Part
2 Articulating the Thinking Behind the Learning
Design
(Context: This unit focus was directly taken
from an outline of what was needed to be taught at Hillmorton High
Year 10 ELL class in term 2 in weeks 1-4. I have built
the lessons around the topics given).
The lessons are designed
to scaffold learning from easier learning to more difficult.
Firstly, there is a diagnostic informal piece of writing to give
a baseline to measure improvement from. After this, learners write a
recount and then go deeper to learn about descriptive and
narrative writing techniques. Each piece is gradually more
streamlined. What is usually considered by many students to be the
hardest kind of writing comes last, as we shift to formal writing
skills and persuasive writing. The last lesson focuses on
literary polishing skills such as revision and editing which will
also help learners prepare for submitting their writing portfolios.
Throughout the lessons there are opportunities for feedback from
peers and the teacher to help learners think about how they would
like to improve their writing. Although by the end of the unit,
learners should have become more independent in their writing
process and their portfolio should display increased confidence and
competence. The portfolio will also give the teacher an opportunity
to see learner application of what they taught and to assess the
lesson’s content and delivery to make improvements.
a.
Pedagogical Theories and Strategies
There are three main influences that underpin the design of my lesson plans. The first influence is from Jerome Bruner and his work on scaffolding theory. The second influence is the social-cultural theories of Vygotsky and the final one is the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
The theories and stategies determine my unit plan’s structure and the pedagogical methods used within it.
Vygotsky’s theory can be seen in my focus on social interaction, the use of scaffolds and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The unit contains many supports to aid learners to complete tasks such as organised discussions and questioning, using models and collaborative tasks. The I do, We do, You do strategy is a slow and steady release of independence. This demonstrates the role of Vygotsky's More Knowledgeable Other whose support is gradually taken away as learners become increasingly competent. I have chosen these theories and strategies because the learners in this class are second language learners and they need a very careful and nurturing learning environment. I want them to succeed in gaining new skills but I am also aware that many of the learners are dealing with the extra social and educational stresses of being in another country. Most learners have also come from highly structured learning environments and I have noticed that they settle into learning with more ease if there is more structure in our learning approach. However, they also need many opportunities to practice their speaking and listening skills and this is why Vygotsky’s theory that learning is acquired through social interaction is very true in our learning context.
Bruner’s constructivist theory can be seen in my unit’s order of activities and organisation. We move from concrete language and visual aids to more literary and then to academic and formal language which demonstrate Bruner’s ideas of pathways to learning. The lessons have writing graphic templates, models and learning discovery through guided steps, allowing learners to activate their understanding as opposed to learning by being passive receivers of knowledge. My lessons also demonstrate the idea of a Spiral Curriculum because the central concepts and skills are returned to repeatedly to strengthen them over time which will give learners deeper understanding and embedded knowledge.
The Universal Design for Learning principles and strategies add more student centred learning. There are multiple methods of representation, engagement and expression in the lessons in order to engage a diverse range of learners, because there is consideration that there are many different ways to learn and teach effectively. There is a variety of visual and technological aids, scaffolds, and social arrangements. There are also included various ways for the learners to demonstrate their level of understandings such as self reflection, teacher conferencing, checklists, different writing styles and topics and class discussions.
The goal of implementating these theories and strategies into lessons creates an increasing independence of the learner and gives opportunities for more understanding and growth of writing skills, however, most importantly it gives large space for their needs as learners.
b.
Alignment with the New Zealand Curriculum and ELLP
The
writing unit aligns with the New Zealand curriculum. At year 10
level, learners are generally expected to be at levels 4 and moving
towards level 5. It aligns with Ideas when learners are communicating clear and logically arranged content. The unit also aligns with Structure in that it helps develop structural skills when learners organise logical paragraphs
and use linking devices. The plan reflects Language Features when learners are choosing vocabulary and sentence forms to convey
tone and style. The plan's content further aligns with Processes and Strategies as learners are using processes and strategies when they
are planning, drafting, revising and editing. Each lesson aims
to develop specific skills in the strands. The recount lesson
builds text strength and structure through sequencing. The
narrative lesson develops ideas and language features. The
formal writing lesson continues to build understanding of purpose and
audience. The persuasive writing lesson strengthens writing skills
with a focus on logical organisation and cohesion. The final lesson
is using processes and strategies through revision and polishing
skills.
