Instruction is an important part to who we as teachers are, and this Danielson domain completely focuses on instruction. Not only on simply instruction, but on designing flowing, understandable instruction. Keep reading below to find out more information about this domain.
What is domain 1E about? Danielson's Domain 1E is about teacher's designing lesson plans and classroom instruction that is appropriate as well as making sure that the teacher is meeting the standards of the school. This domain is in place to help the teacher make sure that he or she is also enhancing student's knowledge of other subjects. This is also trying to help teachers plan for every student that they will have in the classroom as well as designing instruction that flows and goes in a sequential or systematic order. Why is this domain important to teaching? The center and foundation of teaching is all in the instruction. Without good, coherent instruction the students will struggle with meeting goals as well as understanding in certain subjects. Therefore, it is critical that teachers create good lesson plans as well as unit plans in order to be effective with their students. There are several elements that apply to this, and they are labeled below. Before jumping into the elements, it is critical that I also mention how teachers need to know what the schools expect of learning from the students. Teachers also need to know and plan for the fact that their students are not all the same, rather each student is different and will learn in various ways. Knowing how to adapt for each student is key when planning for lessons and another reason as to why this domain is important. What are the elements to Domain 1E? Danielson provided four different elements for Domain 1E. Each of these elements are described below along with a brief description of each.
Learning Activities- In this element, teachers should plan to have their students be active and engaging throughout the lesson. Not only should the lesson be engaging, but the activities should help to progress and advance the student's learning.
Instructional Materials and Resources- When using materials in the room during a lesson, they should relate to the topic and subject. There should not be unnecessary materials which would not help the subject. Avoid having distracting materials that would take away from the lesson being taught.
Instructional Groups- Creating groups that can work together at certain points during the day. Each member of the group should be placed to help advance and improve the learning. Groups should be strategically planned rather than thrown together with little consideration.
Lesson and Unit Structure- When creating lesson or unit plans, the instruction is clear, organized, and understandable to the students. There should not be dramatic shifts in learning, rather the sections of learning should flow and enhance the student's learning. The lessons build upon each other rather than being randomly thought of.
How can Domain 1E be used in classrooms? For this question, I will only demonstrate two different ways to use this domain in the classroom, but if you have any more suggestions, contact me and I will add it below! The first way that Domain 1E can be used in the classroom is by planning to use guiding questions in the lesson. Having guiding questions stirs the student's interests while giving some clue into the lesson for the day. Allow the student's to discuss the question together before presenting the answer or directing the conversation to the lesson. This allows for the students to get out all of their excitement while applying that energy to lesson related material. The second way this domain could be incorporated into the classroom is by using online technology resources. To introduce a new section, maybe present the students with a Kahoot! or a fun online game. This catches the student's attention right away, but in a more creative way. Especially with many students in touch with technology, using tech tools would be "right up their alley". Also, try to use background knowledge from previous lessons would help the students know where the lessons are headed as well as enable them to pull out their recently learned knowledge. Tech can be used in many different ways, but this has to be one of my favorite ways. As always, contact me with any more ways to use Domain 1E in the classroom.
References: (2017). Kusd.edu. Retrieved 12 October 2017, from http://www.kusd.edu/sites/default/files/document-library/english/possible-artifacts.pdf
(2017). Nctq.org. Retrieved 12 October 2017, from https://www.nctq.org/docs/Wichita_Evaluation__handbook.pdf