Jonathan Saldana

Vanguard University

EDUG-511

PRQ#6
How do I intentionally use strategies, activities, and materials to make content
accessible to students?

In my classroom of physical education, I plan to intentionally use strategies

of inquiry and exploration for students to build and make connections from past

activities and lessons to new and current activities. In the physical education field I

feel as if there are many aspects to performance skills, movement and strategy that

are related to and can be transferred from one activity to another. Using student

background knowledge and past experiences to make connection between lessons is

one way I hope to make content accessible to them. Having students compare and

contrast similarities and differences between lessons/activities is sure to build

knowledge of what the lesson is and what it is not. Additionally, exposing students

to an inquiry based lesson I feel gives students the idea that they are in control of

their learning and can develop ideas and hypothesis to test out when discovering

the fundamentals for new movement skills or activity.

With the use of these strategies for example, compare and contrasting the

similarities and differences between activities allows for students to use what they

know about a past activity and try to find similarities as to how it relates to the new

lesson. Additionally students will also find differences in the two and determine

what it is not. In class discussion, we learned that students often times can grasp

the concept of a new topic by understanding what it is not(Class Lecture). Having

students make connections and discover how movement skills can be transferred

from one activity to the next is how I can make content accessible to students.

Design and implement instruction and assessment that reflects the

interconnectedness of academic content areas and related student skills

development in literacy, mathematics, science, and other disciplines across the

curriculum, as applicable to the subject area of instruction (TPE 4.3).

Another strategy I would use is an inquiry based learning strategy. I like the

idea of introducing a new lesson to students by having them hypothesis and

discover for themselves how to effectively perform a physical movement. I like the

idea that students will get to experiment and express their creativity and critical

thinking when it comes to identifying what is necessary in order to be successful.

With the use of this strategy, I have to have a clear objective as to what I want

students to take away from this lesson. Mastery of the fundamental ideas of a field

involves not only the grasping of general principles, but also the development of an

attitude toward learning and inquiry, toward guessing and hunches, toward the

possibility of solving problems on ones own (Bruner, pg. 20). Having students

make discoveries on their own is an essential method to having students engaged

and excited about their learning.

Questioning plays a large role in inquiry-based lessons. It can create

excitement and spark interest in students to make discoveries, it extends their think

and allows them to find solutions and make connections. Promote students critical

thinking and analysis through activities that provide opportunities for inquiry,

problem solving, responding to and framing meaningful questions (TPE 1.5). To

keep students engaged, I believe that metacognitive thinking out loud models for

students my thought process as Im working to find a solution to a problem.

Students observe this and can internalize the process of questioning to solve a
problem. Through modeling, students observe and use symbolic coding and

categorizing to make meaning of information and allows them to recall and retain

that information for a longer period of time (Bandura).

In conclusion, these are some of the strategies and activities I plan to

incorporate with my class in order to make content accessible to my students. I

believe that creating a supportive and encouraging environment to students to learn

is great way to keep them engaged and excited about learning. Bruner claims, The

best way to create interest in a subject is to render it worthy knowing, which means

to make the knowledge gained usable in ones thinking beyond the situation in

which the learning has occurred. Making content relatable is fundamental for

student success.
 References

Bandura, Albert, 1977. Social Learning Theory

Bruner, S, Jerome, 1963. The Process of Education. Harvard University Press,

Cambridge-Massachusetts.

California Commission on Teaching Credentialing (CTC). (2016). California Teaching

Performance Expectations, TPE 1.3, p. 5