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The
lesson has been designed for eleventh grade students in English. The students will read The Scarlett Letter by
Nathaniel Hawthorne. Students will be
asked to evaluate and depict the literary elements including setting,
characterization, conflict, flashbacks, imagery, hyperbole, foreshadowing and
theme. The students will read the story
and create a paper that analyzes the literary content of the novel, as well as
a reflection on learning. This lesson
will take place over the nine-week grading period. Throughout the weeks, the students will
complete weekly reflections, collaborate with peers through a wiki site and
through face to face interaction, research the historical context of the novel,
define literary elements and write a collaborative assessment of the weeks
readings. There are three objectives
that stand out and are identified for this lesson.
Objective
1: The student’s will read The Scarlett Letter, as a group in the classroom and
individually, while taking anecdotal reports on learning and reflection.
Objective
2: The student’s will create a
collaborative analysis, through the use of technology and collaborative
learning to support the students’ understanding of the literary elements.
Objective
3: The students will explore the context
of the novel, as it relates to nineteenth century England and compare life now
and then. The students will utilize
digital media devices and research portals for their analysis.
Teacher Perspective
Students
must be proficient readers with a basic knowledge of research and history. The ability to read, write and comprehend
will be analyzed through the execution of a final project. Students will have access to computer labs,
the campus library and a copy of The Scarlett Letter to utilize. Also, the students will collaborate on a
classroom WIKI to build on concepts and transform ideas. The students will need little guidance in
basic computer use but will need a classroom session devoted to teaching them
how to utilize a wiki. The use of an
interactive smart board will help to deliver this message to a large group of
students. The concept of research and concept development will be taught and
reinforced throughout the lesson to increase transferability of skills.
The
activities in this assignment will be broken down into a nine week segment and
will constitute an entire semester. Each of the weekly components will count as
a weekly grade and students will be required to submit a reflection on
learning. Students will be organized
into groups of mixed learning abilities and organized on a wiki site to
collaborate, research and learn. Students
will be motivated to stay involved by invigorating interest in the subject;
self paced exploratory learning and the opportunity to work in collaborative
groups. At the end of semester, students will turn in a final group project as
well as their individual (assigned) portions for grading. Grades will be assigned based on a rubric. Students that are deficient in the skills to
be mastered by this lesson will receive remedial assistance during their study
hall to rectify the mistakes. As the
students progress through the project, issues will be addressed and
reconciled. By the end of the project
students should be well versed and confident.
The Learner Perspective
The
student should learn about the literary elements that compose the novel, and
how the historical elements are relevant to the plot of the story. Also,
motivation and task focus must be maintained for the learner to maintain a
positive group attitudes and good standing with peers and the teacher. The
students should ask for any extra materials that may be needed to complete the
project or clarification of unclear concepts.
From this experience students should learn how to work in a group, the
moral of The Scarlett Letter and the historical importance and relevance of the
novel.
Educational Technology Perspective
According to Edutopia technology can…
●
Help teachers and students organize
concepts and ideas.
●
Research relevant topics and ideas.
●
Monitor student progress and keep
students involved in their own learning.
●
Activate interest in learning with
items that are relevant to both the teacher and learner.
●
Enhance communication skills.
●
Incorporate social and personal
responsibility into learning. (2014)
Students
that are actively engaged and interested in learning are more apt to
participate in their own learning.
Students and teachers that utilize technology find level ground on
something that is meaningful for the students and useful for the teacher. Teachers can reach a number of students at
one time, therefore increasing efficiency.
By incorporating wiki into this project students are evaluated by both
their peers and the teachers to increase accountability.
Definition of Learning Objectives
Learning
objectives have a vital part in the development and creation of lesson
plans. They help the teacher to identify
the goal of the lesson and create a road map to get there (Newby, Stepich,
Lehman, Russell and Ottenbreity-Leftwhich, 2011).
Importance of Measurable Learning
Objectives.
