Saturday 18 August 2018

Writing Big Ideas in planning units of work Incorporating LCS and SOLO

Embedding stuff that we want to use because we know it makes pedagogical sense, is easily said, but how do we do it cohesively?

1) Present a format that all departments can easily use to write units of work and/or schemes for the year in a predefined course.

2) Present a way of thinking and writing 'Big ideas' and then 'specific learning outcomes', followed by essential questions and a success criteria within, that allows teachers to easily digest and re-invent their own content and teaching methods as embedded within your chosen pedagogies.

How do we write nice clear Big Ideas for our students? When we break it up it's your overall Learning Outcome, the one that holds it all together and directs your 'why' (Sinek). It's 1) a noun or thing, 2) a measurement system like blooms (but why not SOLO? - http://pamhook.com/), 3) a verb that makes the noun or thing observable and therefore measurable and 4) any additional criteria that can be added to show the success for the student. I initially pulled something similar to this out of my very, very old lesson and unit planning booklet from 1999 at Christchurch College of Education, but found it more carefully explained and elaborated upon here: https://teachonline.asu.edu/2012/07/writing-measurable-learning-objectives/ 

From there, explicitly identifying LCS within the learning sequence in reference to SOLO could, in fact, come together nicely for us all.

If I play with this for myself, I often rely on "the role of the artist in understanding Pasifika patterns as a narrative..." as it feels broad enough to cover everything! But it is not very detail orientated, nor does it reference any pedagogy we are currently trying to use. If I apply this model it looks more like:

With SOLO referenced as a measurement:
The role of the Artist in using and extending a narrative with Samoan patterns in planning a painting.

With LCS referenced, specifically C:
The role of the artist in creating and extending a narrative with Samoan patterns in planning a painting

with LCS referenced, specifically L and C:
The role of the artist in activating your own understanding in creating and extending a narrative for the purposes of planning a painting using traditional Samoan patterns with a narrative

With reference to LCS:
The role of the artist; activating your own understanding of Samoan patterns in creating and extending a narrative through planning a painting for the purposes of exhibiting and explaining your story to others.

The role of the artist; - SOLO steps 1 and 2 Pre-structural and uni-structural
activating your own understanding of Samoan patterns  SOLO step 3- multi-structural
narrative through planning a painting  SOLO step 4 relational
understanding extending, Exhibiting and Explaining SOLO step 5 extend ideas


Activating - Learn
Creating, Understanding,  Extending, Through planning a painting - Create
Exhibiting and Explaining - Share new understandings

The role of the artist; activating your own understanding of Samoan patterns in creating and extending a narrative through planning a painting for the purposes of exhibiting and explaining your story to others.

From here devising your success criteria, or specific learning outcomes, flow forward nicely. the wording needs attention, but the idea of how I get there appears to work and is there. 


2 comments:

  1. Rowena
    I really like the LCS/SOLO links... Our focus on LCS has (I fear) allowed us to lose some of the previously embedded SOLO thinking, to our students' detriment. That doesn't mean that we should abandon LCS (Blimey.. never), but it does mean that opening up ur thinking as you have done is a positive thing. It enhances all three dimensions, as you have suggested.

    My challenge: how can we support and sustain this realisation for all learners at HHS?

    Ngā
    R

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    1. Yes exactly. SOLO should be a part of the 'way we do things around here' and if it's not, are we creating a sense of accountability around it? Both work together, so there is no reason to avoid it. Nor any reason to not just make it a part of how we unpack and use LCS. As we move around faculty/department meetings, this should be more than achievable at that level, but from this point onwards, it would be cool if we saw them both as symbiotic it would benefit us all. In fact, we need to see SOLO and LCS as symbiotic with any pedagogy we introduce and build upon, then it should be all fine! :-)

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