Learning Plan Example (based on What Works)

Plan of: Elise Garro

Goal(an aspect of my teaching I want to improve)
Facilitate better discussion/participation in classroom
Performance indicator (how will I know I got there)
Students will be participating and holding substantial discussion
Action
Action 1
Research discussion
techniques

Personnel
(Who is involved?)

Resources
(What do you need?)

Myself

Action 2
Technique in practice

Myself,
mentor

students

and

Action 3
Technique in practice

Myself,
mentor.

students

and

Goal number
Baseline data (my current situation)
Getting the blank stares when asking students to contribute

Target (where I want to be)

Structuring lessons and using techniques that get students contributing
Responsibility
(Who is responsible for what?)

Think, Pair, Share I can work some of

techniques into lessons
Technique
VARK stations lesson
Wheel
of
fortune
(randomly
selects
students to talk)
Use of wait time
Template
and
discussion
prompt
worksheet
ZOOM Activity?
Energizer/speaking
warm-up games
Getting students to
consider what being an
effective communicator
is.

these

Start
date

Finish
date

10/08

18/09

10/08

18/09

10/08

18/09

Data collection
(How will data be collected and
by whom?)

Action 4
Student
feedback
survey
Detailed reflection &
evaluation in relation
to the goal

12/09

18/09

12/08 Mentor feedback nice use of wait time waiting 15-30 seconds or so to wait for student participation suggested implementing warm up game.
17/08 Designed lesson specifically catered to collaborative work with the use of a template for the students to use to prompt discussion. One student was the
Journalist and the other the Interviewee. The scaffold worked very well. Discussions I overheard were on task and valuable to the students.
18/08 Use of energizer Writing/speaking game energizer activity -1 min to talk about a subject without saying um (As soon as a student says um we move to
the next student). Mentor commented how Engaging the warm up was and it was really effective to getting the students up and talking to begin the class and it
set the mood for the rest of the lesson as they demonstrated to be less shy to talk up in class.
19/08 Providing structure and prompts for discussion. Effective small group discussions happening between students. Limiting amount of time they have to
contribute.
24/08 Ran an activity in AVID called a ZOOM this activity is a sequencing activity that requires students to sequence a cut up comic strip into its correct order
without showing each other their allocated pictures. This activity aims to promote collaboration and builds effective communication skills. Nicole followed up
the activity with some great questions like:
What were the helpful skills to sequence the story?
What was unhelpful?
Using these questions she linked it to their previous lessons on collaboration. This team-building exercise is effective for developing communication skills and
is something we would like inject further into these lessons.
26/08 Initiating the Think/Pair/Share technique, Think or write silently for a minute, talk to your partner for a minute and then report back to class. Very useful
as I gave the students time to think and gather thoughts before saying what do you think about
27/08 Year 12 Drama activities. This class was more about getting the students to participate. The biggest strategy I used was modelling and participating
myself to show the students my enthusiasm. This strategy seemed to work for most of the students however I still had a few that were a bit resistant. I sensed
it wasnt because they were shy or embarrassed but rather had this attitude toward drama where they find it uncool or just an extra subject. As this session
was designed to workshop character, expression and transformation of prop which would all aid in their solo assessment I told the class what I thought would
be useful for them but I also said they are welcome to do some independent work if they do not find it useful. A handful sat down and did research but the rest
were eager to participate. Things I could do next time is ask those students what type of activities would they rather do or they enjoy to do.
31/08 Developing metacognitive skills about communication. See Avid Lesson plan. This lesson was designed to get students thinking about what makes an
effective communicator. The warm-up activity was a creative and collaborative but the discussion after was what made students think of what effective
communication looks like.
04/09 Effective use of think pair share, all students had something to contribute and did not feel singled out as I went around and asked each student for a
contribution
10/09 Come to realize the better rapport I have with classes the more likely they are going to contribute

Template based on: Commonwealth of Australia. (2010). What Works: The work program. The workbook tools. Retrieved September 27, 2010 from

http://www.whatworks.edu.au/dbAction.do?cmd=displaySitePage1&subcmd=select&id=402