Model III ( Maple
Template)Model III ( Maple
Template)This theory / research-based template, guided by questions from a variety of advisors, is helpful in creating, refining, and evaluating new and existing activities, units, and curricula in a way that reflects best practice. The Maple Tree Template emphasizes the infusion of lifelong learning goals and complex reasoning processes. It focuses on building and sequencing of activities and units and total curriculum to build unifying themes and concepts. Educators are guided in an informative and user-friendly way that allows them to maintain creative individuality.
The stately Maple tree with its many variations, its beautiful leaves, its long protective branches, and its "Maple copters" provides the backdrop for this intricate yet condensed look at instructional design.
Note: The following table provides an overview of the topics presented in the model. To bypass this table, viewers may proceed directly to the text-only information for Model III.
| Learning Experience Questions | Unit Questions | Curriculum Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Overview | Overview of units | |
| Length of Learning Experience | Length of unit | |
| Rationale | Rationale | Rationale |
| Assessment | Assessment | Assessment |
| Planning the learning experience | Planning the learning experience | Planning the learning experience |
| Connecting the learning experience | Sequencing the learning experience | Aligning the learning experience |
| Supporting the learning experience | Supporting the learning experience | Supporting the learning experience |
| Reflection and evaluation | Reflection and evaluation | Reflection and evaluation |
Learning Experience Overview:
Grade(s):
Location:
Length of Learning Experience: Has adequate time been provided for students to generate and explore questions that emerge as a result of this unit?
Rationale: The rationale is the justification for including this Learning Experience in this unit.
Content Standard(s)/Benchmark(s): Standards and benchmarks are descriptions of what students should know or be able to do within the course content.
In what ways does the Learning Experience engage students in investigating the big ideas of science as described by national and/or locally adopted standards?
Enter the locally adopted standard(s)
and benchmark(s) students will be addressing in this Learning Experience.
Complex Thinking/Process Goal(s): Complex thinking/process goals are also called higher order thinking skills and include processes such as comparing, classifying, observing, problem solving, etc.
What kind of thinking processes will engage students during this Learning Experience?
Enter the process(es) you will emphasize
during this Learning Experience.
Lifelong Learning Goal(s): Many districts have identified goals for students that go beyond content. These goals may be related to school climate, habits of mind, student attitudes, as well as other affective goals.
What lifelong learning goals will be addressed in this Learning Experience?
After reviewing your district goals,
enter those you have identified for this Learning Experience.
Assessment:
How will you determine what prior knowledge and possible misconceptions students bring with them?
What opportunities do students have to self-assess their progress towards the goals of the Learning Experience?
How will you let students know what is expected of them in this Learning Experience before they are evaluated on their work?
How will you provide feedback to students on a regular basis?
What evidence will you need to know that students have achieved the goals of this Learning Experience?
Enter the assessments you plan to use
in this Learning Experience.
Planning the Learning Experience:
Effective science planning should include consideration of the nature of learning.
Identifying Lesson Content: Though there are countless topics that may be addressed in science, this knowledge is often organized around a few unifying themes (i.e. systems).
What are the unifying themes, basic principles and concepts of science you will address during this Learning Experience?
Enter the unifying themes, basic principles
and concepts of science you will address.
Instructional Model(s): There are many instructional models that have been recommended for elementary science, such as the learning cycle.
Which instructional model would be best suited for this Learning Experience?
Enter the instructional model you will
use for this Learning Experience.
Instructional Strategies: A variety of instructional strategies (concept attainment, K-W-L, and cooperative learning) must be used to meet the needs of all learners.
What opportunities have I provided for students to verbalize, test, modify, and even abandon their preexisting ideas and adopt new ones?
How will you ensure that the learning experience provides opportunities for students to generate their own questions and pursue answers.
Have you considered a variety of learning experiences to meet the needs of all students?
Enter the instructional strategies
you will utilize in this Learning Experience.
Connecting the Learning Experience:
It is critical that Learning Experiences build upon one another. Learning Experiences are strengthened by their connections to other disciplines and experiences outside the classroom.
In what ways does this Learning Experience relate to other Learning Experiences in this unit?
How will you help students connect knowledge and skills outside of the classroom?
What cross-curricular connections can you make to this learning experience?
Enter the connections that this Learning
Experience has to other Learning Experiences and student experiences.
Supporting the Learning Experience: To help ensure a successful learning experience, consider the following components:
Ordering/locating materials
Equipment set-up/requisition
Field experiences
Safety considerations
Technology
Personnel
Enter that which will be needed to ensure
a successful learning experience.
Reflection and Evaluation:
Reflection and evaluation are necessary ongoing processes that improve instruction.
Were there any student questions left unexplored?
Were students afforded the opportunity to construct new knowledge?
What data will you collect to evaluate this Learning Experience?
What worked well?
How will you revise this Learning Experience to strengthen the learning experience?
Enter your plan for reflection and evaluation.
Unit: Unit Overview:
Grade(s):
Location:
Teacher(s):
Length of Unit: Has adequate time been provided for students to generate and explore questions that emerge as a result of this unit?
Rationale:The rationale is the justification for including this unit in the curriculum.
