Annie Bultman

EDUC 302/303
November 19, 2015
Unit Reflection
Over the past 3 months, I have had the privilege of constructing a Spanish II unit plan
based on the theme, The Hands and Feet of God. In order to structure this unit to fit the specific
needs of my learners, I had to cater my lessons to fit the atmosphere and expectations of Kate
Avilas third-hour class. Within this course, students have been studying the 3rd chapter of the
Spanish II curriculumdesigned specifically by the Spanish Department at South Christian
(Avila, 2015). In order to design a unit that would align with the expectations of this Spanish
curriculum, I decided centralize the required vocabulary and grammatical structures of the
chapter upon a single focal pointthe story of Nick Vujicic. By studying the spiritual and
physical journey of this manborn without arms and legsI hoped to provide a centralized
premise for learning language and an opportunity for the students to expand their worldview
beyond the classroom.
Thus, while designing this unit, my own personal worldview developed not only on a
pedagogical level, but also on a spiritual level. From a pedagogical perspective, my viewpoint
grew in three distinct areas. Firstly, I learned the power of backwards-teaching. By learning to
first design my objectives and then design my assessment and activities accordingly, I grew in my
ability to lesson plan. Secondly, my passion for communicative language pedagogy also
strengthened while constructing this unit plan. No matter how lofty my goals, I constantly had to
ask myselfAm I getting them (the students) to speak? Am I getting them to actually
communicate and participate? Am I providing differentiated activities for authentic language
practice? These questions pervaded my self-talk as I wrote these activities. Thus, paying close
attention to UDL guidelines proved necessary for creating differentiated lesson plans. Ultimately,
by creating a variety of means for representation (story form, essays, videos, online quizzes,
games, etc.) and expression (scripts, performances, reflection papers, word scrambles, etc.), the
unit reflects my effort to infuse my lessons with critical pedagogy techniques and differentiation.
Thirdly, by designing this unit, my passion grew for What if? learning. While constructing the
theme of the unit, I kept asking myself, What if learning about the body in Spanish could be an
avenue for learning about being the hands and feet of God? I would also ask, What if learning
to say expressions of physical and emotional wellbeing in Spanish also could be an opportunity
for expressing concern or empathy for other people in the target language? Thus, by asking these

What if? questions about learning, I became inspired by the possibilities of bringing
transformative instruction into the foreign language classroom (What if Learning, 2015). This
inspiration became a catalyst for creating assignments that allowed my students to take their
learning beyond the classroom and into their communities.
Ultimately, my choices within the lesson plans were rooted within my growth both from
a pedagogical and spiritual standpoint. Thus, all five of the lessons were designed to be
interactive and differentiated. I wanted my students not only to have multiple means of
comprehension, but I also wanted them to have multiple opportunities of expression as well.
Throughout each lesson, writing exercises, interactive conversation, games, and quizzes were
included as well as opportunities for creativity (essays, reflection papers, performances, songs,
etc.). This interactive atmosphere was centralized upon the story of Nick Vujicic in order to
provide a narrowed focus as well as authenticate the vocabulary and grammar structure
requirements from Chapter 3 of the Spanish II course. By choosing a central character for the
unit, I wanted to create not only intrigue, but also a sense of conviction and inspiration. I wanted
my students to connect language learning beyond rote memorization. Rather, I wanted them to
see language learning as a means for connecting with others and reaching out into the community
around them. I wanted them to learn about el cuerpo (the body) within the context of learning
about the Body of Christ.
However, these ambitions were also met with potential barriers. In order to create as
many varied opportunities for learning as possible, I stuffed each lesson with multiple activities,
games, worksheets, discussions, etc. Although this was done in an effort to create an interactive
and differentiated learning environment, I also recognized the danger of over-planning as well as
overestimating my allotment of time. Ultimately, time-management proved to be my most
obvious difficulty. Because I did not teach this unit in its entirety, trying to achieve an actual
sense of time proved difficult. However, by timing the individual activities that I implemented
within the actual classroom, I gained a better understanding of the needs of my classroom. To my
surprise, some of the activities that I expected students to breeze through proved to be the most
time demandinglike the creation of the song lyric activity within lesson 2. However,
grammatical worksheet activities often took a duration of 5-7 minutes, unlike the initial 10-12
minutes I had originally planned. Thus, by identifying this time-management barrier, I discovered
that over-planning is always better than under-planning. This discovery allowed me to plan ahead
for lessons 4 and 5 with the obirtas (short plays) assignment. Because it is so hard to gauge the
actual time necessary to complete and comprehend an activity, I decided to create a backup plan
within lesson 5 in case the obritas took too long. Thus, by planning ahead and maintaining an