Designing
and implementing meaningful objectives is important for creating lasting and
meaningful instruction. Effective instruction
must meet the children where they are and bring them up to the level of the
skill set. Objectives must be catered to
the learning level and ability and incorporate scaffolds to induce higher
learning techniques. It is important to
incorporate meaningful technology as well, not for the sake of technology
usage, but for the sake of learning.
Description of Instructional Methods
Instructional
Methods are described by Newby, Stepich, Lehman, Russell and
Ottenbriet-Leftwich in terms of the advantages and limitations each other them
procure. For this lesson, several
different instructional methods will be implemented. The context and nature of
this course, the level of rigor and academic proficiency required rules out the
use of games but leaves the door open for several other instructional
strategies that appeal to several of the different learning styles and
intelligences (2011).
Multiple
intelligences are a key component for organizing an effective and meaningful
lesson plan that caters to all students learning needs. There are eight intelligences including
linguistic, mathematical, naturalistic, spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, musical,
interpersonal and intrapersonal learning.
These theories indicate that each child learns differently and needs
different forms of instruction, with several different opportunities to learn
(Adcock, P.K., 2014). With that
knowledge, this lesson has been designed to include several different
instructional methods that incorporate multiple ways to meaningfully involve all
students in learning.
The
following chart details the instructional method used, an evaluation of why the
method was chosen and a description of the learning activity that is
utilized. ( Newby, T.J., Stepich, D.A,
Lehman, J.D., & Otenbreit-Leftwich, A., 2011).
|
Instructional Method
|
Evaluation
(Adapted from figure 6-7)
|
Description of Learning Activity
|
|
Presentation
|
This
method was chosen to introduce the topic and idea to the whole class. The teacher will provide information while
the students absorb information that is needed to complete the task. This method will cater to the verbal
linguistic intelligence.
|
This
method will be used minimally and at the introduction of the lesson. The teacher will provide an overview of the
lesson and describe the context and requirements of the reflective essays,
historical analysis and plot analysis that will be required.
|
|
Demonstration
|
This
method employs several of the senses, while still primarily led by the
teacher. This method is an extension
of the introduction provided by the teacher, and will include a copy and
example of the finished project. This
will activate the spatial intelligences and help students understand what is
expected of them.
|
The
teacher will demonstrate how learning will take place. The teacher will show examples of how to
input reflections, how to correspond through the wiki site and how to
research date through the use of SmartBoard Technology.
|
|
Discussion
|
This
method was chosen to integrate students into their cooperative learning group,
to help them acclimate to discussing the final project. Classroom discussions help students to
discuss what they will contribute to the wiki site, and what they will
include in their daily anecdotal reflections.
This method activates the linguistic, intrapersonal and interpersonal
intelligences.
|
The
class wiki will be the primary source of discussion and reflection. Students will discuss the various literary
elements and characteristics of the plot.
They will also analyze the correlations between nineteenth century
living and twenty first century.
|
|
Cooperative
Learning
|
The
cooperative learning method was chosen for its focus on student
activity. Students are able to
interact face to face and through technology through use of the classroom
wiki. Students are encouraged to make their own decisions about where to take
the project and how to collaborate and solve problems.
|
Students
will be required to assign group roles.
Students will be separated into groups of six. This group of six will work to complete
each of the components of the final project as a group.
|
|
Discovery
|
This
method was chosen for its interactive and inductive methods that it would
activate. Students are allowed to
explore ideas and concepts that interest them and share their ideas in a
collaborative environment.
|
With
this activity students will research the similarities and differences between
nineteenth century living and modern living in England. As a component of the final project,
students will evaluate the historical context in which The Scarlett Letter
took place.
|
Technologies and Instructions
Technology
will be implemented in this lesson in many different ways. The students will have access to, and utilize
several forms of technology throughout the length of this project for
collaborative and exploratory purposes.
Education and technology will be a critical part of development and
learning in the twenty-first century classroom and proper implementation and
utilization of technology is critical to future success. For this lesson, the students will utilize
the smart board technology,wikis, word processing, email and internet usage
through the assignment blog site.
