Goal-directed Instructional Design Plan - World Geography. Author - Gary J Brumbelow

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1 Goal-directed Instructional Design Plan - World Geography Author - Gary J Brumbelow 1. A problem or a need In a growing global-community that is literally shrinking the social, religious, political, and economic world that we live in, it is imperative that students understand the geographical make-up of the world and how global events affect them as human beings. With technology increasing at an exponential rate, the increased availability of the internet globally and the evolution of Web2.0; it is more important now than at any other time in our history for students to have a firm grasp of world geography and current events. Yet, an alarming number of students cannot identify the majority of countries on a blank map of the world and few can even place countries in their proper regions. Most students are not engaged in the events occurring throughout the world. It is necessary for students to have a strong academic foundation of our geographical and geo-political make-up as a global-community. Therefore, it is the goal of this plan to have 100% of the students successfully place every country in the world in their proper location on a blank world map by the end of the semester. Along with this, 100% of the students will be able to take a hot-bed global issue and demonstrate relevance to their daily lives through a multi-media project and presentation. 2. A real-world performance It is important to show students from the beginning why a deep understanding of world geography is relevant. This will be accomplished in several ways. First, by presenting real-world examples such as the geo-political reasons why American troops are deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and South Korea, or the globaleconomic factors contributing to a growing trade deficit with China and how it affects the American economic market, and the socio-economic effects of monetary and civil unrest in African nations students will begin to understand how our world is shrinking and how events around the planet affect them. As individuals influenced by the social, religious, political, and economic events of the world students need to have an understanding of what is happening globally, where it is happening, why it is happening, and how it shapes them. Second, by combining weekly discussions over current events, daily tasks such as spending 20 minutes each night reviewing a classroom RSS Resource page covering national and global print and video media, governmental podcasts, and blogs and then writing a weekly two-paragraph summary of an event of their choice on the classroom blog, and successfully completing on-line inter-active world map activities and games they begin to see how they can connect individually with events happening around the world. Mix knowledge of current events with on-line inter-active world map activities and games and the students begin to form a base of understanding of what events are occurring in the world and where they are happening. As students combine their newly gained knowledge of world geography with their knowledge of global current events they begin to understand why this knowledge is significant to their daily lives. This understanding then builds relevance to this activity in the student s minds and they begin to take ownership of gaining this knowledge as a necessity of everyday life rather than just another memorization assignment. Finally, students will leave this class with the necessary knowledge to understand global events, know where in the world they are occurring, understand the regional and global effects of the events and as a result, they will be able to function better in their daily professional and personal lives as citizens.

2 3. An instructional objective At the end of this class the student will: a. Understand the relevance of knowing where countries are in the world and keeping up to date on current events. b. Explain the issues surrounding current events and how they affect us personally by creating blog summaries and participating in classroom discussions. c. Complete all inter-active on-line assignments and show knowledge of the correct placement of every country in the world by filling in a blank world map at the end of the semester. d. Demonstrate a deep understanding of why it is important to know the world we live in and the events that occur on a daily basis by completing a capstone multimedia project and presentation over one hot-bed topic in the world news. Michigan Department of Education High School Social Studies Content Expectations, V K1 General Knowledge embedded in WHG standards and expectations K1.1 Know the defining characteristics of the disciplines of history and geography. K1.2 Know that each discipline is subject to criticisms and limitations; be aware of the primary criticisms of history and geography. K1.3 Understand and analyze temporal and spatial relationships and patterns. K1.4 Understand historical and geographical perspectives. K1.5 Understand the diversity of human beings and human cultures. K1.6 Analyze events and circumstances from the vantage point of others. K1.7 Understand social problems, social structures, institutions, class, groups, and interaction. K1.8 Apply social studies concepts to better understand major current local, national, and world events, issues, and problems. K1.9 Integrate concepts from at least two different social studies disciplines. K1.10 Understand significant concepts, generalizations, principles, and theories of history and geography as disciplines. Social Studies Procedures and Skills embedded in WHG standards and expectations P1 Reading and Communication read and communicate effectively. P1.1 Use close and critical reading strategies to read and analyze complex texts pertaining to social science; attend to nuance, make connections to prior knowledge, draw inferences, and determine main idea and supporting details. P1.2 Analyze point of view, context, and bias to interpret primary and secondary source documents. P1.3 Understand that diversity of interpretation arises from frame of reference. P1.4 Communicate clearly and coherently in writing, speaking, and visually expressing ideas pertaining to social science topics, acknowledging audience and purpose. P1.5 Present a coherent thesis when making an argument, support with evidence, articulate and answer possible objections, and present a concise, clear closing.

