CYCLES OF LEARNING
  • BLOG
  • TED
  • BOOK
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTACT

When curiosity is sparked...

deep cycles of learning can occur.

Distance Learning Lesson Planning Checklist (Catalyzed by BackĀ  to School Night reflection)

9/18/2020

 
While many members of my PLN have gone back to teaching face-to-face via a myriad of different hybrid models, my colleagues and I still remain teaching in a 100% distance setting for the time being. Last night was "Back to School Night" via Zoom. The night was eye opening for me to say the least. 

Normally Back to School Night is an energizing time for me connect with parents and share with them my authenticity as a teacher who values hands-on work and exploration with students in my science classes.

Without realizing it, over the past ~ 6 months of distance learning, and clearly evident in my writing during this time, I have traded in my normal engaged, spontaneous, enthused presence in the classroom, for a stance that has placed protocols, organization, and structure, before all else.

While tight structures are necessary, I hypothesize my fear of students feeling lost in the distance setting, and my lack of ability to work with them side-by-side, has forced me to see my teaching through a lens of structure first, rather than a lens of engagement and passion. If that makes sense? 

While I am sure many of us are experiencing similar trends in instructional behavior/design, this was underscored for me last night when interacting with parents via Zoom. While many appreciated the structure and my desire to organize their learning process,  parents in my chemistry class specifically expressed a need for more hands on work at home, and engaged learning.

This was a violating and dissonant thing to hear, as my normal stance as an educator is drenched in such a teaching framework. But how were they, specifically freshman parents, supposed to know that?

I felt like it was Day 1, and all I had to show for my teaching was some boring Backwards Design Model, or tired lesson planning template that I was regurgitating from credential courses just 3 months prior.

Indeed, in 100% distance learning, these are often the things that are on display. Such comments, while instructive, hit me hard, as hands on, engaged learning is something that comes so natural to me in the in the normal setting, something that parents/students rarely question...something that is the foundation of my authentic self in the classroom. If anything, the organization and systems I a putting in place have been weak spots for me as an educator over the years. Now they are front and center. 

After an evening of feeling sorry for myself, I woke up and jotted the below checklist to my normal teaching prep schedule in my "Notes" application. Each time I lesson plan moving forward, I plan on using this checklist to help me self regulate my lesson planning. A quality control measure to make sure I try my best (which will not always be feasible) to infuse my authentic self into the TIGHT STRUCTURE I have created for my distance learning. 

Rather than feeling guilty and trying to please parents...I simply need to do my best to infuse MYSELF into my lessons.

"We teach from who we are" - Parker Palmer.  

Click here for my "Under Construction" Week 6 lesson plan/student notebook. If you look closely you will see opportunities for simple hands on work, collaboration synchronously and asynchronously, and more intentional sparking of student curiosity early on. This should be completely by end of day tomorrow, Sunday, 9/20. 
Picture

Comments are closed.
    Picture
    Ramsey Musallam is a full-time science teacher in Santa Rosa California.
    Starter Pack

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    3-Bullet Thursdays
    5E
    5E/Hero's Journey
    AI
    Apple Tv
    Arduino
    Assessment
    Assistive Technology
    Biochemistry
    Biology
    CAD
    ChatGPT
    Chemistry
    Clips
    Coding
    Cognition
    Commencement
    Commentary
    Computer Science
    Consulting
    Courses
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Curiosity
    Curriculum
    Design
    Distance Learning
    Engineering
    Feynman
    Flipped Learning
    Friday 5
    Game Design
    Games
    Google
    Hack Series
    Hands On
    Hands-On
    Hero's Journey
    Homework
    Inquiry
    Invention
    Itm
    Lecture
    Maker
    Masterclass
    Megacognition
    Misc.
    Models
    Movies
    Neuroscience
    Online Teaching
    Opioid Crisis
    PBL
    Pd
    Pedagogy
    Physics
    Podcast
    Presentation
    Presentations
    Products
    Programming
    Public
    Reflection
    Research
    Robotics
    Rubrics
    Science Camp
    Simulations
    Slides
    Social Good
    STEM
    Store
    Technology
    Tutorials
    Videos
    What If
    Workshop Materials
    Zoom

    Archives

    March 2025
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    July 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    March 2022
    January 2022
    August 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    November 2010

  • BLOG
  • TED
  • BOOK
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTACT