The school year is winding down for most schools and it is almost time for summer. We are finishing up our final weeks of class and that also means only a couple more blog posts. As the posts wind down the topics are getting more and more important! This post is going to focus on motivation in the classroom and backwards design. Motivation is an essential part of education and keeping students engaged in the classroom. As we talked about in class it is important to be able to establish some sort of rules, consequences and routines to allow a base line for the students. Establishing these different aspects on the first day of class is important to be able to allow the students to know what is expected of them, and if they do not do what is expected of them they know what is the consequences are. Establishing standards in the class room is important for the success of the classroom throughout the year.

Another concept we have been talking about in class is backward design. Bloom’s Taxonomy is an essential part to incorporate in the backward design lesson plan. Blooms Taxonomy does not focus on lower levels of learning like remembering and regurgitating facts. It focuses on higher levels of learning. These higher levels involve understanding processes, procedures, and knowing and applying concepts. Along with these levels of learning it is important to allow students to be able to set realistic goals. Students need to be able to set there own individual goals to be able to reach their person potential by the end of the year. When planing my lesson plan out backward design helped me, but I also need some work and practice on the process of it. I tried to incorporate a overall goal for students to aim for when the semester came to an end. Also goals that would be check points throughout a unit or drill during a certain day. I want to keep working on backward design as I think it will help in teaching and better the students that I will some day be working with.

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STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Unit Title: Basketball                                                                       Established Goals: ü  Know the rules of the game of basketball ü  Know the main concepts and roles of the players on the court ü  Understand the basic plays and strategy of offense and defense
Understandings: Students will understand that… ü  Plays should be ran to how they are drawn up ü  Concepts may not come easy to all students ü  Some students may have to help teach others	Essential Questions: ü  What is the most effective way to be open on offense? ü  How should I be positioned when playing defense? ü  How do I know when to call a foul, or violation?
Students will know: ü  How to run the set plays from the playbook ü  How to work with others to make the team they are playing on better	Students will be able to: ü  Call fouls and violations when they see them happening ü  Know how to effectively move on both sides of the court

 

STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks: ü  Moves well on the court ü  Works well with teammates ü  Aware and knowledgeable of the concepts and calls being made	Other Evidence: ü  Speaks out when there is a foul or violation ü  Shows good PSR throughout the class
Key Criteria: Students will show in a proper manner that they are able to complete what is expected of them and be able to do so to help benefit their team in a positive way.

 

STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN

Summary of Learning Activities: Throughout this lesson students will show their own understanding of the game of basketball. They will do this by showing they are aware of the different parts of the game that make it function in a whole. The different parts are offense, defense, and the basic rules and concepts of the game. While doing this students will show that they are able to play the game and actively participate while showing good PSR towards their classmates, no matter if it is their own teammates or the opponent.

Resources:
P. (2015, April 16). Retrieved April 25, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbKx_tG99ho

Hello everyone! Today I will be talking about the differences I may encounter in my workplace. This will have to do with the co-workers and students that I will be interacting with on a daily basis. When I think about schools, and look back on my experiences, schools provide a wide variety of cultural and individual differences all packed into one building. When I start working in a school I will expect many of my co-workers and students to have differences from me and others, but I will always try my best to understand what their point of view is and learn to accept everyones thoughts and opinions.

When looking deeper into differences in my students, I think that it will be more difficult to deal with those differences than ones with my future co-workers. I believe that this will be more difficult because students tend to go along with opinions and beliefs of others without forming their own thoughts about the topic. This reminds me of what we discussed in my class about Jane Elliott. We watched a video of a teacher named Jane Elliott (link to the video is added below), and she explained how she told her class that one eye color of students was “superior” to another and the students in the class went along with what the teacher said. This shows to me that teachers have a lot of influence on what students think and say to other students. Teachers a viewed as role models by most students and the influence of their thoughts and actions are strong.

In another reading I found online it discussed cultural differences and how it can effect students in school. The example explained, “Kids from many Latin American and Asian cultures show respect by avoiding the glance of authority figures. A teacher who’s unfamiliar with this cultural norm, however, might interpret the lack of eye contact as just the opposite — a sign of disrespect” (Staff, 2016). This example shows that by not being aware of all the differences in my future classroom, it could allow for me to be misinformed and unaware. This is why it is good to be able to know the differences in the workplace and respect and value them.

 

References

Staff, G. (2016, March 14). Great Schools. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/cultural-differences-student-performance/