3 P2 Inquiry, Research, and Analysis critically examine evidence, thoughtfully consider conflicting claims, and carefully weigh facts and hypotheses. P2.1 Understand the scientific method of inquiry to investigate social scientific and historical problems. P2.2 Read and interpret data in tables and graphs. P2.3 Know how to find and organize information from a variety of sources; analyze, interpret, support interpretations with evidence, critically evaluate, and present the information orally and in writing; report investigation results effectively. P2.4 Use multiple perspectives and resources to identify and analyze issues appropriate to the social studies discipline being studied. P2.5 Use deductive and inductive problem-solving skills as appropriate to the problem being studied. P3 Public Discourse and Decision Making engage in reasoned and informed decision making that should characterize each citizen s participation in American society. P3.1 Clearly state an issue as a question of public policy, trace the origins of an issue, analyze various perspectives, and generate and evaluate possible alternative resolutions. P3.2 Deeply examine policy issues in group discussions and debates (clarify issues, consider opposing views, apply democratic values or constitutional principles, anticipate consequences) to make reasoned and informed decisions. P3.3 Write persuasive/argumentative essays expressing and justifying decisions on public policy issues. P4 Citizen Involvement P4.1 Act out of respect for the rule of law and hold others accountable to the same standard. P4.2 Demonstrate knowledge of how, when, and where individuals would plan and conduct activities intended to advance views on matters of public policy, report the results, and evaluate effectiveness. P4.3 Plan and conduct activities intended to advance views on matters of public policy, report the results, and evaluate effectiveness. 4. A set of essential content In the implementation of this plan, the instructor will use several different activities to accomplish the set objectives. First, through lecture, video, on-line information, and other sources the instructor will show current world events and demonstrate how they have relevance to our daily lives. Second, the instructor will create and maintain a class RSS Page for world news and information, as well as a class Blog. Through these two sources, the students will review current global events on a daily basis and write a weekly two paragraph summary defining the facts of the event and how it is relevant to each of us. Third, the instructor will lead a weekly classroom discussion of current events and allow the students to share their views and opinions in a safe and educationally conducive environment. Fourth, the students will meet in the computer lab three times a month to utilize inter-active on-line world map activities and games that are structured to teach them the proper geographic location of every country in the world. Through this exercise, it is expected that 100% of the students will successfully identify all countries of the world in their proper location on a blank world map at the end of the semester. Finally, each student will complete a capstone multimedia project where they will present their knowledge and understanding of a current hot-bed topic in the world and demonstrate its relevance to our lives. By completing each of these goals, the students will exit this class with a thorough knowledge of world geography and the importance of understanding world events and analyzing how they affect each of us in our daily lives.

4 5. An evaluation consisting of a test or observation The instructor will evaluate the progress and success of each student in the following ways: A. The instructor will evaluate the students on their participation in classroom discussions of current events. Participation points will be based on a set of guidelines presented to the students and posted in the front of the room. B. The instructor will review and respond to the weekly summaries that students are to post to the class Blog. Grades will be based on a provided rubric. C. The students will receive points for completing each level of the inter-active on-line world map activities and games. To receive points for completion, students will take screen-shots of the completed activity or game and them to the instructor. (example of evaluation method used) D. The students will be given a blank world map and list of all the countries of the world. They will be given one class period to write in the correct country in the correct border location on the provided map. Students will receive 1 point for each country correctly labeled on the map. E. The students will complete a capstone multi-media project where they will present their knowledge and understanding of a current hot-bed topic in the world and demonstrate its relevance to our lives. Grades for this project will be based on the provided rubric. 6. A method to help participants learn The methods used to deliver the content and achieve the instructional methods will be varied in order to reach the students on several different levels, form meaning for the content being taught. The instructional methods are: A. Introduction at the beginning of the semester, the instructor will use real-world examples of current global events, show the students the location of these events on the world map, and demonstrate the relevance that these events have on our daily lives and how there geographical location effect the region and the world as a whole. B. Instruction Through lectures, videos, on-line content, and other methods the instructor will present the information in a meaningful and significant manner. The goal of all instruction will be to assist the students in learning while demonstrating relevance for the content. C. Explanation Through lectures, small group activities, and class room discussions the instructor will explain how world events affect our daily lives. D. Demonstration By showing the students current world events, identifying the proper location for those events, and connecting them to how they influence the United States socially, politically, religiously, and economically the students will see and understand the relevance of the information being shared. E. Practice Students will complete on-line activities that will facilitate in the learning process and enable them to evaluate their own progress. F. Feedback Through classroom discussions, responses to the student s blog posts, and reviews of their online activities the instructor will communicate with the students in a meaningful and positive manner discussing their views and evaluating their progress. G. Conclusion Through the continued communication between the instructor and the students and the completion of all classroom assignments, along with the completion of the world map test and capstone project, the students will exit the class having successfully achieved each of the instructional objectives set forth in this plan.

5 Motivation: Meaningfulness By presenting the objectives and goals of this plan to the students at the beginning of the semester, and reinforcing the relevance of these skills in every lesson assigned, the students will understand the meaning and necessity of these skills. When students find relevance in an assignment, it then takes on meaning. When this occurs, the students become excited about the learning process, Pleasant consequences The students will gain new understanding and knowledge of the world around them. They will find topics and issues that they will become passionate about and they will continue to see meaning and understanding in not just their community, but in their global-community as well. Novelty By presenting the students with true and current events in the world and watching as things progress, end, or change the students will become interested. The key is using real-world events, demonstrating how they are relevant to the student, and then allowing them to draw their own educated and fact based conclusion and opinions of each event. Once the students take ownership of the learning process, they will maintain interest in the subject matter. Socialization By allowing the students to choose their own reflective topics in the weekly blog posts and commenting on each others posts, openly discussing ideas in class, and working in small groups they will maintain social interaction during the learning process. It is imperative that the students interact with one another throughout the class, understanding that each student will draw their own opinions and conclusions from the content and that each student s opinion has value and merit. Audience This plan is for high school World History and Geography and Current Events students. The content and instructional practices are geared toward students who can engage in the learning process on an individual basis, take individual ownership for their progress, and effectively communicate in a social setting where different views and opinions will be presented. Technology Needs The instructor will require internet access in the classroom, a classroom computer, a media projector, an RSS page, a class Blog, access to the computer lab, and access to on-line websites for inter-active world map activities and games.