PSYC 7020: CONDITIONS OF LEARNING
Lesson Plan Recommendations

Last Revised: August 2008

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Using the Internet as a resource is absolutely necessary in today's information-based society. However, finding exactly the right material from a reputable site among the millions of pages available is often quite difficult. While there are many sources available, not all are of equal quality. However, the Internet can be extremely valuable when attempting to address multiple objectives, such as is expected when teachers attempt to simultaneously address academic and character objectives.

In the Brilliant Star framework, I propose 3 core elements and 10 domains that should be the focus of education and schooling. Based on this framework, I propose there are 4 different curricula that are needed in schools. These often overlap; in fact, the more they overlap the more likely specific objectives in these curricula will be the included in instructional activities.

The first set is the academic curriculum, with a focus on reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. A variety of curricula objectives and standards have been developed which serve to provide guidelines to what should be taught in those areas. For Georgia public schools, these are available at http://www.georgiastandards.org/.

A second set is the process curriculum, with a focus on cognitive, affective, volitional, and social processes. Some work has been done in this area, but there is much discussion regarding objectives. Several papers produced by me and colleagues address these issues:

A third set is the spirituality and moral character curriculum, with a focus on exploring, thinking, relating, choosing, and behaving in meaningful relationships. Spirituality is more focused on exploring those relationships, while moral character is more concerned with how those relationships impact moral and ethical behavior.

A fourth set of curricula focuses one's functioning in certain social roles such as marriage and family, career, finances, and citizenship.

Your task is to identify lesson plans available on the web that address both an academic objective and a Brilliant Star objective. A set of materials is already under development related to integrating academic objectives and Moral Character. I prefer that you make recommendations related to one of the following domains:

Thinking & Reasoning
  • Seeing associations
  • Cause & effect
  • Metacognitive skills
  • Critical thinking skills
  • Creative thinking skills
Affect & Emotions
  • Understanding one's own emotions
  • Appropriate expression of emotions
  • Emotional self-regulation (getting pumped up; relaxing)
Volition & Conation
  • Developing aspirations, dreams, and goals
  • Developing action plans
  • Implementing plans and reflection/evaluation
Socialization & Making Friends
  • Introducing oneself
  • Finding common interests
  • Working on a team
  • Conflict resolution skills

Each recommendation should include:

  • the academic standard addressed
  • the Brilliant Star objective or standard addressed
  • the URL for the lesson plan
  • the name for the lesson plan (if given)
  • the grade level of the lesson
  • a short description of the lesson

The following is a template for making your recommendations:
 

Grade Level:

Content Area:

Academic Objective(s):

 

Brilliant Star Objective(s):

 

Lesson Title

 

Lesson Summary:

 

URL:

 

Review the recommendations for "Cooperation" at the middle grades level for examples of what your recommendation should look like.

Send your recommendations to me via e-mail attachment. Post your the lesson title and the URLs for your  recommendations on the Vista/WebCT discussion board in the section titled "Website Recommendations".