Units of Study

Glatthorn (1994) describes a process for teachers to develop units and lessons. His model uses a constructivist approach that emphasizes active thinking and processing, with the learner constructing meaning and solving problems.

This curriculum-development process involves the following steps:

1. Consider the extent of curriculum integration to be achieved.

2. Determine the title of the unit, the time limit, and the learning goals or standards that students are to meet.

3. Identify the problem to be solved in the unit. This problem may be addressed in a number of ways, such as: investigation (What happened?), experimental inquiry (How can this be explained?), or an invention (What new product or approach can be developed?).

4. Draft the unit scenario, including how it begins, moves through stages of learning, and ends.

5. Determine the knowledge students will need and how they will gain it (such as guided discovery, lecture, discussion, technology, and cooperative learning).

6. Determine the learning strategies that students will need.

7. Plan the lessons.

8. Evaluate the unit and disseminate it.

For additional information, refer to Developing a Quality Curriculum (Glatthorn, 1994).

References