Medium Term Plan Example Term Paper
Introduction
A medium-term plan helps in setting out the sequence of work in a subject area for a specific period of time often a half term and in some cases for a number of teaching hours or weeks. The primary objective of developing medium term plan involves organizing a coherent unit of school work that takes into consideration the learning objectives of each lesson as well as the outcomes that should be measured. Moreover, the plan helps teachers in indicating the planned teaching and learning activities and how their success will be monitored. Therefore, without a medium-term plan, it would be difficult for institutions to ensure co-ordination between the teachers teaching a particular year group or providing a reference point for the teachers who are required to take on teaching a specific unit during that year. This paper presents a medium-term plan for teaching secondary school students aged between 12 and 16 years.
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The plan includes a visit to a museum during the Easter holiday, and was developed around the theme of multiculturalism, which is the situation in which different racial and cultural groups within a society are accorded equal opportunities and rights. As such, museums provide an effective platform for learning multiculturalism since objects and art pieces from different cultures are all displayed and are regarded as non-unimportant or ignored (Bellamy and Oppenheim, 2009). The paper also presents a critical commentary on the plan providing a rationale for the researcher’s choices as well as exploring and justifying the approaches leveraged to teaching and learning. The critical commentary is essential because it explores the subsequent literature to support the approach taken in developing and implementing the plan. The first section presents the medium-term plan while the second one provides critical commentary on the plan.
The Medium-Term Plan
Figure 1 presents the medium-term plan showing how the students will be learning based on museum collections. By engaging with museum collections, the students will be able to challenge some of their preconceptions in a specific and grounded manner. Moreover, the students will be exposed to a variety of perspectives regarding multiculturalism and the opportunity to view ancient artefacts and objects will be illuminating. Dowden (2007) notes that an integrative curriculum design that leverages an effective term plan is more effective in helping middle-level teachers seeking to develop classroom programmes that can encourage early adolescents to actively engage in their learning. Therefore, one of the primary implications of museum learning is that it will help the students appreciate multiculturalism. The teacher cannot effectively deliver a multifaceted learning without examining some of the artefacts and objects in museums. Moreover, students who participate in museum excursions all seem to benefit from the opportunity to experience antiques that are of cultural significance. As such, the students are likely to be inspired by the objects the will see on site as well as value the opportunity to interact with them. Consequently, the impact of interacting with these objects can potentially encourage them to seek more information about culture outside the classroom.
The medium-term plan showing how the students will be learning based on museum collections.
The following is an overview of the primary activities included in the medium-term plan which includes a visit to a museum which is developed around the theme of multiculturalism. Putwain, Whiteley, and Caddick (2011) argue that a thematic approach to curriculum delivery is better than subject-based models because it helps improve the students’ level of motivation. Omundsen (2014) further adds that a thematic approach helps increase the students’ level of interest thereby improving learning outcomes.
Personal and Social Development
The primary activities selected to help the students develop both personally and socially include exploring cultural diversity and racial identity. The students will learn about the existence of different ethnic and cultural groups within a society. The museum visit will play a central role in helping the students learn about cultural diversity by providing the exhibitions and collections that reflect different ethnic heritages. The teacher’s primary responsibility will involve suggesting novel ways for integrating multicultural topics into the different disciplines covered during the mid-term. Students will be able to develop an in-depth understanding of the different attributes used by people to assign identities to themselves with respect to others in a creative and innovative manner (Claxton, Edwards, and Scale, 2006). Barnes (2015) adds that creativity is strongly linked with the social well-being and psychological of people, especially in their early years. As such, the students will be required to establish what makes them different from others by taking into consideration varies attributes such as gender, age, demographic factors, as well as their time in history among others.
