This class has been my first time taking a deep dive into CBCI. I believe I have begun to include the ideas of CBCI into my classroom without being able to put a name on it prior to this class. I can absolutely get behind this process of learning and I think it should be used across the board.
- CBCI takes change into account. The world evolves everyday so teachers and their classrooms need to be able to evolve with the world. Lynn Erickson explains a successful classroom environment when she began teaching had desks in straight rows and a teacher in the front of the room. This is not the only type of successful classroom now. A lot of teachers use grouping and student conversation to encourage learning, teachers walk around the room, there are activities that allow movement for students. Teaching then was all about facts and students being able to list information. Now, information is at the touch of our fingers. We need to be educating students minds and teaching them new ways to use their mind.
- The design of a curriculum should be based on concepts. Together these concepts create a bigger picture. By teachers teaching concepts they allow students to dig deeper into their knowledge of each concept. This teaches students the process of learning therefore they can continue and grow into lifelong learners. Concepts are organized ideas and teaching through these and providing students with probing questions to find their own facts they will want to learn more about each concept.
- Students are more likely to be engaged in a lesson they find to be relevant to their lives. I agree it is important for students to understand what they are learning and why. Students often ask why are we learning this? How will I use this in my life? Providing “real world” or “life like” scenarios helps with involvement in students. Movement, community based, or choice assignments are great ways to show students relevance to their learning. Showing students the process of solving real problems in our environments.
CBCI Defined
Concept-based curriculum and instruction is a choice educators make that influences their planning. It is a process in which curriculum is designed around concepts. These concepts allow students to find their own facts and build their own understanding through inquiry. Students dive deeper into these concepts and create a big picture or overview on their own with the guidance of their teacher. CBCI allows for teachers and students to fail and learn through their mistakes. I think of each concept being a different experiment and trying to find the correct answer at the end. For example a lesson I did with my own 8th grade math class this week was building an understanding of exponent properties. We used a desmos activity called Discovering the Laws of Exponents which encouraged students to try different patterns and numbers until they were right. It was an educated guess and check activity where students found the answer on their own.
The Pythagorean Theorem
Overview:
I am hopeful to encourage students to find the pattern themselves on how to use the Pythagorean Theorem. I mentioned a Desmos activity above, I will use a similar activity on Desmos again called Taco Truck. I often use Desmos because it can simulate a life like situation that students may find themselves in. It also allows students to try different things and see their peers responses as well. I believe our own students are a large resource we don’t always think about. When I am struggling to put a concept into words my students can help and make the concept make sense to their peers. This is an awesome and useful tool with the desmos.
Challenges:
The challenges I face with this unit will be how to enrich it and take some students to a deeper level of understanding. I want to create hands on experiences for students and would like to take students outside to our schools soccer field and build a lesson where we prove right angles using the Pythagorean Theorem. I worry about the set up of this lesson. How do I ensure each activity builds upon and reaches all students, including my ESL students?
TCE Threshold concepts
Curriculum is more than standards, textbooks, or course of study.
Students learn a vast amount of new things everyday. From the process of getting up and going to school. Students are learning responsibility and routine before the beginning of the day bell even rings. I like the question of what should a teacher learn to be a teacher, but the next question made me think even harder, is there anything a teacher needs to unlearn. In my first graduate class I made a comment that was not appropriate about normalcy. I hadn’t thought twice about it until our professor called mentioned at the end of the class that we all were talking about things that might be normal in our lives but not in our students lives. I believe there are things teachers can learn and unlearn everyday.
Teachers and students engage in critical-consciousness.
Teachers need to fully understand their biases and their positions on different topics in order to put them aside and teach their students in an unbiased way. Teachers must understand their students in a way they can fully engage the students in their learning. Learning requires students to be gaining the knowledge in a useful way. Teachers need to understand the lives of their students in this aspect. In the school or community what is important and can it be used in the classroom to create meaningful lessons.
Check out my tweet!
Hello!
