Zoom In/Out Planning for Easier Teaching & Learning

I’ve been looking for ways to make my teaching life easier. Somehow, everything came together when a speaker said that "if you design for the furthest student, you will be able to reach everyone in the classroom" - or something similar to this.

This made me think. Why just the furthest? Donella Meadows, in her book, Thinking in Systems opened my mind into thinking of all the elements involved in my classroom. There are so many things to consider that just listing what the students, parents, administrators, district and more, make me dizzy.

Zoom In/Out Method as Applied to Teaching

So what did I do? I drew a number line without numbers and imagined my furthest student. Then, I thought about my top student. In other words, I zoomed-in and focused on the details about my top and furthest student. Afterwards, I listed all of what is required of me. I was looking at the big picture. I was Zooming-out. The Zoom In/Out Method is born.

Inspired by Systems Theory, Zoom In/Out Teaching Method is simply seeing the bigger picture to effectively choose the details in my teaching life. For example, after listing all my requirements, I asked: what three things are non-negotiable? Well, the IEP of course. Then the required standards. I added the recommended curriculum. Zoom In and Out. I just need to create some templates so I can easily do it.

I sat down to see how these 3 are connected to the other requirements. They definitely are connected. But is something out there that will make my life easier? How can I teach students who have big learning gaps?

Shortcut: Grade Level Learning Progression and Learning Gaps

Well, as it turns out, a group of educators already aligned HS common core standards for 1% of the student population who are behind others. They are the ones with significant learning gaps. They are called the National Center and State Collaborative or NCSC Partners. They published curriculum guides complete with assessments and lesson examples. And it has sample lessons too!

I teach Math so I looked at the standards they unpacked called Core Content Connectors. Here is a link of a PDF copy.

It was easier from there. I was able to go through the learning progression of a HS level standard. Meaning, I was able to see the entry skill needed by my furthest student and align it to HS standards. Plus, I used the wordings from the Core Content Connectors as my learning objective.

Lastly, now that I know what to teach, the next question is how do I teach it? Well, I listed some really useful resources in my other post.

Do you want to learn more about Zoom In/Out Teaching Method and get free templates that will help you? Connect with me at or follow me here at Steemit.