Creating a Unit of Instruction - Assignment Example

? Create a Unit of instruction (UBD A Brief Overview of the Unit Instruction a. A Brief of the Unit The conception of nutrition and physical activity is widely documented or accepted as an important subject for the curriculums of modern educational institutions. An effective curriculum associated with nutrition and health activity can be considered as one of the highly essential frameworks which provide range of benefits to the children strengthening their mental, behavioral as well as physical condition at large (American Psychological Association, 2013). Therefore, the primary unit of this curriculum is intended to develop an organized approach in order to promote nutritional aspects along with different physical educational activities which ensure to develop children’s health. In order to precisely and most apparently highlight the major factors in terms of promoting nutritional and physical development of the children, the different areas of this report would be assessed in accordance with the guidelines of Understanding by Design (UbD) approach. The nutrition and physical activity curriculum incorporates the following stages: Significance of nutrition and physical activity and their role for developing children health Comprehensive health and physical education need as per the standards of NJCCCS (New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards) for promoting good health for the children Identify the desired results in terms of learner outcomes and goals Create “essential questions” that will focus upon the work concerning the key concepts, themes, issues and problems of the topic Design effective assessment plan in accordance with the promotion of good health for the children Design effective learning experience or course which can enable the child care settings (parental and institutional) to equip the students with skills, proficiency, knowledge as well as understanding. b. State the Appropriate NJCCCS it Addresses The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS) can be duly considered as one of the major frameworks for educating a child relating to the development which has been formed by the New Jersey State Board of Education during the year 1996. The NJCCCS framework tends to incorporate adequate guidelines and principles that apparently define the major learning process for the students to accomplish desired education or the learning outcome (State of New Jersey Department of Education, n.d.). The guiding principles underneath the NJCCCS address various aspects towards improving the curriculum in terms of developing child educational settings. Additionally, the principles of this framework also tend to incorporate adequate measures associated with promoting good health and wellbeing of each student within different educational institutions. In this regard, nutrition and physical activity is also a major consideration of the NJCCCS framework which highly focuses on improving the dietary and physical education for each child within any educational, healthcare and parental settings. Furthermore, the framework also ensures to streamline the practices concerning the wellness and good health of the students within the educational settings and confirms to develop physical, psychological as well as educational growth of each child (The State of New Jersey, n.d.). c. Identify the Desired Results in terms of the Learner Outcomes and Goals Identifying desired results can be regarded as one of the primary and initial stages of UbD approach ensuring to efficiently understand the students regarding the significance of nutrition and physical activities. In this context, the identification of desired results in terms of learner outcomes and goals has been explained in the following discussion. Established Goals The essential factors concerning nutrition and physical education for the children will be focused in terms of clearly identifying the desired results of the unit. Therefore, in the major stage of designing the unit, certain realistic goals in accordance with the NJCCCS framework can be taken into concern. Additionally, the stage will also enclose a critical review of the desired outcomes and expectations of the overall curriculum unit. The process would enable the students to clearly identify and implement effective nutrition and physical activities. The students within the educational institutions would be able to clearly identify and understand the significant aspects relating to nutrition and physical activities. In this regard, the unit of nutrition and physical activity would be focused on making the students to become quite aware about the significance of nutrition and make them more focused in terms of planning appropriate diets for themselves along with other individuals within a particular community. Additionally, the students will also able to gain adequate knowledge regarding their own eating patterns and understand effective ways to improve them in a continuous basis. Desired Understandings In accordance with the proposed nutrition and physical activity plan, the process would enable the students to efficiently understand various concepts regarding the contributory role of nutrition and physical activities. In this similar context, the nutritional patterns along with their role in developing physical and mental health would also be considered so that the students can effectively improve their respective diet patterns in accordance with their physical and mental requirements. Additionally, the students will further trained to participate in various sports