Planning for Instruction
Brown, III, H. F. & Wiedmaier, C.D. (2003). NBEA Yearbook Effective Methods
of Teaching Business Education in the 21st Century. National Business Education
Association. Reston: VA.
Standards
• National Standards for Business Education: What
America's Students Should Know And Be Able To
Do In Business (NBEA)
– Good starting point to guide the development of
course content
• Review industry, state, and local
standards/competencies
Industry Standards
• May serve as a guide to develop activities and
learning environments that are based on the
real world
• Resources
–
–
–
–
–
The Dictionary of Occupational Titles
The Occupational Outlook Handbook
The National Skill Standards Board (NSSB)
The V -TECS organization
Local advisory board members
State Standards
• Check with state departments of education to
determine state standards for students enrolled in
business classes
• State standards must be incorporated into course
State Standards are Usually the
planning
Most Important!
• Many states have developed
performance-based
Funding is based On compliance.
competencies
based upon the National Standards for
Business Education
– Kentucky Dept of Education site at
http://www.education.ky.gov/
Local Standards
• Individual school districts may have
developed a set of competencies or standards
– Local school boards may create or adopt
standards or classes required for graduation that
are above the state requirements
Course Planning
• Essential task for any teacher
• Effective planning-more than selecting a textbook and
calling the chapters in the text "units."
• Should include everything from examination of national
curriculum standards to workplace skills
• The National Association for Business Teacher
Education (NABTE)suggests
– Curriculum should integrate real work experiences
– Include the development of cognitive, affective, and
psychomotor learning objectives for courses, units, and other
experiences
Syllabus
• The first step in the planning process-develop a
syllabus
– Outlines the entire course
– Shows how it will be structured, managed, and taught.
• A contract between the teacher and the student
– Outlines the competencies that the student will
gain/master, the topics for the course, and the policies
and procedures that will be used to manage the learning
environment
Syllabus
• A syllabus typically includes the following parts:
 A header containing general course information (course
title, time, location, instructor, etc.)
 List of general competencies/abilities to be mastered by
the end of the course
 Overall course goals
 The unit objectives and topics to be covered (this section
outlines the entire course content by general topic
Syllabus
 Outline of the course content
 Required materials, including textbook(s) and other materials, such as
laboratory supplies
 Policies, procedures, and rules for the class
 Grading scale and information on how the grade will be determined
 Students should be able to read a syllabus and know what is
expected of them, how they will be evaluated, how they are to
act, and what the teacher's role is in the learning process
 The syllabus sets the tone for the course early in the instructional
process
Course Content
• Syllabus should include an outline of the main course
content
– Includes the main topics or competencies
– Gives the students and the teacher a clear framework
• Not a detailed account of every minor topic that
will be covered
• A categorization of the entire course into main
topics or units
Course Content
• Create a detailed outline of everything to be covered in
the course
• The outline should then be condensed to no more than
a dozen first-level headings
• The headings then become the units of instruction
• The remaining subheadings of the outline help create
the individual lessons that make up each unit of
instruction
• The general organization of planning elements from
most general to most specific is syllabus, unit, and
lesson
Course Content
• To determine what should be taught in the
specific topic area, educators should examine
available local, state, and national curriculum
standards
• The National Standards for Business Education
are a good starting point for planning a
course
Course Content
• The National Standards also provide a
developmental level framework
– Aids educators to determine which content
should be taught at the various educational levels
(elementary, middle, secondary, or postsecondary,
and referred to as "developmental learning
levels")
Unit Planning
• Unit Planning
– Developing a sequence of daily plans that
addresses the topic of the unit in a cohesive way
Unit Planning
•
Six steps for unit planning
1. Select the overall goals and the more specific objectives
for the unit
2. State the rationale for the unit
3. Outline or organize the content
4. Plan a sequence of daily lessons with appropriate
instructional activities
5. Plan and prepare for ways that students will be evaluated
6. Gather and prepare the materials needed for instruction
Unit Planning
• Organizing unit content
– Subheadings should become the individual lesson
topics within the unit plan
– Lesson objectives can be generated to determine
specifically what outcomes are expected from the
students
– Determine how best to assess or evaluate the
completion of the unit
All of these elements are combined to create the unit
plan
Unit Planning
• Creating unit plans
– Each unit plan begins with header information
identifying the course, unit topic, sequence
number (1, 2, 3. ..The order of the units), and
any other identifying information
– The teacher outlines and lists the individual
lessons by topics
• Listing the specific lesson objectives
Unit Planning
– Specific materials and supplies that are needed should be
recorded (so that they may be obtained prior to beginning
the unit)
– Outline the type of assessment that will be used
• May specify the number of formal assessments (e.g. Tests, quizzes,
and projects) and the lesson topics/content to be included in each
– A statement - how the unit can be adjusted for special needs
students might be included
• A unit plan is similar to a lesson plan in format, but
more general in the statement of topics and objectives
Unit Planning
A Unit Plan Format
Unit Plan Example
Subject
Business Law
School
Ragweed High
Teacher
McDonald
Unit Plan Example
Broad topics,
more specific topics are
used in lesson plans
These topics
become lesson plans
later
Unit Topic
Ethics & The Law
Overview
Ethics & The Law is useful because students eventually
assume roles as citizens, workers, and consumers. Ethics
and the law will require students to investigate the results
of ethical and unethical behavior by individuals and
businesses
To answer, ask yourself
“Why should students
study this topic?”
