CLASS PROJECT: TEACHING DEMONSTRATION ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
Your class project is to design a 40–60-minute teaching lesson incorporating the main elements
of this class:
• Emphasis on critical thinking
• Use of active learning strategies
• Incorporating andragogy (adult learning theory)
You will not actually present this lesson but will simply design your teaching demonstration.
INSTRUCTIONS
Main Project Components
1. Main topic is a narrowed focus on a general topic germane to counseling which
incorporates critical thinking (application, analysis, evaluation, creation per Bloom’s
taxonomy –revised)
2. Literature review which identifies the research background for the critical analysis you
proposed in your teaching lesson—what problems does the research literature identify,
etc.
3. Proposed Learning Objectives (LOs) which must include each of the components of
well-done LOs explained in the class PPT
4. Identification and explanation of the Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) that you will
integrate into your proposed lesson
5. Complete explanation of 2-3 active learning/teaching strategies (drawn from the class
lessons on active learning/teaching strategies) that you will incorporate in your proposed
lesson
6. Explanation of the elements of adult learning theory that you will incorporate into your
proposed lesson
7. Completion of teaching template, which could be used should your teaching proposal be
implemented
Detailed Instructions
By now you should have mastered the content for each of these elements. It might help to review
class content before you complete this project.
Critical Thinking: as we have emphasized all term, the essence of graduate school should be
critical thinking, rather than just adding more knowledge to your understanding. You have read
invaluable content on stimulating thought and implementing the highest levels of thought from
Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Anderson and Krathwohl revision of Bloom. In your class project,
you will primarily challenge your students with the highest level of thought –application,
analysis, evaluation, creation, etc. Your teaching demonstration is not primarily a lecture, in which you simply impart knowledge, but exercises designed to challenge and stimulate thinking.
If you just present a lecture, you will not pass this final project.
Active Learning: the class content had excellent discussion on the concept of active learning.
While lecture has a place in higher education, your students are best served in an environment in
which they learn actively. You were introduced to numerous active learning strategies through
the class content and you will demonstrate several active learning techniques in this final project.
For sure, you may need to present some basic information (lecture, video, etc.) but most of your
time should be taken up with your active learning strategies. Doing so should make your
proposed teaching demonstration exciting, challenging, and even fun.
Adult Learning Theory: you also read a lot about andragogy and you are tasked with
incorporating adult learning principles into your proposed teaching demonstration.
Detailed Elements of the Final Project
Literature Review
The teaching topic you chose in week one was a narrowed focus in a larger body of research.
You may have an interest in a particular therapy technique applied to a specific diagnosis. In
your first section, provide a brief overview of the body of research, and then how you narrowed
down your focus in order to emphasize higher-order thinking. You will have your students
attempt to solve a particular problem in the research on a topic, apply concepts to a new
application, come up with a unique treatment plan, etc. In this first section, you will lay out the
foundation for what you propose to do, by drawing from the research literature on the topic. In
essence, you will present a brief literature review and justification for narrowing your focus to
your specific teaching topic. Make sure to cite your research correctly per APA. Length: the
length of your literature review will vary according to the topic and the depth of the research.
Make the literature review of sufficient length to explain the foundation for your active learning
activities and HOTS emphasis. Most likely several pages will be necessary.
Learning Objectives (LOs)
A strong teaching demonstration begins with strong learning objectives. Based on the class
content on LOs, write at least three learning objectives that primarily include higher order
thinking. Follow the suggestions provided in class for writing clear, strong, and valid LOs.
Description of Active Learning Strategies
Thoroughly review the class content on active learning strategies, and in this section, indicate 2-3
different active learning strategies that you will include in your proposed teaching
demonstration. Draw from the class sources (cited correctly) and explain why your chosen
teaching strategies best fit your LOs. That is, in implementing your learning objectives, explain
why the chosen teaching strategies best complete your LOs. Recall that one of the class
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documents suggested learning activities that fit with each level of thought (Bloom’s Taxonomy
and Anderson and Krathwohl’s revision of Bloom)
HOTS to be Implemented
A focus on this class entitled “Teaching and Learning” has been on stimulating thought and
integrating higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) in active learning strategies. In this section,
briefly review the highest levels of thought that you want to implement in your teaching
demonstration. Review what each means as applied in your teaching demonstration, drawing
broadly from the class discussion on HOTS. Why does your topic lend itself to the highest levels
of thought that you want to demonstrate—that is, what about your teaching topic suggests a
need to evaluate, or critique, or create a new way, or apply in a different way, etc.? Again, cite
your class sources per APA.
Elements of Andragogy that you will Incorporate
Review the class content on adult learning theory. In this section, determine which elements of
andragogy need to be incorporated into your proposed teaching demonstration. Provide solid
justification for your conclusion. Draw from the class content on adult learning theory, and cite
correctly.
Putting it All Together –Template
In your final section, propose a 45-60 minute teaching demonstration using the following table.
Time
Allotted
Teaching Strategy Rationale and LO Linkage
In this
column,
indicate the
amount of
time
designated
for each
learning
activity; you
could also
indicate the
cumulative
time as well
In this column, you indicate the teaching
strategy you will use for that segment
In this column, you indicate
how the teaching strategy
relates to your overall
purpose in the teaching
demonstration and which LO
it addresses. You also will
need to draw from class
content and cite per APA, as
you provide the rationale for
choosing the LO. You could
also show how what you
propose for each segment
incorporates andragogy.
For instance:
1-2 minutes
Brief introduction of the topic and review of
the LOs
Introduction of yourself and class participants
if appropriate
For this learning segment,
you could draw from the class
content on how to draw in
your students, concepts on
motivation, stimulating
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intellectual curiosity that you
learned from the class
sources.
For instance:
5-12 minutes
Review of the research content via mini-
lecture with PPT, brief video that highlights
essential content, etc. –if you use a video,
such as from YouTube, make sure that it
presents scholarly content commensurate with
graduate level study
Indicate the LO to which this
is linked. Draw from the class
content that discussed laying
the necessary research
foundation for critique or
problem-solving, for
example. As for each of these
segments, provide a rationale
by drawing from class
content and citing correctly
For instance:
5-10 minutes
General class discussion (could use the
think/pair/share technique, or others) that
focused on problems in the research you want
to explore, problems that need to be solved,
exploration of better ways to apply the
research findings to a particular diagnosis, etc.
Explain how you will structure this
discussion, the purpose of the discussion,
exactly what you want to accomplish. You
might suggest the types of questions you will
use to drive thinking more deeply.
Indicate linkage to LOs, as
explained above, rationale,
etc.
For instance:
10-15
minutes
Case study
Jigsaw
Question formulation technique
Scenario analysis
Think/pair/share
Etc.
Etc.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
2-4 minutes Conclusion:
321 summary, for instance
Etc.
Your table should be complete and detailed so that the reader knows exactly what you propose to
do in each active learning segment to completely fulfill the LOs.
Formatting
Your final project should be presented as a formal APA paper, with headings to correspond with
topics mentioned above. For sure, you will need a correctly formatted title page and reference
page (Remember that all graduate classes at Liberty University have adopted the professional
version of APA 7, not the student version.) As noted, you need to draw broadly from the class
sources and cite correctly.
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Have fun with this project! This will give you an opportunity to propose a teaching
demonstrating incorporating core concepts you learned this term.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
