Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Madeline Albrittain
EDUC 614
The lesson was carried out in an independent, Catholic high school located in
Washington DC. The total school population is approximately 960 students, all boys. Eighty
Caucasian at 77%, 10% African-American and just over 6% Asian. The school culture is one of
that focuses on high academic performance as well as competitive athletic programs. It is also
important to note that our school is 1:1 BYOD and each student brings their own computer or
This lesson was conducted in a Spanish 2 level class, a class that particularly form and
grammar based; however, students also develop conversation and communication skills in the
target language. In this seventh period class, there are 22 total students, of which one student has
Hispanic descent but is not a native speaker. In terms of diversity, three students are African
American, one student is British and two students are of Asian descent. The remainder of the
class is Caucasian, all of which are in the sophomore class. One of the students is a transfer
student and has had a difficult time adjusting. One student in the class has a documented learning
difference ADHD and qualifies for extended time. In addition, at our school we do not identify
students as gifted; however, in this class there are one or two students that are gifted in language
learning. Four students in the class were in Spanish 1 Honors, but were not recommended for
Spanish 2 Honors. That said, they are far more advanced than the rest of the class. Many of the
students in the class struggle with language learning and three regularly attend extra help
classroom as well. Desks are arranged in five rows; however, desks are rearranged throughout
the forty minute class periods for partner and group work. There are also two standing desks at
the back of the classroom for students to use. Students usually must ask before using them but all
are invited to use them. There are usually a few students that use them weekly.
My instructional approach in this class is very form-based, as you will note when
watching the video. The curriculum requires that Spanish 2 “covers” sixteen different tenses and
thus, the class moves at a very brisk and often rushed pace. I always offer tutoring before school
and after school for students who are struggling. I usually introduce the topic followed by guided
practice. The introduction to the topic is almost always in English and given via direct
instruction. My general instructional approach is “I Do- We Do- You Do.” The last piece of any
topic covered is generally a creative, formative assessment of some kind. I try to incorporate
given weekly.
Assessment of Learning:
Pre-teaching Assessment: The day before, students completed an exit slip demonstrating
understanding of the difference between preterite vs. imperfect and continuous/interrupting
actions.
Post-Lesson Assessment: In pairs, students will create their own continuous/interrupting actions
using medical vocabulary.
Materials/Technology Needed:
- Warm up sheet with continuous/interrupting actions
- Google Slides with objectives
- Participation Ball “Pelota”
Presentational Activities: Students will be able to converse in the target language in pairs to
discuss medical problems and solutions.
Preview for next lesson: We will continue to work on preterite/imperfect, beginning to focus
more on producing unique sentence structures and create a story using medical vocabulary.
Homework: The homework is two brief VHL (online workbook) activities to reinforce the use of
clue words to identify preterite/imperfect. Students have 3 attempts on each activity, further
accommodating students who are struggling with the concept.
C. Video uploaded to Kaltura. Video Analysis Chart, also attached as file.
D. Narrative Analysis
To begin, I will start with the strengths of the lesson one of which was my interactions
with the students. One of the reasons I individually grade homework in class is to meet with each
student for even a brief moment. It allows me to gauge their understanding and gives students the
opportunity to ask questions that they do not feel comfortable asking aloud. This is one was that I
differentiate my classroom, specifically the learning environment (Reese, p. 42). During the time
that I was checking homework, students were turning to one another for confirmation or to ask a
brief question. It appeared that all students were on task and interacting positively with one
another. When Student J asked if he could say “estaba durmiendo” instead of “dormía,” he
Another strength of this lesson was adapting to individual differences in the lesson.
Incorporating the preterite song and the hand motions for kinesthetic learners. This is one of the
ways I differentiate the process of learning the content (Reese, p. 42). In the video, I was able to
visibly see students doing the hand motions for preterite and imperfect. Some students didn’t
participate but those who did, it was clearly helping. Virginia also commented on this in the
critical friend feedback. According to Jensen (2005), there is a strong connection between
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cognitive processes in the brain and movement (p. 62). This stimulating activities have
“documented significant gains in attention and reading” (Jensen, 2005, p. 62). I also incorporate
and reference the preterite song whenever I can to reference prior content. As Lemke and
Coughlin (2009) mention, “tapping into prior knowledge is a highly effective teaching strategy”
(p. 54). As you see in the video, students are whistling the song and I whenever I sing a lyric
students remember and often say, “oh yea, I forgot.” Constantly referencing the song and
something so familiar helps guide students through one of the most challenging tenses, preterite
versus imperfect. I also use hand motions as way to formatively assess student because if
students are able to show me the interrupting action, it shows me they are understand which
Next, I will discuss areas for improvement for my Spanish 2 level instruction, particularly
the use of technology and use of the target language. To begin, this particular period of
instruction had an extremely poor use of technology as it was not used to enhance instruction. At
the beginning of class, I pulled up the homework and announcements on the projector. Overall,
the lesson lacked an emphasis on student-centered technology. However, there were various
opportunities to use technology to enhance and improve student learning which I will discuss
later on.
