Flexibility of Adapting Essay

Task 5 Given:â€Å"Curriculum guides allow you the flexibility of adapting your instruction to the individual learning needs of your students. . . . You will also want to remain flexible in choosing the level of behavioral complexity of your unit and lesson outcomes. For these decisions, the information you will need to match the complexity of your objectives to the needs of your learners will come from their in-class oral responses, practice exercises, performance assessments, homework, and tests. You will want to use these often to adjust the level of your instruction to your learners† (Borich, 2004, p. 130). View the video clip appropriate to your area of emphasis (see web links below).Elementary: â€Å"Content Area Reading† Secondary: â€Å"Memory† Note: Do not respond to any prompts or questions included in the video clips. If the video stops when a question appears, press the play symbol to resume the video. Task: A. After viewing the video, write responses to the prompts (1–2 paragraphs per prompt) using the Guided Reflection Protocol Form. To access the form, follow these instructions: †¢ Click on the Add/Edit Work button. †¢ Click on the Form tab. †¢ Answer the questions in the form. If you need additional space, include a Word attachment with your response. B. Review your state standards and select a lesson or lesson plan that includes a skill or concept appropriate to your area of emphasis. Write an essay (suggested length of 2–3 pages) in which you: 1. Describe how to adjust guided and independent practice for the skill or concept you selected in part B that is appropriate for: a. students experiencing difficulty understanding the skill or concept b. students progressing at a faster rate than average 2. Include five techniques appropriate for monitoring student performance in order to adjust interactive instruction. Note: These techniques should be based on an analysis of student performance during different phases of direct instruction (e.g., daily review and prerequisite checks, presentation of new concepts, guided practice, independent practice, periodic reviews). a. Identify which phase/stage of direct instruction matches each of your chosen monitoring techniques from part B2. i. Justify each of the pairings from part B2a. 3. Describe how you might adjust instruction using information gained from two of the monitoring techniques from part B2 to reteach, remediate, and/or accelerate student performance as feedback data directs. Note: Be sure your instructional adjustments address the needs of students experiencing difficulty as well as students progressing at a faster rate than average. Task 6 Introduction:Psychologists have long known that our interpretation, assimilation, and mastery of new learning is influenced by our existing mental sets, which are formed by our past and current experiences, learning, and interests. The current brain research on memory and learning is helping us to understand exactly how the brain works and how educators can best tap into the brain’s natural learning potential. Slavin (2006) writes: The human mind is a meaning maker. From the first microsecond you see, hear, taste, or feel something, you start a process of deciding what it is, how it relates to what you alre ady know, and whether it is important to keep in your mind or should be discarded. (p. 166) We not only assimilate new learning with our former understandings, but our very perception of what we consider reality is influenced by our learning, preconceived notions, and mental integrations of the past. While the notion of prerequisite skills in learning is a recognition that prior learning and experience can affect the current learning of new skills or concepts, the effect of the past often extends beyond classroom skills and concepts into a student’s total life.Review chapter 6 of Educational Psychology: Theory Into Practice to get a better understanding of what current brain research tells us about the importance of linking instruction to prior experiences or interests. Another resource that you will find useful as you work on this task is â€Å"Connecting Brain Research with Dimensions of Learning† (see web link below). Requirements:Write a brief essay (suggested length of 2 pages) in which you do the following: A. Explain how students’ past experiences, interests, and thought processes can influence the learning of current content area concepts. 1. Illustrate the link between past experiences, student interest, and present learning. 2. Discuss each of the following key principles of brain-based learning: †¢ importance of meaningful learning †¢ knowledge background †¢ levels of processing †¢ development of neural connections †¢ relevance†¢ activating prior knowledge (schema theory) B. Explain why consideration of past experiences, learning, and student interests should be an important part of lesson planning for the teacher. 