attitude of flexibility, I learned how to overcome some barriers for learning and implementation.
As for the future, I hope to gain a better sense of time management in general. A huge
aspect of this improvement will require me to know the specific learning culture of my different
classrooms. Throughout this semester, Ive had the privilege of walking alongside Profe Avila
and her 3 class periods and witnessing first hand the varied responses that students can have to
the same lesson. Thus, as I continue to design units in the future, I will need to specify these
needs within every lesson plan as well as provide backup activities for time management.
Furthermore, I want to continue to stay updated with the concept of what if learning, not only
by examining the numerous suggestions through foundations like the Kuyers Institute, but also by
thinking outside the box and having the courage to write lessons that expand learning beyond the
classroom (What if Learning, 2015).
Ultimately, it is difficult to gauge the effectiveness of this unit, however, because I didnt
teach it this semester. However, my teacher did ask me to implement 2-3 activities throughout the
week that were based on my unit plan. For example, in order to emphasize the hace+que
grammatical principle, she asked me to teach the song I had created in lesson 2. Throughout this
activity, students not only learned the song, but they also created additional lyrics that
implemented the hace+que structure. After singing through all of the lyrics as a class, not only
was the song stuck in our heads, but the grammatical structure as well. Thus, when we assessed
their grammar abilities through the hace+que present tense worksheets, all of the 17 students in
the class produced grammatically correct sentences within their homework. Even though more
summative assessment is needed to verify the authenticity of this success, Profe Avila and I were
excited about both the song and the learning outcome. Besides these activities, however, the
effectiveness of the unit should be assessed through its actual implementation. While looking
over my unit, Profe Avila asked if she could have some of the materials I created. Im hoping that
Ill have a better idea of the effectiveness of the unit in the future as she implements these
activities, songs, etc.
In the end, designing this unit has been one of the most challenging projects of my entire
academic career. Of course, I could have made it easier on myself. I could have cared less
about it. I could have been less invested in the school and my students. I could have tried to
scrape by with the bare minimum.
But somehow, through this project, I fell more in love with teaching than ever before. On
a professional level, I gained the tools necessary for lesson planning and implementation. I
learned the power of backwards-teaching and differentiated instruction. I learned how to navigate
both behavior and time management as well as adopting a teachers persona. Through this

Education 302/303 course, I finally feel equipped with the tools necessary for my profession.
However, on a personal level, I feel like I have not only seen but also experienced the connection
between education and redemption. Ultimately, the units emphasis on individuals like Nick
Vujicic only further inspired me (and hopefully the students) to becoming the hands and feet of
God within the community. Thus, this unit allowed me to grow not only from a pedagogical
standpoint, but also on a spiritual level as well. After all, what if teachers recognized their part in
the body of Christ to bring redemption to classroom instruction and implementation? In the words
of Nick Vujicic, I believe that we would discover an educational world that was truly, limitless
(Gods Miraculous Plan, 2013).

Works Cited

Avila, K. (2015). Spanish II Chapter 3 Unit (South Christian High School). November,
2015.
Vujicic, N. (Actor). Vujicic, N. (Narrator). (2013). God's Miraculous Plan [Online
video]. Life Without Limbs Ministries. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYuVx2LU5QM
Words and Care (2015). In What If Learning. Retrieved November 15, 2015, from
http://www.whatiflearning.com/examples/96-words-and-care