TIRP Planning/Pacing 4/21/12 Barbara A. Toney

Objectives: By the end of the class

teachers will be able to 1. create a lesson plan calendar for

the coming year.2. ballpark time needed for various

units3. Create and pace a lesson plan4. Create a lesson plan including

brain-based principles

Your 1st Year is Almost Over!What Did You Learn?

• You survived!• Improved classroom management• Created and given tests*• Dealt with Parents• Lesson Planning• Worked with peers and administrators• Increased student achievement*

• Handling stress• Balancing home and school*• Created a system for reaching kids• Rules and Routines*• Own Grading and assessment system.• Differentiation of lessons• Teaching material in different ways• Task Analysis*• Flexibility

• Today we will be:• 1. Creating a lesson plan calendar: Your text

book has 20 chapters, each of which carries equal weight. Determine roughly how much time you can spend on each chapter, taking into account- snow days, sick days (yours), different schedules, testing days, ACT, MAPS, CSAPs

• How to start the year: Do you start with content lessons the first day?

End of the year: you can make it!

• 2. Thinking about the rest of the current school year- Questions/Help?

• 3. Steps in planning a single unit• Create daily lesson plans• 4. Create individual lesson plans.

ACADEMIC YEAR PLANNING

• Creating your year-long plan

Unit Planning• 10 days to cover a unit• What must be included?• 10-24-7• Assessments• What will students learn and be able to do• What will you do daily to create student

engagement?• Final Assessment

What’s Important?

• Structure of a lesson plan:• Focus not on what you need to cover but what

students will be doing. • Transitions: When are transitions needed?How long

will it take to get in and out of each transition. Test it yourself initially. Assume everything will take you more time than planned but have sponges available as well.

• Emphasize what’s important: 10/24/7

ASSESSMENTS• Tests: what’s the point of the test? Is it a test based on studying or

knowledge? Make it up or adapt using textbook software.• What to do if most students fail or do very poorly on a test?

• Determine your culpability and respond accordingly. Reteach and retest if necessary. Offer students an option of retaking if receive C or below.

• Utilize testing software that comes with your text. May need to be tweaked and you can often do that (editing)

• Make 2 or 3 versions of a • test- 2 for class and one for makeups.

What this means to you:

• It is critical that we plan learning with the brain in mind to ask a different set of questions. Rather than, what should I teach, ask how will students best learn? As you plan the learning, keep the focus on basic principles that support the brain’s natural learning tendencies. Create a complex interdisciplinary curriculum that provides for plenty of learner choice. Provide structure, but in an environment that represents the unique nature of each learner and their individual needs and experiences.

• Lesson Pacing:How much time is spent on different parts:• Intro to lesson• Transitions• Giving Directions• Lecturing- the day’s content• Answering questions• Asking Questions• Practice work• Discipline

Including Jensen brain elements

Marcia Tate

• Brain-Based Lesson Plan

handout

The 7 Stage Brain Based Learning Lesson Planning

Outline

The process

• The following strategies are organized in a sequence as outlined by Jensen that makes sense to the brain. The list is by no means exhaustive. Use this outline as a means to check against your lesson plans to make sure that you have set appropriate goals for each of the learning stages.

Stage 1: Pre Exposure

• This phase provides the brain with an overview of the new learning before really digging into the concept. Pre exposure helps the brain develop better conceptual maps.

• Ideas of this stage:– Post an overview of the new

topic on the bulletin board.– Encourage good nutrition and

drinking plenty of water.– Start here student knowledge

base begins and build upon their interests related to the concept.

– Have learners set their own goals and discuss goals for the class as well.

– Plan Brain wake-ups, such as cross laterals.

Stage 2: Preparation

• This is the phase where you create the curiosity or the excitement. It is similar to the “Anticipatory Set” but goes farther in preparing the learner.

• Ideas to incorporate:– Create a “you are there”

experience.– Elicit from learners what possible

value and relevance the topic has to them personally.

– The brain learns very well from concrete experiences. Provided a real, physical or concrete exposure for the class.

– Provide a hook or surprise or a bit of novelty to engage learner emotions.

Stage 3 – Initiation and Acquisition

• This stage provides the immersion. Flood with content! Instead of the single, lock step, one bite at a time presentation, provide an initial virtual overload of ideas, details, complexity, and meanings. Allow a sense of temporary overwhelm to occur in learners. This will be followed by anticipation, curiosity, and a determination to discover meaning for oneself. Over time it all gets sorted out by the learner. It is like the real world outside the classroom,

• Try these:– Provide concrete learning experiences such as

case studies, experiment, a field trip, interviews, etc.

