Portfolio Project

EDUC 765: Trends and Issues in Instructional Design

By: Kate Carbaugh

Submitted June 2020

 Project Proposal – Module 2

AVOIDING PITFALLS: NOUNS

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION
Central Fulton School District

Central Fulton School District is a small rural school in south central Pennsylvania. The
district’s mission statement is Continually Focused on Student Preparedness And
Readiness To Achieve Next Steps (CF SPARTANS).

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Poor communication is inefficient and can make the writer appear uneducated. High
school students often know whether their grammar skills are strong or weak, and given
the opportunity to improve, many do. At McConnellsburg High School, students have
eight 40-minute periods per day. English classes that are charged with teaching
literature, writing, vocabulary, grammar, and public speaking are not able to devote
enough class time to study grammar thoroughly. In its second year, the teacher is
dissatisfied with the balance between the mechanics and the background knowledge of
the parts of speech and syntax. She believes the students would also appreciate more
of a focus on the mechanics because their goals are to better prepare themselves for
the PSAT and SAT. Two drawbacks are that the school’s grammar textbooks are from
1986 with one teacher’s edition to share between two teachers. The teacher requested
a building-wide subscription for grades 6-12 for No Red Ink for $3000 but was denied.
Training would help to meet the following goals: 

o Better focus on mechanics and practice

o Better compilation of resources for the teacher
o Better incorporation of writing and usage
AIM
Improve students’ writing clarity and confidence by developing a module for studying
nouns and common grammar issues related to them.

TARGET AUDIENCE
High school sophomores, juniors and seniors who elect to take this course.

DELIVERY OPTIONS
Instruction will be through blended learning. Students meet daily for approximately
ninety days. Students all have been assigned a Chromebook which they can take
home.
 Front-End Analysis: Instructional Need – Module 3

INSTRUCTIONAL NEED
Reflecting upon the high school English curriculum in Central Fulton School District, I
noticed a gap in how teachers were preparing students and the shift back toward focusing
on grammar on the Pennsylvania Keystone Exams. In addition, many students feel
underprepared for the PSAT and SAT. Typically students would take one English course per
year that met daily for 40 minutes. This is a short amount of time to cover literature,
independent reading, writing, public speaking, vocabulary, and grammar. In 2019 created
an elective semester-long course where students could focus on grammar. Having taught
the course twice with few curricular resources, I would like to streamline the units to add
more emphasis on the mechanics, which students are most interested, instead of focusing
so much on the parts of speech and syntax. In addition, I believe students need more
practice in two areas. First, students must recognize how published writers use mechanics
to communicate tone and voice. Second, students must apply the learned skills in their own
writing. Although the patterns established in this project will extend to all units in the
course, the focus of this project is on nouns. I am starting with nouns because they are a
foundational part of speech.

Instructional intervention should fix this existing performance problem. While the
intentions for creating the original course were good, the district did not provide resources
or time for developing the course. What exists in the course is a series of notes followed by
drill-and-practice exercises that are based on a 1986 grammar textbook from the school.
There are not writing assignments to apply the lessons. The instructional model is “fly by
the seat of my pants” instead of backward design, or any model that focuses on the end
goal, which is my ideal method. This project will allow for time to gather and organize
resources and lessons the will lead to the goal of better writing with a stronger emphasis
on mechanics.
 Front-End Analysis: Learner Characteristics – Module 3
LEARNER ANALYSIS

Primary Audience
 High school sophomores, juniors and seniors

Secondary Audience
 None

General Learner Characteristics

 15-18 years old
 Often more females than males
 Predominantly white

Entry Characteristics
 Students from our district did study grammar in middle school.
 Many students do not read for pleasure.
 Students in College Prep English 10 typically report reading an average of 5
books in ninth grade. This average includes a number of students who read
zero. By the end of their sophomore year, the class average is 16 books.

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Orienting Context
 Students want to improve their understanding of the mechanics of language in
preparation for the Pennsylvania Keystone Exams, PSAT, and SAT.
  Students believe they will be better writers when they complete the course.
 Students are held accountable through grades.
 Students often believe they can learn the rules of mechanics without learning the
parts of speech. They also undervalue the importance of reading on their writing.

