Christian Religious Education: Overview of Syllabus Interpretation

Evelyn Jepkemei Senior Education Specialist Primary Math and Reading Initiative RTI International

Plan Ahead
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Pre-Planning Strategies
1. Determine the learning styles of your students 2. Determine reading levels/skills of students 3. Inventory access to Resources and technology 4. Connect experience to what is being taught 5. Connect on academic expectations and core content with behaviour 6. Establish a variety of instructional strategies
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Essential Questions
What do I want all students to know and be able to do at the end of this lesson? What will I do to cause this learning to happen? What will students do to facilitate this learning? How will I assess to find out if this learning happened? What will I do for those who show through assessment that the learning did not take place?

The Correct Question

DONT ASK: What am I going to cover tomorrow? DO ASK: What are my students going to learn, achieve, and accomplish tomorrow? The role of the teacher is not to cover. The role of the teacher is to UNCOVER. Learning has nothing to do with what the teacher COVERS. Learning has to do with what the student ACCOMPLISHES.
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If the classroom is a fish bowl

Piranha Catfish Goldfish
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Piranha..
Are usually the trouble-makers Can be passive aggressive or overtly aggressive Have negative attitude Have attendance problems Are at risk Etc., etc., etc
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Catfish..
Go with the flow Are usually good-natured, but have limited motivation Are social beings Tend to cooperate; follow MOST rules Perform to the average or just enough to stay out of trouble
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Goldfish..
Are in the top 10-15% of their class Are teacher pleasers Are highly motivated to perform well Show enthusiasm for learning May be over achievers and /or high achievers
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Thinking It Through
Lesson Content Learning Level Instructional Methods, Materials, Activities Student Activities Evaluation Tools, Strategies, Activities
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Planning
1. Understand the objectives
Objectives set out in the syllabus

2. Create your own sub objectives to suit the needs of your learners
Requires considerable planning

3. Decide on the things you want the learners to know, and what they will do with that knowledge. What do you want them to feel and do?

Planning
4. Decide on the strategies
We do not want to limit our classes to acquisition of knowledge Other important objectives include feeling and/or action

5. Understand the taxonomies

Cognitive Domain
This domain focuses on intellectual skills and is familiar to educators. Blooms Taxonomy on the cognitive domain describes the increasing complexity of cognitive skills as students move from beginner to more advanced in their knowledge of content. The cognitive domain is the core learning domain.

Old Blooms vs. New Blooms

Note the move from nouns to verbs and the exchange the top two levels

The Affective Domain

The affective domain is critical for learning but is often not specifically addressed. This is the domain that deals with attitudes, motivation, willingness to participate, valuing what is being learned, and ultimately incorporating the values of a discipline into a way of life. CRE is huge on this domain

Affective Domain

Believe, Practice, Continue to, Carry out

Organize, Select, Judge, Decide, Identify with Attain, Assume, Support, Participate Reply, Answer, Follow along, Approve, Continue
Listen to, Perceive, Be alert, Show tolerance of, Obey

Psychomotor Domain
The psychomotor domain focuses on performing sequences of activities to a specified level of accuracy, smoothness, rapidity, or force. Underlying the motor activity is cognitive understanding.

The Psychomotor Domain

Perception
Process of becoming aware of objects, qualities, etc by way of senses. Basic in situationinterpretation-action chain leading to motor activity. Readiness for a particular kind of action or experience; may be mental, physical or emotional.

Set

Simpson, J. S. (1966). The classification of educational objectives, psychomotor domain. Office of Education Project No. 5-85-104. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois.

The Psychomotor Domain

Overt behavioral act under guidance of an instructor, or following model or set criteria.
Learned response becomes habitual; learner has achieved certain confidence and proficiency or performance.

Guided Response

Mechanism

The Psychomotor Domain

Complex Overt Response
Adaptation

Performance of action considered complex because of action pattern required.

Altering activities to meet demands of problematic situations.

The Psychomotor Domain

Creating new acts or ways of manipulating materials and knowledge out of skills, abilities

Origination

Where are we?

Despite the importance of the taxonomies, parents, teachers and other groups emphasize cognition only It is important to include higher order thinking skills and help the learners develop habits of mind We must tailor or practice to meet the needs of learners The syllabus typically identifies objectives for all the topics As the teacher you must operationalize these objectives and make them relevant and meaningful for your learners Gather information systematically from primary and secondary sources

Where are we?

Translate objectives to specific things to be done. Think about the objective in varying degrees of complexity
Use higher order thinking skills Emphasize doing and feeling Identify examples Allow sharing of feelings Seek for application

Assessment
Ineffective Assignments:
The teacher tells the class what is to be covered

Effective Assignments:
The teacher tells the students what they are to have accomplished or mastered at the end of the lesson Teach with the end in mind
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Effective Assessments
Must have structure and be precise Structure
The assignment must have a consistent and familiar format that the students can recognize as their assignment The assignment must be posted daily in a consistent location BEFORE students enter the room

Preciseness
The assignment must state clearly and simply what the students are to ACCOMPLISH
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Making Assessment. . . part of your instructional planning

One would think that the purpose of assessment is to improve learning. This is true only if/when we design it so. Toward this end, it is often useful to think of three places or purposes in our assessment plan. Pre-assessment. Do this at the beginning. What do my students know before we start? Are there things I need to review or skills I should teach first? Are there things they know already? Should I be ready to develop alternative approaches for some students?

Making Assessment. . . part of your instructional planning

Formative assessment Do this along the way. How are my students doing? How well I am doing? Should I re-teach some area? Should I develop alternative approaches for some students? These assessments should be non-threatening, and provide immediate feedback. Summative assessment. This is usually left for KNEC

 Consider a pre-test or use pre-assessment information to guide instruction how much do they know; where are the rough spots? Develop some formative evaluation techniques to use along the way how are they doing; what should I revisit a different way? Build from a test blueprint or table of specifications - 2-way table preferred over the 1-way blueprint? Decide on length how many items for the time allowed; is the rule of thumb one-item-per-minute for objective items enough? Allow time for preparing is it a new test you are creating for the first time; is it a recycled test? Plan for scoring how much time will you need; What should students score? Feedback to students feedback should be sooner rather than later; will students see their grade only; entire test; go over all items?

Classroom Assessment Planning Remember:

1. AFFECTIVE DOMAIN: Value the notion of the importance of an overall plan for assessment, to include the process of credibly interpreting performance and assigning grades. COGNITIVE DOMAIN: Clearly identify your classroom instructional objectives and index them to an authority. PSYCHOMOTOR DOMAIN: Develop skill in preparing a test blueprint or table of specifications to strive for a high degree of content validity on all assessments.

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Additional Tips
Share your Teaching Philosophy with your colleagues Get personal/be genuine/show passion Tell stories Use groups Frequency reduces awkwardness Incremental / escalating success builds confidence Make content relevant to life and career

Consider the Following Activities

Concept Maps Reflection Papers, Journaling Small Group Activities / Cooperative Learning Role play / Gaming Confidence surveys / Knowledge Surveys Free Association = Implicit Attitudes

Thanks!

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