Standard One | Teaching Diverse Students
The competent teacher understands the diverse characteristics and abilities of each student and how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences. The teacher uses these experiences to create instructional opportunities that maximize student learning.
Artifact 1: Diversity in the Context of Fahrenheit 451 Lesson Plan.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator A: understands the spectrum of student diversity (e.g., race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status,special education, gifted, English language learners (ELL), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity) and the assets that each student brings to learning across the curriculum.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator B: understands how each student constructs knowledge, acquires skills, and develops effective and efficient critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
Growth in Performance Indicator B: stimulates prior knowledge and links new ideas to already familiar ideas and experiences.
Below is a lesson plan that I created as part of a larger unit on Fahrenheit 451, which has a website that can be found here. I collaborated with a group of four students in CI 403 in the Fall 2012 semester at the University of Illinois to develop the unit, although the lessons from week four, including the one below, were created solely by myself. We imagined a classroom of diverse students, and I tailored my lesson plan to allow students to bring their own unique backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge about race, gender, socio-economic status, and cultural diversity into the classroom. The lesson focuses on diversity in the students' lives and in the world, and asks them to reflect on and discuss equity of representation for racial and cultural minorities in particular.
Artifact 1: Diversity in the Context of Fahrenheit 451 Lesson Plan.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator A: understands the spectrum of student diversity (e.g., race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status,special education, gifted, English language learners (ELL), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity) and the assets that each student brings to learning across the curriculum.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator B: understands how each student constructs knowledge, acquires skills, and develops effective and efficient critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
Growth in Performance Indicator B: stimulates prior knowledge and links new ideas to already familiar ideas and experiences.
Below is a lesson plan that I created as part of a larger unit on Fahrenheit 451, which has a website that can be found here. I collaborated with a group of four students in CI 403 in the Fall 2012 semester at the University of Illinois to develop the unit, although the lessons from week four, including the one below, were created solely by myself. We imagined a classroom of diverse students, and I tailored my lesson plan to allow students to bring their own unique backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge about race, gender, socio-economic status, and cultural diversity into the classroom. The lesson focuses on diversity in the students' lives and in the world, and asks them to reflect on and discuss equity of representation for racial and cultural minorities in particular.
Reflection 1: As my goal for this lesson plan was to foster appreciation for diversity in my students, allowing them to share their experiences and analyze new aspects of multiculturalism, it exemplifies Standard One of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards. The lesson asks students to think critically about what identities, voices, and cultures are marginalized within our society and within the world. With an increased awareness of the many different kinds of diversity (be it race, gender, sexual orientation, ability status, level of education, socio-economic status, or culture) and hands-on experience researching and reflecting on diversity in the media and the social treatment of diverse cultures, students will become advocates of diversity. They will come into contact with perspectives different than their own, learning about and gaining respect for different ways of life. The lesson begins by connecting the theme of diversity to Fahrenheit 451, asking students to reflect individually first and then discuss their thoughts as a class. The idea that a true sense of community and personal fulfillment comes from the acceptance of diversity is eschewed by the people within Fahrenheit 451, which leads to a world of ignorance, fear, and control. I want students to think about how such conformity and marginalization occurs within the real world. Students will reflect on censorship, bias, and discrimination - whether intentional or not - in areas of life such as mass media. To utilize students' diverse strengths within the class and target their skills at analysis, reflection, and research, I differentiated the style of instruction and activities throughout the period. I also incorporated independent reflection in the Quick Write,
and I focused class discussion on their prior knowledge of and feelings surrounding the concept of diversity and inclusivity. This fits with Knowledge Indicator B, which states that a teachers "understands how each student constructs knowledge...[and] develops effective and efficient critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities," and with Performance Indicator B, which requires teachers to "[stimulate] prior knowledge and [link] new ideas to already familiar ideas and experiences." Finally, I structured independent work using technology to give them freedom and creativity to explore certain topics. With diversity being such an important issue within society, I wanted students to have meaningful, private reflection as well as open communication with each other and with me. The discussions highlight "the unique assets that each student brings to the classroom," and both the discussion and the research help students "understand the spectrum of student diversity," both aspects of Knowledge Indicator A. On top of the benefits this lesson has for students, it reminds me to continually think about diversity in new ways, reflecting on it and making connections to myself and my community and learning more about the world. This is an engaging and relevant lesson that will prompt students' critical thinking skills and stay with them throughout the continuation of their day and beyond.
and I focused class discussion on their prior knowledge of and feelings surrounding the concept of diversity and inclusivity. This fits with Knowledge Indicator B, which states that a teachers "understands how each student constructs knowledge...[and] develops effective and efficient critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities," and with Performance Indicator B, which requires teachers to "[stimulate] prior knowledge and [link] new ideas to already familiar ideas and experiences." Finally, I structured independent work using technology to give them freedom and creativity to explore certain topics. With diversity being such an important issue within society, I wanted students to have meaningful, private reflection as well as open communication with each other and with me. The discussions highlight "the unique assets that each student brings to the classroom," and both the discussion and the research help students "understand the spectrum of student diversity," both aspects of Knowledge Indicator A. On top of the benefits this lesson has for students, it reminds me to continually think about diversity in new ways, reflecting on it and making connections to myself and my community and learning more about the world. This is an engaging and relevant lesson that will prompt students' critical thinking skills and stay with them throughout the continuation of their day and beyond.