Secondly, students will learn about racial identity. Developing an in-depth understanding about racial identity helps in overcoming racial discrimination (Sellers, and Shelton, 2003; Sellers et al., 2003; and Chavous et al., 2003). Similarly, a museum visit will provide a unique opportunity for the students to help them understand race from a social and cultural perspective. The students are already aware that their racial identity is mainly derived from their individual’s physical features, especially their skin tone. However, the learning scheduled for the mid-term will focus more on expanding their definition of racial identity by socially constructing it using other collective identities that are based on their individual perception regarding whether or not they share a common heritage with a specific racial group.
Communication
The students will improve their communication skills by learning the value of culture and arts as well as about the American culture and society. The activity involves learning about the inherent value of culture and arts to people and their societies. Jenkins, Ford, and Green (2018) note that cultural values provide the core principles upon which an entire community exists. Arvidsson (2006) further adds that culture is made up of several parts which work together to maintain the norms and ideals that sustain communities. Moreover, it is important for the students to view arts and culture as a strategic and national resource. The teacher will offer the assistance needed to communicate the value of culture and arts to the modern society by outlining the existing evidence about how it impacts the economy, education, and people’s health and wellbeing.
The students will learn about American culture and society. The museum visits will provide the students with an opportunity to learn about how the current culture in the U.S. came to be. The teacher will help the students understand that the American culture is primarily of Western ethos (European origin), but it has been influenced significantly by the current multicultural ethos that encompasses Native American, African, Asian, and Latin American among others. However, the teacher will also help the students acknowledge the intrinsic cultural and social characteristics that are only present in the U. S. such as social habits, dialect, folklore, and arts. The primary implication of learning about the American culture is that the students will be able to appreciate how the large-scale migration from other countries contributes both racially and ethnically in multiculturalism.
Expressive Arts and Design
The students will express their art skills by examining ancient civilizations as well as the Roman archaeology and mythologies. The students will learn about ancient civilizations by gaining new knowledge about past events which extend as far as the post-classical era. It is important to learn about ancient civilizations to help the students develop a better understanding of the world. As such, the students will be required to relate ancient civilization with the current elements. The approach will be effective in ensuring the students understand the primary elements that often reinforce the success of civilizations. The students will be required to start backwards and work their way onward through history to learn how everything is tied up together.
Understanding the world
The students will demonstrate their understanding of the world by exploring Native American cultures. The students will learn about the Native American cultures across the U.S. to identify some of the aspects that define them. The students are already aware that the majority of Native Americans are identifiable through their customs, lifestyles, beliefs, as well as art forms. However, learning about these groups will help the students understand that their culture is usually defined by the Pre-Columbian cultural period. The visit to the museum will help the students understand that despite cultural features, lifestyle, and language varying immensely from one tribe to another, the Native Americans also share numerous attributes.
Other Cultures and Societies
The seventh activity involves learning about other cultures and societies. The approach will help the students develop an in-depth understanding of the different elements of culture which encompass the behaviors, beliefs, and objects among other intrinsic characteristics that are shared by the members of a particular society. Therefore, it is imperative for students to learn about other cultures.
Other Cultures and Societies
The students will demonstrate their understanding of other cultures and societies by examining the iron and bronze ages and ancient Persia. The students will learn about the Iron and Bronze Ages, which were the final epochs of the three-age divisions that are essential in defining the pre and proto-history of human beings. The students will learn how the production of iron gradually advances to the point where superior weapons become widespread. As is the case with the Iron Age, the Bronze Age was characterized by the widespread use of bronze. Learning about these ages will help the students in better understanding the various ways available in studying and classifying ancient civilizations.
The subsequent activity involves learning about the Ancient Persia, which is currently southwest Iran. The activity will help the students understand how the Persians created one of the largest empires touching Europe, Asia, and Africa. Learning about Ancient Persia will mainly help the students understand the issues related to multiculturalism. For example, visiting the museum with Ancient Persia literary works will help the student learn that most of these works were written by the Persian’s sworn enemies, the ancient Greeks. On the contrary, the Persians were very tolerant and preferred ruling a multi-ethnic empire. As such, Persia became the first empire that acknowledged people from different languages, faiths, and political organizations to live peacefully with each other.
