1e: Designing Coherent Instruction

Designing coherent instruction is the heart of planning, reflecting the teacher’s knowledge of content and of the students in the class, the intended outcomes of instruction, and the available resources. Such planning requires that educators have a clear understanding of the state, district, and school expectations for student learning and the skill to translate these into a coherent plan. It also requires that teachers understand the characteristics of the students they teach and the active nature of student learning. Educators must determine how best to sequence instruction in a way that will advance student learning through the required content. Furthermore, such planning requires the thoughtful construction of lessons that contain cognitively engaging learning activities, the incorporation of appropriate resources and materials, and the intentional grouping of students. Proficient practice in this component recognizes that a well-designed instruction plan addresses the learning needs of various groups of students; one size does not fit all. At the distinguished level, the teacher plans instruction that takes into account the specific learning needs of each student and solicits ideas from students on how best to structure the learning. This plan is then implemented in domain 3. 

Danielson, C., 2013

Artifact 1e-1

Unit Lesson Plan for Social Studies:  My attached unit plan shows me designing coherent instruction. This unit plan shows how the intended outcomes will be focused on each day. Danielson component 1E states, “Educators must determine how best to sequence instruction in a way that will advance student learning through the required content” (Danielson, C., 2013). The sequence in my lesson is presented in such a way that it will advance student learning at an appropriate pace through the required content. The lesson plan contains cognitively engaging learning activities that relate back to the objective for each day. Questions are used along the way to ensure student understanding and provide deeper discussion. It also includes a scoring for how the learning will be assessed. The unit gives a list of needed resources applicable to each day. 

Artifact 1e-2

5E STEM Lesson Plan: This lesson plan is one of many examples that demonstrates my ability to design coherent instruction. This lesson plan has a clear objective that leads the students through a five step plan that furthers the students' learning.  The five step sequence builds off of each other, providing more challenging content as the lesson goes on. Analyzing the Finch Robot helps the students stay engaged and then build off the data they observed. The lesson uses available resources in the school to engage the students in the learning process. The lesson is connected to different content across disciplines. In each sequence of the lesson a formative assessment is given so I can tailor my teaching to individual students by assessing understanding. Also the grouping is intentional so that each member of the group will get an opportunity to use the resources.