Creating An Engaging Learning Experience
Dr. Douglas Reeves explained that when creating a learning experience for students, we should first determine the power standard that is the most important standard for the students to focus on. Next, we should decide on a set of prior knowledge and skills along with new knowledge and skills that students must know or be able to do in order to show that they have mastered that standard. After identifying the knowledge and skills, we should create a scenario with multiple tasks that students will complete successfully in order to master the standard. Finally, we should identify one or more complementary standards that support the power standard. These complementary standards are ones that can also be addressed through the power standard.
Dr. Reeves emphasized the importance of considering and planning for the diverse needs of learners within a classroom setting. He suggested that it is crucial for educators to create learning activities that can actually meet several standards as well. Dr. Reeves (2001) stated that “engaging scenarios require reinforcement of many academic standards” (p. 114). This idea supports the concept of bringing in students’ prior knowledge when teaching new concepts. Reeves also suggested that “engaging scenarios frequently include the arts” (p. 114). Students can benefit a great deal from incorporating artwork into their learning simply because they enjoy it more or because it allows them to see a concept from a different perspective. Reeves (2001) pointed out that “engaging scenarios promote student understanding” (p. 115). This idea is crucial because the lessons and activities within a classroom must benefit the students’ comprehension of the concepts.
The method that Dr. Reeves described provides benefits and challenges for teachers. It is beneficial because it is a clear, concise method for how to go about lesson planning in such a way that maximizes the students’ learning experiences with the most important standards. Reeves’ method also allows for several tasks to be included that will address all learning variables for different ability levels within a classroom. One of the more challenging aspects of Reeves’ method is that it does not clearly define how an educator should deal with the management of so many tasks occurring at the same time within a classroom. However, if a teacher has strong classroom management skills, Reeves’ method of planning learning experiences could be very beneficial.
Dr. Reeves’ method has affected my thinking process as I plan lessons for my own classroom. The idea of a power standard gives me a very liberating feeling as an educator because I often feel overwhelmed by the significant number of standards that I am responsible for teaching. By focusing on power standards and then planning my activities around that standard, I am better able to address the needs of all ability levels in my classroom. I am also able to make connections with a power standard and its complementary standards in such a way that allows me to teach several standards at once.
References
Canter & Associates (Executive Producer). (2004). Program seven: Designing
Curriculum and Instruction. Integrating technology in the curriculum, part one
[Motion Picture]. Baltimore: Canter & Associates.
Reeves, D. B. (2001). What do all engaging scenarios have in common? In Making
Standards Work: How to implement standards-based assessments in the
classroom, school, and district (3rd ed., pp. 113 – 116). Denver, CO: Advanced Learning Press.