Applying Effective Principles - Unit 3

Scenario
Your LINC Level 3 class is comprised of a mixture of stay-at-home moms, seniors, and youth. Many of the students have previously asked you about volunteer opportunities. You are preparing a unit on community and government services. You have the LINC 3 Classroom Activities resource available (http://www.moresettlement.org/LINC1-4/LINC4/LINC_3_Classroom_Activities.pdf). You may choose any activity from Community and Government Services module (pp. 273-310) for this scenario.

From the above scenario, what principles for material development would you focus on? What would you change from the resource link above?

Principles

Learning should be:

-          Authentic

-          Relevant

-          Catered to learners learning styles

-          Task-oriented

Materials should:

-          Include all different language skills (writing, speaking, reading, listening)

-          Be authentic

-          Be engaging

-          Push learners to think critically but still being successful

-          Have real life characteristics

Do the materials help accomplish the purpose of the lesson?

Are the materials engaging for my learners (stay-at-home moms, seniors, and youth)?

Do the lesson include an engaging and real-life task?

Are my learners successful but also challenged?

Principles Criteria Explanation:

I listed a few of the principles that I value in the classroom in regards to learning and the materials used. This is not a comprehensive list but a foundation on which I hope to expand upon yet. The questions below the principles, in my mind, bind all the principles together. They are based on these principles. With my material and lesson teaching lining up with these questions, they should also be lining up with my principles which produces a successful learning environment for my students.

The two principles that I would like to highlight is the principle of both teaching and material being relevant and material being engaging. I realize that not all learning appears relevant to a student at all times but I want my students to realize the bigger picture in each lesson. For example, this lesson is based on volunteering opportunities. I would point out volunteer opportunities in the neighborhood, include a video or presentation by a local charity and of course give resources for my students to get involved. By doing this, I hopefully create an engaging and relevant topic to my students, perk their interest, if it was not already, and prove to them that this can be their experience in the real world.

The activity I chose was Volunteer Opportunities p. 290-293

Changes to the resources? Why?

One thing I would change about these resources is to add a reading comprising of volunteer opportunities in the neighborhood. I would quickly explain 2-3 different opportunities and allow students to choose which one they would like to read about. It would be a short reading but would allow for students to have some autonomy in choosing what they would like to read about and bring in their engagement to the class. Depending on the charities I would present to my class, I would also add some of those terms to the vocabulary list at the end of the Instructor Notes to make sure students understand these words and add them to their word banks.

Involve your learners in material adaption process? Why?

In my suggestions in what to change in the resources, I described the opening activity with the adaption of giving students responsibility in choosing which volunteer opportunity they would like to read about. From this introduction and because of the nature of the lesson (talking about participation in the community) I would allow for learners to give their suggestions in what to learn about, a specific charity they’re interested in, suggest a testimony from them about one of these charities. I think this lesson plan has many opportunities to expand if the students are interested in that way. That being said, I would not require learner’s involvement in any adaption of the materials or lesson plan.  

Bibliography

Johnson, K., Morrison, S., & Lax, J. (2009). LINC Classroom Activities Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada [PDF]. The Print Shop.