The "Ah-Ha" Moments of Designing and Planning Learning Experiences.

As I read through the research on planning and designing courses I found myself relieved and confused, questioning some of the typical ways I think about planning and teaching.  Slowly the experiences I have had working with FFA and Vivayic started to come full circle, there is a method to the madness, and the steps of planning make sense.   As I read Wiggins & Mctighe and Fink, things started to make sense, and I was able to apply much of my internship experience, writing and planning learning experiences with Vivayic, to what we are reading.   With a sigh of relief it sank in. Things started to come together, there is a reason curriculum and learning experiences are designed a specific way in order to be successful. There may be slight variations to writing unit and course plans, as outlined in many of our readings, but all these different methods, ideas, and details help accomplish the same purpose: outline the bare bones of a purposeful and meaningful learning experience. Or more simply put: There is a method to the madness and there can be organization in the chaos.

There Is a Method to the Madness:

Source: http://ru.memegenerator.net/instance/63072438

I like things that connect, that go together in a certain way, that are packaged together and simply make sense.  I remember processing this very conversation with a past boss of mine at FFA when the sessions I was facilitating didn't seem to connect in a neat package for students to learn.  Little did I know there was a method to the madness that he just scratched the surface to help me understand. The process it takes to make an entire course connect from unit to unit and learning objective to learning objective is long but matters. 

Understanding by Design by Wiggins & Mctighe stood out to me in the way we should plan units within a course.  The "begin with the end in mind" mentality makes sense, we start with our goals and the goals of our students at the forefront.  This idea, partnered with Fink's ideas question: how will this course or these learning experiences matter to students two or three years from now, demonstrate the need backward planning while also being a forward thinker.   Thinking about desired results before topics, learning objectives and especially before engaging moments, is hard but makes sense.  The "WHY" (how does this fit, structure, sequence) has to come before the "WHAT" (the key content, interest approach, teaching/learning techniques).  The famous quote "prior planning prevents poor performance" seems to ring true once again.  As Derner and Reardon said in Strategies of Great Teaching "learning may occur with or without great teaching, (BUT) learning is enriched, enhanced and empowered by the actions of a teacher whose clarity of purpose and artful execution of experiences orchestrate moments that maximize learning..."  Reardon & Derner's "Engaging Moments" make learning experiences come alive, and make sense to students. If we don’t have the base, then the engaging moments will not connect to the learning objectives or evaluation. We have to start with the end in mind, the goal we have for our students after they leave our course.

Organization in the Chaos: 

As I walk this journey to becoming a high school ag teacher, there are moments where I stop

Source: http://tinyurl.com/jy83y65

and say "Yep, this is for me." There are other times that I say "I am not sure what I signed up for..." and sometimes it's simply "buckle up kids- we are in this together."  Reading about organizing and planning a course and curriculum is overwhelming, but these readings and research have shown me that there is a way to bring some organization to what could be mass chaos.  There are so many little pieces that go into classrooms, units and education systems in general.  When I think about the additional needs of an agriculture program, the list grows even longer. Although planning courses and learning objectives and experiences does seem like organized chaos and overwhelming, the pieces make sense- it's like a 1000 piece puzzle that eventually after review upon review it fits together, and it packaged and ready for students.  I am comforted in the fact that a first draft, a first semester or year or two of teaching is not final product.  The developer in me is comforted in this, knowing that feedback from students, peers and mentors is good- and needed so that situational factors, learning objectives and assessments continue to stay linked, so that the learning experiences I provide my students with not only matter, but make sense to them and for their future.  

Questions I have from this week's reading: 

-How often should one reflect upon a course of study? Does an advisory board help or approve this?

-When looking at designing a course that goes in a specific sequence of units, how do we account for or stop for those moments where we need to meet the learner where they are at? 

-Why do I find myself confused and uncomfortable with the problem/question structure as a teacher, yet want my students to have problem posed learning experiences?  Is this because I didn't experience this?
-How do our courses change due to our place and students?
-How do the courses we design in specific sequences change/adjust when we meet students where they are at, when what they 'need now' is what we planned for later? 


Yours in continued "ah-ha" moments and pulling my past experience into helping me understand the future experience I am about to take on.  -Kayla