PTS Name: Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students
Element: Developing and sequencing instructional activities and materials for
student learning
Indicators
As teachers develop, they may ask, “How do I…” or “Why do I…”:
- Sequence subject matter concepts to support student learning?
- Use formal and informal student assessment in short-term and long-term planning?
- Plan to use instructional strategies appropriate to the complexity of the lesson content and student learning needs?
- Select and sequence curriculum to promote understanding and critical thinking for all students?
- Sequence instruction to help students see relationships and connections across subject matter areas?
- Choose and adapt instructional materials to make subject matter relevant to students’ experience
and interests?
- Develop and sequence instruction that supports students’ second language learning and subject
matter knowledge?
Descriptions
Examples may include, but are not limited to:
- Using scope and sequence, and pacing calendars to determine what will be taught, in what order, and by when
- Teaching new and challenging content and skills by engaging students in difficult tasks while providing ongoing instructional support to continually assist them in building an understanding (e.g. displaying graphics, tapping into prior knowledge, modeling an activity beforehand, introducing motivational techniques to spark student interest)
- Acknowledging the need to spend extra time reviewing a particular concept after surveying the results of a pre-assessment given to students before beginning a unit
- Selecting instructional strategies that align with learning objectives and student needs (e.g., using a graphic organizer when studying cause and effect to capitalize on student’s visual and spatial abilities)
- Aligning the unit calendar with other content area units to help students see connections between subjects (e.g., connecting a unit on the Salem Witch Trials to history, literature, folk studies, law, psychology and/or science)
Problems of Practice
Challenges with this element frequently include:
- Planning separate day-by-day, stand-alone lessons and activities that do not build upon one another or lead to essential understanding for students as they go through a unit of study
- Engaging students in lessons that fail to give them the opportunity to interact with increasingly complex concepts and ideas
- Focusing single-mindedly on subject area content rather than attempting to support learning by enriching it with connections to other disciplines