Signature Pedagogy

Colin X. Sweeney

School of Education, Manhattan College

EDUC 376: Curriculum and Methods of Teaching

Sister Mary Ann Jacobs

October 7, 2022
Look at the Problem

English Language Arts is one of the staple subjects of the educational system. However,

many students find an inability to relate to and find meaning in learning English Language Arts.

Many students find it difficult to comprehend how learning English Language Arts will benefit

them throughout their lives. One of the issues that causes this apathetic view towards English

Language Arts is the way that the subject is taught and presented to students. In my signature

pedagogy, I focus on selecting course materials that are relatable to students, incorporating

humor into my lessons, and giving students opportunities to showcase their creativity.

One issue with how English Language Arts is taught is the actual content that is taught.

Many teachers insist on teaching the Western canon of literature, which is made up of authors

and books that most people would consider to be the classics. While it is extremely important to

recognize these works and authors, as well as the contributions and innovations that come from

them, these works are not very accessible for middle school and high school students in the sense

that they are unrelatable. This is caused by two main factors: language and author diversity.

Language is constantly evolving and developing. The language used in the 1600s is drastically

different from the language used today. This creates a gap between the modern reader and the

author. While I still believe these works should be remembered and respected, I think that the

language used causes the text to become less accessible to the modern reader, in a way that turns

the reader off to the actual content and thematic messages of the text. This not only does a

disservice to the text, as its themes become undermined and hidden behind the

difficult-to-interpret language, but does a disservice to the student, as the time spent on this text

could be spent on a text that is easier to digest while still sharing the thematic ideas of the
original text. The goal is to foster a general love of literature and English Language Arts for

students, not an appreciation for texts that have been traditionally appreciated for decades.

The second issue with insisting on teaching the traditional Western canon of literature is

the lack of diversity in the authors represented. This group of authors is made up of almost

exclusively wealthy, straight, white men. This is an issue because not all students fall into any, or

all of these categories. This lack of diversity in the authors that are read can send some mixed

messages to students. We try to teach students that they are capable of achieving any of the goals

they set out, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or socioeconomic status. However, by

only teaching works of wealthy straight white men, we are teaching students who do not fall into

these categories that they do not fit the mold to be a writer, and by extension a lover of English

Language Arts. Representation is extremely important for students to realize what they are

capable of, especially if they are a part of a group that has been consistently underrepresented.

Not only that, but it is important for students to understand the viewpoints and ideas of people

who do not belong in the same group of people that they do. This creates a more tolerant and

empathetic group of students who are willing to listen to the ideas of people who are different

from themselves.

Another issue with the teaching of English is the one dimensional focus on teaching

formal writing over creative writing. I believe that formal writing skills are necessary skills that

should be fostered while students study English Language Arts. However, I believe that creative

writing is equally important for students who are still developing. Creative writing forces

students to not only articulate their ideas, but formulate their ideas in a creative way that

represents who they are as a person. This is helpful for several reasons. The first is that it allows

students to become more in touch with their emotions and why they feel the way that they do.
Writing is extremely emotional, as most artforms are, and being able to express these emotions

can help students in all aspects of their lives, specifically their relationships with the people

around them. Creative writing also allows for students to have a better understanding of

themselves by allowing for students to be free in their structure, word choice, and writing style.

Understanding the way you write without any restrictions on how to write creates a deeper

understanding of how you express yourself and your ideas. Creative writing also promotes

individuality. Not everybody thinks and feels the same way, and there is nothing wrong with that.

However, restrictions on writing do not allow students to explore how they want to express their

ideas in an original and unique way. Creative writing lets students see that they are unique, and

that uniqueness is something that should create a sense of pride. I think that having students read

other students' creative work also allows them to see the uniqueness in everybody and treat that

individuality with a sense of respect.

From personal experience, I was not a strong student in English when I was in high

school. I never for a minute believed I would be studying English in college. In fact, when I

would think about becoming a teacher when I was in high school, English was always the first

subject I would cross out. I think a large part of this had to do with how English Language Arts

was taught while I was in high school. My teachers always had a strong emphasis on the more

tangible, quantifiable aspects of English Language Arts, such as plot points, exact quotes, and

historical context of texts. While I believe all of these aspects are important and should be taught,

I believe that formulating interpretations, having meaningful discussions, and making strong

connections between ideas and text is equally important and should be emphasized to the same

extent. I found the lack of discussions in class compared to the excessive amount of quizzes on

facts of the novels to be frustrating, because I saw the emphasis of knowing exact plot points in a
text to be slightly arbitrary compared to the actual thematic ideas that a text is trying to present.

