Sample:
There are many things upon which I had to reflect as I examined the feedback from the previous assignment. For example, one of the aspects that I wanted to reflect upon was that I needed to become more specific when it came to the challenges that were being put forth in this case. For example, identifying the means through which the college campus could present difficulties and how I would go about mitigating them. I would hope that the campus would have education rather than finances as their chief goal; however, as mentioned in the feedback, there are politics at play. Still, I remain optimistic that such a goal would be considered reasonable by the people I would talk to on campus. Yet, there are still other elements that I believe would be important to my reflections. For example, I believe that I have outlined good examples of the educational goals that need to take place for the teachers. I am confident that I will be able to educate the teachers on using Google Docs collaboratively. In addition, they will understand the collaborative uses Google Docs and how they can be effectively utilized. Overall, I believe that I am on the right path towards developing an effective workshop.
[Are you asking someone “write my essay for me”? Look no further. We are here.]
Section II. Develop an Instructional Plan and a Program Schedule:
A. There are several areas of the instructional plan that have to take into consideration the people who are being taught and the methods through which they are being instructed. For example, the learning techniques have to match the outcomes that will be required of the lesson (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013, p. 186). In this case, the requirements that will occur are such that it will be necessary to frequently demonstrate the outcomes of the Google Docs capabilities to the individuals through the use of a projector/ SMARTboard. The size of the group has been purposely limited so that 30 people can be instructed at a single time. However, the fact remains that it is important to be able to field questions from each of them in the time that has been allotted for the workshop. In terms of the existing skills, it is widely suspected that all teachers have some abilities with using the internet; thus, the basis for the internet-based technology should facilitate instruction, especially considering the simple interface of Google Docs. In addition, there will a considerable benefit from having teachers in the workshop in that they should take the time to pay attention to the course and to ask relevant questions. Overall, the nature of the learning task is rather simple, but there will be a “doc” that will summarize the information about the lesson so that it can be transferred to each of the individuals who attend the workshop.
C. Detailed lesson plan.
Part I. The students will come into the computer lab where the computers will already be activated and unlocked for their uses. They will sign in and sit in unassigned seats. Next, they will log into their Google account that includes their Google Docs. I will engage the students with an icebreaker, talking about how important it is for them to remain students so that they can be lifelong learners. I will then begin the lesson. They will then receive a brief lecture that is driven by Google’s Slideshare, where the theoretical underpinnings of constructivism and additional research explaining why they will benefit from the instruction of using Google Docs in the 21st century collaborative classroom. This portion will take a total of 30 minutes, or less depending on the questions.
Part II. The students will be effectively taught the basic aspects of Google Docs such as creating a new doc, opening files, sharing files, collaborating on files, and generating spreadsheets. The chat feature will be introduced and the students will enter into an online conference with one another and introduce themselves. This will have the teacher demonstrate the applicability of each of the features and guide the students in their usage of the task that has been designed. Each of these different outcomes will be important to have the collaboration of both the teacher as well as the student so that everyone is well-instructed. Being that this workshop is going to utilize step-by-step instructions in the proper means through which to navigate Google Docs, all students will be able to follow along with the instructions, asking questions if they need. The instruction time in this case has been increased to take up the majority of the portion of class so as to offer a fair amount of time for taking questions and offering solutions. In addition, time from this portion of the class will be used to offer the student two, five minute breaks so that they are able to use facilities and have a snack. There will be an option to combine both breaks into a single ten minute break, an action that will be voted upon by the class. By the end of this section, all of the students will understand the basic aspects of Google Docs as they apply to their uses in the classroom.
[Are you in need of an essay writing service? We can help]
Part III
The third and final part of the process will be primarily student-lead. The students will be asked to bring their lesson plans for the week. Using the tools that they have learned throughout the workshop, they will be tasked with adapting their lesson plans for usage in Google Docs in some meaningful way. This will allow the students to think about different ways that they can reach out to their students in an effective manner through technology. In addition, there is the need to present the results by having each student share their lesson plan idea to the individuals
in the class. This will allow people to see the various implementations of Google Docs in the classroom and allow students to ensure that they “got it”. This portion of the class will take 50 minutes, with time to develop the lessons as well as time to present the lesson ideas to the class. Overall, this will be the summing activity, and the workshop will be dispersed shortly after the course ends.