Roman Archaeology and Roman Mythology
Finally, the students can learn a lot from Roman archaeology as well as Roman Mythology. They will be asked to review the art in the museum visited and choose at least five that show evidence they are from the Roman era. The exercise will help them in developing an in-depth understanding of some of the defining characteristics that makes art from a specific society unique. Moreover, other objects found in the museum will help in selecting and recording the information necessary to understand the Romans’ ways of life. Roman mythology refers to the customary tales told by Romans about the origins of ancient Rome’s legendary and religion. Most of these stories are represented in the visual arts and literature of the Romans, which can be found in museums. As such, the visits to the museum will help the students understand how the Romans treated their traditional accounts of their origin as historical by focusing on supernatural and miraculous components. The activity will help the students appreciate the current principles and norms developed to govern people’s behavior and interaction with each other since most of the stories are concerned with morality, politics, as well as how people relate with the state.
Critical Commentary on the Plan
This section provides a rationale for the researcher’s decision to select the individual activities for the medium-term plan as well as explore and justify the approaches necessary to implement them.
The Rationale for the Objectives and Choices Made
The starting point for creating the medium-term plan involves developing a list of the objectives allocated to each activity. The researcher ordered the objectives into 10 topics around the theme of multiculturalism to ensure achievement of a progressive and logical teaching sequence that takes into consideration the previous learning. Moreover, ordering the objectives into topics and themes promotes time management so that the pace of learning is both realistic and challenging for the learners. Thirdly, the approach helps in identifying the primary activities required to deliver the objectives identified using the available resources. The visit to the museums provided an appealing and enjoyable learning opportunity for the learners.
Packer and Bond (2010) note that museums are institutions created in the public interest. As such, they can engage students as well as foster a deeper understanding of their cultural and natural heritages (Kotler and Kotler, 2000; Styliani, Fotis, Kostas, and, Petros, 2009). Museums acquire, preserve, research, interpret and exhibit the tangible and intangible evidence of society and nature.
The researcher leveraged a set of questions to help him choose the design as well as the activities of the plan. Moreover, the questions helped him in organizing his ideas in a more coherent manner. Table 1 shows the questions that guided the researcher in selecting his objectives and choices, as well as the respective approach taken.
Developing the plan that is based around the theme of multiculturalism helps the learners develop the skills necessary to operate in the current world which has become increasingly multi-cultural. Moreover, studying museum collections such as works of art and literal materials often involves getting students to closely observe different artifacts and specimens. As such, the visit to the museum provides a unique opportunity for the students to see “familiar things but through fresh eyes” (Clarke et al., 2002, p. 9). The opportunity ensured the students scrutinized unfamiliar objects as well as deduce facts and construct meanings using the details discovered. Moreover, the students are required to communicate about their findings thereby helping them develop communication skills.
The close-up opportunity helps the students see the techniques involved in storing each masterpiece, as the case with the Roman art prices. As such, the students are likely to be motivated to analyze what they will be looking at. Moreover, handling rare artifacts and objects is likely to provoke many questions from the students; for example: how old something is, what it was used for, who used it, and what it is made from, among others. As such, visiting the museum is a great opportunity for the students to further develop their communication and observation skills as well as inquiry and deduction ones.
The researcher leveraged the broad principles of Bloom’s taxonomy when determining the order of learning as well as the level of difficulty in each skill (Figure 1). Bloom’s taxonomy refers to the set of hierarchical models (three) that are used to help teachers classify educational learning objectives based on their levels of specificity and complexity (Krathwohl, 2002 and Churches, 2008). The ascending hierarchy of skills shown in the triangle and exemplified in tables 2 and 3 and they help in identifying the levels of skill need by the learner within the activities identified for the mid-term plan. Some of the key questions a teacher is supposed to ask themselves include whether he or she is asking learners to perform tasks that require a specialized or higher level of skill towards the completing the term and whether they have helped learners in building up knowledge in a systematic manner in previous lessons. As such, when delivering the mid-term plan, the teacher will appraise the skills and knowledge required by each student in all activities. Moreover, the teacher will help the students in developing a better understanding of multiculturalism through a logical progression using Bloom’s taxonomy. Consequently, the more clear the hierarchy of skills is in the planning and delivery of the mid-term plan, the more the students are likely to become aware of the learning processes as something they can comprehend and command.
