Module 2 Reflection

This module has helped me think about using standards, CFQs, or formative assessment in the following ways…

When I began this module, I knew about standards.  You hear about common core state standards all the time.  And I knew that a course of study is designed to uphold those standards.  But how teachers went about translating that into their lesson plans seem like a difficult and possibly frustrating task.  Reading through this module really helped me see how to make it fit.  I had been coming at it from the perspective of starting with the standard and then trying to create a unit that would teach that standard.  I think starting with the project you want to do is a much more organic approach.  It's easier to see how the standards can support your unit than the other way around.

Curriculum-Framing Questions seem to go hand in hand with showing the correlation between standards and project plans.  Developing your essential question, unit questions, and content questions help you identify which standards your project will address.  I love the idea of an essential question for my classroom that will link my subject matter to big ideas that are meaningful to a student's own life.  I think I would have been much more engaged in my classes as a high-school student if the material had seemed to have any impact on my world.  Often times classes seemed to have nothing to do with me, and I rarely felt like the lessons I was being taught would help me in the "real world."  This first taste of curriculum-framing questions has made me realize how much real life training can be taught through every school subject.  Teachers are commissioned to "teach the whole child." Curriculum-Framing Questions can help teachers structure their courses to make that possible. I'm excited about the possibility of using this format to create engaging learning experiences for my students.

Module 1 Reflection

This module has made me think about my role as an instructional designer in the following ways...

Before studying this module, I had not given much thought to the "behind the scenes" work a teacher does to prepare for her class.  I knew that lesson plans had to be made and a course conceptualized before classes began, but that was the extent of my knowledge.  This being my first semester as a student in education, that may be understandable.  Still, I felt woefully under-prepared and to be honest completely overwhelmed with the task of creating a unit of study in the project-based learning style. Gone are the days of the rote: read, lecture, write a paper. While I believe that project-based learning is more valuable and better suited to today's student, I felt that designing new methods of instruction would be quite the daunting task.

Though I will probably still have twinges of  anxiety throughout this process, after completing the two lessons for module 1, I am confident that I can embrace the title of instructional designer.  There are so many tools and tutorials in our course materials, as well as on the web in general, that will help me create a unit that will be beneficial to my future students.  One thing in particular from the Intel Education eReader that resonated with me was the statement that, "classroom teachers facilitate student learning and are implementers, evaluators, and curriculum designers." I had not equated creating units of study with designing curriculum, but that is exactly what it is.  As an educator it will be my job to ensure students learn from projects and other class assignments that support the state standards in a way that will also develop 21st century skills.  Fortunately, today's technology offers so many creative outlets for learning. I hope that by learning about and creating a project-based unit, I will be better prepared to design meaningful learning opportunities for today's students.