The Scarlett Letter Lesson

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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 21^st 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

Ethical Parameters for Implementing Change

Change is a radical and often controversial subject.  Much of the advocacy for change in the modern world is met with adversity and with a skeptical perspective. In the field of education, it is critical to utilize ethical principles and collaborate with team members and community members. The following proposal for change implements several ethical principles as defined by the Syracuse School of Education (2004).

Those ethical principles include:

1) Respect Autonomy
2) Do no harm
3) Benefit others
4) Be Just
5) Be faithful

The principles integrated into this advocacy plan help create a plan that is fair, concise and consistent. The principles are identified as they appear in the plan.



Introduction
The School district being discussed, is comprised of a tight knit community infused with old southern values and blue-collar families. Many generations of families live together in one home, and many of the adults work more than one job daily to maintain the standard of living that these poor, rural families have become accustomed to. While most families have generally negative feelings relating to their personal education experience, most want their children to have optimal experiences and opportunity but often lack the time, cognition or organization to help their children reach their maximum potential. Planning to include families in the learning of students by incorporating programs to enhance parental involvement will vastly change the way the district operates and the delineation of responsibility for misbehavior and achievement. This report will reflect on several features of the program to discern the sustainability of the project.  (Respect Autonomy, Benefit Others, Be Faithful).


Readiness
Spiro, the author of Leading Change Step-by-Step, identifies readiness through the leaders ability to reflect and change the program to sustain over a substantial period of time. Also, the ability to objectify and identify important elements of the program that are essential, from the non-essential components are an important of determining leader readiness when planning for change (2011).

With the parent involvement program there are several elements that have been constructed to increase parent involvement in learning by expanding their knowledge base, creating linear expectations at home and at school, holding parents accountable for their children’s academic performance and bringing the parents to the school to expand face to face interactions between teachers and parents. While all of these programs and plans work coherently together, there are several elements that are essential and others that could be eliminated to reach extended sustainability and longevity without compromising the nature of the program.

One of the vital elements of the program would be to strongly advocate for parents to attend bi-weekly school meetings to learn about objectives, lessons and skills that their children will be learning. District funded transportation to and from these meetings is also critical. These meetings are the very foundation of the program and cannot be eliminated. Some other components of the program including evening computer labs for parents and on call homework help could be eliminated if budget and involvement protocol called for a reduction in cost. (Be Just, Benefit Others)


Program Practices for Scale and Sustainability
This program advocates for parental involvement in a rural, low-income community. Ninety-nine percent of the students qualify for free lunch and meals are distributed three times a day. Many of the parents work several jobs and often are exhausted and over-tired. This program will incorporate parents into learning to increase the success of students in the district. William Jeynes, a researcher for Harvard School of Education reinforces this concept of parental involvement and how the correlation of involved parents and test scores are more than correlational. On average, student’s that had parents actively involved in their education were more likely to be successful than those who do not (2005). Students must clearly understand the rules at school and the rules at home. If those rules are fluid and values are shared between school and home, the likelihood of success increases greatly.

Parents in the community are typically eager to learn about their children’s learning experience but often do not know the questions to ask or do not have access to adequate resources to assist their child in learning. This program will not only provide materials to parents to help them understand content and expectations but it will also provide a platform to discuss challenges and triumphs and create a connection between families and schools. This fluidity will help students see the value in the success as education is a value in high esteem by both parents and teachers. (Do No Harm, Benefit others)


Non-Negotiable Elements
In a parent involvement advocacy plan, like the one being introduced here, there are several elements that must come together to make a complex, cohesive program. Some of these elements lay the foundation for the program, and other add value but the program could meet the objectives without them. In other words, there are a few non-negotiable elements of the parent involvement initiative that will be instated.

