Models of Teaching

1. (a) One of my unit plans major strengths is the way in which it utilized many different teaching strategies that are compatible with the different ways in which students learn. Visual learners are able to benefit from in class activities such as identifying vocabulary words on a blueprint and collecting magazine photos of items from the vocabulary list and making a collage. Students who learn best through physical activity will become more familiar with vocabulary words through activities like purchasing the vocabulary items at a simulated store and participating in role play activities.

Students who learn by hearing will also benefit from role play activities and hearing and using the vocabulary in the dialogue that will be used and practiced in class. Another strength of my unit plan is the emphasis it places on combing individual learning activities with group work. Individual activities will allow the student to commit the daily lessons to memory at his or her own pace, and they will also allow an informal opportunity for assessment. Group activities will facilitate the development of the students’ social skill.

(b) My plan focuses heavily on the Application level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Students are required to use the newly acquired vocabulary words to describe items they may need for class. They are also required to use the words to describe items they have at home, and items they would like to have, thus allowing the students to apply the newly learned words to everyday life. The students will also apply the vocabulary in activities such as the simulated store setting and in group activities in which they will engage in dialogue and describe the items they have in class.

(c) I would strengthen my plan by creating more interdisciplinary learning experience. Although my plan does somewhat incorporate interdisciplinary learning by including an activity in which students will identify vocabulary items that are needed for other classes (i.e. pencil, eraser, calculator for math), there are other ways in which different academic subject areas may be combined to facilitate learning in Spanish.

2. (a) Assessment will have two primary roles in my instruction. First, it will serve to help in gauging the different ways in which the students learn and their areas of strength and weakness. In this way, assessment will provide feedback regarding how lessons and teaching methods can be tailored to best meet the needs of each student.

(b) Second, state standards will serve as a minimum target level of achievement that I would work to assist each student in meeting and exceeding.

(c) An example of an assessment that I would use to gain feedback is the oral vocabulary test, which requires the students to listen to, spell, and define the word. Tests which focus on grammar and writing skills will not only be used to gauge the student’s skill levels, but they will also be used to ensure that the students are meeting state requirements in areas such as writing, grammar, and comprehension.

3. I would first look at the areas in which the students struggled as well are areas in which the students may have strengths. I would then determine the ways in which student is best able to learn (i.e. visually, orally, or by participating in activities). After determining the student’s learning style, I would focus on these students more during activities which incorporate the specific style in which the student is best able to learn. Finally, I would pair those students who struggle with stronger students during group activities so that the students who struggled on last year’s assessments may interact with their peers and be helped by them.

B. I would like to incorporate a real-life example that focuses on the lesson (i.e. a Spanish-themed television show, video, book, or movie that focuses on the typical day of Spanish youth at home and at school). After presenting the material to the class, the students would report on their observations of a typical day in the life of the Spanish characters, and they would give their opinions on Spanish culture and how it compares to their own culture. This activity would help students improve their listening skills (in the case of a video, television show, or movie) or their reading skills (in the case of a book). The report that the students would be required to complete and present would allow students to develop their writing and presentation skills.