Written Reflection Module 2 1

Written Reflection Module 2

Kyla Burrola

Arizona State University

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Written Reflection Module 2

Engagement in the classroom is one of the most difficult challenges teachers must face,

and this is especially true for first year teachers. To plan and design instructions in literacy and

discipline specific activates is the core of what teacher have to do to teach effectively. From

helping students find their motivation, what type of assessments they should take, even to the

point of how deep their learning should be. Teachers must plan for this and more when trying to

figure out how to best engage these students.

One thing to focus on with disciplinary literacy instruction is something more relevant to

students and teachers alike this year, online learning. Students may have come in with high

expectations and excitement, but it can easily deplete if the teacher cannot provide motivation for

the students to keep going. “People motivate themselves; we are not able to motivate others.

However, as teachers and online facilitators, we can influence motivation through the learning

environment we create.”(Michigan Virtual 2017). Teachers must create lessons and find texts that

are relevant to the student and make them want to participate and ask questions. Of course, now

that students have come back to face to face learning, this applies there as well. The best thing

that can help teachers with this is the integration of technology. Since teachers used digital tools

immensely when student were online, students have grown accustomed to those tools.

Deep learning and surface learning are both required in classroom instructions, but these

are mainly started when the teacher establishes an engaging environment. One way is to make

instruction more student-centered and avoid passive engagement. When finding relevant

literacies for students, it will not be helpful to assign worksheets or yes or no types of responses.

Any type of surface learning should be done in brief discussions of a topic or during bell work.

“Good basic instruction is important because it equips students with critical background
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knowledge and core skills.”(ASCD 2018). This basic instruction can always emerge when a teacher

may introduce a text. Students can begin thinking critically by developing theories or creating

questions concerning the texts. After any assignments and texts read however come assessments and

figuring out how much of the content was understood by the student. To focus better on disciplinary

literacy in particular, it is perhaps important to focus on the importance of the written language in

terms of assessment. “Writing to-learn assignments have been used for decades to promote

content knowledge acquisition.” (Fisher & Frey 2014). Students initially are not excited to be

given a writing assignment, so being able to find a relevant text that they can relate and easily

make inferences out of is key to engaging students when it comes to assessments.

Lastly, when focusing on the framework and structure of planning curriculum. Teachers

should design their instruction to include meaningful learning experiences and relate their

learning to real life. This type of learning would be considered critical learning. Critical learning

has goals such as, “…learning designated content, critical thinking, communication skills,

collaborating effectively and connecting learning to real-world experiences.”(Wickline

2015). Creating objectives that reflect no these goals would be ideal for not just the teacher

and the students. No matter what the discipline is, these strategies and suggestion are

certainly things teachers can go and plan to create a more engaging classroom overall.
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References

-, A., By, -, & Blogger, A. (2018, November 16). Dimensions Of Deep Learning: Levels Of

Engagement And Learning. Retrieved October 09, 2020, from

https://inservice.ascd.org/dimensions-of-deep-learning-levels-of-engagement-and-learning/

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014, May). Assessments That Highlight Strengths and Challenges.

Retrieved October 08, 2020, from

https://secondaryliteracies.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/assessments-strengths-

challenges.pdf

M. (2017). Teacher Guide to Online Learning. Retrieved October 08, 2020, from

https://mvlri.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Teachers-Guide.pdf

Wickline, H. (2018, February 06). Creating the Conditions for Deeper Learning. Retrieved

October 09, 2020, from https://hewlett.org/creating-the-conditions-for-deeper-learning/