Lesson Planning and Course Design Considerations (Birth of an Idea)

Design and Teach Your (a) Course

Many of the decisions affecting the success of a course take place well before the first day of class.

Looking through the resources provided we find plenty of opinions, which is where an effective and unexperienced teacher would start.

Students reveal their understanding most effectively when they are provided with complex, authentic opportunities to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empathize, and self-assess. When applied to complex tasks, these "six facets" provide a conceptual lens through which teachers can better assess student understanding.

Teachers, schools, and districts benefit by "working smarter" through the collaborative design, sharing, and peer review of units of study.

In general, a helpful way to design a course is to proceed through the following phases:

1) Identify desired results— GOALS

2) Determine acceptable evidence — PROGRESS

3) Plan learning experiences and instruction — PRACTICE

So wanting this application what would this look like at VCU? How can we get started in this and do instead of theorize? What about co-teaching an honors module sponsored by the preparing future faculty program and the Engineering Graduate school? How does an engineering professor get his or her initial exposure to this teaching? The Honors College appears to be a reasonable avenue for

Application to teach an honors course/module

Thank you for your interest in teaching a course or module with the Honors College.

1. You will need the following information to complete the application:
• A description of the course or module.
• The course or module syllabus and bibliography.
• Your time and day preferences.
• Your curriculum vitae (CV).

The next collection of links ( 1 2 3 ) all speak of the benefits of building a teaching portfolio and provide examples of how to do that.

Portfolios obviously need to be filled with experience, just as CV's must be filled with actual experiences.