Assignment - July 17-18

Week Two

Case Study Example (Individual Assignment)

Sandy Nightingale

This unit was targeted at first grade students. It involved the integration of Social Studies, Language Arts, Technology, and Art, taking approximately two weeks with class periods of approximately 30-45 minutes each day. All the classes took place in the first grade classroom, except one was held in the distance learning lab and two were in the regular computer lab.

The specific goals for this unit included:

· The students will develop an appreciation for and understanding
of the Japanese people and their culture.

· The students will work cooperatively in small groups, learning to accept responsibility and help others.

· The students will improve their listening skills and practice
following directions.

· The students will improve their writing skills.

· The students will work individually producing small projects to
be shared with the class and others.

· The students will use technology to help meet the above goals.

The project focused in on the culture and traditions of Japan. The students were actively engaged in the learning activities. During the two weeks, the students watched a short video the teacher had taken when visiting Japan, visited through the V-Tel system with a Japanese Foreign Exchange Student who taught them some Japanese words and some simple origami, read and listened to stories about Japan, practiced using chopsticks by picking up cotton balls with them, prepared and tasted some Japanese food, as well as other activities. The final two class periods were spent in the computer lab. Because first grade students’ computer skills vary greatly, two adult helpers assisted the teacher in the computer lab. On the day prior to going to the lab, the students drew and colored pictures depicting what they had learned about the culture and traditions of Japan. With the help of the teacher assistants, the students took turns using the scanner to scan their drawings and saving them. While that was going on, the other students used Microsoft Word to write sentences about their pictures. Previously, during their regular computer lab time, they had been working on inserting pictures into Word, so they inserted their pictures either above or below their sentences. Help was given when needed. Also, because first grade students’ literacy levels cover a broad range, the children were given help with spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, when needed.

Later, when all the projects were complete, the teacher displayed them on her web page. It was very clear that the students learned a great deal about Japan, were proud of their work, and were pleased to have it displayed on the Web for their family members and friends to see.

1. General Description of the Instructional Practice (course, unit, training session,

etc.):

This is a unit that can be used in lower elementary, but particularly first grade, integrating Social Studies, Language Arts, Technology, and Art. The project focused in on the culture and traditions of Japan. It would take approximately two weeks to complete with 30-45 minute class periods each day. Included in this unit were auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile activities, keeping students actively engaged in the learning process. Individual, cooperative, and collaborative projects were important elements in this unit.

2. Theoretical Foundation(s) evidenced in the Instructional Practice:

This unit mostly followed the constructivist model. The teacher was the facilitator whose main function was to help the students become actively engaged in their own learning and make meaningful connections between prior knowledge, new knowledge, and the processes involved in learning. The role of the students was to construct their own understandings and capabilities in carrying out the learning tasks. Parts of this case study unit followed the behavioral model, such as during the Vtel session when the students were learning the Japanese words.

3. Explain the assumptions about learning that were made by the instructor.

Through the instruction model presented, the teacher assumed that there are different types of learners, thus providing auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile activities.

The instructor assumed that through previous computer lab experience most students will know how to use Word and insert pictures.

The instructor assumed that the students will need help using the scanner and saving their pictures, thus providing adult helpers during this step.

The instructor assumed that some students will need help with spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, thus providing adult help, when needed.

The instructor assumed that the students had basic keyboarding skills.

The instructor assumed that the students had basic writing skills in order to compose sentences about the topic.

4. How was learning structured? (I.e.: How do the assumptions about learning support the approach to instruction?)

The above assumptions guided the learning structure. Various types of activities were done to provide for the different types of learners, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile. Extra adult helpers were provided for helping the students with the scanner and with spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Individual, cooperative, and collaborative projects were important elements in this unit.

5. Teacher’s Role in planning, implementing, and evaluating the instruction:

The teacher was responsible for reserving the TV/VCR, the computer lab, and the distance learning lab. She was also responsible for recruiting adult helpers and lining up the Vtel session with the Japanese foreign exchange student. She also needed to provide the various art materials and cooking items.

The teacher acted as a facilitator in the learning activities.

The teacher could design a rubric for evaluating the final product to be sure that all students were meeting the objectives of the unit.

6. Student’s Role in the learning process:

The student needs to be motivated and actively engaged in the learning process. The student needs to use good listening skills and discussion skills when using the Vtel and throughout the entire unit. The student needs to be able to use higher order thinking skills and to process the information learned in order to make good summarizing sentences and pictures of what he/she had learned.

7. Role of technology in supporting teaching and learning:

The role of technology was to serve as a guiding instrument to complete the unit. The VCR was used to give the students a visual picture of Japan. The V-Tel system was used to give them the opportunity to see and talk to someone from Japan and to learn a little about the language and traditions of Japan. The computer, scanner, and word processing software were used to publish what they had learned onto the teacher’s website.