Designing Effective Lessons (9-12)

Designing Effective Lessons examines the components of effective inquiry-based biology lessons and explores a model of how to use them to create lessons.

Course Objectives

• Apply the principles of backward design to planning or revising a lesson
• Explore ways to improve the classroom learning environment
• Apply your learning to teaching cell biology, ecology, and other biology topics

Course Syllabus

Session 1: A Model for Lesson Design
Identify the common components of effective lessons and use the approach called "backward design" to plan an activity on cell biology.

Session 2: An Environment for Learning
Explore the role that classroom environment plays in learning, identify strategies for developing a supportive learning environment, and apply these strategies to topics in ecology.

Additional Course Information

• 15 contact hours
• Fourth in a series of four courses for teachers of high school biology
• Other courses in the series:
  • 1st course: Inquiry in Science Education ^‡
  • 2nd course: Teaching About Genetics ^‡
  • 3rd course: Teaching About Evolution ^‡
  • ^‡recommended before taking this course
• A full survey course (45 contact hours), Teaching High School Biology, is also available.

We recommend course modules be taken in order. If this is not possible, it's important to have a basic knowledge of the content and methodology described in the preceding courses.

See also: Course Tour example

About Teachers' Domain High School Courses:
Unlike the elementary and middle school courses, all high school courses assume a basic knowledge of the subject matter. These courses emphasize teaching strategies and methodology, particularly inquiry, and the use of technology and rich media in lessons. Science topics within these courses are those that are often found to be challenging to teach and learn. These topics are used to facilitate the study of methodology.