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| College of Agricultural & Life Sciences | University of Idaho | UI Extension | FCSED HOME | |
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Contact Information Betty Sawyer Family & Consumer Sciences
University of Idaho Moscow, Idaho 83844-3183
208-858-2170
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FCS 461 Methods & Strategies in FCS Education
Introduction to the Course and Due Dates
Welcome to FCS 461: Methods and Strategies in Family and Consumer Sciences Education. It has been a wonderful challenge looking at this course and designating the information and assessments that are priority for those looking to instruct individuals, families and communities in the content within Family and Consumer Sciences. It is my hope that you will be provided with useful tools and resources that can be implemented into various educational settings. The learner that will benefit from the instruction that you will provide in the future can have diverse needs and require multiple creative instructional strategies in order for success to result.
Philosophy Paper (due Thursday, November 19,2009) First, it is essential that ALL FCS Educators can communicate a personal philosophy of family and consumer sciences education to stakeholders that may require a rationale for the existence of a program, course, or participation within an FCS related setting. Within this philosophy, an individual should be able to identify family and consumer sciences education target audiences, reflect upon course content selection, describe the critical science approach to knowledge, and describe a classroom example that uses the three facets of the critical science approach. I will include a detailed description of the process to be followed for the development of this essay. Each topic required will be described through a presentation and resources will be provided.
Methods and Strategies Second, it is essential that educators develop a "tool box" full of various strategies, methods, resources, theories, and techniques that can be used during instruction of diverse learners. In this course various theories will be presented: Critical Science Approach, Practical Problem Approach. Content will also focus on various theories about learners: Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles, etc. The section of the course that focuses on methods and strategies will provide background information on various strategies, such as Cooperative Learning, Practical Reasoning, Concept Attainment, Synectics, etc. Once strategies are presented, then recommended procedures for developing unit plans, lesson plans, and Webquests will be presented.
"Tool Box" (due December 3, 2009) Third, an actual "tool box", file box will be developed by students that can be taken to various settings to provide education to individuals, families and communities. This resource aids the future educator in gathering, collecting, and organizing information that will be useful in planning, facilitating, and disseminating FCS curriculum. Items can include, but should not be limited to, brochures, pamphlets, books, cartoons, flyers, newspaper and magazine articles, websites, etc. It is helpful to organize materials based on content area within FCS (i.e. Financial Management, Foods and Nutrition, Child Development and Parenting, Textiles and Clothing, etc.). Each of the potential resources can be found at grocery stores, community organizations, Cooperative Extension Publications, etc.
As a cumulative assessment students will create a portfolio with a minimum of the following items:
If student prefers, a multimedia portfolio can be created and submitted electronically. An example is a website including each element required.
When preparing to educate individuals, families, and communities in family and consumer sciences content, it is essential that an understanding of various theories of curriculum development exist. For example. In order to provide instruction, an educator should identify standards--from those standards curriculum, from the curriculum--strategies and methods to communicate the content. This path to instruction is contained within an overarching understanding of the mission of Family and Consumer Sciences and forward-thinking philosophies of "what should be taught." The PowerPoint for today's lesson focuses on the Critical Science Approach in comparison to the Technical Science Approach. Each of the methods and strategies that will be presented this semester will contribute to the Critical Science Approach to FCS Curriculum.
The mission of Family and Consumer Sciences as defined by the American Vocational Association in ASCD (1998) is as follows:
The mission of family and consumer sciences education is to prepare students for family life, work life, and careers in family and consumer sciences by providing opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed for:
Once an understanding of the critical science approach and mission is achieved, an FCS educator should become familiar with the standards that have been outlined for FCS Education. Each lesson that is developed in the future should be based on one or more standards. Also, in order for family and consumer sciences education to continue to be a driving force within secondary schools, educators need to develop courses that are forward-thinking and addressing the practical, perennial problems that impact individuals, families and communities on a daily basis.
Please enjoy the PowerPoint focusing on a few main points of the critical science approach.
This information can be used to assist you in the development and discussion of a personal philosophy of family and consumer sciences education.
Week Two, Lesson One: What should be done about recognizing students' diverse needs?
Cartoon of the Day
Background Information Integrated learning is an approach to curriculum, instruction and assessment designed to help teachers and schools fuse multiple intelligences and learning styles in meaningful and practical ways. This first unit of instruction provides information on how learning styles and multiple intelligences can be used together effectively. This is not an "add on" but a practical approach to help teachers prepare students to meet national, state and local standards, as well as run efficient and engaging classrooms.
