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 Department
of Language EducationPracticum in Language X425/L525 Dr. Hope Elkins |
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MODULE 2: RELATE, LEARNERS, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES |
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1.In this module we will learn about: * Teaching in a logical way. * Selecting tutees. * Setting instructional goals. * Translating ideas into instruction. __________________________________________________________ 2.We will: *Select a learner. *Develop a sample lesson. *Share our thoughts in lesson planning. __________________________________________________________ 3. Discussion Topic: Share some personal experiences with lesson plans. For example, tell about an especially successful lesson plan that worked well in practice. Tell about one that didn't work. You might discuss an especially successful or unsuccesful lesson taught to you in the past. Compare the lessons and determine what you believe was the critical element (s) that assured the success or failure of each lesson. __________________________________________________________ 4. Comments: |
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Good instruction is not haphazard; it is based on solid thinking. The RELATE Model was developed as a guide to logical thinking about instruction and is very useful in helping the tutor plan and evaluate instruction. Reflect on the model map as you read the following discussion:
Overview: The overview triangle represents the knowledge and beliefs you bring to instruction. Background experiences, for example, can play a major role in your teaching. The literature you read, conferences attended, people you know, and other professional activities color your views. It is important for teachers to be widely read in the field and have a system of professional networking. Professional isolation is unhealthy, and students ultimately pay the price.
Describing Learner Characteristics: Although there is much debate about how much to know, most will agree it is important to know your learner. In our class we describe the learner's cultural, physical, psychological, and educational characteristics. These categories will be discussed in great detail in the final case study. The cultural category includes cultural experiences that impact learning and especially reading and writing. Some families, for example, do not value literacy. Others might not have the financial means to buy books or subscribe to newspapers and magazines. There are families whose primary source of information is television. It is no longer uncommon to have in the same classroom students having wide cultural differences. While some have traveled abroad, know more than one language, have multicultural family and friends; others live in cultures where life follows a structured routine within narrow geographic and cultural perimeters. Experience within one's culture and family affects how the world is interpreted and reconstructed. Knowing the student's cultural background can help the teacher plan activities that build on culture and help the student appreciate his as well as other's cultures. Physical characteristics include physical conditions which directly correlate with reading performance. Hearing difficulty, for example, is highly correlated to reading failure. Knowing a student has suffered many bouts of ear infection as a young child could give the reading teacher one clue as to why the student might be struggling. Psychological characteristics include personality traits, learning styles, and especially attitudes about learning and language arts. It is important to know a student's reading interests and what the student believes about being a reader. Confidence levels and motivation can greatly affect the way print is approached. These are psychological factors that can help the teacher when planning effective instruction. Educational experiences have a tremendous influence on how students learn and how they feel about themselves as learners. Careful analysis of a student's reading can often disclose how that person was taught to read and give the tutor help in building on some practices, supplementing others, and redirecting bad reading habits. Struggling readers have often experienced repeated failure in school. A good tutor can use this information to plan instruction that ensures success. As you tutor your learner, continually collect data. Keep a notebook, and record new information throughout the tutoring process. Rich learner data informs your teaching as well as the tutor or classroom teacher who will work with your learner in the future.