Instructional Context
 The course is taught in the morning for 40 minutes in the spring semester.
 The classroom has fifteen fluorescent light units in five rows of three. Three of
the rows are operated by one switch and one row is operated by another. The
large window at the back has internal blinds.
 Noise interruptions are infrequent. When they do occur, it is a brief
announcement over the loudspeaker or loud audio from the neighboring class.
 The room’s temperature can be controlled but is limited to a 5-degree range.
 Students each have a desk that has an attached seat. There are two tables for
small group work.
 The schedule includes a 20-minute homeroom-like period in the middle of the
morning where students can ask teachers for help or work together on projects.
 The room includes a SMART board, HD projector, Wifi, document camera, Blu-
Ray player, built-in ceiling speakers, and a chalkboard.
 Students either drive or ride the bus to school. Meeting after school could be
inconvenient because of the large rural area the district covers and because
many of these students work or participate in sports.

Technology Inventory
 Canvas
 Chromebooks
 Wifi at school; hot spots, if needed, at home

Transfer Context
 Many students take this course in preparation for college admission exams or to
improve their writing.
 Students will be able to work on their writing in class and apply it to writing from
other class, particularly English classes.
 Students can seek help from the teacher during plus period and through email.
 Instructional Impact Based Upon Learner Characteristics

APPLICATION OF LEARNING THEORIES

This unit will use both behaviorism and Roger Schank’s learning theories. These
theories would seem to be at odds because Schank harshly criticizes traditional school,
which has often relied on the rote memorization and mimicry of behaviorism. However,
the goals I have for this unit are twofold: students come to this class to improve their
mastery of mechanics and students should be able to appropriately apply the
mechanics to their writing. Using behaviorism will help students to recognize the
patterns and uses in short examples with frequent progress checks. Using Schank’s
theories of learning by doing in their writing will help those lessons stick in the long term.

APPLICATION OF MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES

The main way that I will apply elements of andragogy in this project is to make the
lessons relevant to students. One way to do this is to show examples of writing errors
that caused confusion within the government or at a company. Because many students
choose this course to prepare for college, they already see the relevance in writing well.
In order to keep them engaged and happy that they took the class, I will include choice
in writing and assignments. Where possible, I will have them write for real audiences,
sharing places that publish student work or posting contests. Students might not realize
that the whole point to taking a class called Grammar is to improve writing. But that is
the goal. Experiential learning theories, including Roger Schank, focus on learning by
doing. Those theories are the ones I’ve enjoyed as both a student and teacher and I
think that is why I lean toward those when designing a course. They are motivating and
applicable to adults.
IMPACT OF A DIVERSE AUDIENCE ON INSTRUCTION
The primary audience are the sophomores, juniors and seniors who elect to take this
course. They can receive credit, so some students take this in conjunction with their
standard English course. Many students take the course to prepare for college entrance
exams and are therefore more successful academically. Because test preparation is a
focus, many of the students are sophomores. Approximately ten percent of this year’s
students are taking this course to recover credits for not passing English 10 or 11, so
they are not as strong academically as many in the class. One student has an
individualized education plan with requirements for special seating, reminders to focus
on tasks, and extended time to complete assignment. One student has a gifted
individualized education plan but receives enrichment outside of this class. These
statistics were similar to the first year the course was offered with the exception that
most students that year were juniors instead of sophomores.
 Goal and Task Analysis – Module 5
GOAL ANALYSIS

1. Students will be able to recognize nouns from clues like suffixes and articles.
2. Students will make stylistic choices between concrete and abstract nouns for
controlling imagery.
3. Students will be able to use commas for direct address.
4. Students will be able to use commas with addresses and dates.
5. Students will choose the correct commonly confused nouns.

INSTRUCTIONAL GOAL

After completing this unit, students will improve their writing style and mechanics
through a focus on nouns.

TASK ANALYSIS METHOD

I used a topical task analysis for this unit on nouns because the goals cover several
aspects of writing with nouns. These aspects do not build on one another—they are
their own skills.

