What's the Plan: Learning Objectives & Interest Approaches

We've all been asked that question..."so... what's the plan?  Wether we are going on a trip or we are sitting in a meeting- we want to know what the plan is.  Once we know the plan, then we typically decide "is it worth going with this plan?"  Learning objectives and interest approaches are a lot like this.

What's the plan?  

Methods of Teaching Agriculture outline three necessary components of learning objectives to help us as teachers plan our lessons, but also help our students know where we are going for the day/week.  They create a frame for where you want students to end up:

• Performance
• Conditions
• Criteria

http://www.virtuallibrary.info/blooms-taxonomy.html

These three requirements of learning objectives connect directly to the 5 Characteristics of Effective Teaching outlined by Rosenshine & Furst.  Providing myself and students with learning objectives that outline performance, conditions and criteria helps to provide Clarity.  Clarity tells students where want them to end up, how we will measure if they made it there and the conditions that are expected during the performance.  The desire to write an objective with the word "understand" or "learn this" is tempting, but it does not provide any clarity.  In writing learning objectives for other tasks I have found Blooms Taxonomy to help with the performance piece.  In "Preparing Instructional Objectives", Mager a different book I have read about learning objectives, writes that understand or demonstrate can be used, but to make them even more specific we should include an even more measurable piece such as "demonstrate (through a speech) the five levels of leadership".  I appreciate though that both Mager and Necomb, McCracken, Warmbrod and Whittington all use the same three requirements, it seems to be somewhat universal.  Being as clear as possible with these is essential to answering the question "What's the plan?"

Is it going to be worth it? 

So I know the plan...now is it worth following?  What's in it for me?    In order for Rosenshine & Furst's characteristic of enthusiasm to be effective, learning objectives must be complete before we can start digging into interest approaches.  In "Secrets for Secondary School Teachers" Kottler states "Be innovative and enthusiastic, catch me off guard."  With a plan, I can do that because how I catch students off guard and the reason why I am enthusiastic is because it connects to what students have already learned and what they want to learn. This requires knowing our end goal for a lesson and a unit and knowing students- what they already know and what they need to know next.  Knowing these things helps students and even the teacher "Is it going to be worth it?" Before we jump into the plan. 

References:

E. Kottler, J. Kottler, J. Kottler,(2004)  Secrets for Secondary School Teachers. Corwin Press. 

Newcomb, L. H., McCracken, J. D., Warmbrod, J. R., & Whittington, M. S. (2004.) Methods of Teaching Agriculture (3rd ed.). Pearson-Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Vaugh, Paul. (n.d.) Efective teaching: notes for the beginning teacher.  

Mager, R.F. (1997) Preparing Instructional Objectives. (3rd ed.) The Center for Effective Performance.