This made me want to disassociate from the subject as a whole, which eventually led me to move

down to a lower-level English class, per my teacher’s request. However, when I arrived at

college and took more classes that emphasized discussion, I found my voice and realized that I

actually was a capable English student. I found discussions to be freeing, and I felt that my ideas

were actually heard. I think it is this combination of experiences that make me want to

emphasize discussions in my future classrooms.

One class that I would use as a model for my future classes would be the poetry creative

writing class I took in college. I found this class to be one of the most influential classes I’ve

ever taken, because I was allowed to express myself as creatively as I would like to, while

receiving feedback on where I could improve in my writing. I was not only allowed to, but

encouraged to incorporate my sense of humor and abstract imagery into my writing, while still

being taught to use those elements in a way that created a cohesive and readable poem. This class

was so important to me because I was taking it during a difficult time in my life, and was able to

turn those difficulties into something creative and beautiful. I also found that I was excited to

read the poetry of my classmates, because of how unique each of our poetic styles were. Seeing

other students’ unique style also motivated me to continue to develop my own unique style of

writing, creating a small community where individuality was encouraged.

Acquiring Knowledge

Utilizing humor in lessons is an extremely effective way to engage students to the

materials and content of the lesson. In the study “Humor in Pedagogy: How Ha-Ha Can Lead to

Aha!” by R.L. Garner, Garner states that “researchers have identified that educators who use
humor in their instruction are more positively rated by their peers and their students; others have

suggested that humor may enhance learning (Garner, 177).” Garner went about proving this idea

by examining a college course that students dread, and found that “humor can have a positive

impact on content retention (Garner, 179).” What this study proved was that not only does humor

help to engage and involve students, but it actually improves student’s ability to learn the

material, essentially motivating the students. This is vital information because it shows that

humor can actually be used as a learning device.

Creativity can also be used as a way to motivate students. In the paper, “Promoting

Creativity in the Middle Grades Language Arts Classroom,” by Katherine E. Batchelor and

William P. Bintz, Batchelor and Bintz reference multiple studies that found that creativity is

important to teach “because creativity is clearly important to any society's future (Batchelor and

Bintz, 4).” I think this is an obvious, but truthful statement. We are constantly developing as a

species, and without creativity we would not be able to develop, both individually and

collectively. However, creativity can not be used in the classroom without purpose. In order to be

the most successful, “creative experiences should be implemented because teachers understand

how such experiences benefit students (Batchelor and Bintz, 10).” This is vital to understand

because teachers have to use creativity with intent and with clear objectives. Teachers can not

just use creative assignments when they are bored, tired, or are unsure what to do. If the students

don’t see a reason for why they are being creative, the creative activity does not resonate with

students and does not help them learn. One topic that can be taught and enhanced through the use

of creative activities is empathy.

There seems to be a direct link between using creative activities and teaching empathy.

Rich Furman writes in his paper “Using Poetry and Written Exercises to Teach Empathy,” that
empathy “is often difficult for students (Furman, 103),” to understand because of the fact that it

is an “easy concept in theory (Furman, 103),” but is extremely difficult in practice. Furman

believes that writing and studying poetry can help promote empathy because it is so intertwined

with human emotions. One exercise that Furman explains is to have students write about “a time

in their lives when they felt deeply accepted and understood by someone (Furman, 105).” This

exercise helps students remember the feeling of being empathized with, while reflecting on what

happened that made them feel as understood as they did. The student can associate those feelings

of being understood with the techniques the person used to make them feel understood, and can

apply that to their own life to help people feel understood. By having students recognize the

positive feeling of being accepted and heard, as well as the action done to create that feeling, it

makes students become aware of how positively impactful people can be on their lives, and in

turn how they can positively impact other people’s lives.

