Didactic Unit: Definition, What It Is For And How To Prepare It
The teaching and learning process is a complex process, which allows us to acquire knowledge and skills that help us adapt to the environment effectively. Furthermore, it enriches us as people through a multitude of contents and themes.
To carry it out, a very important concept in education is the didactic unit, which allows knowledge to be structured and applied methodically. In this article we will learn what this method consists of, what elements influence its design and what components make it up.
The didactic unit is a teaching concept, and consists of a method of planning the teaching and learning process This method is designed and applied by teachers at different levels and educational sectors, although it is used especially in early childhood education and at younger ages.
Thus, the teaching units are actually specific topics that are intended to be taught to students, always adjusting to the age of the student and other elements: examples of them are: “vertebrate animals”, “pronouns”, “diacritical accent”. , “the colors”, “the prime numbers”, “the subtractions”, etc.
As we see, they will be adjusted to a specific academic subject or project (for example biology, mathematics, language…). In addition to the theme, the teaching unit includes all the methodology, activities, resources to use, objectives, etc., that are raised around them.
What is it for?
Thus, the didactic unit develops various functions, although The main one is to organize and structure the topics that will be covered in a specific school year or period of time It also allows you to sequence the contents to be covered during the course, following a logic and taking into account the age and educational level of the students.
When designing and programming a teaching unit, The teacher must take into account a series of elements, which will allow the resources to be organized and create an effective teaching unit and adapted to the group of students, such as the following.
1. Age of the students
The age of the students will guide the design of the teaching unit since the knowledge that it aims to provide must be adjusted to the age of the student so that it can be acquired normally and effectively.
2. Development level
The level of development of the student, closely related to the previous parameter, must also be taken into account This refers to the abilities and prior knowledge available to the student when starting their learning.
3. Family environment
The student’s family environment must be taken into account especially in the application of the didactic unit in the sense that the teacher must be aware that each student has a specific family and home situation, which can alter the learning process.
4. Available resources
The available resources are another element that will influence the design and planning of the teaching units, since the teacher must adapt his proposal to the resources available to the school.
5. Curriculum project
Finally, The curricular project refers to the educational strategies established by the teacher in order to develop their educational practice This is born from an exhaustive analysis of the student’s context, the characteristics of the center, etc.
Thus, it is an element closely related to the teaching unit, which must be adjusted and follow the premises of the curricular project of each center and/or teacher.
Components
Every teaching unit is made up of a series of elements or sections that are always the same, although logically they vary in content. These are the following:
The first part or component of a teaching unit is the description which consists of a kind of summary or global file of the unit, where the most relevant data about it appears.
It proposes the topic to be discussed, as well as the name or title of the unit. In addition, it includes the prior knowledge that the student must present in order to receive said teaching unit, as well as the initial activities programmed to teach it.
The description also includes other elements, such as: the subjects to whom it is directed, the total number of sessions or classes necessary for that teaching unit and its duration, the start date of said unit, the proposed end date and the resources that are intended to be used.
2. Objectives
In the second component or section of the didactic unit are the didactic objectives or objectives These include the knowledge and skills that students are intended to learn through the teaching unit. Generally each teaching unit is made up of about 8 objectives, although the ideal range is between 6 and 10.
Objectives can be specific (concrete) or general.
3. Contents
The contents include those knowledge that are intended to be taught These are not “isolated” contents, but are logically related to the teaching unit in question, to the prior knowledge necessary to understand said unit, to the student’s abilities and to the methodology to be used, among others.
The contents arise from the previous section, that is, from the didactic objectives. For correct acquisition and learning of the contents, it will be necessary to specify what procedures or tools will be used to treat or present said contents.
4. Sequence of activities
The next section of every teaching unit includes those activities (their order of application, duration, theme…) that will be carried out, as well as the relationship they have between them. Thus, as in every section, everything must be clearly specified: the duration of each activity, the order of their application, how many students they are aimed at, the necessary resources, etc.
In this section it will be necessary to take into account whether there is any curricular adaptation of any student (or students) in question. Curricular adaptations consist of a type of educational strategy that is applied to students with learning difficulties or special educational needs; It is about adapting the objectives and/or content to be taught so that they are accessible to the student.
5. Methodology
In this section of the teaching unit The aim is to determine how the unit in question will be taught to the students, and includes what procedures, methods, strategies and educational tools will be used
The methodology also includes the organization of time and space of each teaching unit, as well as each of its parts, sessions or activities.
6. Materials and resources
This section includes these two components: the materials and resources that will be needed and that are intended to be used to develop the different teaching units They must be indicated in a detailed and specific manner.
The objective of these components is to ensure that activities can be programmed and executed following regular application guidelines, and are intended to prevent possible setbacks.
7. Evaluation of the teaching unit
The last section or component of the teaching unit is its evaluation Here a series of criteria and indicators for evaluation and assessment of each activity and unit will be indicated.
The objective of the evaluation is to determine whether the knowledge that was intended to be taught has been acquired and consolidated, and it has a lot to do with the didactic objectives; that is, it determines whether they have been achieved or not. Assessment includes a series of strategies, such as exams, questions, debates, projects, etc.
