portfolio // principle 1 | reflection 1
“Candidates possess the necessary content knowledge to support and enhance student development and learning.”
// interpret
This principle deals with my area of content expertise—that is, what knowledge I have that qualifies me to be a teacher of English rather than mathematics, science, or history. Furthermore, the principle stresses the connection between this knowledge and the enhancement of student learning. In other words, my duty as a competent English teacher is not to simply convey the content knowledge I have, but to present it in such a way that students might be engaged by and interested in the study of English—if not to the same degree as myself, then at least some degree more than when they entered my classroom.
// select
To demonstrate my English content knowledge, I have selected handouts and reading questions used in conjunction with Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron.” Specifically, this artifact is comprised of the following items:
· Four unique half-sheet handouts, each identifying a different handicap. [P1.R1.A1]
· One “handicap reference guide,” which describes the reason for and nature of each handicap. [P1.R1.A2]
· One set of 10 reading questions related to “Harrison Bergeron.” [P1.R1.A3]
// describe
The reading of this story and the subsequent lesson occurred near the end of a five-week short story unit in an honors-level English I classroom. I placed “Harrison Bergeron” near the end of the short story unit because, as a dystopian tale, I thought it would serve nicely as a segueway into the following unit on George Orwell’s Animal Farm. I taught the lesson twice during the school day, using it in both my first and fifth period English I classes.
Because I wanted to emphasize the concept of dystopia, I attempted to develop a lesson that would come as close as possible to giving students firsthand experience in the world of the story. Specifically, I handed out reading questions to each student and told them to complete the questions in groups of four (the standard unit of in-class small-group work for this class). Only after I had distributed the reading questions did I inform the students that there was a catch: each member of the group would have to complete the assignment while also dealing with a unique handicap. I distributed the half-sheet handicap identification handouts, then projected the handicap reference guide via the classroom document camera.
Each handicap was realized through specific rules and props. Students with vision restrictions were given neckties to wear as blindfolds; those with hearing restrictions wore makeshift earplugs made from bits of paper towel; and those with literacy restrictions were told to put away any and all written material, and were given paper bags to wear over their hands so as to prevent the manipulation of a pen or pencil. Those with speech restrictions were simply told not to engage in any sort of verbalized communication; while they may have been disappointed at not having an actual handicap device of their own, I thought it not best classroom practice to gag my students.
After the handicap assignments and devices had been distributed, the students were given the majority of the class period (around 30 minutes) to complete ten reading questions related to the story. I circulated around the room while they worked to answer questions and enforce the wearing of handicaps. With between 10 and 15 minutes left in the period, we went over the questions as a class.
// analyze
The components of this artifact evidence my content knowledge in several ways. First and perhaps most obviously, the set of reading questions show my understanding of the key points of “Harrison Bergeron” that I want students to understand in turn. Certain questions address specific literary techniques such as symbolism (questions 6 and 7). Others model the kind of analytical questions students should learn to ask themselves as they read (questions 1-5 and 10). Still others focus on understanding the story’s genre and theme (questions 8 and 9, respectively). Overall, the types of questions I have included in the handout for students’ consideration show my knowledge of the story’s key concepts.
The handicap identification handouts and reference guide also display my literary content knowledge, because without an understanding of the tone and themes of the “Harrison Bergeron”— indeed, without an understanding of dystopian stories in general—I would not have been able to craft these faux-authentic documents that seem to exist within the world of the story. In creating these handouts, I drew upon my knowledge of “Harrison Bergeron” as well as other dystopian tales (Orwell’s 1984, for instance) so that I could inhabit the character of the Handicapper General and make documents that had a distinctly dystopian look and feel.
In a sense, then, the handicap handouts also evidence my creative writing content knowledge, because I am able to adopt a distinct voice (namely that of oppressive bureaucracy) for use in writing that is pseudo-fictional and not strictly academic. Modeling creative writing ability for my students was also an important goal, as the culminating activity for this short story unit was the writing of an original work of short fiction.
// appraise
I believe the materials included in this artifact worked effectively in the context of the lesson. Based on student reactions and responses, the reading questions appeared to be both clear and provocative; few students asked for clarifications on the questions, yet they were able to generate thoughtful responses to each. The handicap handouts clearly communicated to students what behaviors were expected during the lesson, while also extending the dystopian world of “Harrison Bergeron” into the classroom through their style and tone.
In retrospect, what I think this lesson is lacking is a kind of meta-analysis on the part of each student. My goal was to develop students’ understanding of dystopia by, in essence, having them briefly inhabit one. While my own observations suggest this goal was met with at least moderate success, I cannot be entirely sure simply because I never asked. Part of the class discussion of the reading questions did center around the definition and characteristics of a dystopia, but at no point did I ask students how they themselves felt while completing the task. I believe this kind of student reflection would more firmly cement the concept of dystopia in their minds because it forces explicit connections between each students’ personal, immediate feelings and the more abstract concepts of the story.
// transform
In the future, then, I would readjust the timeframe of my lesson to include space for some sort of concluding reflective exercise. This could take the form of a survey that would ask students to rate their responses to a series of statements (e.g. “I was physically and/or mentally uncomfortable during the exercise”), like a kind of anticipation guide in reverse. In an even simpler approach, I could ask students to write a brief journal entry on a prompt like the following:
How did you feel while completing the reading questions? What specifically was either easy or difficult? Did the system put in place by higher authority (i.e. Mr Smith) seem reasonable? Fair? Equal or equitable?
In either case, the class as a whole would then have a specific, concrete way to discuss their own personal experiences in the mini-dystopia.
