Backward design with teachers in mind...

Source: http://healthsciencedegree.info/
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Moving through the school system isn’t as stress-free as everyone thinks when ideas and concepts make sense to you easily. Acing numerous tests and excelling academically isn’t always beneficial to your “social status” when teachers praise you over your peers, daily. I should know; I experienced it. It wasn’t a skill I asked for, but by the time I was 12 I was depressed because of it. I was made fun of at school – called a nerd and a show off for being gifted academically. Eventually, my depression led to increased angry outbursts and extreme self-esteem issues which negatively impacted my extra-curricular activities and relationships. Luckily for me my battle never led to self-harm or self-harming thoughts, but it did lead to me not only being bullied, but becoming one. As time went on I eventually came to recognize the impact of my words and expressions, and the basis of my emotions, and was able to cope with and apply my energy and feelings in a positive way. While my struggles continued for many years, my social status began to improve, though the opinions of 13 year-old me never disappeared fully. However, I got by… until my first year of university. In my first year of university I began suffering from panic attacks. They were debilitating; they were terrifying; and they were worst of all unfamiliar. I knew no one suffering from anything similar, I’d never heard of them before, and I felt like I had no where to go. My battle against mental health culminated in counselling sessions and lifestyle changes. Looking back now, I recognize my mental health issues stemmed, in many respects, from pressure.

When I think about the profession I am about to enter, and I think about the mountains to climb that await me, and I consider my anxious history, I have to wonder how I and others like me will cope with the pressure and expectations that come along with the career of "teacher". Where do teachers have to turn when they feel overwhelmed, scared, or anxious? Why do teachers feel these emotions, especially early on? Can these feelings be prevented? In teacher education we tend to focus on discussing our students’ well being, but as I’ve questioned before, can we really focus on that if we fail to focus on our own? My last post concluded that there is a need to develop strong people, now, I feel like I need to apply that to developing strong teachers. Throughout my university years I have spent so much time developing myself as a person, mentally, but I really haven’t spent much time developing myself as an educator, professionally.

Last week in our blog group a thoughtful conversation developed regarding the concurrent education program as a whole. The program was designed to prepare prospective teachers for the profession that awaits them; it was designed to make sure they were “a step ahead” when they entered teachers college. The unfortunate truth is, it really hasn’t. In concurrent education, I find we spend more time analyzing situations than we do dealing with situations – and while analysis has its uses, practice is more applicable. This is the first class I have ever taken that has allowed me to directly practice skills I will need to execute year-to-year in my profession. This class serves to ensure I am ready to meet the challenges ahead of me, and it therefore reduces my anxieties of the future.

The backward curriculum design process we are performing in class, is based on the premise that assessment, instruction and curriculum need to be directly aligned, and in that order (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2014). I need to know my students and curriculum first (Drake et al., 2014). Then, after choosing relevant topics for units, scanning and clustering common curriculum outcomes together, and deconstructing KDB components, I must create rich performance assessment tasks – for students to complete thus demonstrating their understanding of the KDB components explored (Drake et al., 2014). Finally, I must design instructional tasks, or everyday activities, that my students will complete in order to learn the KDB components I've chosen to teach (Drake et al., 2014). While instructional tasks are being delivered I need to simultaneously practice assessment for and as learning – since by providing students with consistent, rich feedback their learning experience is elevated (Drake et al., 2014). This entire process of developing a backward design curriculum is practiced in a classroom setting in which I receive consistent, rich feedback myself, aiding me in developing my curriculum and my practice, and in comprehending my misunderstandings.

I believe that all prospective teachers should experience assessment for and as learning in their teacher education programs in order to not only reduce their in-university stress levels, but also to reduce their “beginning years” anxieties. If an entire course can be based on the premise that designing curriculum around consistent, rich feedback is most beneficial for improving student learning and minimizing anxiety, shouldn’t prospective teachers (university students) have their educational experience directed by these concepts too?

Source: http://www.commondreams.org/views/2013/05
/10/bill-gatess-5-biillion-plan-videotape-americas-teachers

Bill Gates (2013) gave a speech entitled Teachers need real feedback. In his speech, he outlined how all individuals need a coach to give feedback for improvement, and states that teachers receive very little communication of this form while practicing teaching (Gates, 2013). Thinking about my pre-educational experiences I can not agree more with Gates. Not one class I have taken in university has presented me with feedback regarding my teaching techniques/skills, until this one! If assessment of and assessment as learning provide worry free environments for students, in which they feel safe to make mistakes and learn by exploration, similar assessments of teachers would make them feel similarly while building their practice, wouldn’t it? If we use backwards design in order to plan teacher education classes, I believe prospective teachers will feel more comfortable learning about the profession of teaching, and implementing this, now familiar, method of curriculum creation in their classrooms, and will subsequently feel less anxious while learning, and eventually teaching. 

References

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., and Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21^st-century learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Gates, B. [TED]. (2013, May 8). Bill Gates – Teachers need real feedback [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Ub0SMxZQo