2. TIRP Planning/Pacing 4/21/12 Barbara A. Toney
Objectives: By the end of the class
teachers will be able to
1. create a lesson plan calendar for the
coming year.
2. ballpark time needed for various
units
3. Create and pace a lesson plan
4. Create a lesson plan including brain-
based principles
3. Your 1st
Year is Almost Over!
What Did You Learn?
• You survived!
• Improved classroom management
• Created and given tests*
• Dealt with Parents
• Lesson Planning
• Worked with peers and administrators
• Increased student achievement*
4. • Handling stress
• Balancing home and school*
• Created a system for reaching kids
• Rules and Routines*
• Own Grading and assessment system.
• Differentiation of lessons
• Teaching material in different ways
• Task Analysis*
• Flexibility
5. • Today we will be:
• 1. Creating a lesson plan calendar: Your text
book has 20 chapters, each of which carries
equal weight. Determine roughly how much
time you can spend on each chapter.
• How to start the year: Do you start with
content lessons the first day?
7. Unit Planning
• 8 1/2 days to cover a unit
• What must be included?
• 10-24-7
• Assessments
• What will students learn and be able to do
• What will you do daily to create student
engagement?
• Final Assessment
8. What’s Important?
• Structure of a lesson plan:
• Focus not on what you need to cover but what
students will be doing.
• Transitions: When are transitions needed? How long
will it take to get in and out of each transition? Test it
yourself initially. Assume everything will take you
more time than planned but have sponges available as
well.
• Emphasize what’s important: 10/24/7
9. ASSESSMENTS
• Tests: what’s the point of the test? Is it a test based on studying or knowledge? Mak
it up or adapt using textbook software.
• What to do if most students fail or do very poorly on a test?
• Determine your culpability and respond accordingly. Reteach and retest if necessary
Offer students an option of retaking if receive C or below.
• Utilize testing software that comes with your text. May need to be tweaked and you
can often do that (editing)
• Make 2 or 3 versions of a
• test- 2 for class and one for makeups.
10.
11. What this means to you:
• It is critical that we plan learning with the
brain in mind to ask a different set of
questions. Rather than, what should I teach,
ask how will students best learn? As you plan
the learning, keep the focus on basic
principles that support the brain’s natural
learning tendencies. Create a complex
interdisciplinary curriculum that provides for
plenty of learner choice. Provide structure,
but in an environment that represents the
unique nature of each learner and their
individual needs and experiences.
12. • Lesson Pacing:
How much time is spent on different parts:
• Intro to lesson
• Transitions
• Giving Directions
• Delivering the day’s content and activities
• Answering questions
• Asking Questions
• Practice work
• Discipline
Including Jensen brain elements
13. The 7 Stage Brain Based
Learning Lesson Planning
Outline
14. The process
• The following strategies are organized in a sequence
as outlined by Jensen that makes sense to the brain.
The list is by no means exhaustive. Use this outline
as a means to check against your lesson plans to
make sure that you have set appropriate goals for
each of the learning stages.
15. Stage 1: Pre Exposure
• This phase provides the
brain with an overview of
the new learning before
really digging into the
concept. Pre exposure
helps the brain develop
better conceptual maps.
• Ideas of this stage:
– Post an overview of the new
topic on the bulletin board.
– Encourage good nutrition and
drinking plenty of water.
– Start here student knowledge
base begins and build upon their
interests related to the concept.
– Have learners set their own goals
and discuss goals for the class as
well.
– Plan Brain wake-ups, such as
cross laterals.
16. Stage 2: Preparation
• This is the phase where you
create the curiosity or the
excitement. It is similar to
the “Anticipatory Set” but
goes farther in preparing
the learner.
• Ideas to incorporate:
– Create a “you are there”
experience.
– Elicit from learners what possible
value and relevance the topic has
to them personally.
– The brain learns very well from
concrete experiences. Provided a
real, physical or concrete
exposure for the class.
– Provide a hook or surprise or a bit
of novelty to engage learner
emotions.
17. Stage 3 – Initiation and Acquisition
• This stage provides the immersion. Flood
with content! Instead of the single, lock
step, one bite at a time presentation,
provide an initial virtual overload of ideas,
details, complexity, and meanings. Allow
a sense of temporary overwhelm to occur
in learners. This will be followed by
anticipation, curiosity, and a
determination to discover meaning for
oneself. Over time it all gets sorted out
by the learner. It is like the real world
outside the classroom,
• Try these:
– Provide concrete learning experiences such as
case studies, experiment, a field trip,
interviews, etc.
– Provide activities that employ a majority of
the multiple intelligences.
– Offer a group or team project that
encompasses building, finding, exploring, or
designing.
