Instructional Design Assignment 1

I plan to create a professional development course for new Pre-K teachers to introduce them to the foundations of effective Pre-K instruction. As our district’s Early Childhood Coordinator, every year I have a handful of new Pre-K teachers. Some of them have been teaching in other grade levels, but have no experience teaching Pre-K. And many of them have never taught at all. My biggest challenge is to train new teachers so that they understand what effective instruction looks like for young learners. Given the time constraints and high volume of teachers that I supervise, it’s difficult to give the level of instruction and vision required for a Pre-K teacher to be successful. Even with teaching experience in other grade levels, many teachers find the instructional approach in Pre-K to be counter-intuitive. Therefore, designing an online asynchronous class is an excellent way to fill this gap. I’ve thought of doing something like this before, but haven’t really taken the time to develop something of this caliber.

Course Quick Facts

I want every module I create to connect directly to situations a new Pre-K teacher will encounter. Rather than giving long lectures about play or vocabulary, I want the teachers to analyze classroom situations, make instructional decisions, design learning experiences, and apply concepts to their own classroom. I want the learning to be authentic.

In a knowledge-based society, it’s impossible to simply learn and retain all of the information we may eventually need (Bates, 2019; Thomas & Brown, 2011). For instance, a Pre-K teacher doesn’t need to memorize hundreds of Texas Pre-K Guidelines. Instead the teacher needs to think: “I need to work on children’s ability to describe and compare attributes. Where can I find the appropriate guideline? What does it actually expect? What resources can help me teach it? What evidence should I look for?” The goal is that this teacher would know how to manage knowledge, which is more important than just possessing information. “They need to keep on learning to stay on top in their work, and they need to manage that learning for themselves” (Bates, 2019, p.17). This idea connects with what Dr. Harapnuik says about self directed or autodidactic learners (Learner’s Mindset, 2020). In a knowledge based society learners can’t rely on a teacher or a formal course every time they need to learn something new.

My course will be outcome based (OBE), and my instructional approach is primarily constructivist because I believe learners develop deeper understanding when they connect new knowledge to authentic experiences. Bates (2019) explains that constructivist teaching emphasizes learners “developing personal meaning through reflection, analysis and the gradual building of layers or depths of knowledge” (p. 59). Therefore, solving problems, making decisions, creating products, and reflecting on learning are crucial parts of my course. However, I also incorporate elements of other learning theories such as cognitivist approaches, which are useful when learners need explicit instruction on new foundational knowledge. Bates notes that cognitivism helps explain how learners “process and make sense of new information” and how they integrate and manage knowledge (Bates, 2019, p. 56). Social constructivism is particularly important when teachers discuss classroom scenarios, provide peer feedback, and learn from one another’s experiences. Bates (2019) argues that learning from a constructivist perspective is “essentially a social process” (p. 59), and that learners test their ideas with fellow students and colleagues.

BHAG

The goal of this course is to transform new Pre-K teachers from classroom managers into intentional designers of learning equipped to make every interaction, play experience, small group, and learning center an opportunity for meaningful child development.

Fink's 3-Column Table

Course Outline

Module 1: Start with the Learning – Guidelines & Objectives

• Focus: Texas Pre-K Guidelines, developmentally appropriate learning objectives, and the difference between a guideline, objective, and activity.

• Assessments: Knowledge checks, guideline/objective matching, and creation of an aligned learning objective.

• Activities: Explore the Texas Pre-K Guidelines, analyze examples and non-examples, complete an Objective Makeover, and practice writing child-friendly objectives.

Module 2: Every Interaction Is Instruction – Vocabulary & Language

• Focus: Intentional vocabulary development and using teacher-child interactions to build children’s language throughout the day.

• Assessments: Scenario-based questions, vocabulary planning, and reflection on classroom language opportunities.

• Activities: Analyze teacher-child conversations, practice expanding children’s responses, develop intentional questions and prompts, and identify vocabulary opportunities during routines and play.

Module 3: More Than “Just Playing” – The Importance of Play

• Focus: Play as an essential context for academic, social, language, cognitive, and emotional development.

• Assessments: Play scenario analysis, reflection, and design or revision of a purposeful play experience.

• Activities: Examine common misconceptions about play, identify learning occurring during play, compare teacher-directed and child-centered approaches, and explore the teacher’s role as observer, facilitator, and coach.

Module 4: Move, Sing, Learn – Music & Movement

• Focus: Using music and movement intentionally to support engagement, development, vocabulary, and learning objectives.

• Assessments: Knowledge checks, scenario analysis, and creation of an intentional music or movement experience.

• Activities: Explore songs, chants, and movement experiences; connect music and movement to learning goals; and identify opportunities for active learning throughout the Pre-K day.

Module 5: Make the Learning Travel – From Small Groups to Centers

• Focus: Connecting guidelines, objectives, teacher interactions, small-group instruction, play, and centers into cohesive learning experiences.

• Assessments: Small-group/center alignment analysis and a culminating instructional Alignment Project.

• Activities: Trace the learning from guideline to instruction, analyze connected and disconnected classroom experiences, extend small group learning into centers, identify evidence of children’s learning, and determine instructional next steps.

Culminating Project

Students will create an intentional Pre-K learning sequence that demonstrates the connections among:

TX Pre-K Guidline > Learning Objective > Vocabulary/Teacher Interaction > Small Group > Center/Play Extension > Evidence of Learning > Next Step

Students will receive feedback, revise their work, and reflect on their growth from classroom manager to intentional designer of learning.

References

Bates, A. W. (2019). Teaching in a digital age. Tony Bates Associates Ltd. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/

Brown J. S. & D, Thomas. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Learner’s Mindset. (2020, December 24). Assessment as learning [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLmxREQLizk

Erich,

It is interesting to me how your course moves beyond simply giving new Pre-K teachers information and instead puts them in situations where they have to make instructional decisions. Your statement about moving teachers from “classroom managers” to “intentional designers of learning” stood out to me because that same transition is important in workforce and technical education.

Coming from industry and now teaching logistics and supply chain management, I have seen how training is much more effective when learners can immediately connect what they are learning to a situation they may actually encounter. In industry, we rarely trained someone by expecting them to memorize every procedure or requirement. We taught them how to find the correct information, evaluate the situation, make a decision, and then determine whether the outcome was successful. Your example of teachers locating and interpreting the Texas Pre-K Guidelines follows that same approach. It builds the ability to manage knowledge rather than simply remember it.

I see the connection between your course and Thomas and Brown’s (2011) discussion of learning through participation, experimentation, and interaction. Your classroom scenarios, peer feedback, play analysis, and culminating alignment project give teachers opportunities to learn by doing rather than simply consuming content.

I am curious about how you will incorporate reflection throughout the course. Could teachers revisit an instructional decision from an earlier module after gaining additional knowledge and explain what they would now change?

I also wonder how you might use the teachers’ actual classrooms as part of the learning environment. Could they bring a real classroom challenge into the course, apply the framework you are teaching, and then report back on what happened?

That could make the asynchronous course feel even more connected to their daily practice.

-Daniel Alcantar