Unit Plan Example
Student
Performance
Objectives
Explain a
person’s
responsibility
to obey the law
Content
“The Law &
Society.” From
the class text.
Learning
activities
Lecture and
discussion.
Review
scenarios as a
class.
Review
scenarios in
groups
Resources
Evaluation
Text.
Participation evaluation –group
PresentationQuiz
Scenario: “Why
Obey the Law
#1.”
Much of this
HandoutsScenario: “Why
information will later
Obey the Law
Transfer to the
#2.”
lesson plan
Lesson Planning
• Focus should shift to generating the
individual lesson plans
• The unit plans already identify the lesson
topics and objectives--the teacher will transfer
those elements to individual lesson plans for
further planning
Lesson Planning
• Nine events of instruction that should be
considered
1.
2.
3.
4.
Gaining attention
Informing learner of the objective
Stimulating recall of prerequisite learning
Presenting stimulus material
Lesson Planning
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Providing learning guidance
Eliciting the performance
Providing feedback about performance correctness
Assessing the performance
Enhancing retention and transfer
Most of these nine events should be incorporated into the
"instructional activities”
Lesson Planning
• Lesson plan format
– Lesson planning is greatly simplified if the
syllabus and the unit plans are already generated
– Should be specific enough that a substitute
teacher can pick up the lesson plan and teach
from it
Lesson Planning
– Parts of a typical lesson plan
• Header includes the lesson topic, order number, course
information, classroom location, time/schedule for the class, and
any other identifying information
• Lesson objectives include measurable and specific objectives
beginning with action verbs. Objectives should be short, concise,
and written so that they could begin with the phrase "the student
will.. ." (i.e., Student-centered not instructor- centered). Local,
state, and national standards should also be correlated to these
lesson objectives
• Prerequisites to learning
Lesson Planning
• Lists the materials and equipment, including text
books, handouts, audio-visual aids, and computer
technology that are needed to complete the lesson
– This category may be subdivided into those materials and
equipment needed by the student and those needed by the
instructor
• Attention-getter/anticipatory set/advance organizer
attracts the students' attention and allows them to
relate previous knowledge to the current lesson
Lesson Planning
• Instructional activities
– Instructor-centered steps that are used to deliver the
instruction (needs to be specific)
• Instructional activities (constructivist view)
– More student-centered
– Activities might include "discovery learning" and "student
exploration" types of activities, or student-guided projects
that allow the students to organize their own paths to
learning. One size does not fit all
Lesson Planning
• Closing activity/Summary/
Assessment/Evaluation
– Includes elements that give resolution to the lesson
– Evaluations and assessments may be formal or informal
– Lesson may include a summary or closing activity to bring
closure and reinforcement to the lesson
Lesson Planning
• Special needs accommodations
– A descriptive paragraph detailing how the lesson should be
adjusted to meet the needs of students with learning
disabilities, physical disabilities, or limited English
proficiency
• Comments
– Optional but provides the teacher space to make notes
about what went well or poorly during the lesson, with ideas
on changes
Lesson Planning
• Lesson objectives
– Clearly define what the students should learn in
the lesson
– Good lesson objectives should be designed so
that they could begin with the stem "The student
will …”
• Ensures that they are student-centered and not
instructor-centered
Lesson Planning
– Begin with action verbs that identify what the
student is expected to do
• Example, "Define computer terms.“
– Very specific objective
– Clearly directs the student to complete an action. Notice
that it could begin with the stem, "The student will …”
– The objective is also measurable
Lesson Planning
– Avoid verbs such as "understand:' "know," and
"learn”
• These qualities are not easily measurable
• Contrast the verbs in this example: "Know computer
terms" vs. "Define computer terms." ("Know" is not
an action verb and is not readily measurable, whereas
"Define" gives clear instruction and is easily
measurable in an assignment and/or a quiz.)