I absolutely loved the umbrella image you posted about the issue/real world problem. It was a great visual and had specific ways to create teach problems. Also, I really liked your usage of describing how the world is evolving. Since our world is constantly evolving, we need to make sure that our teach and curriculum is evolving as well. I feel as if educators get too comfortable with how they teach and often see changing their instruction as a reflection of their teachings. However, this is untrue because our students are constantly facing new social situations that force our ways of teaching to adapt to these changes and ensure that they are receiving education that will prepare them for their future.
I definitely relate to your normalcy comment in our first graduate class. I had the same thoughts and it instantly made me reflect on how I view the world and just expected that what I celebrated was considered normal. Even though I was aware that not everyone celebrates Christmas but I instinctively said that it was a normal holiday suggesting that everyone does celebrate Christmas.
Check out this blog about normalcy bias in leadership!
https://chrisdyer.com/how-normalcy-bias-can-derail-your-leadership-development/
Hi Delaney!
You made some great points all throughout your blog post but because you and I chose similar threshold concepts to speak to, I wanted to comment on some of your thoughts. In reference to the concept that “curriculum is more than standards, textbooks, and courses of study”, I think you conveyed some honest ideas about the importance of teachers having to unlearn and relearn things. I always like to stress that teachers are just as much students as students are teachers. Yes, teachers may have the “degree”, be a bit older, and have more experience but that doesn’t take away from the capabilities a student has in sharing their intellect and providing new perspectives that even educators haven’t given thought to.
Being that within CBCI, students are to engage as thinkers who push themselves to understand, connect, and reflect deeply, on their own, it’s crucial that teachers do the same while being open to adopting new ideals and beliefs. The truth is that teachers don’t have all the answers therefore making our learning process just as insightful.
I like that you brought in your own experience as an example of an educator who realized she also had things to learn and unlearn. We should be grateful for the moments where we say something and the silence is loud or when we have those who care enough to constructively correct us. If we never know the areas in which we need to improve our own mentalities then how can we hold our students accountable to doing the same? It’s also important to note that we aren’t only teachers and learners of educational concepts but that we hold the same occupations where academia isn’t the sole focus, yet our students are. As a teacher, we have to neglect assumptions about our students that we may suspect and allow them to teach us who they are. Knowing your students and building relationships with them is more of the key than many other classroom practices we try to privatize. Connecting with those you’re teaching gives way to a more comfortable, safe, creative, free-flowing, and even productive environment where designs like CBCI can thrive.
Lastly, I clicked on your Taco Truck link in your description of your unit plan, and I thought it was a cool idea! I also think your decision to utilize the outdoors and get your students moving around whether it be on the soccer field or a playground will help stimulate their thinking and make their learning more engaging. Something to be mindful of is making sure you choose some activities that are universal so that your ESL students don’t feel like they’re doing double the work; trying to learn about and execute certain tasks while others only have to focus on the execution. Survey your students by asking them what sports they enjoy playing to even what their at home interests are and see if you can use that feedback as inspiration for methods to teaching your concept: The Pythagorean Theorem.
Here is a blog about the key of learning! I think it aligns with many of the thoughts you have. https://www.ajjuliani.com/blog/unlearning
Hey Delaney!
I think you are right it is extremely challenging teaching ESL students and trying to explain a theorem such as the Pythagorean Theorem can be difficult for any student to understand. I taught 8th grade math last year, so this unit was something I taught! Also, I worked with ESL students so here are some tips that might be beneficial:
-Use diagrams and visual aids to help ESL students understand the lecture. These can be used by everyone and support concept communication without substantially relying on language.
-If feasible, include bilingual assistance materials. This can incorporate essential phrases or instructions in the pupils’ native tongues.
-Encourage group work and peer interaction. Pair ESL students with native English speakers to encourage discussion and collaboration and to promote understanding.
Be understanding and curious.
-Encourage your ESL students to request more information or to be repeated when necessary.
-Pulling students into small groups for more clarification/reteaching