Unpacking the Standard
When planning for any lessons, I start by unpacking the standard. My district requires teachers to have standards posted in plain sight for anyone to see. The problem is that they sometimes write the standards in a way that is difficult for the students to understand. Unpacking the standard simply means using student-friendly language, which will help them be clear about what we expect them to know, understand, and be able to do.
For this lesson, we expect the students to explore the major scientific advancements that have contributed to the evolution of healthcare.
Know
What facts, vocabulary, or rules do the students need to know? This is where I focus on the major scientific advancements. Developments in science, scientific breakthroughs, and advancements in science are all synonyms that can help ensure the student understands what they need to know. I give my students 5 topics to choose from, and they must conduct research on 2 of them. Take, for instance, Electronic Health Records (EHR). The students have to explain to the best of their abilities what the technology is, what it does, how it benefits the patient, and how it benefits the provider. I call the Assignment “Technology Through the Years”. Click here to try it in your classroom.
Understand
This can be a touchy subject. There are so many ways that you can measure understanding. The problem I have is that many of the professionals don’t agree on what understanding looks like. I’ve tried a few things with my students to help them demonstrate that they understand. Kahoot—a 10-question quiz — can quickly assess understanding and gather data on what is working and what is not in the lesson. Turn the Tables—where the student becomes the teacher. They can create a quiz (including an answer key) or an essential question for me to answer. Finally, good ole’ exit slips. Ask a question from the lesson and give the students time to answer before they leave. I usually will clear up any misconceptions in the next day’s bell ringer.
DO
Here is where the student can get creative. I have them predict the next big scientific advancement. They can draw a picture or try to create a 3d model if they’d like. You can also have your students interview a person who was their age when the scientific advancement was invented. You could also have them conduct a survey about the scientific advancement to see how many people it has affected. When they are done, have your students summarize their conversation and be ready to present it to the class.
I usually spend a few weeks at the start of the semester teaching the students about the history of healthcare. If your students are anything like mine, they can be less than eager to learn about history. I usually give them this analogy before starting the lesson. Think about a nice warm pan of Caramel Pecan Brownies. What we know is that the moment those brownies are done, we want to sink our teeth into them. We can see the beauty of the finished product, but if we want to truly understand baking or cooking, then we’ve got to start at the beginning and examine the process. Same with the practice of medicine. To understand where we are today, we’ve got to examine the factors that led us here.
Happy Teaching!