– Provide activities that employ a majority of the multiple intelligences.

– Offer a group or team project that encompasses building, finding, exploring, or designing.

– Attend the theater, put on a skit, produce a commercial, or create a class/school newspaper.

– Provide enough choice so that learners have the opportunity to explore the subject using their preferred learning modality: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.

– A well designed computer program or activity can be very helpful at this stage.

Stage 4: Elaboration• This is the process stage. It requires genuine thinking on the part of the

learner. This is the time to make intellectual sense of the learning.• Try these:– Provide and open ended debriefing

of the previous activity.– Tie things together so the learning

across disciplines occurs.– Have learners design an evaluation

procedure or rubric for their own learning.

– Have learners explore the topic online.

– Hold a debate, essay contest or panel discussion on the topic.

– Have students to the teaching in small groups, as class presenters, in pairs.

Stage 5: Incubation and Memory Encoding

• This phase emphasizes the importance of down time and review time. The brain learns most effectively over time, not all at once.

• Try these:– Provide time for unguided

reflection.– Have learners keep a journal

of their learning.– Have learners take a walk in

pairs to discuss the learning.– Provide stretching and

relaxation exercises.– Provide a music listening area.– Ask learners to discuss new

learning with their family and friends.

Stage 6: Verification and Confidence Check

• This phase is not just for the benefit of the teacher. Learners need to confirm their learning for themselves, as well. Learning is best remembered when the student possesses a model or metaphor regarding the new concepts or materials.

• Try these:– Have learners present their

learning to others.– Student interviews and

evaluate each other.– Students write about what

they have learned in a journal, essay, news article, report.

– Students demonstrate learning with a project.

– Students present a role play or skit or theatrical performance.

– Quiz, verbal or written.

Stage 7: Celebration and Integration

• In the celebration phase it is critical to engage emotions. Make it fun, light, and joyful. This step instills the important love of learning. It must never be missed.• Try these:

– Have a class toast with juice.– Provide sharing time, peer sharing,

demonstration, acknowledgements.– Play music, hang streamers and blow

horns to celebrate the end of a successful unit.

– Invite another class, parents, principal, or community guest through video conferencing to view projects.

– Facilitate a class designed and produced celebration party.

– Incorporate the new learning in future lessons! Never introduce something, then drop it. If it is not important enough to refer to in the future, don’t waste time on it to begin with.

What this means to you:• It is critical that we plan learning with the brain in mind to ask

a different set of questions. Rather than, what should I teach, ask how will students best learn? As you plan the learning, keep the focus on basic principles that support the brain’s natural learning tendencies. Create a complex interdisciplinary curriculum that provides for plenty of learner choice. Provide structure, but in an environment that represents the unique nature of each learner and their individual needs and experiences.

Time

• When something is taught can be as important as what is taught.

Primacy-Recency Effect

We remember best what we experience first, and second best what comes last. BEM

Primacy-Recency Effect• Prime Time 1• Down time• Prime Time 2

• Teach new info when you have students’ focus.

Retention during learning episode

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Primacy-Recency Effect• New info should be

taught in Prime time 1• It is important that

only correct info be presented at this time.

• The new material should be followed with practice during down time.

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Primacy-Recency Effect• Closure should take

place during prime time 2.

• This is the second most powerful learning position & an important opportunity to determine sense and meaning.

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Retention varies with length of teaching episode

• More retention occurs when lessons are shorter.

• A block containing 4 twenty minute lessons will be much more productive than one long lesson.

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Prime Time 1 (First 15 minutes)

Mr. X : “Today we’re going to learn the 3rd cause of the Civil War and its relevance…. Before that, let me give back some homework, collect and go over today’s homework, collect the notes from Bill and Mary who were absent and get them caught up, take attendance, read announcements…”

Mr. G: “Today we will learn the 3rd cause of the Civil War and how it relates to current times. And here is the 3rd cause.. (cause, examples, how it relates to previous..)

Down-Time (next 15 minutes)

• “Here is the 3rd cause…”

“Get into your discussion groups and discuss this 3rd cause. What are similarities and differences compared to the first two causes…”

Last 15 minutes (Prime Time 2)

• “OK, we’ve got only 5 minutes to the end of the period. You’ve listened well so you can do what you want quietly until the bell rings.”

“Take 2 minutes to review to yourself what we’ve learned about the 3rd cause. Be prepared to share your thoughts with the class in a moment.”