TASK ANALYSIS

I. Identification
a. Articles always signify a noun will follow immediately or within a few
words.
b. Suffixes can signify parts of speech
i. Common noun suffixes are -ion, -ist, -or, -ment, -ness, -ity, -ship
ii. Warning: Some nouns can be modified to be adjectives, so suffixes
are a guide but not full proof
1. Example: The fraternity party ended early.
2. Example: I made a friendship bracelet.
II. Creating Imagery
 a. Concrete nouns
i. These nouns “control” what the reader visualizes.
ii. Directly connect to the five senses
b. Abstract nouns
i. Readers are more likely to have unique visualizations.
ii. Use in similes and metaphors to create imagery
III. Commas and Nouns
a. Direct Address
i. Use commas before and after a name if the speaker is talking to
the person.
ii. If the name is at the beginning or end of the sentence, drop either
the first or last comma, respectively.
1. As you can see, Jon, our proposal is strong.
2. Jon, as you can see, our proposal is strong.
3. As you can see, our proposal is strong, Jon.
b. Dates and States
i. Commas often work in pairs to surround clarifying information
1. The words between the commas are unnecessary to
understanding the sentence; they clarify the main sentence
a. My teacher, who is forty years old, took a sabbatical.
b. My teacher, the one who took a sabbatical, is forty
years old.
2. Typically we only see one comma because the missing
partner is not used if it would begin or end a sentence
a. ,When I plan lessons, I use backward design.
b. ,Under the large pile of books, I found $20!
ii. Dates
1. The main date is whatever is listed first
a. Month and Day
i. The year would be clarifying.
ii. The last day of school was March 13, 2020, in
McConnellsburg.
b. Day of the Week
i. The day and month and possibly the year are
all clarifying
ii. The last day of school was Friday, March 13,
2020, in McConnellsburg.
iii. States
1. The main location is whatever is listed first.
a. Towns & Cities
i. The state is clarifying.
ii. I hope to move to Columbus, OH, so I can eat
at great restaurants.
 b. Street Address
i. The town and state are clarifying.
ii. My old address was 55 Maple Street,
Middletown, PA, near Three Mile Island.
IV. Commonly Confused Nouns
a. Amount v. Number
i. Amount is used for things that cannot be counted.
1. I tracked a large amount of mud into the house.
2. We can only estimate the amount of water in the oceans.
ii. Number is used for things that can be counted.
1. I saw a number of muddy footprints in the kitchen.
2. We can only estimate the number of drops in the oceans.
b. Farther v. Further
i. Farther refers to distance.
1. I ran farther than you.
2. The monarch butterfly migrates farther than any other
butterfly.
ii. Further is metaphorical and can mean continuing.
1. If you argue further, you will be grounded.
2. I hope to further my education at UW Stout.
 Instructional Objectives – Module 5

TERMINAL OBJECTIVES AND ENABLING OBJECTIVES

Domain: Cognitive
Terminal Objective: When revising their writing, students will be able to create imagery
using concrete nouns. (evaluate & create)
 Using mentor texts with strong imagery, students will be able to identify abstract
and concrete nouns.
 Using mentor texts with strong imagery, students will be able to evaluate the
effectiveness of the writers’ choices in creating strong imagery.
 Modeling their writing after the mentor text, students will be able to create
examples of imagery.
 Using their own writing samples, students will justify their noun choices in
creating imagery.

Domain: Cognitive
Terminal Objective: When revising their writing, students will be able to produce
sentences that correctly use commas with nouns 100% of the time. (evaluate & create)
 Using No Red Ink exercises, students will be able to punctuate sentences that
include direct address.
 Using No Red Ink exercises, students will be able to punctuate sentences that
include dates and states with clarifying information.
 Using novels that students are reading in class, they will be able to identify
sentences that follow the comma rules associated with nouns.
 In two writing assignments, students will be able to apply the comma rules for
nouns.

Domain: Cognitive
Terminal Objective: When revising their writing for commonly confused nouns,
students will be able to judge which noun is appropriate 100% of the time. (evaluate)
 Using teacher-created exercises with multiple attempts in Canvas, students will
be able to choose the correct noun.
 Using real-world examples, students will be able to judge whether the writer has
correctly used the noun that is often confused.
 In two writing assignments that lend themselves to using these commonly
confused nouns, students will be able to construct sentences that follow the
language’s conventions.
Enabling Objectives Matrix & Supporting Content – Module 6

[Paste your Enabling Objectives Matrix from Module 6 here]

Feel free to include your instructional content here or attach it as another document in
the dropbox, as appropriate. It could be a PowerPoint, Word doc, video, etc.
 References

Reference one – Please replace this text with the text of the first reference that use
outside of our course textbook.
 Final Project Rubric

Please see the final project rubric and the reflection paper rubric within the course
content.