RDG 323 Portfolio_Isabelle Newman

Reflection #2: How can I plan and design instruction so students will actively engage in literacy

and discipline specific activities?

Module 2 has presented me with the question: How can I plan and design instruction so

students will actively engage in literacy and discipline specific activities? With our current cross-

content signature assignment underway, I have been able to see the fruit of this specific work

(student engagement) through a collaborative effort on behalf of myself and my partner. Strictly

from this team assignment, I have been able to plan instruction around topics for my students to

increase engagement and motivation. Some of these instructional activities include researching

current events and pop culture references relating to my learning objective, standard, or theme.

Some other instructional activities planned to help increase student engagement and motivation

within the classroom through this team assignment include giving students a choice in what they

are learning, allowing frequent yet appropriate hands- on activities, and implementing an

inquiry- based format for appropriate lesson plans.

From a module standpoint, student engagement and motivation can be pulled from

creating conditions for deeper learning. Utilizing the 4 stages of deeper learning by Wickline, I

have concluded that the 4th stage is the most unused (derived mainly from personal experiences):

“…deliberate practice of deeper learning outcomes,” (2015). Instilling a school culture, creating

a collaborative faculty, and having teachers who design meaningful learning experiences for

their students can all lead to deeper learning, but it does not instill deeper learning without that

4th step. Deeper learning is different than a traditional/ surface learning setting for many reasons,

some of them being students… “… are interactively learning…fully engaged in an authentic

learning has a value beyond school,” (ASCD Guest Blogger, 2018).

Digital environments have provided obvious hurdles when it comes to students’

engagement and motivation, deeper learning, and ultimately a lack of a relationship between

student and teacher. However, as future teachers, that cannot be an excuse we accept and ‘roll

with’. In all actuality, finding differing technology platforms and programs for students to

explore within their learning journey and establishing class norms (whether virtual or in-person)

can not only help keep them stay engaged in the content material but aid in the development of

teacher- student relationships.

Formative assessments are a way to gauge student engagement and help motivate

students in a positive manner. If done well, students will build self- efficacy and self- confidence

in their intellectual abilities and oftentimes continue to work hard. If done poorly, you can give

them enough reason to improve upon their recent knowledge and provide positive motivation in

striving towards mastery of an objective and ultimately mastering a standard. You can also use

this specific instance to not only reflect upon student and teacher weaknesses and strengths, but

you can use this opportunity to “…establish a learning purpose,” (Fischer & Frey, 2014). The

lack of informing students of the purpose behind their education can often lead to

disengagement, lack of motivation, a lack of deeper learning, and ultimately failure in your

course if not properly addressed. This is what I understand to be the “explicit strategy

instruction”. Being as transparent with your students as possible in such situations can help avoid

some of those negative outcomes due to lack of student engagement and motivation.

Text complexity, I’ve learned, is very applicable to what I am learning in BLE 407 right

now. I need to take into consideration differing reading levels in addition to Lexile levels and
English proficiency levels. It is more than important to consider when discussing content and

ELA standards (content and language objectives) as students can easily become overwhelmed

and disengaged from the content when given text that is too difficult for them to understand. I

believe the same could also be said when considering texts that are too easy for students as well.

Content objectives, on the one hand, explain the expected mastery a student is to get after a

following unit or give timeframe. Language objectives, on the other hand, give us the

expectations we hold of students regarding reading, writing, listening and speaking. In addition

to evaluating our chosen content area, we are evaluating how well students are able to explore

texts and understand them on their own terms as well. These differing objectives give us varying

frameworks to work with in regard to planning instruction.

Reflection #1: What is Disciplinary Literacy and Why Does it Matter?

For me, 21st century literacy is the willingness of an induvial to learn “and relearn” the

ability to “create and curate” new information with evolving intelligences beyond the 21st

century skillset (Whitte, et al., 2019) (Institute for the Future, 2013). Through our module

assignments and practices, I have learned that there is a greater pressure on 21st century literacy

for students and that this term and what it encompasses is constantly expanding and maturing. I

have realized in order to become the teacher I want to be, and the teacher my students need, I

will be required to meet them on the literacy levels they are at and work with them to improve

and fine- tune these skills to best suit them in a world where 21st century literacy doesn’t only

include reading and writing.

the ‘facts’ were derived from inquiry,” (Cervetti, G. & Pearson, D.P., 2012). In my personal

opinion, scientific DL is largely centered around the scientific method. Within this method, it is

evident that science has a strong inclination towards certain literacy qualities including but not

limited to skepticism, speculation, questioning, a scientific attitude, interpretation, dissection,

and reasoning. The ability to question or critique a scientific paper would be a major goal I’d like

to set for myself and my future students. Science is a unique discipline in that its experts critique

themselves, the scientific method, and the roots of science frequently. However, this also points

to the fact that other disciplines are unique in their own ways, too. As I have pointed out in my

disciplinary literacy paper and in class, you cannot dissect and critique a scientific paper the

same as you would a poem by Robert Frost or a historical biography of Adolf Hitler during the

WWII era. This is why teaching specific literacy practices are so important: literacy is not just

reading and writing anymore, it is discipline specific.

The two specific types of diverse learners that I read and researched about where those

with dyslexia and the general idea and theory of neurodiversity. Just by comparing these two out

of the plethora of diverse learners, I have gained a greater understanding of how different minds

work, and not just from a teaching perspective either! These diverse learning needs that students

possess don’t just show their weaknesses, but their strengths and ability to persevere in light of

those weaknesses. Some issues that students with diverse learning needs have are the resources

to succeed; whether this is a specialist at the school, a certain program (e.g. dictation program for

those who are unable to physically write), or just simply differentiation in instruction, all of these

reasons can give way to unequal opportunity to succeed. This is a right all students have and a

right that all teachers need to uphold regardless of whoever walks through their classroom door.
This is an lack of equity in the classroom which is prevalent in many forms and in varying

severities.
 References

Cervetti, G. & Pearson, D.P. (2012). Reading, Writing, and Thinking Like a Scientist [A

Commentary]. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 55(7), p. 580-586. DOI:

10.1002/JAAL.0069

Institute for the Future (2013). From Education Institutions to Learning Flows. Instittue for the

Future. Retrieved from

https://www.iftf.org/fileadmin/user_upload/downloads/ourwork/SR-1580-

IFTF_Future_of_Learning.pdf

Whitte, S. et. al. (2019). Definition of Literacy in a Digital Age. National Council of

Teachers of English. Retrieved from https://ncte.org/statement/nctes-definition-

literacy-digital-age/