unit the purpose is to help our students in the end become informed citizens of how our government is formed and how they can participate in the government through being an informed voter.
During the first module (Origins of Government) the goal for the unit is for my students to understand what influenced our forefathers to create our form of Democracy, using Federalism and Presidential forms of government. During this module and each module I have included PowerPoints for the students to review, as well as videos from Crash Course U.S. Government found on YouTube. In this particular unit I have included a group discussion on what is government to understand what concepts that have already and I have discussions on how things would have been different under the articles of confederation to have the students apply knowledge. There are also a Venn diagram describing federalist and anti-federalist and having the students read the Declaration of Independence and create a modern day version. Finally the unit is completed with a study guide and test to wrap up the unit.
Module 2 (Powers of the Government) is designed for students to understand how the powers of the federal government are divided. In order to accomplish this I have the students creating a Glogster of the branches of government, Venn diagram of federalism powers, constitution scavenger hunt, and a Bill of Rights alien activity for the students to show understanding and application of each of the powers of the government. As mentioned earlier, they will also have PowerPoints and YouTube videos to help understand the main concepts. Finally in order to assess the students I have a test as well as the other assignments mentioned as well.
Module 3 (Election and Voters) is designed so that students can understand the process by which we elect our President. In order to evaluate this we will have students perform a mock election in the classroom, while performing some of these duties while on-line. During this unit the plan is to run a flipped classroom and have the students work on-line at night to complete the module, while working on the mock election while in class. During this they will use movie maker to create commercials for their campaign, Glogster for their online campaign posters and we will use our collaboration on Canvas for the students to critique our in class debates. Finally at the end of the unit we will have a popular vote to decide the winner of the election, the curveball is I am going to use their group populations in the class and how they voted to illustrate the use of Electoral College. Once we review the Electoral College students will survey adults using Survey Monkey and then place their results on our discussion board for the class to review and then decide on whether we believe the U.S. should continue to use the Electoral College.
Module 4 (Legislative Branch) is designed for the students to understand how a bill becomes a law. Aside from the lecture and videos, to accomplish this goal we are first having the students create their school rule law. Using this law we will run a mock congress during class time and have the students follow the same parliamentary procedures that our congress follow. Finally they will finish with a discussion describing how a bill becomes a law and compare it to the first post they will make answering the same question. Students during this module will also write and mail a letter to their representative asking for a change in a law of their choosing, using valid research and sound reasoning.
Module 5 (Executive Branch) has the students researching the powers of the Executive Branch and understanding the various roles of the President. In order for the students to achieve this goal I have the students first researching Presidents using multiple methods to allow for differentiation. In their research they need to explain the powers of the President and how they were effective or ineffective in using these powers. They are also going to have a discussion about the unwritten qualifications of the President and which are more important to them. During this unit we are going to have a collaborative discussion while watching the Presidential debate and discuss how well each candidate will do at each role and which power they are focusing on.
Finally Module 6 (Judicial Branch) we discuss the process by which the Supreme Court functions and impactful Supreme Court cases. In doing so we have the students research multiple cases and describe their impact on the U.S. We have a discussion post on Roe v. Wade and how different that case might be viewed today. We finish this unit using a mock trial and giving each student specific roles in the trial. The point of the trial is to allow the students to understand how the court systems work in the U.S. and compare them to the Supreme Court and how they function.
In order to show growth in this course I have placed multiple avenues to show growth. First in this course I am required to give a PRE and POST SLO, which is 15% of their final grade based on Hall County Schools. Using the data from this test I can truly see how the students improved since the test is exactly the same and truly shows the students growth. Along with the SLO, I have provided multiple discussion questions or early assignments that work as my KWL (What I know, What I want to know, What I learned). Using the information from the discussions I am able to find out what prior knowledge my students are coming in witch and then I am able to adapt my lessons to make sure that I have hit the concepts they didn’t know and allow my students who are really strong in some units help the students who aren’t as strong. Finally the assessments at the end are designed to assess the entire unit and show what the students truly know about the unit, and why they need more work on. There are also multiple methods used to asses these students, including, discussions, tests, projects and in class assignments.
In order to differentiate these lessons I have included a variety of lessons to help students of all modalities. First I have pre assessed all of my students using pretests, as well as their learning styles and technical abilities. Using this knowledge I have provided students with resources to help with their technical abilities and help them better understand the various technologies that we will be using. In order to help students with their learning styles I have created my modules to allow students to learn using their strengths. I have done this by providing PowerPoints and Videos for the visual and auditory learners. For hands on learners I have provided multiple in class projects for them to apply the principles we are learning and grouping students with strength’s in certain fields with those who are weak in order for them to assist each other. Finally I have provided discussions for students to put their questions and to see other posts so they can learn from others posts and their responses.
In order to accommodate students with disabilities we have a couple of methods we use in Hall County Schools. First we of course use their IEP as our guideline for their assistance, some of which call for a co taught class and using a co teacher we can provide individual instruction to help them keep up with the rest of the class. Other supports would be to provide the student with printed material so they can physical touch and read the material, and even using News ELA to lower the Lexile levels for the students so they can still read the same document just at their level. Then once assessing students we can provided them more time, allow them to only see one question at a time to not over whelm them. All of these are guidelines that we use to help our students and would use any further resources to help students based on their IEP or needs in the class. In order to follow our ADA statement and WC3 guidelines we have used tools for the students that cut down on the time to find the results and have proven to avoid human judgement on the evaluation methods. The LMS I am using Canvas, is simple for the students to navigate and doesn’t require any prior knowledge. Also with the additions of the assistance links and site navigations tools, all learners should have the same chances to acquire knowledge.
Overall I am very excited to try out my Government LMS using Canvas as I really feel I have provided depth and breadth to the topic. I feel that my students will be able to become active learners and avoid the normal spoon fed material they get from a normal lecture format government course. I feel that students will take charge of what they are learning and will find multiple avenues in which they can learn the material and show they have mastered the topic. This should also help students whom are behind catch up and students who are ahead stay challenged and keep their motivation toward the topic. I am looking forward to seeing how their motivation is going to be while using this flipped classroom approach.