The Three Column Table

To proceed directly to my Three Column Table please click here.

Introduction

Whether planning outcomes based learning experiences or competency based instruction for students, teachers should always begin with the end goal in mind. Outcomes based instruction begins with an audacious goal (BHAG) in an authentic context, and all learning goals, assessments, and learning activities develop with this overarching goal in mind. In Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning, L. Dee Fink outlines five steps in the initial phase of planning learning experiences:

We must take into consideration the situational factors that will influence the learning experience.
We must identify the learning goals.
We must develop the assessments that will provide timely feedback to students.
We must develop learning activities that are directly related to the learning goals.
We must verify that situational factors, learning goals, assessments and learning activities align and support each other (2003).

Fink also provides a Taxonomy of Significant Learning, which includes:

Foundational knowledge,
Application,
Integration,
Human dimension,
Caring, and
Learning how to learn (2003).

By beginning with an audacious goal in an authentic context and working backward, teachers develop learning environments where students actively participate in relevant learning experiences that have real world applications that they will be able to use in the future.

Situational Factors

French II classes usually consist of about twenty to twenty-five students. The students are generally in the ninth and tenth grades, with the occasional upperclassman. Classes meet forty-eight minutes a day, five days a week. The School District has provided Chromebooks to all students, which facilitates the in-class blended learning environment and station model that I am implementing in order to provide a more individualized and personalized learning environment for students.

My audacious goal (BHAG) requires students to create their own travel blog throughout the duration of the course and communicate in numerous guided and authentic scenarios. Given these goals the primary challenges are as follows:

Students are generally uncomfortable speaking French in front of other students.
Students are more comfortable speaking from a memorized script than in authentic, extemporaneous situations.
Students quickly fall back on online translation programs, such as Google Translate, when confronted with challenging tasks.
Students are generally more interested in their grades than in their learning. Consequently, they are used to receiving step-by-step directions, and many believe that there is always one right answer in every situation.