Setting Goals and Objectives: From careful reflection on the learner's characteristics, goals and objectives can be set. Goals and objectives give instructional direction and are the basis for good assessment. In the classroom it is often the case that, disregarding the uniqueness of each student, a commercial curriculum sets the goals and objectives . We are fortunate in this class to be working with one student or a small group, a situation ideally suited to build on individual strengths. Goals can be set by the teacher, the student, or both. Whatever the arrangement, the goals should emerge from the learner's personal characteristics. Because we learn as individuals, goals and objectives should always be stated in the singular and from the student's perspective. For example: The student will comprehend a selected text. Objectives are specific behaviors that show the goal has been met. Here is an example of how goals and objectives should be developed and formatted for your lessons. Let's suppose your student is a word-by-word reader who is unable to comprehend text. You decide the focus of instruction will be comprehension. Next you think about how comprehension can be achieved. You might read about comprehension in our text and reflect on how typical readers demonstrate comprehension. Next, you think about your first-grade learner: her reading level, reading interests, confidence level, best learning style -- all the things that make her a unique reader. You know she primarily reads using phonics which should be supplemented with knowledge of other cueing systems. Your learner enjoys listening to stories and looking at the pictures. She loves telling stories about family and friends but finds writing highly frustrating. You want the learner to feel success as she learns reading and writing are ways to construct meaning. After much consideration, you state a goal and objectives:
The learner will: Goal 1: Comprehend a selected text. Obj. 1: Will discuss the pictures in the text before reading. Obj. 2:Retell each page of the story as it is read. Obj. 3:Retell the main points in the story after reading the entire book. Obj. 4: Dictate her own version of the story. Obj. 5:Make and illustrate her story and compare with the original.
You can see the goals and objectives basically outline a lesson designed for comprehension. The stated objectives list five ways to encourage comprehension. There are many other comprehension strategies available, but listing goals and objectives allows the teacher to focus on the ones selected for this particular lesson. If the child successfully achieves the five objectives, the teacher can confidently assume she comprehends the story.
Planning Assessment: How do we know if the goals were met? Through assessment. A common failure in teaching is lack of assessment or assessing something non-goal related. For this reason an initial assessment plan should be developed along with goals and objectives. In looking at the goal and objectives above, how would you document that each objective has been achieved? Documentation can show where and how progress is being made and is invaluable in evaluating and revising instruction.
Planning Strategies, Resources, and Organization: These categories are the meat of instruction and should be thought through carefully. Based on the goals, what strategies and resources would work best with the learner in a particular lesson? How should the instructional setting be designed in terms of space and time (organization). You will quickly discover that selection of strategies, resources, and organizational plans can spell the success or failure of a lesson. For this reason it is important to have at your disposal a wide variety of strategies, resources, and ways to organize. Teachers who can teach only one way will almost certainly experience a certain amount of failure.
Integrating the Learning Environment: Sometimes bringing it all together can be a challenge, especially when working with struggling readers and ESL learners. As you tutor, be a reflective teacher, use the knowledge at your disposal, but also be willing to experiment and take some educated risks. You can learn as much or more from mistakes than doing everything perfectly. Learn to pinpoint why lessons worked or failed and don't be afraid to revise or discard unproductive practices.
Evaluating and Revising: The word "evaluation" can set a teacher's alarm bells ringing, but evaluation should not be perceived as the day of reckoning when your mistakes are exposed to all. Ideally evaluation is self-reflection when you objectively look at every part of the instruction, deciding what elements did and did not work in your teaching. For example, you might, after working with your learner for a period of time, decide you could benefit from reading more research on a particular instructional problem. You might determine that the learner goals were misdirected, and new ones should be set. Maybe your strategies weren't appropriate for learner needs, or possibly the lessons were disorganized. This kind of reflection does not say the teacher is a failure. It provides information to help both teacher and student become better. Good evaluation data can give the tutor clear direction in revising instruction. Yes, it is sometimes painful to face the reality of bad instruction, but with careful evaluation we can turn failure into success and learn much in the process.
Sometimes the most difficult part of this course is finding a suitable learner. Students ask, "What kind of learner should I get?" and Where do I find him/her?" Below are some ideas to help:
1.Select a learner according to your course needs. If you are enrolled in the ESL strand, select a person learning English. If you're interested in workplace literacy, try contacting a local factory or business, and ask about tutoring opportunities. Adult learners can be found at senior citizen centers, library literacy programs, community action centers, jails, and sometimes churches. Call the local Chamber of Commerce and ask about volunteer opportunities in your community. If looking for children, call a boys or girls club. If you have connections with a local school, call the principal (Most communities require a criminal check before allowing adults to work with children). Classroom teachers usually find learners close at hand. Also, friends, neighbors, family members, co-workers, and other associates can make ideal tutees. Since X425/L525 is geared to people working with struggling readers and ESL learners, it is important that your tutee is either learning English, struggling with reading/writing, or both.