The writing unit also aligns with English Language
Learning Progressions (ELLP). Over the series of lessons, the learners
will be practising their control of past tense verbs, paragraph
organisation and use of linking words to connect ideas
together. They will also be expanding their vocabulary knowledge by
choosing words that are appropriate to their purpose and practising editing skills for accuracy and clarity.
Rather than
teaching English entirely through a grammar lens, these lessons are
designed to develop English skill through contextual learning and
through production which activates awareness of grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure,
paragraphs and reasoning. Learners use prior knowledge they already have and then new
learning is scaffolded on top of it.
Finally, the
writing unit will also prepare learners for NCEA co-literacy
assessments in Week 4.
c. Commitment to Tangata Whenuatanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The unit has deliberately
integrated Māori perspectives in various ways. Learners analyse excerpts from famous New Zealand writers Witi Ihimaera and
Patricia Grace. These texts are used to examine imagery,
language features and narrative voice but they also give opportunities to talk about the strong Māori oral and literary
traditions of this country and of the international success of our
writers. In the persuasive writing lesson, there are topics
that connect to the te Tiriti such as advocating for increasing
inclusion of local iwi histories in our schools. This
allows our international learners to be engaged with more
contemporary views of New Zealanders while they are developing their
arguments and structures. Te Tiriti principles are shown
through classroom practices. We show Partnership
through collaborative learning and in the respectful way learners
give feedback to each other. Participation is encouraged when
learners work together in pairs and in class wide discussions. Participation is also reflected when learners collaborate as they give and receive feedback. Protection is demonstrated through explicit emphasis on Māori world-view and literary traditions within the curriculum. These are all
embedded practices, and are not token additions to the
curriculum.
d. The Assessment Design and Principles of
Good Assessment
The assessment in this writing unit is
deliberately incremental and developmental. There are diagnostic
tasks on the first day to give the necessary baseline data about the students
levels in structural and vocabulary skills. This will
guide future ongoing teachers instructions and lesson adjustments. There is ongoing formative
assessment in the lessons through drafting, peer
reviews, teacher feedback and the process of editing. These
activities all come from the best current practice in the teaching writing skills. Learners will also have clear success criteria to ensure they
have clarity and the teacher feedback will focus on what the next steps
are for learners, rather than simply giving evaluation.
The
learning and assessments have been arranged so that the
assessment supports the learning process rather than being soley
used for the assessment of learning. The final portfolio is
the summative assessment and it is valid as it is aligned with
the unit objectives, the NZ curriculum strands and ELLP goals. It
is reliable because learners are given consistent criteria for
success across each genre. It is fair because there are
multiple opportunities for learners to draft, redraft and revise. There is also a variety of ways for learners to access knowledge such as through the use of video, apps, models, prompts, and collaborative or individual learning. It is
authentic because learners are using common real world writing experiences and the writing studied is New Zealand writing. The portfolio shows
a progression of skills over time. This is very important for many
ELL learners whose academic growth needs to gradual and incremental. However, there
are challenges for faster learners too.
e. Evaluation
and Ongoing Improvement
The evaluation of the unit
will be done through several ways. First of all, the
primary method of evaluation is by comparing the students’ writing from the diagnostic exercise in lesson 1 with their submitted writing portfolios in
lesson 6. We will measure growth in skills of cohesiveness,
structure, and vocabulary and this will guide future planning
decisions. Student voice will be another factor that will inform
evaluation because there are several reflection tasks that allow the
learners to write down which strategies help their writing
development. Teacher conferencing is another opportunity to gather
informative feedback.
I will evaluate the balance
between direct instruction and collaborative learning. If peer
interaction does not consistently support the best outcomes, I
will adjust the method and the frequency of it. As teacher,
I will be there to do continuous reflection and will
gather thoughts from my practicum support teacher. We will analyse
our lessons to make sure they are responsive to learners, represent biculturalism and use sound teaching methods.
An
area that I would already like to improve in
the future is to focus
more on Christchurch
based writers such as Fiona Farrell, Hone Tu Whare and Margaret Mahy.
References
CAST. (2018). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2. http://udlguidelines.cast.org
Education Endowment Foundation. (n.d.). Feedback. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/feedback
Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum
Ministry of Education–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga. (2008). English language learning progressions. https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/English/English-Language-Learning-Progressions
Te Ara. (n.d.). Māori culture and values. https://teara.govt.nz/en/maori
Zone of proximal development. (n.d.). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_proximal_development