The premise of this change is the district is based on the value of parental involvement in schools. The NEA reports that students earn higher grades, attend school regularly and adjust socially better than those with uninvolved parents (2002). Parents will be scheduled to come to the campus bi-weekly to discuss objectives, their children’s progress and ask any questions they might have. Transportation will be provided. These elements are essential. Parents must know the objectives and understand the concepts to be involved in their children’s learning. Bi-weekly attendance from parents with planned events from the school district is a non-negotiable element of this change plan.

　


Scale and Sustainability Scores
Scale and sustainability are important elements of planning a change in any organization. This plan has been designed around the needs of the community and is supported in research. There is a known concept that parental involvement and strong parental presence in schools increases achievement and behavior in students. Parents want to be involved in their children’s lives but need a venue to pursue such involvement. Parents do not know how to be involved in their children’s learning, and this plan will help parents learn to help their children. There is a vast array of educated staff and faculty available to implement these programs.

Local legislation supports these changes, because change advocacy in this regard will increase test scores, and there for improve the district rating. Teachers are paid on a salary scale so involvement in this program is a part of their contract so there will not be any increased compensation expected. However, buses will need to be funded and fundraisers throughout the year can help to raise money to transport parents. Most parents want to be actively involved so they will transfer their interest to other members of the community to facilitate the goals of the community.

Throughout the implementation, continuous assessment and collection of data will ensure to track the progress of students as it is related to direct parent involvement. Overall, the program is well planned out with a lot of interested stakeholders with a clear timeline for success.


Strategies
While this program is widely accepted and embraced in the community, strategy and planning will be necessary to keep this program going for long term success. Some of those plans include the process of continuously revising and monitoring this program for change. (2011). If the programs are not working, the professionals must plan around the strategies in place to meet the needs of the students and the parents. (Be just, Respect Autonomy)


Conclusion
The district is made up over several groups of people including parents, students and teachers. This change plan initiates a strategy to integrate the three parties to create a cohesive and elaborate plan for success. The parents interest and the desire to help their children succeed will help to fuel this program. Backed by educated, knowledgeable professionals, administrators who support the mission of the change and an adequate funding supply for parent involvement, this plan has all the tools in place to become successful. The implementation of this plan relies solely on the persistence of the teachers and parents in the district.


References

Jeynes, W. (2005). Parental Involvement and Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis.

Retrieved from http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-
publications/parental-involvement-and-student-achievement-a-meta-analysis on August 17, 2014.
Reseach Spotlight on Parental Involvement in Education.(2002). NEA Reviews of the

Research on Best Practive in Education. Retrieved from

http://www.nea.org/tools/17360.htm on August 18,2014.


Spiro, J. (2011).　Leading change step-by-step: Tactics, tools, and tales.　 San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

The Influence of Instructional Technology Use and Teacher Immediacy

The Influence of Instructional Technology Use and Teacher Immediacy

The article, The Influence of Instructional Technology Use and Teacher Immediacy identifies the components that help to aid in student success.  The researches identified a four by two study that identified four factors of technology including none, minimal, moderate and complete use of technology.  These elements were compared to level of teachers non-verbal cues such as closeness to students and reactions to misbehavior.  For this student these ques were referred to as the level of immediacy.  According to this study, the use of integrated technology and high immediacy provided optimal learning opportunities.  As immediacy decreased, so did student affect or reaction to learning.  As immediacy increased the attention and affect of students did as well.  From this perspective, high involvement paired with a moderate amount of technology is an optimal setting for learning (Wiit, P.L & Schrodt, P, (2006).  In a college setting, professors should be involved with learning, pacing the room and focusing on the nonverbal actions of students to gain and maintain their interest. Their high level of immediacy paired with the use of technology that was balanced with meaningful instruction helped students to retain most of the content from the classroom. 

