TCED 6922: Principles of Instruction

Randy L. Hoover, Instructor

Final Project

Nesting Standards in a Thematic Unit Plan[1]

1. Your task is to design a thematic unit plan that embodies all of the elements and principles of empowering instruction. Be sure to include instructional objectives that are conceptually referenced, clearly delineated learning activities and authentic assessment mechanisms.

2. Your thematic unit plan must be within your licensure area(s). If you do not have a licensure area or do not work in an area that has a license, please see me so we can determine the subject area for the plan.

3. The project should be as long as it needs to be (typed and double spaced) and is due at the end of the semester (either the last regular class or finals week depending upon circumstances as determined by the instructor. Use the title page format given in class and staple the pages. Use the APA style manual and be sure to use citations when appropriate. A list of your references should be included as the final page of the paper. Please see my online guide for graduate writing style.

Organization and Outline for the Unit Plan

Important Items to know:

• You must explicitly include all headings and sub-headings in your plan. This facilitates the turn-around time, enabling you to get it back for revisions sooner if need be.
• The unit plan must be typed and use appropriate spelling, grammar, and syntax.
• Please use the online coversheet or a reasonable facsimile of it.
• Do not send unit plans via email.
• Please do not use slip-on binders.
• There is no due date for this assignment. You may begin submitting them to me as soon as we have covered all the elements of thematic unit planning in class.
• You may choose to either take the grade I give you when I read the plan or you may make revisions we talk about in order to raise your grade. I reserve the right to issue the grade when I believe further revision is fruitless.

1. Theme & Title:

The central unifying principle that connects all of the parts of the plan as a cohesive whole. It should be descriptive and informative.

2. Intent:

Explicit statement of purpose and rationale given in terms of the instrumentality and value of the knowledge the students will acquire as derived from the academic content standards of your teaching area. This considers both the efficacy of the concepts, principles, and ideas that are to be taught as well as the relevance to the students in terms of its being liberating and empowering. The substance of the knowledge to be taught as well as the processes by which the knowledge is used are equally important to empowering pedagogy. Beware, this is not stated as subject matter but as concepts, principles, and ideas that give authentic relevance and meaning to the subject area content standards. Using concepts, principles, and ideas from class discussions and readings, succinctly defend your creation in a convincing manner.

3. Knowledge to be taught:

Identification and itemization of the specific concepts, principles, and ideas, and processes to be taught.

A. List the concepts, principles, and ideas to be taught. These are the CPIs in your instructional objectives.

B. Immediately below each CPI or group of CPIs listed, reference the Academic Content Standard(s) associated with it.

C. List any concepts, principles, and ideas from other fields and disciplines.

4. Overview of major learning activities:

A. Introductory Activity: How will the students be brought into the unit. Usually formulated as a Set Induction.

B. Core Activities: Overview of the problematic situation(s), the central learning activities the students will engage.

C. Culminating Activity: How will the unit conclude for the students such that there is a sense of closure and coherence for them.

D. Assessment Activities:

1. How will instructional objectives be assessed in terms of student learning. The authentic assessments must be designed to have as much validity as possible the degree to which the learner knows what, how, where, why, and when the concepts, principles, and ideas specified in the instructional objectives are used in authentic situations or contexts.

2. Include the rubric(s) to be used.

3. Give a definitive statement of how grades will be assigned and a defense of the construct validity of the assessment procedures in terms of the knowledge specified in the instructional objectives and the intellectual processes appropriate for associate, interpretive, and applicative uses of the specific concepts, principles, and ideas that have been specified.

5. Daily Lesson Plans: (Note: Place each day's lesson on a separate page.)

A. Specific instructional objectives:

Itemized objectives containing explicit conceptual reference and general indication of the activity being used to provide the students the opportunity to experience the material.

B. Parallel listing of Teacher/Student Activities:

Briefly put the Teacher Activities on the left and the Student Activities on the right with a solid line separating the two.

C. Brief indication of how you will assess teaching and learning on a daily basis: Very briefly note what informal items will give you clues as to how the students are doing and how you are doing as the teacher for each day's lesson.

Note: Any and all assignments must be included and placed just behind the lesson plan for the day they are being given. The must be written for the student audience, not me. What I do here is read the activities section of your unit plan as if I were a student in your class.

6. Management: Table of Organization and Equipment that will identify materials, procedures, and their use in scope and sequence. Notation of possible problems and solutions.

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[1] (Revised 8/1/07)