Artifact 2: "Sleepy Hollow" Introductory Lesson
Growth in Knowledge Indicator B: understands how each student constructs knowledge, acquires skills, and develops effective and efficient critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator C: understands how teaching and student learning are influenced by development (physical, social and emotional, cognitive, linguistic), past experiences, talents, prior knowledge, economic circumstances and diversity within the community.
Growth in Performance Indicator B: stimulates prior knowledge and links new ideas to already familiar ideas and experiences.
Growth in Performance Indicator E: uses information about students’ individual experiences, families, cultures, and communities to create meaningful learning opportunities and enrich instruction for all students.
Below is a lesson that I created for a unit on Romanticism and 19th century American literature during my student teaching experience. For this lesson, I wanted to contextualize the importance of Irving's work in creating a sense of national unity and American pride - I felt that the concept of cultural growth and the creation of cultural legends would resonate with my students.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator B: understands how each student constructs knowledge, acquires skills, and develops effective and efficient critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator C: understands how teaching and student learning are influenced by development (physical, social and emotional, cognitive, linguistic), past experiences, talents, prior knowledge, economic circumstances and diversity within the community.
Growth in Performance Indicator B: stimulates prior knowledge and links new ideas to already familiar ideas and experiences.
Growth in Performance Indicator E: uses information about students’ individual experiences, families, cultures, and communities to create meaningful learning opportunities and enrich instruction for all students.
Below is a lesson that I created for a unit on Romanticism and 19th century American literature during my student teaching experience. For this lesson, I wanted to contextualize the importance of Irving's work in creating a sense of national unity and American pride - I felt that the concept of cultural growth and the creation of cultural legends would resonate with my students.
Reflection 2:
The lesson embedded above reflects Standard One of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, which requires teachers to "maximize student learning" with their understanding of "how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences." As my lesson was introducing students to Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow," I wanted to capitalize on their patriotism and pride in small-town American culture. Knowledge Indicators B and C ask that teachers "[understand] how each student constructs knowledge" and "[understand] how teaching and student learning are influenced by...past experiences, talents, prior knowledge, economic circumstances and diversity within the community" respectively. I knew that my lesson would be more engaging to students if I made it relevant to their cultural identities, and I knew our discussion would be more in-depth if I asked them to share their individual ideas of what it means to be "American." Together as a class, we constructed the importance of national identity and the role that literature plays in developing it, especially during Irving's time. By tying in background on "Sleepy Hollow" with students' diverse backgrounds and communities, students understood the context and importance behind the work. The lesson also went well because I connected it to past lessons on romanticism, and compared Irving's work and purpose with Poe's, the last author we read. This exemplifies Performance Indicator B, which calls for teachers to "[stimulate] prior knowledge and links new ideas to already familiar ideas and experiences." Finally, by drawing on my students' small-town background and community pride, I showed my skill at Performance Indicator E, which states that a competent teacher "uses information about students’ individual experiences, families, cultures, and communities to create meaningful learning opportunities and enrich instruction for all students." Since we talked about the development of rural culture versus urban culture, all students could participate and relate. The overarching topic - the development of American cultural identity or America's "coming of age," both socially and within literature - linked the lesson to ideas and experiences that are familiar to students. With every student having both unique and similar concepts of what it means to be American, what legends are most important to the development of our culture, and what ideals we have held the longest, this lesson utilized their diverse experiences and ideas and played up students' commonalities as well; the effect was an engaging lesson that helped build students' background knowledge and interest in reading.
The lesson embedded above reflects Standard One of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, which requires teachers to "maximize student learning" with their understanding of "how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences." As my lesson was introducing students to Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow," I wanted to capitalize on their patriotism and pride in small-town American culture. Knowledge Indicators B and C ask that teachers "[understand] how each student constructs knowledge" and "[understand] how teaching and student learning are influenced by...past experiences, talents, prior knowledge, economic circumstances and diversity within the community" respectively. I knew that my lesson would be more engaging to students if I made it relevant to their cultural identities, and I knew our discussion would be more in-depth if I asked them to share their individual ideas of what it means to be "American." Together as a class, we constructed the importance of national identity and the role that literature plays in developing it, especially during Irving's time. By tying in background on "Sleepy Hollow" with students' diverse backgrounds and communities, students understood the context and importance behind the work. The lesson also went well because I connected it to past lessons on romanticism, and compared Irving's work and purpose with Poe's, the last author we read. This exemplifies Performance Indicator B, which calls for teachers to "[stimulate] prior knowledge and links new ideas to already familiar ideas and experiences." Finally, by drawing on my students' small-town background and community pride, I showed my skill at Performance Indicator E, which states that a competent teacher "uses information about students’ individual experiences, families, cultures, and communities to create meaningful learning opportunities and enrich instruction for all students." Since we talked about the development of rural culture versus urban culture, all students could participate and relate. The overarching topic - the development of American cultural identity or America's "coming of age," both socially and within literature - linked the lesson to ideas and experiences that are familiar to students. With every student having both unique and similar concepts of what it means to be American, what legends are most important to the development of our culture, and what ideals we have held the longest, this lesson utilized their diverse experiences and ideas and played up students' commonalities as well; the effect was an engaging lesson that helped build students' background knowledge and interest in reading.