Five Stages of Teaching/Learning at SHS

Teaching and learning strategies based on solid personal relationships, steeped in rigor, and relevant to the learners’ world are represented in an overwhelming proportion of the experiences of the most successful students in high performing high schools.

Integrated cross-subject thematic learning units at Skyline will have five elements in common no matter what the topic or who the teacher/learning-facilitator may be.  Each unit will:

1. Establish Relevance

Students ask:

Why does this matter to me, my community, and the world?

Lessons at this stage help students:

Identify connections to topics
Raise questions
Identify assumptions and prior knowledge

2. Investigate & Reflect

Students ask:

What are the key issues, trends, influences & impacts?
What’s the real nature of the issue?

Lessons at this stage have students:

Explore, experience and test ideas
Analyze, interpret & synthesize information
Evaluate different perspectives

Reflect on Findings:

Are we asking the right questions?
What other information do we need?
Reflection activities embedded in each lesson help students:

• State conclusions & generalizations
• Evaluate findings
• Refine or raise new questions
  

Lessons continue in this stage until students have the knowledge-base needed to make informed decisions.

3. Make Decisions

Students ask:   

What do we want?
What can we do to achieve what we want?
What’s already been done?

Lessons at this stage help students:

Evaluate effectiveness of solutions
Assess costs and benefits to various stakeholders
Decide if solutions address root causes or just symptoms.

4. Act on Decisions & Communicate the Results to a Wide Audience

Student comes to consensus:

How can we achieve it?

Lessons at this stage help students:

Set goals & benchmarks
Work individually and in groups
Reflect on work; assess progress; adjust practices;
Communicate

5. Mastery Teaching and Learning

Mastery learning is a method of teaching and learning that assures that a student reaches a level of predetermined mastery on a unit of instruction before progressing to the next level or unit. 

• Mastery learning is a process designed to assure that all students achieve content mastery.
• In a mastery learning setting, students are given specific feedback about their learning progress, as well as learning support as needed, at regular intervals throughout the instructional period.
• Traditional instruction holds time constant and allows mastery to vary, while mastery learning holds mastery constant and allows time to vary.

For an example of a secondary school using mastery learning click this link: http://www.perry-lake.k12.oh.us/402_LearnFacil/Index_links/what_is_mastery_learning.htm