The medium-term plan developed is essential in helping the teachers indicate the planned teaching and learning activities as well as how he will evaluate its performance. The most effective approach in evaluating the performance of a teaching program involves tracking how well the set objectives in the medium-term plan have been achieved (Darling-Hammond et al., 2012 and Jacob and Lefgren, 2008). The medium-term plan developed will help the teacher to impact learners with the necessary knowledge and skills to teach secondary school students in their early teenage hood. The decision to visit the museum is to expose the students to different forms of cultural representation. As such, the students will be able to understand how different racial and cultural groups within the society should enjoy equal opportunities and rights without ignoring or regarding some as unimportant. Consequently, the museums visited will provide one of the most effective platforms for helping the students learn about the different aspects of multiculturalism, especially because art pieces and objects from different cultures are all displayed with little to no prejudice.
Conclusion
The paper has presented a medium-term plan showing how the students will be learning while visiting museums. Therefore, one of the primary outcomes of the mid-term plan is that it will help the students appreciate the various components of multiculturalism. Moreover, the effective use of museum visits will help the teacher deliver a multifaceted learning program that is essential in reinforcing the development of critical thinking skills among young teenagers.
References
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Barnes, J., 2015. Towards a creativity-rich curriculum for the well-being of children 3–7 years.
Bellamy, K. and Oppenheim, C. eds., 2009. Learning to live: Museums, young people and education. Institute for Public Policy Research.
Chavous, T.M., Bernat, D.H., Schmeelk‐Cone, K., Caldwell, C.H., Kohn‐Wood, L. and Zimmerman, M.A., 2003. Racial identity and academic attainment among African American adolescents. Child development, 74(4), pp.1076-1090.
Churches, A., 2008. Bloom’s taxonomy blooms digitally. Tech & Learning, 1, pp.1-6. http://teachnology.pbworks.com/f/Bloom%5C’s+Taxonomy+Blooms+Digitally.pdf
Clarke, A., Dodd, J., Hooper-Greenhill, E., O’Riain, H., Selfridge, L. and Swift, F., 2002. Learning through culture: the DfES Museums and Galleries Education Programme: a guide to good practice. Research Centre for Museums and Galleries.
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Kotler, N. and Kotler, P., 2000. Can museums be all things to all people?: Missions, goals, and marketing’s role. Museum management and curatorship, 18(3), pp.271-287. http://www.economy.gov.ae/Publications/Museum%20Management%20and%20Marketing.pdf#page=332
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Omundsen, J., 2014. Cardboard Boat Building in Math Class: This Article Examines How the Implementation of an Integrative Learning Experience Encouraged Middle School Students to Work Collaboratively, and Apply Their Knowledge in Relevant and Meaningful Ways. Middle School Journal, 46(2), pp.3-9. (attached)
Packer, J. and Bond, N., 2010. Museums as restorative environments. Curator: The Museum Journal, 53(4), pp.421-436. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/15102857.pdf
Putwain, D., Whiteley, H. and Caddick, L., 2011. Thematic versus subject-based curriculum delivery and achievement goals: Findings from a single-school study. Educational Research, 53(4), pp.387-398. (attached)
Sellers, R.M. and Shelton, J.N., 2003. The role of racial identity in perceived racial discrimination. Journal of personality and social psychology, 84(5), p.1079.
Sellers, R.M., Caldwell, C.H., Schmeelk-Cone, K.H. and Zimmerman, M.A., 2003. Racial identity, racial discrimination, perceived stress, and psychological distress among African American young adults. Journal of Health and Social behavior, pp.302-317.
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