In my classroom, this was always a concept that I worked to implement vividly.  While I taught at the elementary level and not at the college level as described in this article, there are several principles that can be transferred.  The use of technology should be a tool to advocate proficiency, but it should not be a substitute for meaningful teaching and structured pedagogy.  The use of technology as a substitute for teaching is unacceptable and should be used as a supplement for skills that have already been taught. For example, as a fifth grade math teacher I had to introduce students to the concept of complex word problems.  These word problems included two to three steps to answer the problem correctly.  To properly teach this skill, we reviewed the four operations that could be used in any math problem.  The students were given an algorithm to remember the steps for problem solving (RUBIES).  After the students and teacher worked on several projects together using a smart board to demonstrate, the students worked in groups to complete two problems.  After the small groups had successfully completed two problems students would complete independent projects and have me review them.  Lastly, technology would be further implemented  further by assigning the students problems on Thinkthroughmath.com.  In this lesson, basic teaching principles were implemented and technology was used to enhance the teaching and learning in the classroom. 

References

Witt,P.L., & Schrodt, P (2006).  The Influence of Instructional Technology Use and Teacher Immediacy on Student Affect for Teacher and Course.  Communication Reports, 19(1), 11-15. Retrieved from Ebscohost

EDU 656 Analysis

Chapter 1, Chapter 2 & Chapter 3 Analysis

EDU 656

Dr. Bruce Johnson

June 3, 2014

Laura Moll

1.The textbook discusses e-learning, while the article addresses the importance of training and learning with a JIT approach. What is the value of e-learning in JIT training/learning? What is the value of the JIT approach when it comes to training/learning, in general?

E-learning has a vital part of JIT training and development in the workplace and in other areas.  Research has proven that more than eighty percent of employees function  at work based on situation based learning and operate very seldomly based on information that they obtained during formal learning

(Weintraub, 2002).  This learning is very valuable for several different reasons.  Not only does e-learning provide an opportunity to view, change and search for information that is needed, specifically relevant to a topic being discussed, but Web 2.0 and e-learning features enhance the quality of JIT training ( Clark, 2011).   Online learning is rising in popularity and portability.  It offers many conveniences including customized learning practices, personal engagement, several multimedia options and the ability to accelerate learning to accommodate the learners needs ( Clark, 2011
).  The importance of the flexibility and rising popularity of e-learning directly relates to the way that people work and the rising need for JIT training techniques to accommodate the twenty first century workforce.

2. What does the textbook say about the Pitfalls of E-Learning? How do these compare with the “issues to be resolved” in JIT learning that are identified in the article?

The textbook defines several pitfalls, or issues aligned with e-learning.   Some pitfalls include the concept that research has proven that e-learning provides too much stimulation, fails to promote learning best practices, often makes learners forget about long term goals and there is a mass of information that often leads to sensory overload in users (Clark, 2011).   The authors of the “Just-in-Time Imperative” state some correlating pitfalls associated with e-learning and JIT training techniques.   They state that the need for accessibility and speed often compromise quality by often omitting universal standards, measurement tools or opportunity for reflection.  Also, the constructive feedback element of instruction needs some improvement as to create an atmosphere where students are challenged and supported.   In addition to the change in the way instruction is given, the role of the facilitators and learners have changed and acclimation will take time and effort, often at the expense of the learning opportunity (Clark, 2011).

3.According to the textbook, what are five questions that must be considered when reading research studies on learning? Explain why it is important to base decisions on good research when it comes to designing learning.

E-learning is a relatively new concept and researchers are writing and reading about this concept eagerly.  With that research, there is a vast array of literature available online and in libraries and students reading research studies must carefully evaluate each study with a series of questions.  Evidence based research will provide answers to all of the following questions ensuring that the literature and information is based on sound, scientific research.  There are five questions that must be considered when reading research studies on learning. Those questions include asking how similar the learners are in the study, whether the conclusions were based on research, if the results are able to be replicated and if learning is measured by tests that can be applied and is the research significant?  All of those questions reflect analytical questions that help researchers analyze the validity of a given research article ( Weintraub, 2002).

References

Clark, R. C. & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-Learning and the science of instruction (3rd

ed). San Francisco. Pfeiffer

Weintraub, R. S. & Martineau, J. W. (2002). The Just-in-Time imperative. T+D

56(6), 50-58