Name : Keziah Silva

Date : February 10, 2017

EDUG 506 Subject Matter Standards & Applications

Module Assessment

1. Backward Design is a theory that is designed to make learning more effective. It

challenges teachers to focus first on the desired goals and objectives of a lesson instead of

just creating a lesson and writing an objective afterwards. The backwards design consists

of three stages that guide us through creating a lesson plan; identify desired results,

determine acceptable evidence, and plan learning experiences and instruction. These

stages align with the five parts of creating a lesson plan. The first three parts of creating a

lesson plan (goals and standards, students information, and lesson anticipations) go with

the first stage of backwards design. These first stage of backwards design is most

important because it is when the teacher must ask What should students know,

understand, and be able to do? This is the question that will make the rest of the lesson

planning fall into place. The second stage asks How will we know if students have

achieved the desired results? This stage encourages teachers to think like assessors and

find formative and summative assessments to use on the students. The last stage is when

the actual lesson procedures are created. If the teacher is following the stages of

backwards design and creates the objectives first, then this stage should just fall into

place. The three stages of Backwards Design connect mostly with TPE 3.2 which states

Use knowledge about students and learning goals to organize the curriculum to facilitate

student understanding of subject matter, and make accommodations and/or modifications

 as needed to promote student access to the curriculum. This TPE aligns perfectly

because it focuses on using background knowledge about to create goals before

organizing curriculum.

2. One additional concept that deeps my understanding of TPEs 3 and 4 are 21st century

skills. Since todays students live in a fast paced, dynamic, and highly interconnected

world, the California Legislator passed Assembly Bill 250 to develop a system of

curriculum centered in bringing in 21st century skills to enrich their learning in the

classroom. There were four key areas that were created to focus mostly on to prepare

students for the demands of the 21st century; (1) core subject and interdisciplinary

themes; (2) life and career skills; (3) learning and innovating skills (the Four Cs:

creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration); and (4) information,

media, and technology skills. An example of focusing on these areas in lesson planning is

found in a lesson plan. The Four Cs are found on a lesson plan asking us to circle one

that we are going to be observing during the lesson. The goal is to make sure that during

each lesson that we conduct in the classroom, we are introducing life skills that will help

them in the real world. More than just creating an objective before the lesson, we must

also connect our objective to a 21st century skill. An example of this in the classroom

would be if a fourth-grade class were writing short stories based on photographs of the

era of The Great Depression. At the end of the lesson, the class will discuss how

photography is an important tool in raising awareness of tragedy happening all over the

world. This is an example of me using a critical thinking strategy with the students,

getting them to think about what it would be like if it was their world. This concepts

gives me a deeper understanding of TPE 3 and 4 because for TPE 3, the students are
being taught subjects that are organized for effective learning and application to the real

world. For TPE 4, I feel like I have an even deeper understanding because 21st century

learning is specific for giving each student their own individual learning experience.