The Website
For
the purpose of this lesson, the following blog has been created. (http://lauramoll.edublogs.org). The purpose of this website is to align
students and parents with expectations for performance, additional resources
for completing independent and group tasks, provide a link to the wiki site
that will be used for collaboration, and to infuse technology into the
student’s learning objectives.
Technology is a critical element of learning in modern schools and this
assignment, and use of the website will utilize several components of the
computer as it relates to educational technology. In addition to the resources as they relate
to technology use, the preparation and presentation of the website will also
assist in meeting the learning styles of all students in the classroom. The theory of multiple intelligences is
widely utilized in the classroom and use of this site helps to address many of
the various learning styles. For
example, visual learners will be able to see the various components of the
project on the screen and watch correlational videos. Bodily/Kinesthetic
learners will be in the “drivers” seat and will be able to navigate the website
and explore their own learning.
Intrapersonal learners will gain perspective interacting with their
peers through technology on the wiki site. Lastly, interpersonal learners will
gain perspective when they are able to reflect on their learning weekly.
Pamela
Vaughn identifies several characteristics for designing an exceptional website,
with focus on getting users to look at the website and want to return. In the creation of this website, many of the
elements she suggested were incorporated into the planning and development of
this website. First and foremost, the first impression of the website meets the
tone and style of the novel. It has a
professional ambiance, inviting learners to explore and easily navigate the
website. There are headers that clearly
mark where to find specified criteria.
The navigation is solid and concrete.
Everything is accessible and easy to find. Flash animation is limited
and videos are on a specific page for viewing (Vaughan, 2012).
Conclusion
This
lesson is designed to help students explore technology and learning and learn
about the literary elements critical to novels.
Also, the students will get to explore the historical relationship that
reading and literature can sync. By
implementing varying learning activities, instructional methods and
technologies there are ample and plentiful ways for all students to learn and
be successful, while preparing students for a “next generation” classroom. Overall, The purpose of this lesson overall
is to infuse various learning styles with technology and provide a cumulative
learning experience for students in their last semester of eleventh grade. By
incorporating the use of personal reflection, literary devices, analytical
reflection of historical context and research students will utilize several of
their skills used throughout their tenure as students.
References
Adcock, P.K. (2014). The Longevity of Multiple Intelligence Theory
in Education.
Delta
Kappa Gamma Bulletin. 80(40, 5--57
Cabaniss, D.L., Arbuckle, M.R., &
Moga, D.E. (2014) Using learning
objectives for
psychotherapy
supervision. American
Journal of Psychotherapy, 68(2), 163.
Chatal, M. (2013). Lesson writing: innovations in problem
designing. European
Scientific
Journal, (17), 163
Jones, R. Fox, C., Levin, D. &
State Educational Technology Directors Association.
(2011)
. National Educational Technology Trends: 2011.
Transforming
Education to Ensure All Students are
successful in the 21st century.
State Educational Technology Directors Association.
Newby, T. J., Stepich, D. A., Lehman,
J. D., Russell, J. D., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A.
(2011). Educational technology for teaching and learning (4th ed.). Boston,
MA: Pearson
Education, Inc.
Vaughn, P. (2012). 6
Guidelines for Exceptional Website Design and Usability.. Retrieved from
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/30557/6-Guidelines-for-Exceptional-Website-Design-and-Usability.aspx
Why do we need Technology
Integration? Retrieved from Edutopia.com
on October 6,
2014.
References
Alnahdi, G. (2014). Assistive
Technology in Special Education and the Universal Design for Learning.
Turkish
Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET,
13(2), 18-23.
Newby, T. J., Stepich, D. A., Lehman,
J. D., Russell, J. D., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2011).
Educational
technology for teaching and learning (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Education, Inc
Ruto, Z., & Ndaloh, A. M. (2013).
Overcoming the challenges of using instructional methods and
materials
encountered by teachers of history and government in Wareng District, Kenya.
Journal
Of Emerging Trends In Educational Research And Policy Studies,
(2), 265
