Learner as a Focus for the Assessment
The learner chosen for this assessment is Laura, a 5-year-old White girl. She grows in a middle-class family with one sister and one brother. Laura’s parents are substantially interested in traveling, taking their children with them and cultivating their peaceful cooperation and appropriate behavior both at home and outside it. In this case, it is possible to assume that countless experiences received in trips, along with having siblings and parents’ guidance, have formed Laura’s excellent communication skills, vivid imagination, and the principles of interaction with others. In particular, she has a great level of social connectedness, being able to establish contact with almost any child – that is why she has many friends, and other students always express happiness and delight from meeting her. Laura’s interests include drawing, clay modeling, animals, dancing, and watching Disney cartoons.
In addition, Laura’s level of emotional development corresponds to her age – she has appropriate impulsive control and expresses emotions in a way suitable for the majority of mentally healthy 5-year-old children. Interacting with others, the learner expresses herself and her feeling in constructive ways respecting an opponent’s position in the majority of cases as well. It is obvious that due to her experience received in traveling and her parents’ explanations, Laura has a deep understanding that people are different, and their emotions and opinions may be different too.
At the same time, Laura’s level of intellectual development is highly satisfactory as well. She is able to keep attention during learning activities, quickly perceives a teacher’s instructions, ask meaning full questions, follows discipline, and has the motivation to receive knowledge. She speaks using relatively complex sentences, retell a teacher’s short stories, and may construct her own ones. Laura’s vocabulary exceeds her age’s standard one due to her traveling-related experience and her parent’s attention to her development. In addition, she understands multiple abstract concepts, such as love, goodness, hate, or arrogance, and may articulate her knowledge in simple words. The girl’s prerequisite knowledge includes counting to 10, attentive listening, excellent motor and primary reading skills, and the ability to define the main components of a story.
At the same time, regardless of her multiple strengths. Laura has weaknesses as well. In particular, the learner can identify the major elements of a story, such as characters, plot, and location, however, such elements as the main theme and conflict are not always perceived by her. Watching cartoons and listening to a teacher’s reading, Laura immerses herself in a story due to her imagination. However, its meaning, morale, lessons that may be learned, and their application to real-life situations are frequently missed. Finally, Laura communicates with peers and completes learning tasks in groups freely. However, a teacher’s question addressed exclusively to her may make her feel shy to answer.
Learning Goal
On the basis of background information, it is obvious that the learner’s strengths include excellent communication skills, vivid imagination, an appropriate level of emotional and intellectual development, and prerequisite knowledge related to the comprehension of a story. At the same time, the learner’s weaknesses refer to the inability to analyze a story in order to define its theme, morale, character’s motives, lessons that may be learned, and their real-life application. Thus, this assignment is aimed at increasing the student’s flexibility of reflection and the ability to conduct a comprehensive analysis. The learning goal will be a student’s ability to analyze the story by obtaining fundamental points, and morals and surmising the motivation of the characters. In addition, particular attention should be paid to enhancing the feeling of comfort during broad class discussions and students’ self-confidence in communicating their personal views and conclusions, as the learner may demonstrate ambiguity non-tolerance in relation to various classroom situations.
Baseline Data
According to the assessment of the learner’s strengths and weaknesses related to obtained skills, prerequisite knowledge, and learning goals, it is possible to state that with the help of a teacher, the learner has enough competence to be responsible for the learning process and its outcomes to strengthen her understanding of learning materials and develop self-confidence following a teacher’s instructions. In this case, the gradual release model of education may be regarded as the most applicable method of teaching in relation to this learner. In general, it may be defined as a “practice instructional model where teachers strategically transfer the responsibility in the learning process from the teacher to the students” (ACPS Talent Development, n.d., para. 1). The principles of the model’s efficiency are determined by its four phases, including the following:
- I Do. In a specific focus lesson, a teacher models objectives and learning goals. He establishes the lesson’s purpose based on learning outcomes that are expected and clearly communicates it to students (Frey & Fisher, 2013). In addition, teaching modeling presupposes the provision of examples of required language and modes of thinking to students.
- We Do. A teacher and students form and follow guided instructions. In particular, a teacher uses various cues, prompts, and questions to stimulate students’ reflection and facilitate understanding (Frey & Fisher, 2013). Working all together or in small groups, a teacher should focus on the promotion of student’s confidence in answering and participation in discussion to support their individual learning in the future.
- You Do Together. In the classroom, collaborative learning with partners or in small groups occurs. During it, students should be involved and motivated by their contribution to cooperative performance and its successful outcomes. A teacher may monitor group work providing students “with an opportunity to consolidate their understanding before they apply it independently” (Frey & Fisher, 2013, p. 2).