events along with other activities in order to improve their physical capability by a greater degree. In this regard, the students would enable to join in various sports such as including swimming and athletics among others in accordance with their interests. d. Essential Questions to Be Considered In order to effectively improve the nutrition patterns along with the physical capability of the students, it is highly important for any nutritional and physical curriculum to clearly make the students to be aware of their dietary patterns and daily physical activities. In this context, an effective set of questions regarding the understanding of the students concerning the role and significance of nutrition and physical activity would play an imperative part. Therefore, the following set of questions can efficiently enable to recognize the understanding level of the students concerning nutrition and physical activities. What is nutritional eating and how it develops individual health? What dietary pattern and supplementary can help to gain physical and mental capability? How would you identify the nutritional level of your diet is appropriate to maintain good health? What role do physical activities play to develop child health? What are the major advantages of physical activities to maintain physical and mental development? e. Assessment Plan The aspect of assessment plan can be duly considered as one of the major and highly essential steps for this nutrition and physical activity curriculum. In this regard, the assessment plan of the proposed curriculum unit would incorporate adequate steps and practices in order to clearly identify the role and significance of healthy nutritional patterns along with physical activities of the students. Moreover, the processes underneath this curriculum unit would also ensure to enhance the dietary patterns along with the physical development of the students by a certain degree. Therefore, the assessment plan would be characterized into various categories in order to encompass different aspects concerning the improvement of children health and physical capability. The following discussion of this assessment plan has briefly discussed about certain major activities that can provide significant evidence of ensuring proper understanding of the students regarding nutrition and physical activity. i. Self-Assessment Program The self-assessment program in the assessment plan can be duly considered as an effective educational tool which can provide adequate evidence concerning student learning relating to any subject. In this regard, the self-assessment process would incorporate different nutritional as well as physical activity related problems or questions in order to provide greater understanding to the children or the students regarding the significance of nutrition and physical activity. In this process, students will be examined by illustrating the enhancement of dietary patterns in accordance with the nutritional amount contained in their regular diet chart. Moreover, the assessment would also focus on certain questions regarding the involvement of the students in different physical activities and how frequently they participate in different sports events. Therefore, the practice concerning self-assessment process of the students will eventually enable to understand their nutritional patterns along with physical capability in order to maintain good health. ii. Nutrition Chart and Physical Activities related Assignments In this regard, the assessment plan would provide certain assignment tasks to the students in order to prepare effective nutrition chart which can improve physical and mental development of the children by a certain degree. The assignments or the tasks that would be provided to the students shall incorporate different questions based upon the importance of food, beverage and supplementary items proving highly beneficial for the children in developing their health and mental condition. Moreover, the students will also be examined through making them to participate in different sports events which can further help to identify the physical stability of the children by a greater level. In this regard, the children will be asked to participate in different athletics based events along with different physical exercises which can further enable to clearly recognize the physical development of the students at large. iii. Other Relevant Activities Although the activities such as self-assessment and preparing nutrition chart as well as developing physical activities ensure to provide adequate evidence, the other significant aspects such as quizzes, work samples along with critical observation can further increase the efficiency of the overall assessment plan by a considerable level. In this similar context, it can be affirmed that the aforesaid aspects would empower the knowledge of the students regarding their daily diet chart along with the importance to maintain good health. Moreover, the process would also enable to clearly identify the knowledge of the students regarding the roles of nutrition and physical activities for upholding wellbeing of individuals. In the similar context, the work samples will be assigned to each student relating to the concept of how poor nutrition chart can be developed and what role does physical activity play to maintain good health for an individual. Therefore, it can be stated that the aforesaid activities can provide adequate support to acquire information about students’ understandings associated with the significance of nutrition and physical activity. Moreover, the self-assessment