portfolio // principle 2 | reflection 2

“Candidates possess the necessary professional knowledge to support and enhance student development and learning, including meeting student needs across physical, social, psychological, and intellectual contexts. Candidates incorporate a variety of strategies, such as technology, to enhance student learning.”

// interpret
In short, this principle is all about differentiated learning.  Part of my job as a knowledgeable, effective teacher is to make sure I am actively engaging my students as much as possible.  Cultivating and maintaining this engagement means varying classroom activities to suit the disparate learning styles, attention spans, and ability levels of my students.

// select
To show my development of differentiated lessons that address similar content, I have selected materials from my Honors English I Animal Farm unit.  The artifacts included with this reflection are as follows:

·         Sample propaganda images viewed and discussed in class.  [P2.R2.A1]
·         A handout with analysis questions related to the propaganda images, titled “Understanding Propaganda.”  [P2.R2.A2]
·         The “Propaganda Mini-Project” assignment and rubric, which outline a project in which students design their own propaganda posters featuring slogans from the novel.  [P2.R2.A3]
·         The “Animal Farm Oration Project” assignment and rubric, which outline a project in which students analyze and present one of the speeches from the novel.  [P2.R2.A4]

// describe
Both of these projects were part of an Honors English I unit on George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, and both aimed to develop students’ understanding of how language can be used to control thought and opinion.

Prior to either assignment, students viewed and discussed various examples of real-world propaganda, some of which were contemporary to the novel (e.g. Soviet-era posters promoting Stalin and the Five Year Plan) and some more modern (e.g. the iconic Obama campaign “Hope” poster).  Students worked in groups to examine each poster and answer questions about the strategies and techniques it used.

After developing a basic understanding of propaganda methods, the propaganda mini-project was assigned.  The students’ task was to select one of nine slogans featured prominently in the text and illustrate that slogan using an original propaganda poster.  Having studied prominent historical examples of propaganda, students now had some idea of how to effectively construct a visual propaganda piece.  After completing their propaganda posters, students displayed their work in a gallery walk format, in which one group of artists stands with their posters while the rest of the class walks by and observes.

Later in the unit, as part of our post-reading discussions of the novel and its themes, students returned to propaganda concepts through the oration project.  This time, their task was to pick a major speech from the novel, study its structure and use of language, then deliver their speech to the class as effectively and persuasively as possible.  The importance of persuasive tactics was underscored by the inclusion of peer scoring on the assignment rubric.  After having class time to study and rehearse, students presented their orations over the course of two periods.

// analyze
These two assignments represent differentiated instruction in their unique approaches to understanding the topic of propaganda.  Any one of the formats used to study this subject—written responses to questions, artistic design, or oration—could not offer a full, complete examination of the topic on its own.  As a whole, however, these assignments each address different facets of the broader concept of propaganda.

Moreover, each assignment capitalizes on different learning styles.  For the “Understanding Propaganda” questions, students connect to the assignment visually by examining each poster, then use more formal reading and writing skills to answer the analysis questions.  The propaganda mini-project further capitalizes on the skills of visual learners as students craft a poster of their own—essentially creating a unique visual text.  The oration project takes the same broad concepts of persuasion and language use, but applies them this time in an auditory context.  Each assignment encourages students to draw from a variety of learning styles with the ultimate goal of developing a deeper, richer understanding of their common concepts.

The assignments further meet students’ diverse intellectual needs by allowing them to express themselves through avenues an English class might not typically encourage.  Students proficient in visual art or theatre, for example, now have an opportunity to develop and display their unique talents while still learning pertinent course material.  Through assignments such as these, students will hopefully observe connections between disciplines and realize that no one subject exists in a vacuum.

// appraise
All of the assignments seemed to be well-received by the students.  As the most traditional assignment of the three, the “Understanding Propaganda” questions were perhaps the least exciting assignment; still, students seemed to enjoy viewing the images (many of them interesting due to their unfamiliarity) and actively contributed to discussion about the features of each.  As one might expect, different groups of students found the poster design and oration projects engaging.  Those students less interested in one, though, were usually more excited by the other, further demonstrating the purpose and success of differentiation.

In addition, the overall quality of student work on the assignments was high.  Regardless of interest, most students put high levels of time and effort into the posters and orations.  The vast majority of students were justifiably proud in displaying their work (though some were naturally reluctant at first in the case of the orations).  Most importantly, this level of quality meant that students had indeed developed an understanding of how propaganda is created and used.

// transform
These assignments were, in my opinion, among some of the best I designed during my student teaching, and I plan to use them in the future largely unchanged.  I do, however, have some small modifications in mind to further improve these projects.

First, I may shorten the “Understanding Propaganda” questions.  Of the three propaganda-related assignments, this one seemed least engaging to students, and its length may be at the root of this problem.  If five questions can effectively cover the material that nine make redundant, then I ought to revise the handout.  Discussion questions that are brief and succinct will likely also cultivate a clearer understanding of propaganda strategies for use in the subsequent projects.

I would also like to make sure students have a strong basis for the oration assignment by offering some basic public speaking instruction.  Many of the students have had little to no prior public speaking experience, and thus could benefit from some discussion of proper posture, eye contact, projection, and the like.