2.Select a learner according to your experience. If you are inexperienced working with struggling readers or ESL students, do not choose a highly challenging case. To pair a new tutor with someone who has a severe learning disability, for example, can be devastating to the tutor and the learner. Choose a learner who has the potential to improve with reasonable intervention. Often a program director or classroom teacher can help you make an appropriate choice. If you are an experienced teacher and have the desire, feel free to work with challenging cases.
3.Think of logistics when selecting a learner. Does your learner live far from you? Do the learner's time constraints conflict with your schedule? Do you have an adequate place for uninterrupted lessons? Do you and the learner have adequate transportation if travel is necessary? Be sure that tutoring can be carried out on a regular schedule.
If you have problems finding a learner, contact me, and I will try to help you.
Though unit plans are sometimes regarded as necessary inconveniences, I hope to use them in X425/L525 to encourage your logical thinking about instruction. The following unit plan format will be used in your upcoming theme unit. I have listed and explained each part of the unit plan. If you have questions about any part, feel free to contact me. What a supportive, connected plan should have:
1.Population: The target group. At this point list the age, grade, or both of your learner. Also, if you are working with a special population, i.e., ESL, hearing impaired, special education, and so forth, list it here. Add any brief descriptive data that would be useful in identifying for whom the unit is designed. In this way you will not have to read the whole plan in the future but will immediately know with whom it will be most effective.
2.Goals and objectives: What you are teaching in your unit. See the discussion of goals and objectives above. unit goals and objectives would be stated as such.
3.Assessment Plan: Specifically how you plan to assess. Look at your objectives and give a brief but clear description of how you will assess and document the assessment. Documentation could include checklists, anecdotal records, written questions, portfolios, records of oral performance, or other. Whatever assessment you choose, be sure you can document the progress of your learner.
4.Resources: What you need to carry out the unit. Include everything needed in the unit such as paper, crayons, scissors, and other materials. List the title and author of books used. List the title of films and where they can be obtained. Listing all resources will save much time. In the future, rather than reading the entire unit plan, you can simply look at the resource list to know what is needed.
5.Organization: Time and space. Again, to save time in the future, estimate unit length. If your unit is carried out over a period of days, list the estimated length of each segment. Give a general idea of where the unit will take place and how the environment will be set up. For example, a unit might take place in a regular classroom in a quiet corner. Another unit might be carried out in the school nature center with students sitting on a log next to the fishpond. This kind of information can again save time by allowing you to quickly know unit length or adjust time and space to fit new populations or needs.
6.Procedure: *unit introduction: Carefully explain how you plan to introduce the unit. Be creative. How can you best capture student interest? If the unit is includes concepts beyond the student's experience, how can you provide the background to build experience before the actual unit begins? Can you provide an introduction that will encourage student questioning? The introduction should fully capture the student's attention, promoting active engagement in the unit.
*unit steps: What will happen in the unit, including support where needed. This part of the unit should be a direct reflection of the goals and objectives. Let's look at the goals mentioned earlier.
The learner will: Goal 1: Comprehend a selected text. Obj. 1: Will discuss the pictures in the text before reading. Obj. 2: Retell each page of the story as it is read. Obj. 3: Retell the main points in the story after reading the entire book. Obj. 4: Dictate her own version of the story. Obj. 5: Make and illustrate her story and compare with the original.