Integrated learning means learning that is blended into a whole. Two great minds of the 20th century--Howard Gardner (multiple intelligences) and Carl Jung (learning Styles) supply the two learning models. Each model has particular strengths and weaknesses that directly correspond to the strength and weaknesses of the other. This means a truly holistic approach to education, occurs only in the blending together of these two models and others. Other useful theories associated with learning styles have been developed by: Anthony Gregorc, David Kolb and Bernice McCarthy to name a few.
Integrated means incorporated as part of a larger pictures. From an educator's perspective, any learning theory, model, or approach is only as good as its applicability. If it cannot be used without excessive effort, it is not very valuable. The reality of today's classrooms are that teachers have a dictated curriculum framework, state standards to meet, and students to prepare for state tests, and academic and vocational callings. Integrated learning respects these realities. The approach is designed so that it can be incorporated into current practices easily.
Integrated means driven by the goal of equality. We live and learn in an increasingly diverse world. New students, new issues, and new ideas appear on an almost daily basis, asking teachers to address all forms of diversity--intellectual, physical and cultural. By uniting these two best models we have for understanding the diverse ways students think and learn, integrated learning strives to create an environment where all learners feel that their ideas, contributions and work are valued and that they are able to succeed.
Multiple Intelligences Material We begin by introducing each model separately. Today's lesson will look at multiple intelligences. Take the multiple intelligences assessment located within the Multiple Intelligences PowerPoint to find out which intelligence(s) is your strongest. You may wish to print the PowerPoint documents for future reference.
Note: The assignment is embedded within the PowerPoint. Most PowerPoint Presentations will have an application assessment at the end or throughout the presentation.
Week Two, Lesson Two: What should be done about recognizing students' diverse needs?
Learning Styles
Background Information Out of Carl Jung's model of psychological type came the work of Isabel Myers who developed the most family application of Jung's model--the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. While Jung developed the model of personality type and Myers applied it, another generation of researchers have worked through its implications and discovered how it can be successfully applied to education. Key researchers include Anthony Gregorc, David Kolb, Bernice McCarthy, and others. All of these learning style researchers work is marked by a similar focus on the process of learning. Unlike multiple intelligences, a model concerned primarily with the content or the "what" of learning. styles focus on the "how" of learning. Through learning styles, we can talk about the way individuals learn and how their preferences for certain types of thinking processes affect their learning behaviors.
Learning Styles Material Take the Learning Styles Inventory and then view the PowerPoint for this lesson. Send an email to your instructor in which you discuss in paragraph form what you found with the Multiple Intelligences scale and the Learning Styles Scale.
Application Assessment To integrate the information from the Multiple Intelligences Presentation with the Learning Styles Presentation, develop a lesson (or use an already developed lesson plan) and complete the following assignment. Integrated Assignment Resources for FCS Lesson Plans: The Utah Education Network www.uen.org http://members.tripod.com/~kburge/HomeEc/lessons.html
Week Two, Lesson Three: What should be done about recognizing students' diverse needs?
Learning Styles in the Classroom
Introduction Every person develops and uses a mixture of learning styles throughout life, often flexing and adapting styles to fit various contexts and to meet a variety of learning demands. Yet as your learning-style profile may have shown, most people favor one or two styles over the others. In this regard, styles can be compared to muscles: The more they are used and stretched, the more developed and powerful they become. Those muscles that are only minimally used will not develop fully. Also, like muscles, styles can always be strengthened through practice.
Lesson Material Good thinkers know that information must be looked at in various ways. For this reason educators should help students develop their unique learning-style profile, define individual strengths and weaknesses and give advice on how to balance the entire picture. Our materials provide five excellent starting points: helping students develop specific styles, differentiating instruction, integrating curriculum, providing choices to students, and supporting students choice of styles. The supplementary materials include Collecting Classroom Examples.
Week Two, Lesson Four: What should be done about recognizing students' diverse needs?
Connecting the Models
Lesson Background
Learning styles and multiple intelligences are integrated. For each intelligence there are four distinct ways of using that intelligence that correspond to the four learning styles. Multiple-intelligence theory is centered around the content of learning and the relationship between learning and the nine distinct fields of knowledge or disciplines. The learning style model revolves specifically around the individualized process of learning, but does not directly address the content of that learning. Clearly, learning styles and multiple intelligences need each other.
View this example of student work to see if you can tell which response represents which style of verbal-linguistic intelligence.
Gardner would insist that personal histories and social contexts are the key factors in explaining how individuals with different intelligences express those intelligences. As teachers we are interested in taking full advantage of the relationships among intelligences and styles. There are three steps to this process. Step 1: Divide each intelligence four ways according to learning style. Step 2: Match vocations and real-world applications to each intelligence-style profile.
Step 3: Collect descriptions of products that individuals
with a particular style-intelligence capability might
The results of this process are menus that provide teachers with a basis for an integrated learning and assessment system that is easy to use to provide authentic learning and assessment for students.
