Teaching with Technology Lesson Plan

CUTS
Justin Zweck
Course Name: Evolutionary Biology
Lesson Topic: Review through Pinterest Flash Card Creation
List the goals and objectives for this lesson
1. To review the previous 2 weeks material.
2. To work together in groups in order to help build understanding of core
concepts and terms.
3. To encourage understanding by producing clear, simple products.
4. To build a resource to help facilitate learning throughout the semester.
5. To help the instructor become aware of gaps in understanding if present.
What activities will be required for this lesson?
Every two weeks students will spend 10-15 minutes of time creating study cards
relating to a core concept or term of the course material during that period, with
one concept per card. Students will do this in class, in groups of ~4. Each group
will then take photos of their study cards and post them to pinterest, with the class
hashtag #sluevolution2016. Study cards should be simple, clear, and to the point.
Ideally study cards will feature an illustration of a term or concept, with the
corresponding concept written on the card.
How will you assess the lesson?
I will check to ensure that students have uploaded the required number of study
cards. I will also check their accuracy and content quality. Students will be
responsible for understanding these terms and concepts during other formative
assessments like assignments and essays.
What resources do you need to assemble for the lesson?
The flashcards will be based on material covered in lecture previously. I will provide
the students with a list of terms and concepts that I expect to be addressed by each
group.

Reflection
My primary goal in teaching is to clearly convey the fundamentals of a topic, while
promoting critical thinking about these topics. I feel that this technology based
lesson plan directly applies to my teaching philosophy in that it reinforces the basic

ideas from lecture without simply being rote memorization. Additionally, I state that
I hope to transfer command of the subject into my students hands. This activity
definitely promotes this process, as the students are essentially creating their own
study guide/teaching website. New concepts are best absorbed through repetition,
but only if that repetition comes in slightly different formats, and the process of
creating digital study material will reinforce the fundamental concepts in a way that
is much more dynamic than rote memorization.