Christian Religious Education: Overview of Syllabus Interpretation

Evelyn JepkemeiSenior Education Specialist

Primary Math and Reading InitiativeRTI International

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PlanAhead

Pre-Planning Strategies1. Determine the learning styles of your

students2. Determine reading levels/skills of students3. Inventory access to Resources and

technology4. Connect experience to what is being

taught5. Connect on academic expectations and

core content with behaviour6. Establish a variety of instructional

strategies3

Essential Questions

• What do I want all students to know and be able to do at the end of this lesson?

• What will I do to cause this learning to happen?

• What will students do to facilitate this learning?

• How will I assess to find out if this learning happened?

• What will I do for those who show through assessment that the learning did not take place? 4

The Correct Question…

• DON’T ASK: “What am I going to cover tomorrow?”

• DO ASK: “What are my students going to learn, achieve, and accomplish tomorrow?”

The role of the teacher is not to cover. The role of the teacher is to UNCOVER.

• Learning has nothing to do with what the teacher COVERS.

• Learning has to do with what the student ACCOMPLISHES.

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If the classroom is a fish bowl…

• Piranha

• Catfish

• Goldfish

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Piranha…..

• Are usually the “trouble-makers”• Can be passive aggressive or

overtly aggressive• Have negative attitude• Have attendance problems• Are “at risk” Etc., etc., etc……

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Catfish…..

• Go with the flow• Are usually good-natured, but have

limited motivation• Are social beings• Tend to cooperate; follow MOST

rules• Perform to the average or just

enough to stay out of trouble

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Goldfish…..

• Are in the top 10-15% of their class• Are “teacher pleasers”• Are highly motivated to perform

well• Show enthusiasm for learning• May be “over achievers” and /or

high achievers

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Thinking It Through…

• Lesson Content• Learning Level• Instructional Methods, Materials,

Activities• Student Activities• Evaluation Tools, Strategies,

Activities

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Planning

1. Understand the objectives– Objectives set out in the syllabus

2. Create your own sub objectives to suit the needs of your learners– Requires considerable planning

3. Decide on the things you want the learners to know, and what they will do with that knowledge. What do you want them to feel and do?

Planning

4. Decide on the strategies– We do not want to limit our classes to

acquisition of knowledge– Other important objectives include

feeling and/or action

5. Understand the taxonomies

Cognitive Domain• This domain focuses on intellectual

skills and is familiar to educators.• Bloom’s Taxonomy on the cognitive

domain describes the increasing complexity of cognitive skills as students move from beginner to more advanced in their knowledge of content.

• The cognitive domain is the core learning domain. 

Old Bloom’s vs. New Bloom’sNote the move from nouns to verbs and the exchange the

top two levels

The Affective Domain

• The affective domain is critical for learning but is often not specifically addressed. 

• This is the domain that deals with attitudes, motivation, willingness to participate, valuing what is being learned, and ultimately incorporating the values of a discipline into a way of life. 

• CRE is huge on this domain

Affective Domain

Listen to, Perceive, Be alert, Show tolerance of, Obey

Reply, Answer, Follow along, Approve, Continue

Attain, Assume, Support, Participate

Organize, Select, Judge, Decide,Identify with

Believe, Practice, Continue to, Carry out

Psychomotor DomainThe psychomotor domain focuses on performing sequences of activities to a specified level of accuracy, smoothness, rapidity, or force. Underlying the motor activity is cognitive understanding. 

The Psychomotor Domain

Perception

Process of becoming aware of objects, qualities, etc by way of senses. Basic in situation-interpretation-action chain leading to motor activity.

SetReadiness for a particular kind of action or experience; may be mental, physical or emotional. Simpson, J. S. (1966). The classification of educational objectives,

psychomotor domain. Office of Education Project No. 5-85-104. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois.

The Psychomotor Domain

MechanismLearned response becomes habitual; learner has achieved certain confidence and proficiency or performance.

Guided Response

Overt behavioral act under guidance of an instructor, or following model or set criteria.

The Psychomotor Domain

Adaptation Altering activities to meet demands of problematic situations.

Complex Overt

Response

Performance of action considered complex because of action pattern required.

The Psychomotor Domain

Origination

Creating new acts or ways of manipulating materials and knowledge out of skills, abilities

Where are we?

• Despite the importance of the taxonomies, parents, teachers and other groups emphasize cognition only

• It is important to include higher order thinking skills and help the learners develop ‘habits of mind’

• We must tailor or practice to meet the needs of learners• The syllabus typically identifies objectives for all the

topics• As the teacher you must operationalize these objectives

and make them relevant and meaningful for your learners

• Gather information systematically from primary and secondary sources

Where are we?

• Translate objectives to specific things to be done. Think about the objective in varying degrees of complexity– Use higher order thinking skills– Emphasize doing and feeling– Identify examples– Allow sharing of feelings– Seek for application

Assessment…

• Ineffective Assignments:– The teacher tells the class what is to be

covered• Effective Assignments:

– The teacher tells the students what they are to have accomplished or mastered at the end of the lesson

“Teach with the end in mind”24

Effective Assessments…• Must have structure and be precise• Structure

– The assignment must have a consistent and familiar format that the students can recognize as their assignment

– The assignment must be posted daily in a consistent location BEFORE students enter the room

• Preciseness– The assignment must state clearly and

simply what the students are to ACCOMPLISH

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Making Assessment. . . part of your instructional planning

One would think that the purpose of assessment is to improve learning. This is true only if/when we design it so. Toward this end, it is often useful to think of three “places” or “purposes” in our assessment plan. Pre-assessment. Do this at the beginning. What do my

students know before we start? Are there things I need to review or skills I should teach first? Are there things they know already? Should I be ready to develop alternative approaches for some students?

Making Assessment. . . part of your instructional planning

Formative assessment Do this along the way. How are my students doing? How well I am doing? Should I re-teach some area? Should I develop alternative approaches for some

students? These assessments should be non-threatening, and provide immediate feedback.

Summative assessment. This is usually left for KNEC

Consider a pre-test or use pre-assessment information to guide instruction – how much do they know; where are the rough spots?

Develop some formative evaluation techniques to use along the way – how are they doing; what should I revisit a different way?

Build from a test blueprint or table of specifications - 2-way table preferred over the 1-way blueprint?

Decide on length – how many items for the time allowed; is the rule of thumb “one-item-per-minute” for objective items enough?

Allow time for preparing – is it a new test you are creating for the first time; is it a recycled test?

Plan for scoring – how much time will you need; What should students score? Feedback to students – feedback should be sooner

rather than later; will students see their grade only; entire test; go over all items?

Classroom Assessment PlanningRemember:

1. AFFECTIVE DOMAIN: Value the notion of the importance of an overall plan for assessment, to include the process of credibly interpreting performance and assigning grades.

2. COGNITIVE DOMAIN: Clearly identify your classroom instructional objectives and index them to an “authority.”

3. PSYCHOMOTOR DOMAIN: Develop skill in preparing a test blueprint or table of specifications to strive for a high degree of content validity on all assessments.

Additional Tips• Share your Teaching Philosophy with your

colleagues• Get personal/be genuine/show passion• Tell stories• Use groups• Frequency reduces awkwardness• Incremental / escalating success builds

confidence• Make content relevant to life and career

Consider the Following Activities

• Concept Maps• Reflection Papers, Journaling• Small Group Activities / Cooperative

Learning• Role play / Gaming• Confidence surveys / Knowledge

Surveys• Free Association = Implicit Attitudes

Thanks!

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