The Doorway to Professional Learning Communities

 As a middle school teacher, I am always searching for the most effective way to deliver lessons as efficiently as possible. As instructional designers, we do not always get moments in the day to have face-to-face conversations with colleagues. Still, thanks to the internet, I can spend a few minutes on my device and grab resources, ideas, and even motivation. I can empower myself and my colleagues by sharing the links to the site with just a few clicks as instructional practices are inevitably evolving. So let me share a few inspiring blogs that will reassure you that there is help when designing your lessons – you do not have to do it alone!

 

Readit.Writeit.Learnit.com – By Emily

Emily has the resource for you if you are looking for ways to keep your teaching simple and engaging. She has a wealth of knowledge on keeping students as active readers and writers due to her extensive 20 years of service in the classroom and continuously growing professional development background. In addition, there are scaffolding techniques on her platform that are easy to deliver and will empower your students to want to be active participants in their learning.

 

Backwards Design and Transparency at the Course Level – By Paul Keys

If you are stuck on how to plan, deliver, and assess your students learning goals, try the learning model of Backward Design. Keys discusses the benefits of using this model while providing visuals and research to support his theory. In short, the Backward Design model will help you align objectives with teaching and learning in a three-step process: 1. Identify desired Outcomes, 2. Identify Assessments, and 3.  Plan the Learning know-hows and instruction.  Keys’ blog is an excellent resource to assist you with reaching a wide variety of learning styles.


Evaluating Your Instructional Needs and Student’s Needs – By Matthew Rhoads, Ed.D.

Free tools! Yup, Dr. Rhoads provides free resources to add to your tool kit for planning, building, and implementing instruction. His comprehensive site offers professionals in the field of teaching, coaching, and leaders of technology and education opportunities to look at research-based strategies and evaluation skill sets before implementing them. Dr. Rhoads also offers a Podcast for you to refer to when trying to navigate education as a professional.

 

For more information on Instructional Design, be sure to follow my page.

~ Donika 

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