This module has helped me think about using standards, CFQs, or formative assessment in the following ways: standards will help create objectives for students to learn over the course of a unit plan, curriculum-framing questions will help teachers take a broad idea and turn it into a curriculum, and formative assessments are required to gauge students needs.
I have been learning about standards in one of my other classes, and I know that there are certain standards required by the Alabama Board of Education. However, this module also says to keep in mind 21st century skills and higher-order thinking as well as standards I am hoping to teach. From these standards, I should create objectives that will lead up to the standard I am trying to teach.
While I have been learning about standards, this is the first time that I have heard about curriculum-framing questions or CFQs. There are three levels of questions that work a bit like standards and objectives. A teacher starts with a broad essential question. Then comes the unit questions, which are still broad but are meant demonstrate students' knowledge of a subject. Lastly there are content questions that are fact-based and support unit questions and essential questions. Each of these CFQs are crucial into creating a well-developed unit plan.
Lastly, formative assessments are incredibly important because they assess the needs of students. What would be the point of teaching if students do not understand the lessons? As a teacher, I need to know what my students already know, if they are understanding my lesson, and what areas they need help in. Being able to properly assess them will help my students progress further with my lesson.
The second module covers standards, CQFs, and formative assessments. All of these teaching tools are required to creative an effective unit plan, and I will be implementing these techniques in my future teaching plans.
