Educators can now preview learning objectives, grade level, standards and more for each experience with our new Teacher View.
Why We Created Teacher View
We recently rolled out a new feature for teachers that we’re excited to share! We wanted to make it easy for teachers to see where Phenomena experiences fit into their existing curriculum. And we wanted to do it in a way that wouldn’t be distracting for students using the experiences. That’s when we hit on the Teacher View toggle!
Starting today, all teachers logged in to their free Phenomena account and viewing an experience will see:
- Learning objectives
- Standards
- Grade Levels
- “Things to Think About” reflection questions
Teachers can then preview what the experience will look like for students using the toggle at the bottom left of the experience to switch to the Student View, which hides these details. Students who have been assigned the experience by their teacher will only see the Student View.
What We Communicate in Teacher View
For each experience, we’ve included some guiding information that we hope will make it easy for teachers to integrate Phenomena into their existing lessons. The last thing we want is for Phenomena to feel like just another platform. We want this to be a tool that makes it easier for teachers to do the incredible work they’re already doing.
Learning Objectives
Every Phenomena experience includes a sandbox that lets students explore a concept or relationship. The experience then provides a scaffolded introduction and opportunities for students to build and test their understanding. This active structure lets students achieve higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, moving beyond simply understanding a concept to applying it to solve challenges.
Standards
We’ve identified for educators the content and performance standards that each Phenomena experience can help their students achieve. For experiences teaching math concepts, we’ve included Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Mathematics. For science concepts, we draw on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and for computer science we use the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) standards.
Grade Level
We recognize that each student is at a different place in their learning progression, and grade level is not always an accurate reflection of a student’s academic level. That’s why we use grade ranges that include at least one grade below and above each of the content or performance standards to support students who may need additional scaffolding or those who may be ready for an extension.
Things to Think About Reflection Questions
We encourage students to extend their learning beyond the experience and think about how their new knowledge can be applied to other situations. Teachers can use these questions as a formative or summative assessment for the experience or to spark a whole class discussion.
What else would you like to see in the Teacher or Student Views? We’d love to hear from you at people@phenomenalearning.com!