Meaningful Learning

Reflect on a time when a lesson was meaningful. Consider how the lesson relates to the five important characteristics of a quality curriculum.

This is a difficult question because there is not any particular lesson that I can even think of, let alone relate to. I remember specific projects that I have done, but no lessons. I think the problem is that when I was in school, the differentiatio0n was not used much. The teachers lectured or wrote notes on the board, and students were expected to absorb the information. I am a visual learner, so grade school was difficult for me. I learn best from visual aids and pictures. Writing on the board didn’t help much because everything blurred together. I learned a long time ago that if I wanted to understand something I was reading, I needed to separate ideas with different colors. The best curriculums are focused on students and their ability to understand, engages the students, and allows students to actively participate in gaining knowledge (Sousa, & Tomlinson, 2011). Rarely did the curriculum of the 1980’s engage the students and draw them in.

Then reflect on times when you were assessed on your knowledge.

I have had some good assessments and some bad assessments in my many years of schooling. The best assessment had options available. The worst one had no options, and was graded on factors that had nothing to do with the information we were learning.

My favorite assessment was in English class my senior year. We had just finished our unit on Hamlet, and we were given a list of final projects to choose from, using any of Shakespeare’s works. I chose to modernize A Midsummer Night’s Dream and present it as a play. A large group of my classmates joined me, and we traveled all over town, filming or production. We were assessed on how well we understood the play, which we showed through the modern translation. It was a lot of fun, and we all learned a great deal about Shakespeare.

 The worst assessment I ever had was in biology class. We were supposed to dissect a frog, and draw a diagram of the organs. This really was a problem for me. I am not the most artistic person, and my drawings were sloppy and hard to recognize the organs. I did label them, but that did not help my grade. This was the final for the lesson plan, and I failed it. We were supposed to be assessed on our ability to recognize the different organs, but I was marked down for my poor artwork, rather than my knowledge.

What types of assessments stressed you out the most and why?

Standardized tests used to strike fear in me for weeks prior to the tests. It was common knowledge that these tests were to find out if you know what you are supposed to know, and if you failed, you were not smart enough. As least, that is what a child preparing for these major tests believed.

Which ones did you feel were least threatening and why?

I really liked projects and reports. These types of assessments allowed me the opportunity to show what I felt was most important in the lesson plan. I had a say in what I was doing, and I like that.

Why do you think it is important that teachers should consider multiple approaches to assessments?

I think different types of assessments are better suited to the different learning styles. If teachers use only one type, it could put some students at an unfair disadvantage because they have trouble with that type of assessment. It meets the needs of each student, rather than just a few (Sousa, & Tomlinson, 2011).

How do you think your learning would improve if you were given options?

Options allow students to choose something that works well with their learning style, Students gain more from activities focused on their personal learning styles, and thus are more likely to achieve their learning goals (Sousa, & Tomlinson, 2011).

Reference:

Sousa, D. A. and Tomlinson, C. A. (2011). Differentiation and the brain: How neuroscience supports the learner-friendly classroom. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.