Technology offers a more participatory and interactive ways for students to engage in the
curriculum (Lemke and Coughlin, 2009, p. 54). When lessons are implemented using
technology, learners are able to attend to the growing emphasis on the 21st century learner. In
this particular lesson, there were many ways in which I could have adapted the lesson to use
technology in a more meaningful way. This could have been accomplished with more thoughtful
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planning. For example, including participatory learning where students are asked to collaborate
using technology or use technology to engage in an authentic exploration of the content (Lemke
and Coughlin, 2009, p. 56). One way in which I could have adapted the lesson in content is if I
had the students create visual examples in English using the preterite versus imperfect. I could
have modeled this activity and then students could have explored different ways to represent the
preterite and imperfect, creating their own example sentences. As Richardson (2013) notes,
putting learning first “suggests a transfer of power over learning from teacher to student -- it
implies that students discover the curriculum rather than have it delivered to them” (p. 12). In my
lesson, the curriculum was very much delivered to the student and the learning was
teacher-centered. Although students were indeed participating in the class, the teacher was
directing and re-directing the attention of the class. During some instruction, I use nearpod.com
to make the direct instruction more engaging. This class period could have been an opportunity
Although the students were engaged in the content, asking and answering questions, the
material discussed was not in an authentic environment. The examples chosen by me were rigid
and lacked meaning. Granted, this is day two of the introducing the material and it is more
challenging for students to make meaning out of a new concept. That said, I think there were
plenty of opportunity to create meaning and engage in authentic materials. Richardson (2013)
emphasizes learning in real-world contexts as a transformational change that can take place in
the classroom (p. 12). Doctor/patient dialogues would have been a neat opportunity for students
to explore, using technology, the differences in health care or indigenous healing rituals in
Spanish speaking countries. I could have also used technology by having students film this skits
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instead of presenting them in class. However, I took a more rigid approach, having students
create mini doctor/patient skits to be presented. Similarly, the use of the target language was also
something that I need to improve upon. In this class in particular, it is very challenging to
maintain conversation in the target language. As I mentioned on my video analysis chart, the
instructions weren’t clear on the warm-up because I gave “Part 2” of the directions in Spanish
and students finished the first part very quickly. If I had a more advanced student repeat back the
instructions in English, I would still be challenging that student and maintain the target language.
Overall, the instruction was successful and students demonstrated to me that they understood the
different uses of preterite and imperfect. However, the lack of the target language will eventually
impact student comprehension in the target language and have effects long term in their language
learning.
One student did particularly well in this lesson, Student J. He seemed to be particularly
engaged and thinking critically about the material, as seen in his question about combining the
use of imperfect and progressive tense to “estaba durmiendo.” This is a very complex structure to
be thinking about and he received kudos from his classmates as well. I also think Student J
responded well to the kinesthetic component throughout the lesson. I can be sure to include more
interactive pieces in the lesson. Like my critical friend mentioned, I should also include more
movement, having students come to the board more and encourage students, other than myself,
One student, Student Q seemed to struggle in this lesson and I do not think I scaffolded
instruction enough to fit the needs of this learner. For example, when I asked him a question, it
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was unclear what I was looking for and he asked for clarification. I could have spent more time
with him 1:1 making sure his affective filter was low and he felt prepared to participate in class.
Self-Reflective Narrative
Considering the changes from my formative lesson plan, my second lesson plan better
involved different learning styles and I spent time with each student in the class. Each student
received feedback in class and was able to gauge their own understanding of the material. It is
difficult to compare my formative and summative lesson plans because they are two completely
different levels, the other being level three honors. During this summative lesson plan, I was able
to implement more instruction more kinestethic learning styles. As Jensen (2005) mentions,
Incorporating more movement in the classroom allows students to release energy and focus on
From both analyses, I learned that I need to explicitly state the objectives in class and
have them visible for students. It helps me guide student instruction and allows me to reflect
in-action while teaching. My two classes are entirely different in their needs as learners as my
honors students generally excel at language learning and the others need more scaffolding,
modeling and guiding. In both cases, my abilities to use formative assessment to gauge student
make visible my students’ learning needs. In reflecting about my teaching practices, I realized
that I need to include more opportunities for students to engage outside of the large classroom
setting. In Rosiek (2003) and Hattie and Yates (2014) the idea of emotional scaffolding is one
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that I should begin to re-incorporate. In the hustle and bustle of daily life and daily teaching life,
it is easy to forget simple ways to scaffold a difficult subject matter. As Hattie and Yates (2014)
state, “It has been found that lower ability students ask fewer and fewer questions with
increasing grade level” (p. 30). Looking back at my journals from past core courses, the concept
presented by Rosiek (2003) stood out to me. In summary, Rosiek (2003) encourages teachers to
make difficult concepts, like preterite/imperfect, more relatable, ““carefully tailored to fit the
details of the subject matter and the experiences students brought to the classroom” (p.406). By
having one on one time with students and creating such opportunities, I can allow students to feel
In future planning, I will continue to evaluate levels of emotional scaffolding and ways to
best incorporate technology to develop and foster skills for the 21st century learner. In order to
elevate the use of the target language, both are essential. When I am able to provide visuals and
scaffold instruction, students’ affective filters are lowered and they are more confident and
References
Hattie, J. & Yates, G. (2014). Visible learning and the science of how we learn. New York, NY:
Routledge.
Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind ( 2nd Ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for
Lemke, C. & Coughlin, E. (2009). The change agents. Educational Leadership, 54-59.
Reese, S. (2011). How do you support every learner? Differentiation in the language classroom.
intersection of student emotion and the subject matter. Journal of Teacher Education, 54,
399–412.