– Attend the theater, put on a skit, produce a
commercial, or create a class/school
newspaper.
– Provide enough choice so that learners have
the opportunity to explore the subject using
their preferred learning modality: visual,
auditory, kinesthetic, etc.
– A well designed computer program or activity
can be very helpful at this stage.
18. Stage 4: Elaboration
• This is the process stage. It
requires genuine thinking on the
part of the learner. This is the
time to make intellectual sense of
the learning.
• Try these:
– Provide and open ended debriefing
of the previous activity.
– Tie things together so the learning
across disciplines occurs.
– Have learners design an evaluation
procedure or rubric for their own
learning.
– Have learners explore the topic
online.
– Hold a debate, essay contest or
panel discussion on the topic.
– Have students to the teaching in
small groups, as class presenters, in
pairs.
19. Stage 5: Incubation and Memory
Encoding
• This phase emphasizes the
importance of down time
and review time. The brain
learns most effectively over
time, not all at once.
• Try these:
– Provide time for unguided
reflection.
– Have learners keep a journal
of their learning.
– Have learners take a walk in
pairs to discuss the learning.
– Provide stretching and
relaxation exercises.
– Provide a music listening area.
– Ask learners to discuss new
learning with their family and
friends.
20. Stage 6: Verification and Confidence
Check
• This phase is not just for the
benefit of the teacher.
Learners need to confirm
their learning for
themselves, as well.
Learning is best
remembered when the
student possesses a model
or metaphor regarding the
new concepts or materials.
• Try these:
– Have learners present their
learning to others.
– Student interviews and
evaluate each other.
– Students write about what
they have learned in a
journal, essay, news
article, report.
– Students demonstrate
learning with a project.
– Students present a role
play or skit or theatrical
performance.
– Quiz, verbal or written.
21. Stage 7: Celebration and Integration
• In the celebration phase it is critical
to engage emotions. Make it fun,
light, and joyful. This step instills the
important love of learning. It must
never be missed.
• Try these:
– Have a class toast with juice.
– Provide sharing time, peer sharing,
demonstration, acknowledgements.
– Play music, hang streamers and blow
horns to celebrate the end of a
successful unit.
– Invite another class, parents, principal,
or community guest through video
conferencing to view projects.
– Facilitate a class designed and
produced celebration party.
– Incorporate the new learning in future
lessons! Never introduce something,
then drop it. If it is not important
enough to refer to in the future, don’t
waste time on it to begin with.
22. What this means to you:
• It is critical that we plan learning with the brain in
mind to ask a different set of questions. Rather than,
what should I teach, ask how will students best
learn? As you plan the learning, keep the focus on
basic principles that support the brain’s natural
learning tendencies. Create a complex
interdisciplinary curriculum that provides for plenty
of learner choice. Provide structure, but in an
environment that represents the unique nature of
each learner and their individual needs and
experiences.
27. Primacy-Recency Effect
• Prime Time 1
• Down time
• Prime Time 2
• Teach new info when
you have students’
focus.
Retention during learning episode
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Time in minutes
DegreeofRetention
Series1
28. Primacy-Recency Effect
• New info should be
taught in Prime time 1
• It is important that
only correct info be
presented at this time.
• The new material
should be followed
with practice during
down time.
Retention during learning episode
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Series1
29. Primacy-Recency Effect
• Closure should take
place during prime
time 2.
• This is the second
most powerful
learning position & an
important opportunity
to determine sense
and meaning.
Retention during learning episode
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Time in minutes
DegreeofRetention
Series1
30. Retention varies with length of teaching episode
• More retention occurs
when lessons are shorter.
• A block containing 4 twenty
minute lessons will be much
more productive than one
long lesson.
Retention during learning episode
0
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DegreeofRetention
Series1
31. Prime Time 1 (First 15 minutes)
Mr. X : “Today we’re going
to learn the 3rd
cause of
the Civil War and its
relevance…. Before that,
let me give back some
homework, collect and go
over today’s homework,
collect the notes from Bill
and Mary who were
absent and get them
caught up, take
attendance, read
announcements…”
Mr. G: “Today we will learn the 3rd
cause of the Civil War and how it
relates to current times. And here is
the 3rd
cause.. (cause, examples, how
it relates to previous..)
32. Down-Time (next 15 minutes)
• “Here is the 3rd
cause…”
“Get into your discussion groups and
discuss this 3rd
cause. What are
similarities and differences compared
to the first two causes…”
33. Last 15 minutes (Prime Time 2)
• “OK, we’ve got only 5
minutes to the end of the
period. You’ve listened
well so you can do what
you want quietly until the
bell rings.”
“Take 2 minutes to review to yourself
what we’ve learned about the 3rd
cause. Be prepared to share your
thoughts with the class in a moment.”
