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Course Description
Here's the problem. Today's student knows that to be be taught factual information is not enough. Even young students know that you must experience situations in order to learn from them. Students know that you need to be transformed so that your character grows. To those educators who see a trend of increasing information and accelerating technological change, and have the desire to prepare the youth to compete in this environment, this course says, "No." This course prepares them instead - to go another way. Rather than following a trend that is causing problems, this suggests the next trend. How about experiences instead of giving too much information. And how about modeling rich relationships that are simply more fun than competition and gain. That's right - fun.
This course delivers 10 proven lessons that work with the 21st Century student. These lessons integrate: arts, literature, history, science, & biography. This is a group of examples - good food - with enouch explanation to generalize why they worked and how to make them into your own lessons. And they have worked for thirty years, now. Whether the new generation knows it or not - lessons that are experiential and transformational do not depend on technology - they can do with or without technology - they transcend technology. As a matter of fact, I wrote and embedded a software program that allows the student to interact online quite heavily with the other students by writing quiz questions for each other. See, this course uses technology - it just doesn't see it as a saviour.
What keywords and phrases come to mind when I think of this course?
- my purpose in life
- can be taken by teachers or anyone who wants to improve the effectiveness of communication with the new generation
- not against technology, just not dependent on it
- kids now need philosophy
- transparency
- they are already and will increasingly be fluent with technology - support this, but do not make it an end in itself
- technology will not save us - we will
- able to research info better than adults in many cases
- seeking connection
- science literacy // science across the curriculum
- continuous, integrated, whole
- field work, project based
- put the creative arts back in school
- transformation not just information
- deep not wide
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Method of Instruction
The purpose behind the method of instruction for this course is to change the student so that personal growth takes place. Mere factual presentations will be downplayed and experiential engagements that cause change will be encouraged. Classes will be delivered as lectures with discussion when they deal with the theory and informational aspects of 21st century lessons. When the class deals with the transformational aspect - how to transform the new generation - the professor will constantly shift in and out of the act of delivering an actual lesson. This will give the students of this course a realistic experience and should cause them to go through some actual transformations themselves. Portions of some classes will be driven by mini-lessons that are created by the students.
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Course Expectations
This course includes readings, class discussions, lesson preparations, assessment preparations, in-class presentations, and a final project. The grade will be based on the quality of the following five expectations.
- attendance and participation in class discussions based on required readings and prior classes
- completion of a weekly assessment on the actual material covered in class
- completion of a bi-weekly lesson sketch derived from material covered in class
- completion of 2 in-class mini-lesson presentations
- completion of one final project: a week-long lesson plan outline with references
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Course
Objectives
Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to do the following.
- Create a safe environment that supports the dignity of each student.
- Identify and describe startegies to promote collaboration and social interaction through group discussions and projects.
- Describe methods that are inclusive of diversity of culture, community, and family based on acquired knowledge of student population.
- Define expectations that a student can understand and remember.
- Perform the role of a teacher as guide and facilitator of learning, demonstrating responsiveness to the changing dynamic of group interaction.
- Deliver lessons that align objectives, instruction, and assessment.
- Identify and write objectives, then key questions within a lesson that cause students of varied cognitive domains to learn.
- Identify and deliver instruction within a lesson that engages students to measureably increase their attention span.
- Identify and deliver instruction within a lesson that inspires and transforms students to improve their learning process through critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
- Identify and deliver instruction within a lesson that promotes thinking, feeling, and the activation of willpower.
- Identify and create assessments after a lesson that cause students of varied cognitive domains to learn.
- Deliver lessons that are sensitive to students with special needs and alternative learning styles.
- Create a unit plan that is sensitive to diverse student populations.
- Exemplify how a teacher can break down a concept, yet keep to the key points so that students can follow the lesson and remain focused.
- Demonstrate observable changes in yourself as a result of transformative self evaluation, critical assessment of your effect on others, professional coaching, and willing revision of your Lessons.
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Makeup Policy
All homework assignments and tests - both their completion dates and their contents - will be posted on the internet and can be reached from this Syllabus. Therefore it is the responsibility of the student to make up all work by the last day of the semester. Any assignment or test that has a completion date attached to it will receive full credit for being on time and partial credit for being late.
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Major Topic Outline
- How to Take this Course
- Overview Lesson: Questioning and Remembering
- Designing the Lesson
- Sample Lesson: Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny
- Setting the Class Environment
- Sample Lesson: The Hive Mind
- Delivering the Lesson
- Sample Lesson: Humankind 3.0
- Continuing Your Professional Development
- Summary Lesson: Sustainability
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