How can I improve my Unit Plans?
One of the most important skill as a leader in any situation is the ability to plan. In the military, we plan for a mission, training, events. In education, we plan curriculum, courses, and units. No matter what is being planned there are techniques that can apply to any situation.
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Technique #1: Backwards Planning. In this situation, I wrote a four week unit of instruction for a 9th grade class on international agriculture. Knowing that I had four weeks, and knowing how much content I wanted to share, I had to make sure that I defined my end results in order to determine what information was needed to reach those goals.
Technique #2: The Worst Case Scenario. I am beyond excited to take my students out to a local farm to see and learn about an applied biodigestor. The worse case scenario; it's going to be in January and far too cold to take students out. For this reason, I have a "plan B" to make sure I had a way to fill in that lesson.
Technique #3: Include Everything. The more specific the unit plan can get, the smoother it will run. For example, list the exact number of copies needed for a worksheet. This helps define every little detail and strikes out any chance for it to go wrong.
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Technique #4: KISS (Keep It Simple ...Silly!). When there are too many moving parts, there is more room for something to go amiss. I realized I had way too many standards listed in my draft versions of my lesson plan. I was trying to include far too much content in the limiting four weeks for instruction. There was just so much that related to it. Plus I got way to excited to teach it!! I really had to narrow it down.
Technique #5: Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better! Sometimes it is ok to provide opportunities for your subordinates to outdo you. In my case, technology is NOT my friend. But I know that some students really excel at it. So, to make it interesting, and to see what my students can do, I included the opportunity for students to be creative in the use of technology to create a portfolio. This is how I develop them to be leaders. By allowing them to show their talents and perfect them.
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International Agriculture is more thank likely my most passionate topic. And I am beyond ecstatic to share this Unit plan with the students at Penns Manor, my cooperative center. It took me a lot of time to fix up my Unit plan. I think the biggest lesson I learned, was to avoid being overambitious and to think about what I can realistically accomplish.
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