Discuss about the Folio For Literacy Teaching and Assessment Strategies.
The present report is a folio of literacy strategies and assessments designed to develop the knowledge of students while they work through the Unit 3: Stage 5.3, which is ‘On the Web’. The syllabus has been designed as per the NSW Syllabus for Years 7 to 10 (Educationstandards.nsw.edu.au, 2018). The curriculum focuses on engaging students in creative and innovative ways of learning and applying webpage design. The teacher is aware of influence of the World Wide Web on the lives of the people today and the need for teaching students about it. Two texts each from visual, spoken and written parts are used to provide a clear understanding of the topic to the students.
The report uses the outcomes of the Stage 5 of On the Web curriculum to provide instances of the strategies that are in practice. The literacy development of the students is structured and sequenced by utilizing the gradual release scaffolding model. Further, the report uses the multiliteracies pedagogy (MLP) and the learning by design framework to ensure the accomplishment of the sequences (Cope & Kalantzis, 2005). In order to assess the progress of the students, six assessment tasks have been used to track their development at each stage. Apart from that, an effort is made to increase the independent learning skills of the students by allowing them to use their gained knowledge practically. The learning needs of diverse students are also addressed by modifying the strategies as per their needs. Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives has been used to explain the literacy strategies used in the folio (Forehand, 2010).
The sequence of literacy development begins with the use of the written text used as an instance to teach the basics of webpage. The text is used to make students aware of the different terms and concepts associated with webpage. Once the students develop an idea of the different terms and concepts of webpage, they can move on to the next stage in the sequence. The written text demonstrates an understanding of concepts like html, its function in web design, coding, how developers use CSS along with its explanation.
Brainstorming is a strategy that is used to engage students in productive discussion in order to bring out their own ideas about the various concepts. It is also useful in producing new ideas. A brainstorming session at the start of the unit learning helps students grab a feel of the things to be covered throughout the unit. It would allow the students to learn about the new concepts of webpage and understand how each component functions. The teacher writes down the components of the webpage on the whiteboard and then asks each student whether she or he has heard about these concepts. In case of no response from the students, the teacher proceeds with the explanation of each concept by breaking down each component.
The students then are asked to read whatever is written on the board. After they are finished reading, the teacher gives them cards with the name of the different webpage component inscribed in it. When each card is distributed, the students are asked to describe what the word in the card means. They can be wrong with the description but it allows them to involve in a healthy discussion. The written text that comprises of the different elements of a webpage like the space, the simple navigation, contact information, ‘about us’ link, search link and others are presented as topics for brainstorming and discussion. With the help of brainstorming of these elements, students are able to explore their previous knowledge and experience they had while surfing on the net.
The teacher is aware of the varying learning needs of each student within the classroom and structures the literacy strategy and the sequence as per different needs. Diversity within the classroom refers to the culturally and linguistically diverse (CAL/D) students. While preparing the written text for the basics of webpage, the teacher uses the example of an author who belongs to a minority community. In this way, the teacher is able to connect to the students hailing from similar backgrounds. The learning techniques of students from minority backgrounds like Aboriginal community or others are different. Attention is given to the input of the webpage outline in the written text that varies according to the varying cultural and social contexts. The brainstorming strategy is thus targeted not only towards understanding the different concepts and elements of the webpage but also to understand the diverse cultures of the students.
As per the Multiliteracies Pedagogy (MLP), Critical framing is used as the literacy framework to address the topic of the text while ensuring the diverse needs of the students are met. Critical framing allows the students to interpret the cultural and social perspectives and view critically, the topic of study based on its context. Critical framing involves functional as well as critical learning design where students first analyze the topic’s logical source and then critically evaluate others and their own perceptions regarding it.
The assessment takes place after the students complete the brainstorming and discussion session about the basics of webpage. They are asked to name some of the elements of the webpage that they have recently come across while surfing on the net. After this, they are given the task to write down the concepts of webpage they remember during the brainstorming at the beginning. After analyzing each student’s initial learning, the teacher gives feedback. Böttcher (2011) considers feedback in learning assessment as a powerful tool to incite student’s desire to improve her or his learning.
This spoken text explains the importance of the World Wide Web and its influence in the contemporary setting. The teacher makes use of a video clip to explain to the students, the influence WWW had and is having on the lives of the people (Appendix B). The spoken text covers the second learning outcome of Stage 5.3 of Unit 3 that states:
Further, the teacher utilizes the text to increase the learning appetite of the students by instilling a sense of interest in them.
The strategy used in this section is the ‘Thinking Aloud’ strategy. Within this strategy, the teacher reads a text aloud in the classroom with variations in tone, pitch and pace and facial expressions. This enables the students to guess the level of importance any particular sentence or phrase might have. A valuable method, thinking aloud strategy enables students to be aware of the potential of their own thought processes and understandings. (De Freitas, 2017). While reading a text aloud to the class, the teacher demonstrates her or his own thought-process thus initiating the similar sequences amongst the students.
