Talk:Developing Understandings of Native American Indians

-- Jz833665 10:55, 25 March 2011 (EDT)

Susan-

Great to see the progress you've made with this project. Your analysis of the objectives and plan to address these have been nicely worked out. A few suggestions:

• An important strategy to teach theme-based history for deep understanding is to structure a unit based on generative topics (see Perkins' paper we have read, and Mini-course: Teaching Themed History) Among the learning objectives/contents you've listed, you may think about what are the core, generative topics (culture? social structures adaptive to specific ways of living and working???), which can help thread up the specificm (oftentimes factual) objectives into a coherent framework and make them intellectually rich and intriguing.
• Focusing on core, generative topics you will need to work out a much shorter list of COURSE/MODULE-LEVEL objectives as your overarching, target learning objectives. The detailed objectives on your current list seem to be lesson-level objectives that enable or support your module/course-level objectives. You need to think about and map out how these more specific objectives relate to one another and work together to help achieve your target module/course-level objectives. This will make your teaching much more organized, streamline, and coherent in the service of student deep understanding (instead of only memory of scattered facts).

The following objectives need to be reworded because verbs such as "learn" "read" point to learning activities instead of outcomes.

• Students will read both nonfiction and fiction books related to Native American Indians.

• Students will learn the editing process of papers through classroom books

• Students will learn how to research for information

• Students will learn about different important and influential Native American Indians in our history

-- Sun Hee Seo 13:46, 29 April 2011 (EDT)

Susan

You had a great job. I think you select interest topic and class activities can gain and keep student’s attention. Content-goal consistency is good, Instructional sequencing is OK. Especially, you used effective strategies to motivate students, attract attentions, and interaction Engagement. I give you some advice. First page is too long, how about dividing content? Text is excellent but hard to read. If you put some pictures and some Navigation links, your work will shine brilliantly.

-- Lawrence Moultrie 19:12, 30 April 2011 (EDT)

Susan,

Your project looks good. Your Project outline and your needs assessment are very clear and detailed. Your Overview is very straightforward and detailed. You did a good job clearly defining the students learning objectives. I was wondering is there a better way to create a list to address your Theme outlined. Although the information is there is it hard to read. After carefully reading it I could tell that the bullets were meant to be a heading and subheadings. IF you could fix that it would be a great project. Your external links are great. Overall you did a great job.

Lawrence Moultrie

Instructor comments on your draft lessons -- Jz833665 10:43, 3 May 2011 (EDT)

Susan, You have put careful thoughts into this design project about almost each of the details. Nice work.

As I commented earlier, I still feel that you can make this unit on Native American Indians more thinking intensive and connected, focusing on thematic "big ideas." You have many fun activities focusing on the different elements of Native American cultures. These elements and activities do seem to come together as closely connected I would expect. To address this issue, you can think about what are the things--"big things"--that students will progressively and continuously think about as they go through each activity. The whole task approach we've learned in this class may help you in this regard. For example, in the beginning you may work with your students on an overarching whole task: A day (or year?) of a Native American family. What would it like, as compared to our life. Having this discussion will provide an overarching focus, with each activity bringing in new information, artifacts, evidence, and experiences. At the end students may be required to write a story or put together a play, or an exhibition. This is just an example of how to make the activities more idea-centered focusing on overarching generative ideas.