5318 Instructional Design of Online Learning
My focus for my implementation of rotational blended project-based learning will focus on 8th grade science, more specifically advanced 8th grade science learners in a rural school district just outside of the greater Houston area. In order to successfully give learners tools to be able to solve the authentic learning problem, students will move through digital and face-to-face lesson elements that will guide their knowledge and thinking about the content as they work to solve a real-world problem.
Rotational Blended Project Based Learning Initiative
For more information about implementation, examples of units, research that lead to imitative development, or theories driving this initiative please see the pages below.
Behind the Scenes:
Planning Process for Effective Design of the Digital Learning Environment
Teacher Becomes a Facilitator for Student-Led Learning
Since this style of learning is only successful when students are given freedom to control their own learning through choice and voice, these units will be incredibly student lead and student focused. My job in the classroom will be only to facilitate learning and guide students through the design process as they need help or guidance in their projects/solutions to real-world issues or applications of the content/standards that are being taught. As a result of project-based learning and independent research being a driving force behind the learning of each unit, students will have a lot of choice and therefore ownership of their learning.
Deeper Learning and Applications
By allowing a real-world project or problem to be central to every learning unit, all assignments will build toward a final project in which students will self reflect throughout the process ending in a final composition assignment in which students reflect on the learning process and grade themselves (a self-assessment rubric will be given) and have to explain why they have chosen to assign their grade and give proof that they have in fact, earned the grade they assigned. Feedforward opportunities will also be embedded within these projects as students will be grouped by their interests/project themes/types and they will get some time to share ideas and collaborate on certain parts of the projects. Students will then take these ideas and make corrections to their own projects/designs. I will also be breaking the assignment into smaller portions that I will grade and give feedforward to each student so that they can choose to make the changes or edits needed. By design, each unit will push students to the highest level of Bloom’s taxonomy and force each learner to analyze data or research, critique their own and others’ work, and create something that demonstrates clear understanding of the content and originality of ideas applied to the problem.
Outcome Based Focused, Standards-Based Embedded
While the learners will be participating in outcome-based learning within these blended project-based learning modules/units, there will be a number of standards-based assignments embedded into both the digital and face-to-face activities as required by my district and administrators. Unfortunately, standardized tests and standardized data is all TEA cares about, so we are bound to those rules and standards-based assignments are a necessary component to my lessons at this point.
Blended Project-Based Chemistry Unit Instructional Design Video
Alignment of Goals, Activities, and Assessments
All units will be broken down into a three-column table based on Fink’s research and three-column table. To begin, the goals will be written out based on the TEKS that we are required to teach. From there, assignments, activities, labs, and even tests will be easy to develop and see how they will fit into the bigger picture. Thus, all assignments will be aligned with the goal at the center of the learning and will help learners’ achieve high levels of success on their assessments. When you have a goal and an assessment outlined before a unit even begins it is very clear what activities will give students the knowledge and skills needed to succeed, so the learning stays centered on the goals of each unit and no assignment will just be random unnecessary knowledge or busy work that wastes time and frustrates students.
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To the right, I have included an example of a 3-column table that has been used to keep the learning goals outlined in the TEKS central to all learning activities and assessments that take place both in the digital units and the face-to-face components that will make up the chemistry unit's lesson cycle. As you can see all learning activities not only align to the goal of the TEKS, they also intentionally build towards the culminating authentic project, so that the direct learning of my class prepares students not only for the summative project, but also the real world.
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For more information about alignment of all learning activities and assessments please click below to read all about it.
Chemistry Unit Outline
In this 8 week eighth grade chemistry unit students will be investigating acids and bases, classification of matter, counting atoms and balancing equations, and properties of water in order to complete a culminating project in which they will be assigning their grades to themselves and justifying their grades in a written self reflection activity. The culminating project will test students' chemistry knowledge and forces them to apply their knowledge in order to create a recipe and eventually a brand with their peers. Students will choose the format of their project and will have almost complete control of what the final product looks like as long as they have a well-researched recipe that includes the chemical formulas of each ingredient as well as the total amounts of each type of atom they will need in order to produce their snack, food item, or beverage.
Shared Control of Learning
Due to the standards-based learning components that are required in my district due to TEA's standardized STAAR test, direct instruction and traditional assessment will have to be teacher controlled. However, every assignment and activity gives students information or skills that will then be used to build towards an authentic learning experience that is individual and unique to each learner and student-led. Thus, students and teachers share control of the learning and take turns leading throughout the lesson/unit cycle.
Instructional Design Models
I will be using the Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction, Merrill’s Principles of Instruction, and ADDIE models for the implementation of my blended learning units. I think that Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction will work best for units and modules that are designed for students due to the compatibility of TEKS and standards-based assessment that is required, while Merrill’s will be most useful when developing professional learning for staff members’ learning.
Chemistry Unit Design Map
Building on the 3-colum learning activities alignment adapted from Fink's Taxonomy, the chemistry unit can be broken down by the 9 Event's of Instruction. An example for the 8th grade blended project-based learning chemistry unit is linked below.
Design Process Influence
I am fortunate to work in a district that does not have many requirements or restrictions when it comes to lesson planning other than collecting standardized test data on students regularly throughout the year and of course, follow the TEKS. The TEKS are what I would consider my institutional document that influences my lesson outcome goals and my direct instruction activities. This year is a transition year as TEA has implemented new standards that need to be taught. As a result the side-by-side comparison of TEKS is very important.
Balancing of/for/as Learning
In this unit assessments and quizzes are given weekly as assessment of learning as these will most directly correlate with standardized testing requirements. Assessment for opportunities such as TeacherMade activities, PIxelArt activities, and EdPuzzle Activities allow students to self-check their work before turning it in for grading, which allows them to revisit and check over their work if they didn't get it correct the first time. Finally, the assessment as opportunity is throughout the project at the end of the unit. Students will self-reflect on their work and ideas and at the end will be asked to grade themselves and prove how they have earned that grade.