Background
This is a companion document to the LINC 5–7 Curriculum Guidelines (hereafter referred to as the Guidelines). It follows the experiences of three LINC instructors (Catherine, Carol and Milla) as they planned their programs and demonstrates how they used the Guidelines in this process.
The purpose of this document is to help instructors become more familiar with the possible uses of the Guidelines when planning their programs. It illustrates how three instructors carry out five common stages of planning and use the Guidelines to suit the unique needs of their classes.
Catherine, Carol and Milla were invited to use the Guidelines over a period of four months. They were asked to reflect on their experiences by answering a series of guiding questions about each stage of their planning process: needs assessment and analysis, long range planning, lesson planning, learner performance assessment and program evaluation. Their answers provide us with an inside view of their planning process using the Guidelines. They worked in collaboration with the writers of the Guidelines to articulate their planning process and customize planning tools.
In the Classroom consists of five sections:
- Introduction
A brief overview of each stage of the planning process, with suggestions for using the Guidelines. Guiding questions are included to encourage reflection on planning and teaching practices. These are the same questions that Catherine, Carol and Milla answer in the next three sections of In the Classroom. - Catherine’s Program
A full-time LINC 4/5 class - Carol’s Program
A part-time LINC 6/7 class - Milla’s Program
A LINC 6/7 class with a TOEFL and academic preparation focus - Catherine, Carol and Milla’s Blank Planning Tools
Blank versions of some of the planning tools that Catherine, Carol and Milla used. These tools are also provided on the accompanying CD in PDF and MS Word files so they can be adapted to suit the planning needs of individual instructors.
Each of these sections is organized by the following stages of the planning process:
- Needs Assessment and Analysis
- Long-Range Planning
- Lesson Planning
- Learner Performance Assessment
- Program Evaluation