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 increasing confidence and competence.
The portfolio will also the teacher the 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 the lessons. The first influence is from Jerome Bruner and his work on scaffolding theory. The second influence is the social-cultural theories of Vygotsky. The final influence is the Universal Design for Learning principles (UDL).
The theories determine the unit plan’s structure and the pedagogical strategies used within it.
Vygotsky’s theory can be seen in the focus on social interaction, the use of scaffolds and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The unit contains many supports to aid learners complete tasks such as organised discussions and questioning, modelling and tasks that learners complete together. The I do, We do, You do is a slow and steady release of independence. This demonstrates the role of the More Knowledgeable Other whose support is gradually taken away as learners become increasingly competent and confident. I have chosen these methods because the learners are second language learners who need a very careful, 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 socially based is also very helpful in our learning context.
Bruner’s constructivist theory can be seen in the unit’s order of activities and organisation. It moves 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 use writing graphic templates and models and learning discovery through guided steps allowing learners to activate their understanding as opposed to learning by being passive receivers of knowledge. The 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 add more student centred learning. There are multiple methods of representation, engagement and expression in the lessons in order to meet the needs of a larger group of diverse learners. 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 the
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 the strands of idea development
and communicating clear logically content. The unit works
develops structural skills when learners organise logical paragraphs
and use linking devices. Learners are develop their knowledge of
language features when choosing vocabulary, sentence forms to convey
tone and style. 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 we 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 grammar, vocabulary, sentence,
paragraph and reasoning using the knowledge they already have and new
learning scaffolds directly in top of that.
Finally. the
writing unit will also prepare learners for NCEA co-literacy
assessments in Week 4.
c. Commitment
to Tangata Whenua 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 it also gives an
opportunity 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 a more
contemporary view of New Zealanders while they are developing their
arguments and structures. Te Tiriti principles are shown
through classroom practices. We demonstrate Partnership
through collaborative learning and in the respectful way learners
give feedback to each other. Participation is encouraged when
learners work together in pair work and when the class has
discussions but learners collaborate when give and receive ideas to
each other. Protection is demonstrated by demonstrating by
valuing Māori world-view in within the curriculum. These are all
embedded practices, and are not token effort 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 baseline data about the students levels in structural and
vocabulary choices and cohesion. This will guide future instructions
for learners. There is ongoing formative assessment in the
lessons through drafting, peer reviews, teacher
conferences and the process of editing. These activities all come
from the best current practice in teaching writing. Learners will
have clear success criteria to ensure they have clarity and 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 and the NZ curriculum strands and ELLP goals. It is
reliable because learners are given by consistent criteria for
success across each genre. It is fair because there are
multiple opportunities for learners to draft, redraft and revise and
there are different ways for learners to access knowledge such as
audio/visual and collaborative and individual learning. It is
authentic because the learners are using common real world writing
processes and the context is New Zealand writing. The portfolio shows
a progression of over time which is very important with many
ELL learners where growth needs to gradual and incremental and 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 skills revealed in the diagnostic writing from
lesson one with the writing skills revealed in 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 structure 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 classroom experiences to make sure our learning is
responsive to learners, represents New Zealand’s biculturalism
and uses pedadagogically sound 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