Devising a Plan

The plan that I have for my future classroom is centered around discussions as well as

promoting creative writing. I think the idea of Open Mic Fridays where students bring in poems

they wrote to share with the class, is an idea that I fully support and wish to implement in my

classes. I think it not only promotes creativity, self expression, and respect for others, but I feel it

allows for the class as a whole to better understand each other and become a closer community. I

think this closeness and understanding promotes a positive learning environment where students

know that everyone will not only listen to and respect each other, but that everyone will have an

opportunity to share their ideas and more about themselves. Poetry is closely tied to human

emotions, and I think that using songs and music to teach poetry is a great way to get students
engaged without sacrificing meaningful content. I also think that using music allows for more

diversity in the content that is taught and where that content is coming from. I want to teach a

diverse range of authors, in terms of race, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status. I think

that allowing students to see a diverse range of authors leaves an extremely positive impression

on students, allowing them to listen to others, while believing that they are capable of

accomplishing anything.

Execute the Plan

The plan that I devised was overall successful in the lessons I taught, however there is

definitely room for improvement in each aspect. In terms of incorporating humor and energy into

the lesson, I found this to be successful, but with some setbacks. The use of humor was

successful in terms of keeping students engaged throughout the lesson. The high-energy level I

use along with humor keeps students engaged because it makes the speaker dynamic. Instead of a

monotone lecture where students can easily fade in and out of focus, energy and humor allow the

speaker’s words to rise and fall, creating a more enjoyable experience for the students. It is

significantly more enjoyable to listen to a speaker who you’re not entirely sure where they will

go next, in terms of their tone of voice and what they will say. It allows for students to separate

ideas and digest them easily, as opposed to a monotone lecture where all the ideas blend together,

becoming more difficult to separate and understand. Humor and energy keep students on their

toes, because the speaker becomes less predictable, making them more interesting to listen to.

However, there are some drawbacks to using humor and energy. As much as they can be

a way to engage students, if not utilized properly they can become a distraction. A joke that is

inappropriate in terms of content or timing can cause students to focus on the joke instead of the
content presented alongside the joke. The joke could become the takeaway idea, instead of a tool

used to facilitate that idea.

Humor can not only be a distraction from the content and ideas taught, but in a larger

picture can be a distraction from the class as a whole. Students may hear a joke they think is

really funny, and have jokes and ideas to build on the joke further to the whole class. While this

isn’t necessarily bad, as it can help to make students feel more comfortable, if it is not contained

it can sidetrack the class. This effect of sidetracking the class could also happen if students hear a

funny joke, and turn to the people near them to make more jokes. This could cause students to

get sucked into side conversations, and if this happens throughout the class, can ultimately

disrupt the momentum of the class and cause the teacher to lose control.

While these issues are definitely obstacles a teacher who uses humor will run into, I

believe there are ways to control and limit these negative effects. The first is preventative; the

teacher needs to think about the timing and content of their jokes. If a teacher makes

inappropriate jokes, the students will naturally have a reaction to those jokes. Similarly, if a

teacher uses a joke during a time where students are susceptible to talking, such as a joke to the

whole class while the students are working in groups, students are more likely to get distracted

by the joke. Teachers need to be cautious about when and how they use humor.

Teachers who use humor a lot also need to have the ability to quickly diffuse the situation

and reel students back into the lesson. I think that a significant part of this skill is already having

the respect of the students. If the students don’t already respect the teacher, they will be looking

for reasons to get distracted and will not feel compelled to rejoin the lesson. A teacher who uses

humor has to be able to balance being both humorous and serious, as well as be able to read the

situation to assess whether they can make jokes, or take a more serious tone.
 Another part of my signature pedagogy was being conscious of the materials presented to

students, favoring more relatable materials instead of the classic canon. I found that using

relatable materials was a very effective way to engage students. For my lesson on irony, I used a

clip from the popular movie Shrek to demonstrate the different types of irony. I found that this

was successful because not only is it a movie that students are fans of, but students are already

aware of the plot points of the movie, which allows them to focus on the content of the lesson,

instead of getting wrapped up in the movie itself. This is freeing for the teacher, because they do

not need to worry about how the students are digesting the material, because it has already been

digested by the students. The teacher and students both can focus on the actual content.

However, there are factors that teachers have to keep in mind when trying to use more

relatable materials. The biggest issue that could come from using relatable materials is using

materials that are unclear in their relation to the lesson and content. If this happens and students

are unable to connect the material to the lesson, the use of relatable materials will backfire and

become more of a distraction. Teachers need to have a clear idea of how they will use the

material and need to present it in a way that leaves no margin for confusion about how it relates

to the lesson. The teachers should try to reveal the material, after they had already led up to it

with content and a clear objective stated to the students. When presented in this way, students

will become engaged and excited to work with material they are already familiar with.

