THOUGHTFUL CLASSROOM PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SUITES
A Professional Learning Suite
The Five Episodes of Effective Instruction
Tools and strategies for designing powerful lessons and units
Featuring Dr. Harvey Silver, today’s leading expert on instructional tools and strategies
Better Design = Deeper Learning
Great learning experiences rarely just happen; great learning is designed. As instructional expert Dr. Harvey Silver says, “The best lessons and units are the ones that are designed by teachers for their students.”
At the heart of this suite is a simple design framework called the Five Episodes of Effective Instruction that makes it easy for all teachers to design lessons and units that increase student engagement, make learning active, and promote deep understanding. In addition, the suite presents a wide range of tools and strategies for meeting key goals and addressing common challenges of instructional design.
What Tools & Strategies Will I Find In This Suite?
MODULE ONE: Introducing the Five Episodes
- Introduction – Dr. Harvey Silver presents an overview of the Five Episodes and how they support the science of learning.
- Sample Five Episode unit designs developed by teachers
- Access to an ASCD EXPRESS article featuring the Five Episodes framework
MODULE TWO: Tools and Strategies for Instructional Design
For each of the Five Episodes, you’ll find these components to help you achieve the instructional goals of each episode:
- Design Considerations – Brief video tutorials highlighting simple design principles for achieving the goals of each episode
- Focus Tools (Video Tutorials) – Expert-guided walkthroughs of tools and strategies that best address the design principles
- Additional Tools (PDFs) – Full-text tools for addressing specific design goals and challenges (excerpted from our award-winning Tools for Today’s Educators® book series
- Episode in Action (Classroom Video) – Footage showing what the episode looks and sounds like in real classrooms
MODULE THREE: Planning and Implementation Resources
- Learning Window (Tool & Organizer) – A simple process for unpacking standards and clarifying instructional purposes before planning
- Five Episodes Planning Template
- Pre-Implementation Troubleshooting Guide
- Learning from Student Work – A collaborative process ideal for helping teams and PLCs analyze student work and use it to guide instructional decision-making
- Reflecting on My Learning Sequence: A Self-Assessment Guide
Your Path to Improvement Starts Here
Check Out a Sample TOOL Tutorial
Check out all of the
Thoughtful Classroom Professional Learning Suites
Tools and Strategies for Active, In-Depth Learning