EDSP 221: Language & Literacy in Inclusive Classrooms - II

Reflection on Instructional Change:

Developing classroom routines is central to my pedagogy. In this course, I focused both on a macro and micro level of instructional change. From a macro level, developing effective module and microlectures is my overarching goal. From a micro level, I focused on three elements of active learning cycle - deepening thinking, practice, and reflect.

I structured my class every week in three phases. The first phase is called Pre-Session, where students worked independently to prepare them for the small group discussion during breakouts. The second phase is called Zoom Session, where I provided direct instruction on conceptual and pedagogical knowledge related to literacy and language instruction. The final phase is called Post Session, where students worked together in groups related to their course assignments. Below is the snapshot of my weekly sessions Screen Shot 2021-05-14 at 11.56.27 AM.png .

Many of my students appreciated the time I gave them to work with their teams. This lessened their time needed to interact beyond the 3-hour synchronous session every week. Having this structure helped my students organize their time and maximize their learning experience during this pandemic.

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Students read a text and developed an activity using Bloom's Taxonomy.

Screen Shot 2021-05-14 at 12.19.29 PM.png Students watched a video clip and reflected on the video.

Students explored the Commonsense Media website.

Practice and Reflect on: Developing Effective Modules and Microlectures

Providing a module roadmap is an excellent way to keep students engage in online learning. I have not implemented this, but after reading module, I developed a plan. The next two weeks of my virtual classes, my students will be off Zoom and working independently on November 2^nd, and November 9th. The modules are not designed for asynchronous sessions. Instead, I told them that they are carving a dedicated time/sacred time (on Mondays) to work independently using the following structure:

4:30 - 5:00 pm: Posting on discussion board, responding to a prompt that I will post on Monday morning based on the assigned readings for that week.

5:00 - 6:00 pm: There will be two micro-lessons that I will prepare, and students will be working on small tasks to engage them in learning. The first micro-lesson will involve a video recording of my lecture. The second micro-lesson will involve writing a reflection note.

6:00 – 6:30 pm: Students will go back to the discussion board to respond to at least two postings.

6:30 – 7:20 pm: Meeting with their legal team – each group will have their own preferred platform to hold the meeting.

Faculty Biography

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I am a scholar-practitioner in the field of educational psychology and special education. My area of expertise falls within the intersection of disciplinary literacy, critical pedagogy, and learning differences. I believe that special education is a social justice and equity issue. I am currently doing a study on how compassionate pedagogy can be a tool to dismantle the deficit-thinking model in special education and train teachers to be socially just and equitable teachers.