- You Do Alone. Students practice independently, and their understanding may be evaluated with the use of formative assessments and indicate success or the necessity of reteaching. At the same time, independent learning is a stage that should be activated only when students are fully ready for the application of received knowledge to new situations.
Lesson Objectives
On the basis of the learning goal and the baseline data, lesson objectives may be presented as the following.
- Students can summarize the story by obtaining fundamental points.
- Students can understand the characters of the story and explain their motives.
- Students can see the central moral of the story and understand how to apply it in real life.
- Students can see the central conflict of the story and understand how to resolute it and apply receive knowledge in real life.
Lesson objectives are based on the following Applicable State Standard(s) (NCSCOS):
- RI.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text
- RI.K.2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text
- RI.K.3 With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
Learning Segment of Lessons
Communication Skill
In relation to defined learning goal and lesson objectives and with the consideration of the learner’s strengths and weaknesses, communication skills that may be addressed are retelling a story, asking a teacher requesting assistance, answering questions, selecting the right sign, communicating with peers through comments and questions, and responding to a prompt or cue. It goes without saying that Laura’s communication skills necessary for lessons should focus on her interaction with a teacher as her communication skills related to cooperation with peers may be defined as excellent. At the same time, the learner experience difficulties with answering a teacher’s questions addressed exclusively to her and a teacher’s attention may make her feel uncomfortable and shy even when she knows the right answer. Thus, the learner’s single communication skill that should be considered by a teacher during lessons is responding to a prompt or cue. If Laura does it successfully, her self-esteem will improve and she will not feel shy answering individual questions in the future.
The use of the learner’s defined communication skills should be supported in the classroom. In particular, when a teacher asks Laura, he may use prompts and clues to initiate her answering and support her efforts and right answers by word constructions, such as “well done,” “Your idea is so creative,” “it is totally okay to make a mistake, try again,” “I like how you try,” “you are able to do anything” and so on, to encourage her. At the same time, the same strategy should be applied to other students. In this case, the learner will understand that everyone may be asked and it is a normal practice – there is nothing to feel shy or worried about. Moreover, the learner will see that making mistakes is natural and it is an intrinsic and inevitable part of any learning process. Thus, focusing on defined communication skills may boost the learner’s confidence and improve her self-esteem. In the future, she will be able to answer a teacher’s questions independently.
Key Instructional and Support Materials
The key support material for lessons is a book with a fairy tale. In general, any fairy tale is suitable for the class discussion, but there is a crucial need for a conflict of characters and a pronounced morality – in this case, “Beauty and the Beast” is a recommended option. In addition, the classroom environment is important for positive academic outcomes as well. In general, physical environment presupposes the presence of a clean, light, and warm space with desks and a board, however, in the case of kindergarten education, desks may be replaced by single chairs or soft armchairs. In addition, students may be provided with a choice where to sit as it is highly essential for them to feel as comfortable as possible during all levels of analysis.
Moreover, classroom atmosphere plays an important role in the learning process as well. In this case, it is essential for a teacher to establish and support a friendly and inclusive environment in which all learners regardless of their cultural and social background, may feel welcomed. In addition, in response to learners’ age and the level of their psychological and cognitive development, every complex discussion is conducted first in small groups of 2-3 people and then in front of the whole class. It is reasonable to take all prospects into account if they are well-reasoned and visibly reflect the individual perception of the student. The teacher needs to encourage the ability to converse openly and demonstrate a comprehensive analysis and understanding of the story. If overall discussion makes some students feel shy and confused, the teacher can offer an alternative to the written presentation of the opinion (with the help of parents). Moreover, a teacher should encourage learners’ discussion in the classroom providing clues and prompts and supporting their efforts to participate by verbal positive enforcement. Nevertheless, students’ individual features and learning abilities should be considered.
In addition, a teacher’s behavior during every phase deserve particular attention as well. For instance, providing guidance requires calm and positive articulation of necessary information, while asking questions and group discussion presuppose active engagement in contrast with non-intervention during small group’s discussions and individual learning. In general, behaviors may include voice level, body moves and body placement, appropriate level for communication, the use of verbal positive enforcement, active listening postures, expression of emotions, and the transition between activities. At the same time, the peculiarities of kindergarten education and learners’ age presuppose the limitation of the stage of individual learning. In other words, learners will work mainly in groups or altogether, however, individual presentations will be heavily supported. For assessment of learning outcomes, group discussions will be organized as they will allow evaluating students’ understanding as well. The purpose of the lesson in not only to provide materials but to help them develop their creative and analytical skills along with confidence in the classroom to be able to work independently in the future.
References
ACPS Talent Development. (n.d.). Gradual release model. ACPS Talent Development. Web.
Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2013). Gradual release of responsibility instructional framework. ASCD. Web.