process of the students can also help them to develop better understanding about gaining much benefit from nutrition and physical activity. In order to clearly justify students’ understandings, knowledge, skills and proficiency concerning nutrition and physical activity, an effective evaluation of the assessment results concerning their knowledge and perception would play an imperative part. Therefore, evaluation process would be performed by assessing the nutritional and physical activity of the students along with the health standards and principles. The process would eventually help to identify the actual roles and significance of nutrition and physical activity for enhancing children’s physical and mental development by a significant level. Moreover, the evaluation process would further focus on assessing authenticated task of the students and their perception concerning the development of dietary chart along with their participation frequency in different physical activities. f. Design Learning Experience With reference to the aforesaid plan of nutrition and physical curriculum, various learning experiences can be apparently viewed to be obtained by the students. In order to efficiently achieve the desired goals or perform effectively with the nutrition and physical activity related tasks, there are various concepts of processes which can empower the students to effectively maintain good health. In this regard, the implementation of the Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) standards can prove to be quiet supportive for improving the nutrition and physical activities of the students by a significant level. A few of the major ELCC standards that are likely to develop the nutrition and physical activities of the students have been briefly demonstrated in the following discussion. ELCC 1.1 The standard signifies effective collaboration of different schools associated with articulating, implementing as well as overseeing the development of the students or the children concerning nutrition as well as physical activity. In relation to the curriculum of nutrition and physical activity, the students should collaboratively act with the school vision while performing any nutritional or physical activity. The process would enable the students to build, articulate as well as implement effective practice of nutrition and physical activities within different educational institutions (Eastern Michigan University, n.d.). ELCC 1.2 The ELCC standard 1.2 denotes appropriate understanding, collecting and making proper use of information to attain the stipulated goals of the educational institutions. In the context of nutrition and physical activity curriculum, the standard can also enable the students to understand the significance of nutrition and physical activity for any individual. Moreover, it would also enable the students to properly collect authenticated data along with their appropriate implementation to achieve the school’s goals (Eastern Michigan University, n.d.). ELCC 1.3 The standard enables the students to understand and promote various goals of the school. In accordance with the nutrition and physical activity curriculum, the standard can further facilitate the students to understand and promote the importance of proper nutrition and physical activities by a considerable level (Eastern Michigan University, n.d.). ELCC 2.2 The standard signifies that the students can further improve their understanding and would facilitate them to comprehensively implement curricular and other instructional programs of the school. In the context of nutrition and physical activity perspective, the standard would enable the students to understand the importance of nutrition and physical activities and coherently act with the institutional curricular and instructional programs (Eastern Michigan University, n.d.). 2. Three Session Seminar Introduction Understanding by Design (UBD) is basically regarded as a conceptual structure which is used to design effective program units. It comprises diverse set of standards that are applied for the development of sample units and also provides template which is used in making effective design of curriculum, instructions and evaluations (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Focusing on this aspect, a professional development program has been planned in order to introduce the UBD process to the teachers. The objective of the professional development plan is to maintain high standard teaching practice. In order to accomplish this objective, three-session seminar has been planned. Objectives of the Seminar One of the key objectives of the seminar is to enhance the understanding of the teachers with respect to UBD. Furthermore, the seminars will also provide the teachers with better understanding of UBD so that they can instigate the backward design process in order to plan their respective units. Session 1 The session 1 of the seminar will be based on developing an introductory workshop. The objective of the workshop will be to provide background information regarding UBD process to the teachers. The session will provide justification about why UBD is valuable and how the teachers can establish the process of UBD in developing school units. By ranges of activities, the participants will gain the opportunity to reflect UBD on their teaching practices and to become familiar with the aspect. Besides, this session will also allow the teachers to involve in the early phases of curriculum development process. This session is designed particularly for the teachers in order to assist them in understanding