Providing for diversity is another challenge teachers face today as they balance providing for diverse students who need to be assessed by one instrument. There are four key principles for teaching diverse students:, comfort, challenge, depth and motivation. Following these principles as benchmarks prepares teachers for style-and intelligence- integrated curriculum, instruction and assessment.
Reflect on what you have learned from Week Two: Lessons Three and Four. Send your reflection to your instructor.
Week Three, Lesson One: Introduction to Developing a Unit Plan and Lesson Plan
Introduction to Curriculum Development and Concept Organization
Through interacting with the content in Chamberlain and Cummings (2003) an educator can begin to understand the importance of organization and planning of instruction. This section attempts to illustrate a process of developing curriculum for various educational settings. Please view the PowerPoint and respond with reflections via email.
Within this section, I have also included the requirements for developing a unit plan. It is not due until November, but I felt it necessary for you to begin preparing for this assignment. The more time you have to ponder the requirements, the more you will be prepared to be successful.
Some of you may currently develop curriculum, unit and lesson plans, but it is essential that I provide an expected format for completing the lessons plans focusing on various teaching methods and strategies. How to integrate the methods and strategies of teaching into planning is as important as the content defining and explaining individual methods and strategies. Enjoy!
Week Three, Lesson Two: What should be done about creating objectives and competencies?
Introduction to Developing Unit Plans and Lesson Plans
Prior to providing instruction using creative instructional strategies and methods, an educator needs to develop a course of action, or unit plan. In previous lessons, we have attempted to answer the question: What should be done about recognizing students' diverse needs? Through various presentations, resources, and discussions, you have been provided with information which can be used to answer this question.
In looking back to the presentation, Chamberlain and Cummings Chapter 3 and other resources, a diagram displaying the process of developing curriculum provides a simple guide to clarify the process. The first step incorporates the question that we attempted to answer with the first column in the diagram--Gathering Data from Input Factors. Step two consists of Drawing Implications focusing on the information gathered in step one---for example, create an "If...then..." statement.
If I know that most of my learners are from economically disadvantaged homes, then I need to limit my expectations regarding money spent for projects" (Chamberlain & Cummings, 2003).
From the Implications created through "If...then..." statements, an educator can then begin the planning process. This section of the course is going to focus on creating objectives and competencies. The main portion of the course will focus on the section of Implementation (Methods and Strategies).
Differentiated Instruction will be addressed in another course, but we study this theory based on the premise that we should approach instruction with diverse and varied strategies, due to students' not all being alike. This is discussed on p. 46-47 & p. 64 of Moore's textbook, and should be reflected upon via email with your peers.
Week Four, Lesson One: What should be done about providing learning experiences for students with diverse needs?
Designing Learning Experiences
The goal of an educator should be to provide students with information/content/knowledge in a manner that they remember it and can apply it to their lives. This application is evidence of a successful learning experience for the student(s). Content provided within this section focuses on introducing the idea of differentiated instruction, multiple creative teaching methods, and varying the instruction that is provided for students. Take a look at the additional resources provided. Lessons to follow today are the "meat and potatoes" of methods and strategies. You will be applying the content already presented into the learning experiences involved with new content presented.
Week Four, Lesson 2: Teaching Plans
Teaching Plans
Introduction Teaching plans are often considered to be the road maps for education. The goal of this section is to illustrate one of the many methods of writing a lesson or teaching plan. It is essential that educators have a thorough understanding of this process in order for student learning to be accomplished in the most effective manner possible. Also, by organizing all lessons taught, in the even of the need for a substitute or guest teacher, a smooth transition can take place.
Look at sample lesson plans and resources to prepare for the writing of lesson plans. I have also included a brief description of the requirements for writing complete lesson plans. It was my desire to give you plenty of time to become familiar with the process. Enjoy!
No entry for Week 5 _____________________________________________________________________ Week Six: What should be done about varying methods and teaching strategies within the FCS classroom?
Overview Family and Consumer Sciences Education provides a wonderful, unique opportunity for educators to use creative instructional strategies and methods to ensure student learning. If we were to survey each of the strategies available, this course would never end...I know that would not be desirable!
There are hundreds of wonderful resources that have been produced by various institutions, educators, and others that can be used to become familiar with creative teaching strategies. One that I have found very unique was developed and is continually maintained by Apple, Inc.
The first strategy that we are going to work with is Problem-Based/Project-Based Learning. For each strategy there will be a Webquest for you to participate in or other material for interaction. Once you complete the activity and become familiar with the strategy, you will work to develop a lesson using that method/strategy.
I have linked a form that you can use to outline what the strategy involves for your resources and information. You DO NOT have to turn this in, but it can be included within your final portfolio.
PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING SUMMARY POSTER
Introduction to Teaching Strategies: http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/new_intro2_72804.html
View an introduction to this topic through the following link: http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/exhibits/1000328/INTRODUCTION.html. You will notice that on this site there are links to multiple creative strategies. We will be covering a number of the strategies listed on this site.
From this point forward, we will be experiencing and working with multiple creative and interesting methods and teaching strategies that can be used within the classroom. Due to our limited time, there will only be a few core strategies presented in class, but I hope this introduction and investigation will spur your curiosity to continue discovery new and innovative ways to provide instruction.
PROBLEM-BASED/PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
Week Seven: What should be done about varying methods and teaching strategies within the FCS classroom?
Demonstration Teaching Strategy The use of demonstration within the Family and Consumer Sciences Classroom can provide great opportunity for student learning. Students are allowed to explore and view new learning tasks and ideas from a different perspective (teachers, guest speakers, etc.). A good example could be to invite a community member in to present their trade or expertise. On the Apple Learning Interchange, there is a video of a woman who presented to a class her talent of quilt-making. Her expertise was then connected to geometry, which is the content area in focus.
Through demonstration, students can be encouraged to refine a skill or knowledge independently or through peer teaching.
A strategy that parallels concepts within the Demonstration Teaching Strategy is called Simulation. Throughout this section, resources for the strategy, examples and background information will be provided. Enjoy! Background Information
Mixes information about a skill with demonstrations, practice, feedback, and coaching until skill is mastered. Simulations and demonstrations are developed from real life situations, allows students to learn from self-generated feedback.
PURPOSE OF STRATEGY To enable students to learn firsthand from the simulated experiences built into the game rather tan from teachers' explanation or lectures. When demonstrating, teachers should involve students through each step. For example, in a textiles and clothing demonstration, a teacher can demonstrate one step, and then provide students with the opportunity to master the concept or skill. An interactive demonstration that avoids straight lecture will result in a higher learning curve for students.
TEACHER'S ROLE To raise students consciousness about the concepts and principles underpinning the simulations and their own reactions.
Managerial Function:
Explaining: explain rules/procedures so students can carry out most of the activities
Refereeing: Control student participation to ensure benefits are realized--assign students to groups or teams
Coaching: Giving students advice that enables them to function more efficiently, supportive advisor, not preacher or disciplinarian
Discussing: Lead discussions about how demonstration or activity simulates real world, what difficulties and insights the students had, what relationships can be discovered between simulation and subject matter being explored
Facilitator, non-evaluative but supportive attitude
LEARNER'S ROLE To engage in activity (simulation/demonstration) to achieve the goal of the simulation/demonstration focusing on the realistic factors until goal is mastered
To work together and share ideas
To evaluate peer ideas
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE NEEDED Knowledge of the concepts covered within the demonstration/simulation, how to work in a group
STEPS/STAGES/PARTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY Orientation: Broad topic of demonstration/simulation presented and concepts incorporated into activity
Participant Training: Set up scenario, rules, roles, procedures, scoring, types of decisions to be made, goals, assign roles, hold abbreviated practice session
Operations: Conduct activity and administration, obtain feedback and evaluation of performance and effects of decisions, clarify misconceptions, continue simulation/demonstrations
Participant Debriefing: Summarize events, perceptions, difficulties, insights; analyze process, compare activity to real world, relate to course content, appraise and redesign simulation/demonstration
EXAMPLES OF WHEN METHOD MIGHT BE USED Simulations/Demonstrations can stimulate learning about: 1. Competition 2. Cooperation 3. Empathy 4. The Social System 5. Concepts 6. Skills 7. Efficacy 8. Paying the Penalty 9. Role of Chance 10. Ability to Think Critically
This strategy could be used in an independent living class to simulate or demonstrate a family unit, forming a budget, planning for unexpected expenses, learning to deal with the decisions that face the family unit. The students could be divided into groups that decide upon a family name, values, long and short-term goals, etc.
Also, demonstrations can effectively introduce a concept, unit, or topic. Students can see through visual means the need or importance of concept.
RESOURCES Apple Learning Interchange: http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/exhibits/1000328/Demonstrations.html Simulation Background Information: http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/mcvittiej/methods/simul.html What are Simulations? http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/simul/ Facts about Teaching Strategies: http://ohioline.osu.edu/4h-fact/0018.html
HOW STRATEGY FITS INTO FCS NATIONAL STANDARDS This strategy can be used in a performance assessment to show that the students understand the content that has been covered within National Standards and other content area standards.
DESCRIPTION OF COMMUNITY AND STUDENTS Rigorous Social System Cooperative Interactive Environment flourishes Non-threatening
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