The teacher plays the video clip in front of the class and asks the students to watch it and note down what they see and hear. While watching the video clip on the Impact of World Wide Web, the teacher pauses at different moments of the video and speaks aloud to the class whatever she or he is thinking about the discussions made in the video (Appendix B). This strategy is mostly useful when teaching students about the influences and importance of technologies in the lives of people because, with the use of correct tone, pitch and facial expressions, the teacher is able to make convey the meaning clearly. Using this strategy also ensures the smooth transition of the students to the “zone of proximal development”. Further, it would allow the teachers to receive useful insights from the students thus initiating their independent learning journey.
The literacy strategy used in this sequence is aligned with the diversity within the classroom. Students coming from a lower socio-economic status are given the opportunity to learn without having to go through the complex process of reading and understanding. The teacher also uses the Hofstede model prior to addressing the diverse classroom in order to equip her or himself with adequate knowledge of different cultures and patterns of understanding (Kaur & Noman, 2015). Further, students with some physical and emotional disadvantages are also addressed by the use of this technique as it enables them to comprehend the influence of WWW on the world including their own culture.
Situated practice has been used as the literacy model to impart this strategy in the sequence. According to this model, teachers use techniques that immerse students in experience and enable them to utilize the present patterns of meaning. The design helps students make transition from the ‘known’ to the ‘new’. Students at first reflect on their previously gained knowledge, interests and perspectives and then indulge in learning new concepts. The read-aloud strategy aligns perfectly with the situated practice model and makes students aware of the influence of the technologies in life.
The assessment for this part involves the use of the web by the students to find other relevant video clips that explain the influence of technology or the World Wide Web in various spheres of life. The students are asked to search videos that talk about the advantages the WWW has brought to the people. After this activity, the teacher evaluates the videos chosen by the students and evaluates the level of their learning.
In this visual text, the image of a webpage in its initial stage is used juxtaposed with the visual of the web designer preparing the design of the web page (Appendix C). The visual helps the students capture the idea how a designer designs the web page. The students are made to realize that web page designing is largely similar to fashion designing where the outline of the attire is drawn prior to making the final product.
The strategies used in this sequence are graphic organizers and word webs. Graphic organizer refers to the visual display that shows the link between concepts and ideas (Ponce & Mayer, 2014). In this visual text, students are demonstrated the link between the work of a web designer and the concept of designing. Furthermore, graphic organizer majorly involves the use of diagram, or visuals or maps and hence it aligns nicely with the text. Word webs are part of graphic organizers that assist teachers in forming interesting strategies to help students learn complex concepts like web designing.
Students are first shown the two images of the webpage and the web designer and then they are asked to find different words related to the images. Further, they are asked to relate the concepts they find in both images and link those. The teacher would then input the ideas and words given by the students in the whiteboard. In this way, varied spectrum of concepts and ideas are gathered from the students themselves that furthers their independent learning skills.
Overt instruction is used here as the literacy model evident from the teacher’s use of the visuals and the students’ application of the learning. The use of word webs also refer to the model of overt instruction. Students first group the concepts or words they see in the images and then classify them. The students then connect the different terms or words with the ideas they have about web page and web designing.
The strategy of graphic organizer and word webs to impart teaching of the work of web designers also addresses the diversity aspect of the classroom. The teachers use Place-based teaching to address specifically students hailing from remote areas (Adams et al., 2014).
Formative assessment is used in this sequence to comprehend the learning progress of the students. In this assessment, students are asked to collect visuals from the web and create visual stories with those visuals. This type of assessment is used by teachers evaluate the student’s process before the completion of the unit. The teacher then has the chance to gain knowledge regarding the learning needs of the students.
This written text introduces the students to the concept of ethics and its importance in designing web. The teachers use the text to demonstrate to the student, the significance of ethics in web designing and in the World Wide Web as completely (Appendix D). The students also learn about the various virtue ethics in web designing (Appendix E). This gives them the chance to learn about the appropriateness of implementing technologies.
Facts and falsehood is a strategy implemented by teachers mostly to make learning easy for the students. The strategy provides the students with the opportunity to analyze the credibility and ingenuity of a statement. The strategy is aligned to the learning outcome 5.3.2 of the Stage 5.3, Unit 3 that states:
Every student is given the task to create a list of things they find unethical in any field. After that, they are asked to read the list aloud to the class. Other students tick the things that match with the student reading out the list. In this way, a common list is prepared and then the teacher prepares a questionnaire based on that list. The questionnaire has a set of statements, which the students have to tick either true or false.
This strategy has large scope for addressing the learning needs of diverse students. With the help of the questionnaire, the teacher can include statements that relate directly to the minority students. These statements are framed in such a way that makes the minority students feel good about their culture. Many students learning web designing have English as an Additional Language and Dialect (EAL/D). Therefore, the teacher could include a multilingual questionnaire keeping in mind the linguistic needs of the students.
