Madeline Hunter Method & Planbook Plus
The Madeline Hunter Mastery Teaching method provides a scientific foundation for lesson design which includes various elements that foster an operational structure that can be used as a suggested outline for lesson planning. Planbook Plus has the ability to support this framework, featuring optional elements that align with the successful structural design created by Hunter. In addition to these optionally inclusive elements, the thousands of available eLearning lessons were designed to include comparable elements devised to amplify student learning.
Madeline Hunter Method
Many factors play into the effectiveness of each individual lesson such as; intuitive delivery, differentiated instruction, classroom management, level of student engagement and so on. As teacher efficacy may, in large part, be dependent upon experience or training, utilizing the elements in Hunter’s design allows for maximized learning regardless of teacher style, grade level or subject matter. As student learning takes place in Vygotsky’s termed Zone of Proximal Development, teachers must determine the least restrictive avenue to that optimal learning zone. Utilizing the suggested elements which include: anticipatory set, objective, input, modeling, guided practice, independent practice and closure, promote techniques such as scaffolding, that elevate students progressively towards comprehension through tiered levels of instructional support.
Planbook Plus: Elements
When planning lessons online with Planbook Plus, teachers have the ability to access these elements to follow the above framework as stringently or loosely as desired. Not every lesson plan will require every suggested element. In Planbook Plus teachers are given the ability to choose from the following elements to include in their plan: goal/objective, materials, anticipatory set, relevance piece, student activities, assessment, criteria, big ideas, and essential questions. They also have the ability to create custom elements for each lesson. The elements included provide a physical framework to ensure lessons are designed with the student learning process in mind.
eLearning – Hunter Connection
As Planbook Plus allows you to choose from elements that streamline your student learning, the available online lessons have also been developed utilizing the same methodology to maximize student learning. Each eLearning lesson available to all Master Planners includes the following components
- Introduction/Objective: When students are told what and why they are learning, they tend to learn more effectively and take a greater interest in the content being taught. The objective includes who is learning, what they are learning and in what amount of time they will learn it
- Vocabulary: Understanding what is being read, represented, or spoken about is essential to comprehending what is being taught. The vocabulary element defines new terms and phrases introduced within the lesson.
- Jumpstart/Prior Knowledge: Challenging students before a lesson to recall any prior knowledge about the information in the upcoming lesson allows for students to make connections between what they know and what they are about to learn. The jumpstart is very similar to Hunter’s Anticipatory Set
- Visual Model/Learning Component: The presentation of new information is the central purpose of a lesson. The visual model contains various delivery methods, modeling of new information, and several applicable examples. The method of presentation is determined based on the most effective delivery per topic. Often material is conveyed in multiple modalities to appeal to different learning perspectives and support differentiated instruction.
- Skill Builder: Learning is exponential. The Skill Builder element is designed to refresh students about recently learned information that will be needed to help them answer questions, solve problems, and fully comprehend the new information they’ve been exposed to.
- Guided Practice: After the students have been presented the new information, it has been modeled for them and they’ve been reminded of skills they should use to help them understand, they are given Guided Practice questions. In these questions students have the opportunity to answer questions or solve problems based on what they’ve just learned. Once they answer they are provided feedback on their answer which is designed to help them hone their skills, focus on common mistakes and reinforce their correct approaches.
- Independent Practice: Once the students complete their Guided Practice questions they are given questions to be completed on their own. The purpose of independent practice is for students to practice the topic taught in the previous steps and for the teacher to ascertain if learning has occurred.
- Test Prep: This element was implemented to reinforce critical thinking. It is composed of a few applicable questions that urge the students to take the information they’ve learned a step further whether it be to apply that information to a real-world scenario, solve a multi-step problem or relate the new concept to previously learned information.
- Reflection: The closure for each lesson is a question posed to the students about what they have learned in this particular lesson. This element is a final evaluation of what they student absorbed from the lesson.
The eLearning lessons were designed according to this methodology with the understanding that simple learning must occur before complex understanding. These elements encourage the learning process through the connection of material, scaffolding and building on prior knowledge. When planning lessons, teachers can use these elements as a basis for decision-making in order to elevate a decent lesson to an excellent learning experience.
Planbook Plus Framework
The Planbook Plus connection to the Madeline Hunter method encourages the development of lesson plans that heighten student learning. Through the consideration of how students absorb information best, this method allows for a decision-making process to enhance overall comprehension, while still allowing for personal teaching preferences and differentiated instruction. Planbook Plus is not just another planning tool, it’s a solution to save time while increasing effective instruction and learning.
