Return to list of materials about "Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of an illustrative unit"

In-service program documentation
Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of an illustrative unit (D6.7)
Guideline for preparing a report on the implementation of an inquiry unit

Planning Process:

How helpful was it to have a preliminary plan of the unit prepared by the group in the summer?

What was helpful and not helpful about our planning for the unit? Was the struggling/floundering useful? What were the benefits of the large-group planning vs the class-unit planning? Was there any part of the planning and preparation that you felt was really critical to the unit's or lesson's success?

What are the values of having someone else help plan a unit? be in your classroom? What are the problems/difficulties?

How would you change the planning, preparation and support for the unit? What else could be done to prepare teachers for these kinds of units?

What could be done without the same extent of support?

Unit:

What were the original goals of the unit? Did they change? If so, how and why?

What was your mindset for the unit?

How different was this unit than another one you might have taught instead?

What prerequisite skills/knowledge/attitude should students have to be successful in this unit?

In what ways was the "environment" set up before the unit? Did they work?

Did your unit explicitly or indirectly address the standards? If so, how did this come to be How did you build them in (or not) to your planning?

Implementation:

To what extent did you follow the "plan"? How did you adjust goals, plans and activities?

What was difficult in the implementation once you began? How did you address this?

What about the unit and your teaching was different from your existing practice?

Was it the lesson plan or what you said that made some lessons work better?

What kind of questioning did you use?

How did you help the students focus on what you wanted, especially the mathematics and the mathematical thinking?

What did you do to encourage them to write what you hoped to read in their journals?

What did you do to make the lessons engaging?

How did you evaluate/assess your unit?

LD:

How many LD students were in the class and what was the nature of the learning differences? In what ways were these learning differences manifest before the unit? during the unit? Was there any difference?

How did you meet the needs of the LD student? Did meeting the needs of the LD student add to or detract from meeting other students' needs?

Was there a difference in reaction and performance to the unit between LD and non-LD students? Any surprises in relation to this?

What unplanned modifications needed to be done for LD students during class?

Which components of the unit seemed to particularly benefit LD students? Did they also benefit the other students?

How could you have been better prepared for the LD issues from your class and from your unit?

What did you learn about LD as a result of this unit?

Retrospect: teaching the unit:

What did you learn about mathematics? About teaching and learning?

What worked? What didn't work? Why?

What happened that was unusual?

What felt comfortable, exciting, disappointing, interesting?

What surprised you most about the unit? About what the students could or could not do, about the effect of specific activities, about your own reactions to certain events or activities? What AHA experiences did you have while teaching the unit?

What unexpected/unplanned benefits resulted from your unit? What unexpected/unplanned drawbacks resulted?

In what ways do you think you actually did change in instructional practice and/or philosophy? Were there changes that seemed like you "should" make but you were unable to or just didn't want to?

Were there any critical moments (turning points, AHAs)?

How flexible is this unit in relation to student, school and teacher differences?

How successful was the unit relative to the objectives set forth prior to its implementation? relative to objectives not anticipated but addressed? relative to those people in our community who see middle school math instruction in the context of the NYS syllabus/district curriculum,/standardized testing/prep for high school/the standards?

How was this unit seen by others in your department and school?

What (if anything) seemed important in communicating/defending what you were doing to colleagues, administrators, parents, students? What successes or difficulties did you have in this area?

Could you now do it again without anyone else in the classroom?

Did you see connections to other units you have or will cover?

What other help did you need? Before the implementation of the unit? During implementation? What else could have made the unit even more successful?

What is essential for the unit's success? What characteristics of the teacher make this unit most successful?

Retrospect: students:

What were the most significant student learnings in this unit? How do you know? What COULD they have learned if some things were changed?

What did you learn about students?

How did the kids feel about the unit?

Are there any kinds of classes or students who wouldn't benefit from this unit?

Did certain students do better than others in this unit? Which ones and why?

At what times did students seem most engaged?

What new adjustments did the students make in the unit that were not planned for or anticipated?

How did student performance, attitude and process skills compare before, during and after the unit? In particular, for the LD students?

Retrospect: changes:

Would you use this unit again? If so, how?

What major changes would you make for the next time you implement this unit?

What would you do the next time you develop a totally new unit from scratch?

Once the actual units are concluded, what information should be sought and collected throughout the year so as to better evaluate the effects of the unit on both students and teachers?

What carryover values did the unit have and continue to have on teachers? On students? On LD issues?

What remains in your classes as a result of the unit? (a routine, a pedagogy, group work, writing, a question, attitude, etc.) To what extent?

As a result of teaching this unit, are there ways your practice has changed vis a vis LD students, planning units/ activities, journaling, inquiry learning, and addressing the standards?

How much less/more time does it take to cover certain topics?

What do your students believe is significant mathematics and has the unit affected their thinking on this issue?

Are there any negative effects of the unit noticed afterwards?

What do the students seem to retain and use from this unit in later units?

In retrospect, how do students feel about the unit?

Does the unit set you up to be more aware of and responsive to LD needs and issues? In what ways?

Return to top of document
Return to list of materials about "Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of an illustrative unit"