Lesson Planning
• Objectives should refer to a specific behavior or
action
– Example, "The student will demonstrate formulas in
Microsoft Excel: “Objective is too general and fails to
specify whether it means simple adding and subtracting,
complex functions, or basic formula syntax.
– Way to measure this objective is unclear-the activity to be
completed is unspecific
– Choosing a specific task ("Master basic formula syntax")
improves the objective's assessment capability
Lesson Planning
– The constructivist viewpoint amplifies the approach
• Suggest that objectives be strictly learner-oriented
– Allowing students to select their own paths through the
learning process
– Method, known as discovery learning, allows students to
explore and discover the solution to a problem without
directed instruction from the teacher
– Focuses on the idea that students learn in different ways
Lesson Planning
A Simple
Lesson Plan Format
Tonya Skinner’s Business Education
Lesson Plans & Resources
Learning Domains
• Students learn in different ways
• Instructors should design their planning to deliver
different types of instruction
• Some instruction may involve hands-on, skills-based
learning activities, or the psychomotor domain
• Other instruction may be designed to deliver basic
information and promote information processing, or
the cognitive domain
• Instructor may want to help students develop values
and behaviors that are appropriate for the world they
live in, part of the affective domain
Learning Domains
• Instructional planning should address some
of the higher level cognitive objectives in the
lesson
• Teachers who include these higher level
cognitive objectives provide students the
opportunity to strengthen their critical
thinking skills
Standards Alignment
• Business educators need to ensure that they are
teaching what is required by industry, the local
district, the state department of education, and
national standards
• Standards correlations may require educators to
show proof that the lesson has met all state
requirements
• Individual state standards, which are the most
commonly used for lesson planning, are
generally based on the National Standards for
Business Education
Real and Relevant Curriculum
• Relevant curriculum helps motivate students
to learn
– Prompts students to understand the importance
of the skills, behaviors, and knowledge they are
mastering
– Prepares students for success in the workplace
• Performance-based curriculum should
provide real-world problems and experiences
Real and Relevant Curriculum
• Business educators may consider the following
activities:
– Consult with advisory board members to determine the
skills, knowledge, and behaviors actually performed in their
organizations
– Conduct observations of workers in area organizations to
record the skills, knowledge, and behaviors used by workers
in specific job titles
– Review actual job descriptions and policy/procedure
manuals for job titles in organizations that may employ the
students
– Provide job-shadowing experiences for students and have
them report their experiences to the class.
Real and Relevant Curriculum
• Scenarios
– Case study situations or simulations that integrate
more specific academic and workplace skills
– Incorporate the use of skills standards, technical
skills, workplace skills, academic skills, and higher
order thinking skills in a real-world situation
found in business/industry, community, or other
related settings
Assessment
• The assessment should measure achievement
of learning objectives
• Students must demonstrate that they have
learned the necessary skills, knowledge, and
behaviors to the proficiency level set by the
standards of the educator, the state, the
school district, and the industry
Assessment
• A variety of assessment activities may be
necessary
• Determine the assessment method that best
validates student learning
Summary
• Planning for instruction is a process
• Educators plan course content and syllabi, units ,
lessons, and assessments based upon the goals for
learning and upon industry, state, local, and the
National Standards for Business Education and/or
related competencies
• Thorough planning helps educators become more
effective in the classroom
Summary
• Well-planned courses, units, and lessons provide
students with an organized learning environment
that result in better retention of the material and a
more meaningful learning experience
• While developing lessons and assessments,
educators should address multiple learning domains
• The integration of essential skills and course
content must be a part of the planning process
Summary
• When skills, behaviors, and knowledge are learned in
real-world situations, students can identify the
importance or relevance of their learning
• Teaching in context leads to increased student
retention of content
• Assessment should be conducted in a real-world
context and account for differences in learning
styles
• Students should be allowed to demonstrate what
they know; as well as what they can do