Content Standard(s) / Benchmark(s): Standards and benchmarks are descriptions of what students should know or be able to do within the course content.
• In what ways do students investigate the big ideas of science (systems, change, etc.)?
Enter the standard(s) and benchmark(s)
students will be addressing in this unit.
Complex Thinking/Process Goal(s): Complex thinking/process goals are also called higher order thinking skills and include processes such as classifying, problem solving, et. Sometimes they are incorporated into the benchmark. They have been kept separate in this format.
Enter the processes students will engage
in throughout this unit.
Lifelong Learning Goal(s): Many districts have identified goals for students that go beyond content. These goals may be related to school climate, habits of mind, student attitudes, lifelong learning skills as well as other affective goals.
• Are these goals assessable?
Enter any other specific goals your district
has identified that students will work towards in this unit. This may include
things such as cooperative worker, responsible citizen, effective communicator,
or other skills that are valuable across content areas.
At this point you may want to cross-reference your district goals with those you have identified for this unit.
Assessment:
There are many ways teachers and students can assess their progress. If you would like to explore different types of assessments, see "student assessment" for more information.
• What evidence will you need to know that students have achieved the goals of this unit (Content Standards and Benchmarks, Complex Thinking, and Lifelong Learning)?
Enter/attach the assessments you plan
to use in this unit.
At this point you may want to survey the diversity of the embedded assessments.
Planning the Learning Experience:
In what ways does the unit provide opportunities for students to generate their own questions and pursue answer?
How will this unit engage and be relevant to learners?
What basic concepts and principles of science will you need to facilitate this unit?
Instructional Model(s): As stated in Elementary School Science for the 90s, inquiry is a common critical attribute of effective science teaching models. "Good instructional models promote the same mechanisms that scientists use when they 'do science' by inviting children to take a more meaningful look at their world and challenging them to make sense of and take action on what they are learning." To discover which instructional model(s) will best fit your needs for this unit, explore "facilitation of learning."
Enter the instructional model(s) you
plan to use in this unit.
Instructional Strategies: Research tells us that there should be a balance between student-directed and teacher-facilitated activities when planning and sequencing learning experiences.
• How does the unit provide a variety of ways for students to develop conceptual understanding?
Enter the instructional strategies you
will be utilizing throughout this unit.
Have you included a variety of instructional strategies and models?
Sequencing the Learning Experience:
In what ways does the sequence of activities support the building of conceptual development throughout this unit?
How has time been allowed to address prerequisite skills students may need to achieve unit goals?
Enter a time line of activities for this
unit.
Do all of the activities within this unit progress in a logical, connected manner?
Supporting the Learning Experience
Enter what will be needed to ensure
a successful learning experience in terms of:
Ordering/locating materials
Equipment set-up/requisition
Field experiences
Safety considerations
Technology
Personnel
Have you provided ample support for the learning experiences?
Reflection and Evalulation:
What data will you collect to evaluate this unit?
With whom will you share the data?
How will you use the data to inform your practice?
What worked well?
What will you revise this unit to strengthen students'learning experiences?
Enter your plan for reflection and evaluation.
How will these reflections impact future teaching?
Overview of Units:
Unit Name:
Unit Length:
Unit Overview:
Standards/Benchmarks Addressed During the Year: Standards and benchmarks are descriptions of what students should know or be able to do within the course content.
Enter the standards and benchmarks that
will be assessed at this grade level.
o How do these standards and benchmarks correspond to your units of study?
Complex Thinking/Process Goals for the Year:
Complex thinking/process goals are also called higher-order thinking skills and include processes such as classifying, problem solving, etc.
Enter the complex thinking/process goals
you will emphasize this year.
How do these goals correspond to your units of study?
Lifelong Learning Goals for the Year:
Many districts have identified goals for students that go beyond content. These goals may be related to school climate, habits of mind, student attitudes, lifelong learning skills as well as other affective goals.
Enter the lifelong learning goals you
will emphasize this year.
How do these correspond to your units of study?
o How will you collect, organize, and report student progress?
Enter any assessments for which your
grade level is responsible.
Planning the Learning Experience:
Do students have an opportunity to demonstrate what they know and can do in a variety of ways?
How will your curriculum address the unifying themes/big ideas of science?
Enter the unifying themes/big ideas of
science your curriculum will address throughout the year.
Do students have the opportunity to develop science inquiry skills in a variety of ways?
How will your curriculum promote science as inquiry?
Enter the inquiry proceses and skills
your curriculum addresses throughout the year.
Aligning the Learning Experience:
How will the alignment of units support the building of conceptual development throughout the year?
How will this curriculum promote horizontal and vertical articulation with other grade levels?
How will the units align with your district's goals and assessments of them?
How will the units align with your district's school improvement plan?
Enter the components of your school improvement
plan that will be addressed through this curriculum.
Supporting the Learning Experience:
In what ways will you integrate technology into your units?
In what ways do you plan to utilize resources outside your classroom?
Are there any facility concerns specific to your situation that must be considered?
Enter the core instructional materials
needed to implement your intended curriculum.
What data will you collect to evaluate this curriculum?
With whom will you share this data?
How will you use the data to inform your practice?
Enter your plan for reflection and evaluation.