Consider the following steps and suggestions as you plan Making Thinking Visible with Technology in your classroom.
1. Know your learners.
The first step in planning for instruction is knowing who your learners are and the prior knowledge and skills they have coming in to the lesson. How should you modify your lesson to meet the needs of individual students? How does prior academic performance impact the content and skills addressed in the lesson? What instructional need or gap in knowledge/skills does this lesson meet?
When using the MTVT Lesson Plan Template, consider these sections: Grade Levels(s), Subject Area(s), Core Subject(s) and 21st Century Theme(s), Background and Rationale
2. Identify the goals and objectives.
After assessing the needs of your students, consider the theme and the objectives of your lesson. What skills or knowledge should your learners have upon completing the lesson? Which standards (state, Common Core, professional association, etc.) are supported by these objectives? How does this lesson fit into the “big picture”? How will you utilize Bloom’s verbs and taxonomies in your objectives to encourage higher order thinking and learning? Are there other standards relevant to your lesson (such as those written by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills) which might help you to write meaningful objectives?
Begin thinking about your assessments as you develop your objectives. Assessments and objectives should be in direct alignment.
When using the MTVT Lesson Plan Template, consider these sections: Unit Goals, Learning Objectives, Curriculum Standards (State, District, CCSS, etc.), Bloom’s Taxonomy, Technology Integration (ISTE Standards•S), Framework for 21st Century Learning
3. Establish your role as a facilitator of learning.
After determining the objectives, consider how you will facilitate the process of learning so that objectives can be met. What materials and tools will be required to support the learning process? In what kinds of activities will your students participate so that they engage in meaningful, thoughtful learning? What procedures are required on behalf of you and your students to create an environment most conducive to thinking and the process of learning?
When using the MTVT Lesson Plan Template, consider these sections: Materials, Lesson Introduction, Lesson Procedures and Activities (includes a Thinking Routine), Lesson Closure
4. Plan for assessments.
The purpose of assessments is to determine whether or not students have met the objective(s) of the lesson. Assessments should utilize the same language and be in direct alignment with your objective(s). As you develop rubrics or other forms of assessment, consider additional guidelines beyond state-mandated standards and Common Core (see P21.org, for example). What should learning and thinking “look like?” How will you see or know that your students have met the objectives? Have you provided an example of student work to help students gauge their understanding of the objectives?
When using the MTVT Lesson Plan Template, consider these sections: Assessment(s), Student Work Sample