0.1 Instructional theories  (Page 2/5)

The Teachers' Corner : additional thematic units and lesson plans.

BBC Online : excellent thematic units and connections to other online resources.

Can Teach : an excellent guide not just to thematic units but also to skill-building for students.

Assignment 1: generating themes

Assignment 1: Generating Themes

HOW TO GET TO ASSIGNMENT 1:

One Way

Click on the link in color at the top of this page. When it appears, press "Save" and name the file so that you can work on thisassignment "off-line." You can type right on the assignment template. Be sure to save your assignment on a disk or on your computer hard drive.

Another Way

Copy the text below, and save it to your disk or computer.

GOAL: To generate useable themes for your classroom and to engage your students in the planning process.

GIVE: Feedback to others on their assignments at the TWB Learning Cafe.

Assignment 1: Generating Themes

• Write a list of 5 possible themes for your class.
• Next to each of the 5 themes, quickly write one phrase or sentence describing it further.
• Look at your list, and choose one. Write 3-4 sentences telling more about it. Why might it be a useful theme? How does it fit into your overall educational plan?
• Choose another theme from your list and write 3-4 sentences telling more about it.
• Ask your students what themes they are interested in exploring. Provide a written list of their responses.

The role of archetypes

What is an archetype?

An archetype is a mythic figure or image (either real, imagined, or historic) that can serve as a guide for students in theirlearning; in this way it is similar to thematic-based learning. For example, a teacher might introduce to the students the life and work ofLeonardo Da Vinci, a fifteenth-century Italian scientist, inventor, and artist. The teacher might share the fact that Da Vinci wrote in notebooks,and that these notebooks were a place for him to record his observations such as the movement of water or the flight of birds. Da Vinci's notebooks became aplace where he could think about questions like: how does a bird's wing help a bird to fly? In addition, when he pondered a question or idea, Da Vinci rarelylooked at it from a single perspective. In his notebooks, you see sketches of the same flower or a bird's wing drawn from several different points of view.

Da Vinci was an observer . Da Vinci was a recorder . Da Vinci asked questions . Da Vinci was curious . Da Vinci was multi-dimensional learner in looking at things from several points of view.

Whether you are teaching science, math, art, language, or any other subject a teacher can always refer to the qualitiesthat Da Vinci embodied as a way of guiding students in their studies.

An image works just as well. For example, a teacher might use the image of a tree as the guiding idea or theme - with itstransportation system within for making and carrying food; for the physical structure of its roots, trunk, branches and leaves; as well as forthe interdependent, living ecological systems it supports and sustains.