I. step back: Agenda & Focus
Activities, tasks, and assessments should align with the intended learning outcomes and progress in a logical, cohesive, and cumulative sequence.I. step back: Agenda & Focus
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questions to consider
questions to consider
1. How do the planned activities directly align with the intended learning outcomes?
2. How do the activities allow participants to build on meaning generated from previous learning activities?
3. How does the sequencing of activities scaffold the learning and enable participants to make meaning as logically as possible?
transfer tip
Encourage participants to evaluate what specific skills or knowledge they need to achieve the target PD competencies.transfer tip
think again about backwards design
Adapted from Vanderbilt's Understanding by Design, (1998) Wiggens & McTighethink again about backwards design
Aim to always establish the purpose for a learning activity before implementing it in the curriculum.
This will enhance the effectiveness of your PD design by ensuring that all the learning elements pull together towards the same aim.
It will also eliminate the excess of doing an activities just for the sake of doing it. Every task and piece of instruction should have a purpose that fits in with the overarching goals of the PD.
the activities should
the activities should
Build and connect with each other in a meaningful way that enables participants to make meaning, show their learning, and practice transferring their understanding into application.
“The structure around professional development is key. Instructing by design means thinking holistically about what you are doing, how it relates to the mission of vision of the school, how it engages key essential questions and target outcomes, and then connecting this to performance-based tasks.”
- Education Enrichment Director
let's BEGIN here:
let's BEGIN here:
Why backwards plan? Starting with the end result helps facilitators establish the overarching learning goals and how learners can be assessed before designing the curriculum and instructional approach.
then try this:
then try this:
Does your activity align to an intended outcome?
Fill in the boxes to double check.
Do they match? You're ready to move on.
Are there areas where they don't match so well? Try revisiting Understanding by Design framework.
TRY IT OUT:
TRY IT OUT:
Anyone can use the backward design model— all you need is a unit learning goal and target outcomes.
Ready? Here is a template to create your own backwards plan.
what about agendas?
what about agendas?
Once you have focused learning outcomes and a learning plan, you are ready to create an agenda. The agenda is important because it structures your instructional plan.
An agenda should list what will occur in the PD sequentially. Your agenda could include the learning goals, essential questions, and activities. A timestamp for each segment of the PD can be helpful to guide participants— but remember that flexibility is important to adapt to learners' needs. Aim to stick to the expectations you create with your agenda, but remember that agendas are tools to structure learning, not constrain it. You might not end up following the timestamps exactly!
Writing an agenda creates a succinct version of your learning plan— which you could share with relevant stakeholders prior to your PD unit for further buy-in.
Sharing your agenda with participants prior to the PD session also gives them a big-picture overview of what to expect, and helps them prepare for the learning experience.
Sample agenda from TNTP
"Teaching is not just about engaging students in content.
It is also about ensuring students have the resources necessary to understand."
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