The objectives show the student looking through pictures, retelling the story, and then dictating her own story. Your unit should reflect these objectives with an explaination of what will go on during the actual unit. Vygotsky (2) talked about the zone of proximal development. There are tasks that students can easily do on their own, and other tasks that require help. A good teacher constantly monitors his students to quickly identify where they can no longer work alone and need support or scaffolding. With adequate support difficult tasks can eventually be done independently. In this way the learner becomes increasingly self-sufficient during instruction. Teachers are comfortable with print tasks and often do not recognize where students might need help. In our unit plans, I want you to identify where students might need extra help and within the procedures, describe mini-units to give that support. In teaching to Objective One, we might ask the child to take a "picture walk" through the selected picture book. We assume the child knows what a book is, what the pictures are for, and that they enhance the story. Unfortunately, there are children who have never held a book and do not know that print and pictures tell a story. Some children have come from environments where print has been totally bypassed in the meaning-making process (3). If the child in this unit is not print literate, we must first connect meaning with books. We might have a series of mini-units in which we read stories to the learner, talk about books and look at the pictures, let the child hold a book and get acquainted with print. We can't ask the student to go for a "picture walk" if she does not know what a book is. Let's say you are working with an adult who is unfamiliar with dictionary use. Your unit requires using the dictionary. If you ask the student to find a word in the dictionary, you are setting him up for failure unless you show him how to use a dictionary and give him time and a reason to practice using it. Your mini-unit will tell how you plan to give this kind of support. By the time you put the theme unit together, it is hoped you will know your learner well enough to know where support will be needed. The unit procedures should be a step-by-step description of the entire unit with mini-units inserted where extra support is needed.
*unit culmination: The way you conclude the unit. How will you end the unit to review and reinforce concepts taught? Like the introduction, the culmination should be interesting and engaging and tie learnings together in a meaningful way so the student can leave the unit knowing what was learned. Culminations don't have to be long, but they should be focussed.
7.unit Evaluation: How you will know your unit was successful. The evaluation form below is a good checklist for your unit. In the theme unit, include one copy of the form in an appendix and refer to the form in each unit, i.e., 7. unit Evaluation: (see evaluation form in Appendix A). Goals and Objectives: _____*Were goals and objectives appropriate for the learner? _____*Was unit based on stated goals and objectives? _____*Were goals and objectives met?
Assessment: _____*Did the assessment correspond to goals and objectives? _____*Was the assessment appropriate for the learner? _____*Was the assessment an appropriate length? _____*Was the assessment embedded in the instruction? _____*Did the assessment lend itself to self-assessment?
Resources: _____*Were resources appropriate for the unit? _____*Were the resources on hand when needed? _____*Were resources conveniently located and plentiful? _____*Did the resources add to learning in a positive way?
Organization: _____*Was the unit's time frame appropriate? _____*Was the learning area set up efficiently for maximum learning? _____*Was the place of instruction appropriate for the unit?
Procedures: _____*Was the method of instruction most effective for what was being taught? _____*Was the unit plan clear and detailed enough for adequate instruction? _____*Was the teaching natural and creative and done with ease and enjoyment? _____*Was the teaching enriched in any way? _____*Did the teaching lead to further inquiry? _____*Was teaching child centered? _____*Was teaching pace appropriate for the learner? _____*Was the unit adjusted to the needs of individual learners? _____*Was the teacher attentive to students? _____*Was teacher's attitude warm, friendly, and non-threatening? _____*Did teacher evidence adequate knowledge of classroom management? _____*Did teacher promote a classroom climate favorable to learning? _____*Did student respond to teacher with interest and enthusiasm? _____*Was the unit based on student needs and interests? _____*Did the teacher regularly monitor the unit in light of stated goals and objectives. _____*Did teacher prepare for contingencies?
8. Revision: Always leave a space at the bottom of the plan for comments. After teaching the unit, jot down what changes, if any, need to be made.
If you have questions about unit plans, contact me. _________________ (1) Newman, A. (1985). L525/X425 Practicum in Language Manual. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University.
(2) Dixon-Krauss, L. (1996). Vygotsky in the Classroom: Mediated Literacy Instruction and Assessment. White Plains, NY: Longman.
(3) Purcell-Gates, V. (1995). Other People's Words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Comments: disted@indiana.edu Copyright 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University
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