The final aspect of my signature pedagogy is allowing students opportunities to express

their ideas creatively. I did not get to use this as much in my lesson due to time constraints, but I

think I used it enough to understand that it can be effective. I think it is important to distinguish

that giving students creative opportunities does not only apply to creative writing and

arts-and-crafts activities, but can be as simple as giving students unique ways to share their ideas
about the content. I used this in my lesson on aesthetics when I asked students to try to figure out

the themes of a text they are not familiar with, based on the cover of the book or movie, only. I

found that students really engaged with this activity, because they were allowed to “investigate”

the covers and the materials, without any fear of being wrong or sounding stupid. The activity

was so subjective that there were no wrong answers, which gave students a sense of freedom.

The only issue that I can find with using creative activities is that they can be difficult to

individually assess. This was an issue in my activity, because students did the work as a group

and verbally shared their ideas, which made it difficult to assess each student’s individual idea.

While you can make the submission of the assignment individual and submitted in a more

tangible way than verbally, a teacher could use a different approach to assess students if they

want to preserve the group and verbal aspects of the activity. The teacher could talk with each

group while they are doing the work, asking each student what they felt the themes were and

why they felt that way. This tactic would give the teacher a stronger sense of each student’s

ability to analyze the cover, while preserving the group and verbal aspect of the assignment.

Other than this issue, I do not feel there are any downsides to allowing students opportunities to

express their ideas creatively.

Repeat the Steps

If I were to repeat the lessons I taught, there are some changes I would make to make my

signature pedagogy more effective. In terms of using humor, I would try to be more conscious of

when I am making the jokes that I make. I do not feel that any of my jokes were inappropriate

for a classroom setting, but I do feel that sometimes the jokes I made caused students to become

momentarily distracted from the lesson. I think that I was able to regain the attention of the
students throughout the lesson because the design of the lesson and the way I present it are

supposed to be engaging. However, I worry that I would not be able to regain the focus of high

school students, because I know that the students I taught this lesson to are my classmates and

already have an element of respect for me. I worry that if I teach this way in front of high school

students who do not already respect me, I will not be able to reel the class back in, making my

use of humor a distraction rather than a tool. In order to combat this fear, I think I need to

develop a more commanding and serious tone that I can use with students to establish a sense of

respect. It is much easier to start off strict and become more loose, than it is to start off loose and

become more strict.

In terms of using relatable materials, there is a challenge to find more substantial

relatable sources. Because the lessons I taught are shorter and taught individually, instead of full

lessons that build off each other everyday, I felt that using clips and covers that are relatable were

more appropriate than trying to teach a full book. However, in an actual classroom you have to

teach full length books. I can still use clips for lessons that focus solely on specific ideas, such as

irony, but I will have to teach full books as well. I fear that finding relatable books that are

approved by the school will be a much more difficult task than finding relatable clips. There are

definitely plenty of books that are relatable and school approved, but I will have to put

significant thought into which books are right for my students. I think this is something that I

will develop overtime through trial and error of different books, but it is still something I have to

be aware of.

In terms of giving the students creative opportunities, the challenge is fully planning all

the kinks of the lesson, so students see there is a clear objective. I feel that in my aesthetics

lesson there were some small issues that I have to work on, such as allotting enough time for
each group to share their ideas. However, I feel this is not a strenuous challenge to overcome.

This would be solved by creating a more structured lesson plan, where I am conscious of how

much time I am using for each portion of the lesson. In terms of using creative activities such as

Open Mic Poetry, I have yet to utilize these in a lesson, so I can not clearly state what I would

change or do differently. Either way, creativity has a place in the classroom, and the benefits of

giving creative opportunities heavily outweigh the manageable issues.

 References

Batchelor, K. E., & Bintz, W. P. (2013). Promoting creativity in the Middle Grades

Language arts classroom. Middle School Journal, 45(1), 3–11.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00940771.2013.11461876

Furman, Rich. “Using Poetry and Written Exercises to Teach Empathy.” Journal of Poetry

Therapy, vol. 18, no. 2, 2005, pp. 103–110., https://doi.org/10.1080/08893670500140549.

Garner, R. L. (2006). Humor in pedagogy: How ha-ha can lead to AHA! College Teaching,

54(1), 177–180. https://doi.org/10.3200/ctch.54.1.177-180