Final Project Presentation & Design Guidelines Education 92A: The Evolution of Education

Telos & Embedded Assumptions Your Design Description should begin with an outline of the values and purposes your curricular program is meant to serve What ontological assumptions does your educational plan make about knowledge, understanding, and how people learn? How does your educational approach represent your vision for society? E.g. are you addressing social justice issues, societal advancement, problems with industry? conservation / environmental justice? Global community? What assumptions does your educational approach make about the development or enlightenment of the individual? How are these two sets of assumptions (society and the individual) related For example: One group described a “Personal Awareness Goal” this way - Reframe our individual position relative to the world’s sustainability and ecological awareness. What is the underlying teleology here?

Learning Goals Next you should articulate the more specific learning/pedagogical goals that have informed your design Learning goals (e.g. “choice”, awareness, “authenticity” “honoring individuality” or “student ownership”is important for learning) Curricular Goals : liberal arts vs. vocational training, vs. supporting human development Process Goals: e.g. critical thinking, scientific method, collaborative engagement Content Goals: e.g. what is “conservation” why do rainforests need to be maintained? Identity Goals: help students build confidence - “unschooling” students Aesthetic Goals: creativity, appreciation of nature, Other: e.g. making connections between school and community

Learning preparation and outcomes What assumptions are you making about how well prepared your students are to engage in the activities you are planning (e.g. they are well nourished, healthy,willing to try new things, go new places) What will students need to be able to do in order to participate effectively in the activities you are planning? (ask critical questions, take measurments be comfortable/trust each other) What will students be able to do as a result of this program ( e.g. ask critical questions, summarize a text, take measurements, trust their peers)

Evidence of Learning How will you know whether your different learning goals are being accomplished? What kind of evidence would help you to understand what your students understand/are capable of doing/ are feeling ? What kinds of activities will you plan to generate this evidence of learning? How will you document / keep tabs on changes in student performances of understanding as they manifest?

Scaffolds / Mechanisms How do you intend to implement your stated goals? One group wrote: “We aim for students to visually connect the topic learned in class thorough movies or videos for a better understanding”. ( note: what are the assumptions here?) Another group plans on their students “researching a fish” at MB aquarium: “Students would complete a page that includes an illustration and a handful of facts about the student’s animal which would be bound together into a classroom book. Student’s would understand research methods and gain a sense of pride over the research that they completed.” ( what mechanisms promote research methods?) Or, for example, why might “compare and contrast” be a useful heuristic in a design intended to foster understanding of the scientific method. Think of scaffolds as teaching tools you might use across a range of activities…

Teacher Roles & Limitations How are you conceptualizing the role of the teacher? How do you plan to facilitate student learning and skill development. Through peer-peer interaction? Through open-ended questions? Demonstrations? Co-construction of collaborative artifacts (e.g. a “chart”) How does this relate to other embedded teaching scaffolds. (e.g. Montessori Method relies heavily on strategic materials and the ordered progression from one activity to another). How might these roles be limited by larger socio-political expectations and institutions. What kinds of logistical hurdles do you anticipate?

Learning activities Notice that this slide comes towards the end!! Finally how will you organize the time you have with these students.. Will you make learning goals for each activity explicit to students? What connections/overlaps will there be among different activities? Will you make connections explicit or do you want students to disover these themseleves? Is there an overall “Arc”, a sort of narrative beginning and end to your 3-day design?

Limitations of Your Design Any accomplished engineer is aware of the limitations or “tradeoffs” inherent in the final solution/product of their design work. Articulating these limitations/tradeoffs enables end users to use the design more strategically and with more awareness What do you understand to be the limitations of the design you have created What tradeoffs or sacrifices did you have to make? Will this design work in some contexts better than others? Why?