their roles in organizations (The Alberta Teachers Association, 2012). Session 2 The next session will be a follow up workshop of the previous session. In this session, the participants i.e. the teachers will evaluate the key elements of UBD and will also learn how to gather information and utilize different UBD techniques to develop curriculum units. Guidance will be provided to the teachers and other participants regarding how they can implement the background design procedure in developing curriculum units (The Alberta Teachers Association, 2012). Session 3 The third session will be the final session of the seminar. This session will concentrate on developing a deeper understanding of UBD in professional practices. This session will provide valuable information regarding the strengths and challenges that can be faced by teachers while implementing UBD in order to design, instruct and evaluate curriculum units. Furthermore, in this session, the methods of enhancing the effectiveness of education curriculum units will be discussed along with the review of different activities of UBD (The Alberta Teachers Association, 2012). Memo to the Principal The following memo has been prepared for the principal suggesting follow-up professional growth experiences to sustain this work. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR To: The Principal It is hereby to be informed that this month, XXX University will arrange a seminar in order to enhance the learning experiences of the teachers as well as the students. The seminar will be based on three sessions comprising two hours per session. The objective of the session will be to introduce the UBD process in designing of curriculum units. Furthermore, the seminar would also provide effective follow relating to professional growth experiences for teachers so that they can sustain in their work. The seminar will tackle about utilization of UBD in teaching process. Basically, UBD is a method of thinking which pulls together several thoughts and procedures in utilization of classroom exercises. These thoughts and procedures can result in a way of thinking concerning curriculum, instructions and evaluation of students’ performance (Commission on Higher Education, 2010). Hence, the seminar has been designed in order to instruct the teachers about how they can enhance the performance of the students. Each session will provide guidance on different aspect of UBD and how it can be implemented in curriculum unit development. Thus, with your increased contribution, this professional development program can be a success. Hence, involvement of every teacher in the seminar is desired. Sincerely, --------------- Evaluation Form In order to understand that if the seminar is effective for the teachers to enhance the learning experience of the students, an effective evaluation form has been designed. The evaluation form would determine whether the goals of the seminar have been accomplished or not. Following is the sample evaluation form which will need to be completed by the participants of the seminar. EVALUATION FORM Title of the Seminar: Name (voluntary): We appreciate your involvement in evaluating the seminar. Please indicate your individual rating on the categories described below by circling the proper number through using five point likert scale where 1 denotes low and 5 denotes high. Objectives This seminar had fulfilled the stated objectives of: 1. Providing teachers with working knowledge of UBD 1 2 3 4 5 2. Better understanding of implementation of backward design process in unit planning 1 2 3 4 5 Speakers 1. Well-informed in content areas 1 2 3 4 5 2. Content consistent with the objectives of seminar 1 2 3 4 5 3. Clarified content with respect to the objectives 1 2 3 4 5 Content 1. The contents of the seminar was appropriate for intended audience 1 2 3 4 5 2. The contents of the seminar was steady with the specified objectives 1 2 3 4 5 Teaching Methods 1. Visual aids, hand-outs and oral presentations had effectively 1 2 3 4 5 clarified the seminar contents 2. The teaching methods were appropriate with respect to 1 2 3 4 5 the subject component Relevancy 1. The provided information in the seminar could be 1 2 3 4 5 applied into real life practices 2. Information could contribute to accomplishment of 1 2 3 4 5 professional objectives Facility 1. The facility was satisfactory and appropriate for every session 1 2 3 4 5 2. The facility was comfortable and the seminar was 1 2 3 4 5 provided with adequate space Please mark according to your preferences This program has enhanced my professional expertise Substantially Somewhat Not at all Any comments for further improvements In general Please tick to the correct options according to your preferences Do you favor Half-day seminar Full day seminar Multiple day seminar Where do you prefer seminar? In hotel In educational institution No particular preference N.B: If you prefer to give comment in person, please feel free to contact me at: (Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, n.d.) Documentation for the Training Sessions Documentations are vital for providing valuable information regarding any program. In order to provide effective documentation for the training session, a handout has been designed. Following is the handout provided for the purpose of training session. Slide 1: Understanding by Design UBD will help to develop proper curriculum units for classroom and school. Introduce to the idea of UBD Assist in understanding the reason UBD is strong tool for teachers Familiarizing with the lexicons of UBD Slide 2: UBD as a conceptual basis UBD