Unplanned teaching and learning
with the web is a recipe for wasting time.
This page general information needed to begin the planning process.
Definitions
What is curriculum?
"a plan for a sustained process of teaching and learning" (David
Pratt, 1997, p. 5)
What is a lesson?
a coherent unit of teaching and learning, generally designed to
be completed in one class session
What is a lesson plan?
a plan for a coherent unit of teaching and learning, generally
designed to be completed in one class session
What is instruction?
the execution of the curriculum, actually teaching it.
Instruction doesn't always follow curriculum. It is often unplanned.
Curriculum Webs
What is web-based curriculum (or "curriculum web")
-
"a plan for a sustained process of teaching and learning, in
which teaching and learning is facilitated with a linked set
of web pages, providing explicit guidance to the learner and
also providing access to selected web-based materials"
Generally, a curriculum web includes the following web materials:
- a "front page" or "portal" which provides the main entry
point into the lesson
- "activity pages" which describe specific learning activities
for students
- a "teachers page" which contains information useful to
the teacher, including a "curriculum guide" containing the
elements listed above
- on-line feedback mechanisms so students can communicate
with the curriculum designer
- on-line assessments so students can test their knowledge
or understanding
- links to relevant web sites
NOTE: A "Curriculum Web" differs
from a course web site (which often includes administrative
stuff such as forms and rules of the classroom in that it
is about teaching and learning, and encompasses a "unit"
of instruction defined by subject matter or standards.
Curriculum webs
differ from web-based lessons in involving a sequence of
learning activities, generally 3 to 10 lessons or activities.
What is a web-based lesson?
a plan for a coherent unit of teaching and learning, generally
designed to be completed in one class session, which utilizes
the web as a medium for teaching and learning. Generally, the
web page or pages will include instructions for the student,
links to appropriate resources, and (occasionally), interactivity.
Activities
1. Read Chapter 1 of Curriculum Webs by Cunningham and Billingsley.
2. Peruse projects created
by former WIT participants. Some of these are not really
curriculum webs.
Do
they include:
- a front page?
- an activities page?
- a teachers page?
- on-line feedback mechanisms?
- on-line assessments?
- links to relevant websites?
Links to some examples are listed below.
|
