PTS Name: Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students
Element: Designing short-term and long-term plans to foster student learning
Indicators
As teachers develop, they may ask, “How do I…” or “Why do I…”:
- Develop short-term and long-term plans that build on and extend students’ understanding of
subject matter?
- Make decisions about organizing curriculum to allow enough time for student learning, review,
and assessment?
- Think ahead toward long-term goals for student learning?
- Use my knowledge of subject matter and my students to plan and pace instructional activities
over time?
- Plan to ensure access to challenging, diverse, academic content for all students?
- Provide opportunities for all students to learn at their own pace in my daily, weekly, and unit plans?
- Incorporate diverse subject matter perspectives in my planning?
Descriptions
Examples may include, but are not limited to:
- Unpacking subject content and chunking material so that basic concepts are taught prior to more complex ideas (ex. Middle school student learns about parts of the flower before learning
about pollination)
- Referring to the next grade’s objectives/goals to determine what students need to know by the end of the current school year
- Building extra days into a unit plan for reviewing, re-teaching, and assessing
- Determining which objectives to teach during a unit by integrating information from several different sources (e.g., state standards, sample unit plans posted online, colleagues, advice from a mentor)
- Creating learning stations with specific concrete tasks for students who need review, additional practice, enrichment, or independent study
Problems of Practice
Challenges with this element frequently include:
- Planning lessons and activities that are unrelated to the unit of study
- Failing to familiarize yourself with and understand content- and grade-level standards
- Planning lessons that are unrelated to students’ specific learning needs