1. Include specific examples from brain-based research to support your explanation. Task 7 Introduction: In this task, you will assess the adequacy of the lessons in terms of the attributes of curricular design. View the following videos. Teachscape Directions: 1. Select the title or topic of the video to be viewed from the list of web links provided at the bottom of this task. 2. Scroll down the left side bar to find the Topic of the video specified below. Click to open the folders and locate the tab labeled video. You may need to open various folders to identify the correct video folder located on the left side bar. 3. Click the triangle to begin the video.Note: Do not respond to any prompts or questions included in the video clips. Elementary and secondary program students should access the following video clips: Topic: Pre-Algebra: Pan Balance Equations Requirements: A. Write an essay in which you evaluate the lesson in terms of the following attributes of curricular design (1–2 paragraphs per attribute): 1. The lesson has a clear purpose that is transmitted during the lesson presentation. 2. The lesson refers to background knowledge and information from previous lessons. 3. The lesson has a clear delivery method(s) (e.g., direct instruction, indirect instruction, cooperative learning, inquiry, self-directed learning). 4. The lesson addresses a variety of learning styles and intelligences. 5. The lesson provides for assessment of student understanding. Task 8 Introduction:According to Alan Hofmeister and Margaret Lubke, â€Å"Pacing has two dimensions.† They say, One dimension, curriculum pacing, is concerned with the rate at which progress is made through the curriculum. The second dimension, lesson pacing, is concerned with the pace at which a teacher conducts individual lessons. One team of researchers summed up the importance of pacing as follows:Researchers have shown that most students, including low-achieving students, learn more when their lessons are conducted at a brisk pace, because more content gets covered by students. This assumes, of course, that the lesson is at a level of difficulty that permits a high rate of student success; material that is too difficult or presented poorly cannot be learned at any instructional pace [Wyne, Stuck, White, & Coop, 1986, p. 20]. (Hofmeister & Lubke, 1999, p. 19) Requirements: If you are enrolled in the Early Childhood Education program, focus your discussion on grades 1–3. If you are pursuing a K–8 teaching certification, focus your discussion on grades 5–8. If you plan to teach science, math, or social science at the secondary level, focus your discussion on grades 9–12. Write a brief essay (suggested length of 2–3 pages) in which you do the following: A. Explain the need for lesson pacing in a classroom. B. Explain how pacing differs for a class that includes English language learner (ELL) students from a class that does not include ELL students. C. Explain how the complexity of lesson content can influence lesson pacing with a class that includes ELL students. D. When you use sources, include all in-text citations and references in APA format. Task 9 Inrtroduction:The analysis and evaluation of student work is an important component of your skills as a teacher. The development and use of tools to aid in your analysis and evaluation are tasks that should be applied in all areas of the curriculum.Find one of your state objectives that could be appropriately assessed by having students give oral and written presentations. For example, the objective â€Å"Compare cultures from different parts of the Eastern Hemisphere in terms of each of the following components: politics, society, the arts, nutrition, economics, and ethnicity† could be measured by having students give oral presentations and write reports on what they have learned about Eastern Hemisphere cultures.Requirements: A. Identify a state objective from one of the core content academic areas that can be measured through oral presentations and written reports. Note: Clearly identify the state from which the objective was taken, the grade level, and the subject. The obj ective must be focused on the core content area (i.e., science, math, social studies, history, geography, or another core content area) and not on an oral presentation or written report skill. B. Develop a rubric that could be used to assess the students’ oral presentations. Your rubric should include the following: 1. a scoring component that indicates at least three levels of performance (e.g., the student met expectations, exceeded expectations, or was below expectations) 2. a scoring component that addresses at least three aspects of the students’ presentation (e.g., length of presentation, ability to answer questions, content level) C. Develop a rubric that could be used to assess the students’ written reports. Your rubric should include the following: 1. a scoring component  that indicates at least three levels of performance (e.g., the student met expectations, exceeded expectations, or was below expectations) 2. a scoring component that addresses at least three aspects of the student’s report (e.g., grammar and mechanics, inclusion of all required components, accuracy of content, length of report) Task 10 Introduction: The sample worksheet (see attachment below) was given to students in a math class to complete independently. The rubric used to assess the responses and a sampling of student answers and scores are also included. Requirements: A. Identify which students will need to be retaught the math content. B. Describe (suggested length of 2–3 paragraphs) two mathematical strengths for each student whose response indicates the need to reteach the math content. C. Briefly describe (suggested length of 2–3 paragraphs) two mathematical weaknesses for each student whose response indicates the need to reteach the math content.