The literacy framework used for this sequence is Transformed practice. Under this practice, the students’ learning is transferred in meaning-making practice, which then places the meaning in other contexts or cultures. The strategy of facts and falsehoods allow learners to apply their understanding and observance of the statements in the real world situations. This makes learning vibrant and easy to grasp. After the students observe their learned knowledge in real situations, they then apply it creatively to different contexts.
Students are assessed in this text by asking them to create an imaginary company and role-play the job of a web designer and company manager. In this way, the students are able to explore and demonstrate their skills and the learning they had, in one platform.
In this sequence, spoken text is used for teaching students the effectiveness of communication in presenting ideas of Web Design to a suitable company. The use of a video clip where the web designing ideas are proposed by a designer to a company is shown, is used to provide a better insight to students (Appendix F).
The literacy strategy used for this spoken text is the ‘Know, Want to know and Learned’ (KWL) strategy. With the help of this strategy, the teacher is able to know about the potential and desire of each student regarding the learning of communication and its effectiveness in presenting Web Design ideas. The students are asked to first describe everything they know about communication, then they prepare a list of things they want to know and finally after the completion of the task, they prepare the list of things they learned.
The framework used for this sequence is text analysis that is a part of the Four Resources Model (Luke & Freebody, 1999). The framework guides the students to understand the author’s purposes. Further, the framework helps students understand the way these texts positions themselves in the real situation.
The diverse learning needs of the students are addressed by this strategy in the context where students from minority background are asked to come forward and share whatever they know about communication and web design as well.
In order to assess the progress of the students, the formative assessment is used. In this assessment, the students are asked to present a proposal of web designing to the teacher. The students would present a verbal presentation to the teacher by modeling off the video clip text. The teacher then evaluates how well the student has understood the importance of communicating properly a web design.
In this text, visual aid is used to teach the students ways to present a webpage after designing. The importance of learning management strategies when designing web is also taught using the visual text. The text includes three pictures – one of a manager giving presentation, one of a completed webpage and one of a successful transaction of webpage design proposal (Appendix G).
The literacy strategy used for this visual text is collaborative group activity. The strategy is pat for the text used because it involves united effort from the students to learn and achieve. The activity desires students to form groups and work on a project concerning the designing of the webpage and presenting it to the company (Acharya & Sinha, 2018).
Text participant framework is evident from the literacy strategy used for this activity. The text-participant framework that forms a part of the Four Resources Model, brings out the semantic competence of the student. Semantic competence refers to the ability of the students to understand or interpret meanings from various texts like poem and so on and in case of web designing, the various codes designed by web designers.
Learning needs of students with ADHD are addressed by this strategy as they have a chance to work with other students. ADHD students often become isolated and thus violent, disturbing the proceedings in the class (Hamilton & Astramovich, 2016). Collaborative activity gives them a chance to be with others and have a fun way of learning.
At this stage, Summative Assessment is used to assess the overall progress of the students. the summative assessment includes components of all previous assessments to evaluate whether the students have properly understood the topic or not.
References:
Acharya, A., & Sinha, D. (2018). A “Mixed” Strategy for Collaborative Group Formation and Its Learning Outcomes. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 0047239517749246.
Adams, A. E., Miller, B. G., Saul, M., & Pegg, J. (2014). Supporting elementary pre-service teachers to teach STEM through place-based teaching and learning experiences. Electronic Journal of Science Education, 18(5).
Böttcher, E. (2011). Assessment For Learning: The Role of Feedback. Teachers College, Columbia University Working Papers in TESOL & Applied Linguistics, 11(1), 48-49.
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2005). A pedagogy of Multiliteracies designing social futures. In Multiliteracies: Lit Learning (pp. 19-46). Routledge.
De Freitas, E. (2017). What were you thinking? A Deleuzian/Guattarian analysis of communication in the mathematics classroom. In Contesting Governing Ideologies(pp. 96-111). Routledge.
Educationstandards.nsw.edu.au. (2018). Design and Technology | NSW Education Standards. Retrieved from https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/stage-6-learning-areas/technologies/design-and-technology-syllabus
Forehand, M. (2010). Bloom’s taxonomy. Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology, 41, 47.
Hamilton, N. J., & Astramovich, R. L. (2016). Teaching strategies for students with ADHD: Findings from the field. Education, 136(4), 451-460.
Kaur, A., & Noman, M. (2015). Exploring Classroom Practices in Collectivist Cultures Through the Lens of Hofstede’s Model. The Qualitative Report, 20(11), 1794.
Luke, A., & Freebody, P. (1999). Further notes on the four resources model. Reading online, 3.
Ponce, H. R., & Mayer, R. E. (2014). An eye movement analysis of highlighting and graphic organizer study aids for learning from expository text. Computers in human behavior, 41, 21-32.
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