results in increased learning experiences How UBD vary from conventional thinking regarding teaching and learning How UBD support in establishing curriculum primacies What are the aspects of UBD Slide 3 to 5: The design process of UBD Identification of preferred consequences of instruction: What knowledge is essential for students Determination of adequate indications to evaluate if the outcomes were accomplished: Formulation of performance tasks and assignments as essential for evaluation. Planning about learning experiences and instructions: Designing different learning activities and instruction (Great Circle Learning, 2013) The seminar is intended to enhance the learning experiences of teachers and students with respect to implementation of UBD. The seminar would provide an opportunity to work with the teachers so that they can understand about improving the curriculum. The UBD is related with proper planning of classroom units and can help to establish program by considering the individual requirements of knowledge with respect to local, state and national standards. Furthermore, the processes of UBD would also assist in fulfilling the vision of organizational teaching and learning. Self-Assessment Learning can enhance when a curriculum is planned decisively. Interestingly, most of the classes suffer from general problem with respect to curriculum. It can be observed that in several circumstances, classroom units do not reveal clear academic objectives. The helpful way of thinking about better understanding of curriculum design is to imply UBD. Hence, in this assignment, I have applied the UBD process to develop an effective curriculum based on nutrition and physical activity. Furthermore, I have also planned to conduct a seminar for making professional development in order to introduce the UBD process to the teachers. The assignment has provided me significant experience with respect to curriculum and instruction. During the assignment, I have learned about the importance of UBD process. UBD framework assists in the improvement of deepening the understanding of students and conveying the learning experience. There are various tasks that I have performed while developing curriculum in the area of nutrition and physical activity. For instance, identification of desired outcomes, determination of assessment evidence, and planning about learning experience as well as instruction. I have also gained greater understanding about different educational standards such as ELCC standard while developing the curriculum (Eastern Michigan University, 2011). During the assignment I also had developed an effective plan relating to professional development. In order to facilitate professional development, I have planned three-session seminar. The seminar would eventually help to enhance the teaching experience of the educators by a greater level. As a part of the development of seminar, I have created contents of each seminar along with a memo for the teachers in order to invite them to contribute to the seminar. Furthermore, I have also developed an evaluation form in order to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum. In addition, I have also created documentations with respect to handouts in order to analyze the training sessions. The assignment provided me with the knowledge that UBD has great importance in school curriculum and if implemented correctly, it can lead to better knowledge and raise academic performance of the students at large. References American Psychological Association. (2013). Changing diet and exercise for kids. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/topics/children/healthy-eating.aspx Commission on Higher Education. (2010). Memorandum from the chairperson. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&cad=rja&ved=0CHsQFjAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ched.gov.ph%2Fchedwww%2Findex.php%2Feng%2Fcontent%2Fdownload%2F3422%2F17080%2Ffile%2F2013%2520Seminar-Workshops%2520by%2520International%2520English%2520Learners%2520Training%2520Institute.pdf&ei=8psIUrnEG4aHrAf4tYDIAQ&usg=AFQjCNEsqd76e8gddFDSJtzle5PIRQycaA&sig2=Nb-vFfPtvPsJOu8WBo1mPA&bvm=bv.50500085,d.bmk Eastern Michigan University. (2011). ELCC district-level standards. Retrieved from http://www.emich.edu/ncpeaprofessors/News%20NCPEA%20Website/ELCC%20DISTRICT%20LEVEL%20STANDARDS-1.pdf Eastern Michigan University. (n.d.). ELCC building level standards –2011. Retrieved from http://www.emich.edu/ncpeaprofessors/News%20NCPEA%20Website/ELCC%20BUILDING%20LEVEL%20STANDARDS-2.pdf Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. (n.d.). Assessing and evaluating student learning. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/curriculum/guides/english/primary/studentaccess.pdf Great Circle Learning. (2013). Sample modern session handout. Retrieved from http://www.greatcirclelearning.com/sites/default/files/support/Sample%20Modern%20Session%20Handout-georgedoc.pdf State of New Jersey Department of Education. (n.d.). Comprehensive health and physical education. Retrieved from http://www.state.nj.us/education/genfo/faq/faq_hfle.htm The Alberta Teachers Association. (2012). Professional development programs and services guide. Retrieved from http://www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/Publications/Professional-Development/Programs%20and%20Services%20Guide%20(PD-78).pdf The State of New Jersey. (n.d.). Comprehensive health and physical education in the 21st century. Retrieved from http://www.state.nj.us/education/cccs/standards/2/2.pdf Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. United States: ASCD. Read More