It is often a struggle to give students real-life application and context with lessons, especially since classrooms are always so diverse. What one student finds interesting and relevant may not apply to the person next to him, and so on. Teachers are forced, almost instantaneously, to evaluate what students know, knowledge they need, student interest, and receptiveness to learning (Blakemore & Frith, 2005). Despite this challenge, students are often most motivated those things which are meaningful to them, and similarly, these are the things often retained best (Mitchell, 1993). Therefore, it is in the best interest of both educator and student to strive to attach personal meaning and pertinence to as much content as possible.
This activity was created in Content Area Instruction (CI 6321) as a collection designed to incorporate literacy into a content area while stimulating a variety of intelligences and learning styles. A casual activity, it is meant to draw upon the knowledge students have gained in the area of art elements and principles in order to evaluate the art of others. Upon completion of this students are then asked to synthesize this knowledge with pop culture while utilizing the technology of the current generation. In this case there is an emphasis upon the opportunity to use phones, iPods, internet and laptops to draw comparisons between (possibly) aged visual art and newer auditory art. These factors combined with the freedom of choice gives students the chance to create, think, and express something they find meaningful or interesting.
Educators are often called upon to reach out to students by including technology, pop culture and other disciplines, and whenever it can be achieved it serves as a small victory. It is often the things that students can make personal connections to that they remember best. Giving students the opportunity to do something that is different and hopefully enjoyable is a small price for a true learning experience.
References
Blakemore, S. & Frith, U. (2005). The Learning Brain: Lessons for Education. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.
Mitchell, Mathew. (1993). Situational Interest: Its Multifaceted Structure in the Secondary School Mathematics Classroom. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85(3), 424-436. Retrieved from http://www.unco.edu/cebs/psychology/kevinpugh/motivation_project/resources/mitchell93.pdf
It would be difficult to argue against the importance of this INTASC principle. In order to be effective, instructors need a firm grasp on the content they are teaching. Beyond this, professors must understand how students learn and how to promote that learning through active and collaborative inquiry to avoid "inert knowledge" that is possessed but unable to be applied to higher order thinking skills (Bell, Urhahne, Schanze & Ploetzner, 2010). To avoid this, teachers must not only understand the structure of their courses and the content within, but also present it in a way that appeals to students by using media and discussions to differentiate instruction and delivery (Davi & Dick, 2009). Created in CI 6318: Effective Instruction and Assessment, this unit plan requires an instructor to possess content mastery, but also see the connections between one lesson and another. Additionally, thought must be given to learning objectives, activities, and resources that will best engage students and contribute to a positive learning experience. This can be a helpful tool to organize thoughts when planning instruction, training, or curriculum for any age group.
References
Bell, T., Urhanhne, D., Shanze, S., & Ploetzner, R. (February 2010). Collaborative inquiry learning: Models, tools, and challenges. International Journal of Science Education, 32(3), pp. 349-377. Retrieved from ERIC database. (EJ883659)
Davi, G. & Dick, D. (February 2009). Making the switch. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(5), pp. 18-22. Retrieved from ERIC database. (EJ829137)
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