Curriculum and Instruction

Oregon State University

Professional Technical Education

Home

Tutorials

Syllabus

Task Resources

Performance Tasks

Task Tracker

Discussion

Email

Curriculum and Instruction

Diversity Among Students

Course Description

In this one credit module you will learn to take both a top-down and a bottom-up approach to developing the units you will use in your classroom; top-down you will examine unit goals and objectives; estimating time for completion of units, and technologies required to present them. Bottom-up you will learn to develop individual lessons within units in such a way that each has its own unique body of information but together they provide a unified educational experience. Surrounding this effort you will examine, reflect, and discuss the issues of varying cultural, linguistic, and social backgrounds and how accommodation of the issues they represent can be woven into your practice; curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Facilitating this examination will be access to wide variety of web-based and library resources which will aid you in your reflection and your learning experience. You will have the opportunity to integrate this information into your own knowledge base, and make application to your practice. A Capstone project utilizing what you have learned, as well as usage of mastery application skills serve as the culmination of this learning experience.

Course Content

Selecting or writing learning goals for units of instruction that are consistent with school's long-term curriculum goals, State and district standards, research findings on how students learn, and the physical and mental maturity of one's students.

Establishing objectives within the unit of instruction that will be useful in formulating daily lessons and in evaluating the progress of students toward the attainment of unit goals.

Determining content, skills, and processes that will assist students in accomplishing desired unit outcomes, and design learning activities that lead to their mastery.

Selecting and organizing materials, equipment and technologies needed to teach a unit of instruction.

Developing unit and lesson plans which address exceptional learners, and for students with varying cultural, social, and linguistic backgrounds.

Establishing and maintaining classroom rules and procedures, model appropriate social behavior, and provide meaningful reinforcement when it occurs.

Using classroom time effectively to provide maximum time for learning.

Communicating learning outcomes to be achieved and focus student interest on tasks to be accomplished.

Implementing instruction plans and, in so doing employ knowledge of subject matter and basic skills.

Implementing instructional plans and, in so doing use a variety of research-based educational practices that reflect how students learn, are sensitive to individual differences and diverse cultures, and encourage parent participation.

Emphasizing instructional techniques that promote critical thinking and problem solving and that encourage divergent as well as convergent thinking.

Module Activities

This module requires that you complete four directed activities related to the development of curriculum and instruction. As they are completed, you will post these activities to the Discussion Forum so that others in the course may read and reflect on what you've written and you will complete each activity with a directed question which you developed during your research for this activity. Completion of this module requires that you write a Capstone project where you synthesize the work that you have done with the resources which you have examined and any applications that you have made of your work in your practice. Be sure to include citation of your sources and write your capstone in an organized and cohesive style.