[Need a thesis writing service? Contact us today]
Section III. Justification for your instructional plan.
The instructional approaches that were used throughout this plan were important to its development and successful implementation. Caffarella and Daffron (2013) insist that one of the most important things that a lesson planning can entail is ensuring that students have a chance to hear, see, ask, discuss and do (p. 186). In other words, the key to understanding in the lesson is to approach the outcomes through the ideas of multiple means. According to Ralabate (2011), the idea of using multiple means for a universal design to lessons offers a means to help individuals of all learning styles understand the same lesson in different ways. The first part of the lesson is working to help the students understanding through using hearing, seeing, asking, and discussing. The students will be shown a presentation on constructivist theory and the means through which it can be used to understand the need for Google Docs. Next, they will hear, see, ask, discuss, and do all of the activities with the second portion, where they are taught all of the different aspects of the Google Docs. Finally, the last part of the Google Docs lesson will task the students with demonstrating their knowledge, building on the discussions and lessons that they were taught.
In terms of the room arrangement that would be the most effective for this portion of the class, it is absolutely necessary to have the ability to present the actions that are taking place on a computer to the audience. Therefore, it will be necessary to have all 30 seats front-facing towards an area where a lecturer could stand and talk while simultaneously operating a computer. The computer labs at Vancouver Community College offers the ability to have 30 or more seats, a lecture area, computers, and the ability to project the information onto the SMARTboard or whiteboard surface. Thus, it will allow for interaction between students and instructor, meeting the multiple means of universal lesson design.
There are some barriers that have to be considered in terms of the potential coursework that is being completed. For example, there is the possibility that the computers or network could fail. Yet, this happens from time to time and would result in a rescheduling. In addition, there could be people who fail to understand the material that is being presented, but as teachers, this should not be a great issue. In addition, there are potential problems that exist in obtaining the lecture facilities in terms of price or political issues, but the hope is that these could be resolved through communication efforts.
Building a positive learning environment requires attention to several aspects. For example, one has to consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in constructing any learning environment. In essence, this requires individuals to have their basic needs met such as having lighting, comfortable seats, a warm or cool environment depending on the weather, and the ability to use facilities when needed without missing a tremendous amount of lecture time (Rouse, 2004). In addition, creating a learning environment requires that students exercise restraint in their actions, such as speaking up when appropriate, and also offer respect to one another. It is hoped that in such a workshop environment that the students, who are teachers, will come into the class prepared to act in a professional manner. Fostering inclusivity also requires the desire to hear everyone and give everyone a chance to speak, something that will be done in the final part of the course where the students will be offered a chance to demonstrate what they have learned.
The roles of learner and teacher are the same for the first two sections. The teacher will model the behavior that the students should participate in, work with them to master it, and then allow the students to complete the actions on their own. They will receive instruction, guided practice, and then be tasked with entering personal production. The final part of the instruction will ask the students to put what they have learned into individualized practice; the students will modify their lesson plans.
Each of the different steps for the instruction has time built into the lesson so that the students are capable of asking numerous questions about Google Docs. In the future, the questions that are asked will be recorded and the information will be used in new workshops to preempt questions.
In terms of whether the links between each of the lessons and the learning plan have been established, it is clear that the information on the worksheet shows that there is an inclusion of understandings. For example, theoretical underpinnings of constructivism are directly implemented in the lesson by developing a historical perspective on the uses of technology in the classroom. Each of the lessons is directly linked to the established understandings in a significant way.
Section IV. State Your Conclusions:
I feel as though this assignment is very beneficial from the perspective of showing the development that I have put into the workshop. I have connected the outcomes of the learning tasks with those which were previously established. In doing so, I hope to be able to show that the students will greatly benefit from these outcomes. In addition, I understand that the instructional plan that I have designed here will help me find a beneficial means to design each of the different future workshops by using backwards design. Overall, I feel more prepared as a result of constructing the course in this manner, and I believe my overall workshop will demonstrate a sense of successful planning.
References
Caffarella, R. S., & Daffron, S. R. (2013). Planning programs for adult learners: A
practical guide. John Wiley & Sons.
Ralabate, P. K. (2011). Universal design for learning: Meeting the needs of all
students. The ASHA Leader, 16(10), 14-17.
Rouse, K. A. G. (2004). Beyond Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: What Do People Strive For?. Performance Improvement, 43(10), 27.
