I believe we covered a lot of territory during the second day of the LoTi Mentor Institute. We started the day with our Bloom Workout (remember Chris in Levelland), proceeded with the LoTi Sniff Test and Certification Task #1, participated in a LoTi 3 Case study entitled Monster Exchange, worked on Certification Task #3, and ended the session with an overview of the DETAILS for the 21st Century Survey as well as the creation of an individualized professional development plan for Suzy Creamcheese. Since the majority of the day was spent "LoTizing" video clips, I wanted to provide you with some additional suggestions when reviewing student products.
1.Having students apply what they have learned to a new authentic situation involves more than just depositing the information into a webpage, blog, wiki, or multimedia presentation; it requires students applying the pertinent concepts or skills to a situation that directly impacts the learner, his/her immediate surroundings, and/or the larger community. If this is not the case, then you most likely have either a LoTi 2 or 3 learning experience.
2. The easiest way to discriminate between LoTi 2 and 3 is the presence of (1) Higher Order Thinking Skills (Bloom's Taxonomy) or (2) one or more Complex Thinking Strategies. If a learning experience is teacher-directed and engages students exclusively at the Knowledge/Comprehension levels, then it is almost assuredly a LoTi 2 lesson. Conversely, if a learning experience is teacher-directed and engages students at the Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and/or Evaluation level or enables students to exercise one or more complex thinking strategies (i.e., Problem-solving, Creative Problem-solving, Decision-making, Investigation, Experimental Inquiry, Reasoning, Personal Reflection), then it is almost assuredly a LoTi 3 lesson.
3. Whenever possible, use pages 75/76 from your LoTi Mentor Certification manual to help approximate the LoTi of any lesson plan, web-project, or instructional unit.
4. A truly differentiated classroom has LoTi 0-4 occurring on a daily basis.
5. The appropriate or target LoTi should always be commensurate with the TEKS being addresssed and at the desired level of student cognition.
As a reminder, you are encouraged to complete Task #2 and the DETAILS for the 21st Century Assessment by Thursday morning.
I look forward to your comments. By the way, you are in great hands with Mr. Clayton Kilduff, a Certified LoTi National Trainer and an outstanding Fine Arts Teacher from the Floresville ISD.
Have a fun day!
Chris
