Back to: Module: Helping with Instruction
Background
The Introductory Challenge asked you to think about what “learning targets” and “advance organizers” you’ve used or encountered in everyday life. Then it asked you to think about the sorts of supports that would help you understand the main points in a lesson or documentary video.
The questions below will give you a chance to reflect on different types of learning targets and advance organizers and why they might be helpful to students. You can jot down answers to these questions if you are completing this unit on your own. If you are completing the unit in a workshop or class, your instructor might use these questions as the basis for a class discussion.
Questions for Reflection or Discussion
- If you wrote down a goal for self-improvement in the past, did you find the written goal helpful in your efforts toward improvement? Why or why not?
- Would any other tool or tools have added to the usefulness of the written goal? If so, what type of tool might have increased the usefulness of the written goal?
- How is a learning target different from a goal you write down as a way to focus on self-improvement? How might such differences influence the usefulness of the learning target?
- Do you think an advance organizer is more powerful than a learning target as a way to prepare students for a lesson? Why or why not?
- What might be the value of starting a lesson with both a learning target and an advance organizer?