ANALYSIS OF THE LESSON
Analyze the appropriateness of each strategy used. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies? Which were most and least effective?
Analyze lesson effectiveness from the learner's perspective. Describe how your learner responded to your lesson. Was the skill was ultimately learned and demonstrated? Was it demonstrated as you anticipated?
Analyze the lesson effectiveness from the teacher's perspective. Did the learner have questions or difficulties? How did you handle them? Did you stick with your pre-determined theories or do something different in the moment? What was your biggest challenge?
- The three strategies that were used each contributed to the learner’s experience in different dynamics. For this particular presentation, it was clear that the three distinguished theories being used were behaviorism, social learning theory, and sociocultural theory. Each of the strategies served different purposes in motivating, engaging, and allowing the learner to take the skill and develop it at their own pace. From the instructor’s perspective, it was easy to see that behaviorism was especially effective in keeping the learner wanting to develop the skill. Calligraphy is a bit tedious, so incorporating treats and positive practice overcorrection helped maintain a steady pace in the learning environment. With the use of the social learning theory, having Maya demonstrate how each sheet could be filled out with each tool, and even taking the extra time to support the positive practice theory allowed the learner to feel more encouraged than discouraged. From the learner’s perspective, it is fair to assume that instead of being shut down because of the difficulty they were experiencing, that they were, instead, met with support and guidance through the process. Scaffolding was also utilized and effective in this lesson. The development between using pencil, highlighter, and then an actual fountain pen eased the learner into developing different comfortability with the tool. It also allowed for the teacher to gauge whether or not the learner was adjusting to the new type of writing comfortably. It would allow the instructor to personalize the lesson and to give them more support when needed, as seen during the session with the highlighter in which Maya developed a new system for Gaby to practice with, beyond the tracing of lines. The most effective strategy seems to be the behaviorism and the positive reinforcement associated with it. The learner was excited to get a treat at the end of the practice round and shared their feelings regarding the lesson towards the end. The least effective, in terms of in-person practice, might be the social learning theory as the sample letters would have been able to serve as a non-physical example.
Analyze lesson effectiveness from the learner's perspective. Describe how your learner responded to your lesson. Was the skill was ultimately learned and demonstrated? Was it demonstrated as you anticipated?
- The lesson seemed to have a positive effect for the learner. At the end of the lesson, a brief interview was conducted where the learner shared that they did not anticipate the lesson to be so calming and enjoyable. They also shared that they developed a sense of self-efficacy when it comes to their ability to further develop their ability in the skill. The treats also were a nice touch on the learner’s mood, especially when experiences of difficulty took place. This is what we see going on during the learner’s attempt and writing out letters in highlighter. They worked hard and were still given a reward, which made them happy and motivated. The learner was receptive to the lesson and engaged during the learning process. Whenever the learner was tracing letters, she was focused and intentional with the way that she was writing, a result of the skill being learned. Overtime, as we “leveled up”, or switched through writing utensil, the learner had an easier time as it became some form of routine. At the end of each session, the skill was demonstrated, and the ability for the learner to write each letter in this specific style of calligraphy was achieved. As a beginner in calligraphy, the amount of progress that was displayed is commendable as the skill can be difficult to acquire. The learning experience was demonstrated as well as I would have hoped, where the learner also shared that they were expecting it to be difficult and discouraging but actually found it calming and enjoyable.
Analyze the lesson effectiveness from the teacher's perspective. Did the learner have questions or difficulties? How did you handle them? Did you stick with your pre-determined theories or do something different in the moment? What was your biggest challenge?
- When approaching the learning experience, we came prepared with practice sheets and three different types of writing utensils. We developed a linear, procedural method to teach the learner how to write in calligraphy. However, there were moments during the lesson in which we had to adjust the learning experience to the needs of the learner. There were moments where they had questions about the way they should trace it, should they fill in the spaces, etc. As we progressed through the lesson and addressed the questions regarding the way that these letters should look, we also noticed some areas in which the learner had a difficult time producing the calligraphy. This was particularly during the highlighter and fountain pen practice. We didn’t expect the skill to be easy for the learner to develop, but we also acknowledge that there was difficulty because of the instruments that we provided which limited their ability to progress and our ability to navigate those areas of difficulty. This is where we utilized positive practice to encourage the learner to persevere through the experience. Our biggest challenge was getting the learner to become comfortable with each instrument as not many people pick up highlighters and begin writing in calligraphy, or have fountain pens in which they practice writing with them regularly. We should have eased into those instruments, possible with brush pens/markers so that the learner would have some feel of control before going onto the pressure-based fountain pen.