LWISD Bullfrog Bulletin
January 8, 2016
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.--unknown
Principal PLC--Thursday, January 7, 2016
Instructional Objectives
Robert Mager, in his book Preparing Instructional Objectives, describes an objective as “a collection of words and/or pictures and diagrams intended to let others know what you intend for your students to achieve” (3). Teachers in LWISD classrooms have embraced the four-part objective, but why are we writing objectives in this format? The idea is that the “by” portion of the objective describes the output or the demonstration of learning. In other words, how will I as an instructor know whether or not my students understood the content at the level specified in the objective? The “by” portion is the way in which the objective will be measured. It is all about formative assessment. The “by” portion should be used by the teacher daily to determine if students understand the material; in other words, it should guide future instruction. This offers the proof as to whether or not students learned the material. It also increases the likelihood that students retain important learning. It is no longer enough to say that I as a teacher taught the material. We must always ask ourselves whether or not students learned it. The “by” portion or product is not a test or quiz but a task, product or answer that demonstrates mastery of the content.
Coming Up:
Week of January 11-15--Content-Based Assessment 2
Thursday, January 14 & 15--Individual Principal Meetings
Friday, January 15--Teaching and Learning Coaches @ 9:00 am
Monday, January 18--Waiver Staff Professional Development Day
The Shortest Path
•It is about mastery of the objective and what gets you there best and fastest: group work, multi-sensory approaches, open inquiry, Socratic seminars, discussions, and lectures are neither good not bad for a teacher to use except in how they relate to this goal. Take the shortest path, and throw out all other criteria." In other words, use the best "by" to ensure that students reach the necessary level of Bloom's Taxonomy the quickest and most effective way.