# data[].attributes.body
Unit Planning allows teachers to take control of the learning process. The focus is to help students learn the conceptual ideas rather than focusing on only procedures. Doing unit planning ensures the curriculum being taught achieves this goal.

# data[].attributes.body
Collaboration and Curriculum Design: Teachers actively contribute to designing the curriculum rather than simply following prewritten content. This promotes ownership and engagement.

Focus on Conceptual Understanding: The planning process centers on conceptual lenses (e.g., relationships, change, patterns) that help students connect factual knowledge with broader ideas.

Structured and Coherent Learning Pathways: By mapping out critical content, skills, and essential questions in a unit web, teachers ensure a logical progression of learning experiences that make sense to their students.

Alignment with Standards and Best Practices: Concept-based unit planning integrates with academic standards while emphasizing deeper thinking rather than rote memorization of procedures without a deeper understanding.

Backward Design Framework: Teachers begin by identifying learning outcomes, determining assessment criteria, and then planning meaningful learning experiences that align with the unit’s overarching concepts

# data[].attributes.body
Meso Concept (Central Concept): The unit web is organized around a central concept, such as functions, which connects different content strands.

Knowledge Strands (Content-Specific Topics): These strands represent the factual and procedural knowledge necessary for the unit. Examples include:

Functions Unit: Equations, linear functions, and modeling.

Circle Geometry Unit: Properties, theorems, and radians.

Concepts in Mathematical Processes Strand: This strand represents general mathematical processes such as problem-solving, reasoning and proof, making connections, and communicating.

Conceptual Lens: A conceptual lens provides a unifying theme that encourages deeper thinking and knowledge transfer across different contexts. An example could be students seeing relationships in functions or proportions in circle geometry.

Guiding Questions: Essential questions structure student inquiry and promote meaningful engagement with the unit’s content.

Additional resource on unit planning for teachers from another university:

https://www.buffalo.edu/catt/teach/develop/build/unit-planning.html

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Organizing and aligning instructional plans to support student learning.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Do the Three Types of Essential Questions Support Student Learning?

# data[].attributes.subject
How Do the Three Types of Essential Questions Support Student Learning?

# data[].attributes.body
Factual Questions (What?):

These questions establish foundational knowledge and support critical content generalizations.

Example: What is the equation of a linear function?

Conceptual Questions (Why/How?):

These questions require students to analyze relationships and patterns, developing deeper mathematical reasoning.

Example: How does changing the slope of a linear function affect its graph?

Debatable Questions (Should/Could?):

These questions encourage discussion, critical thinking, and multiple perspectives.

Example: Should all real-world relationships be modeled with linear functions? Why or why not?

# data[].attributes.body
When building Unit Plans, identify what you want your students to

K NOW

U NDERSTAND

D O

# data[].attributes.headline
How Will I Encourage Collaboration When Unit Planning?

# data[].attributes.subject
How Will I Encourage Collaboration When Unit Planning?

# data[].attributes.body
Collaboration is key to developing strong, engaging math units. I believe that working with others allows me to refine my ideas, learn from different perspectives, and create more effective learning experiences for my students. There is much I have to learn! Here’s how I plan to encourage collaboration in unit planning:

Working with My Team: I will actively engage with my fellow math teachers to co-plan units. By sharing our ideas, we can create unit webs that incorporate both conceptual depth and practical applications.

Sharing and Learning from Others: I will use shared digital spaces like Google Drive or PLC meetings to exchange lesson plans, resources, and assessment ideas. This will help me refine my own teaching while also contributing my insights to the team.

Connecting Across Subjects: Whenever possible, I will collaborate with teachers from other subjects to show students how mathematical concepts apply in different contexts. For example, if I’m teaching functions, I might work with a science teacher to integrate real-world applications like physics or biology.

Seeking Student Input: I want my students to feel involved in their own learning. By gathering feedback and reflecting on what worked well (and what didn’t), I can make adjustments to my unit plans to better support their understanding.

Emphasizing Shared Goals: Instead of just focusing on covering content, I will make sure my planning conversations center around helping students develop deeper conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills.