Caitlin Maynard

ITEC 7500
Reflection – Standard 2.2

2.2 Research-Based Learner Strategies - model and facilitate the use of research-based,
learner-centered strategies addressing the diversity of all students.
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One of the courses I took during the Summer of 2019 was ITEC 7400, 21st Century Teaching
and Learning. The course focused on identifying and analyzing engaged learning strategies and
levels of teaching innovation (LoTi). The main activity for this class was to create a project with
high levels of student engagement and technology integration. My project, “Around the World
in 30 Minutes”, gave students the opportunity to explore various cultures in preparation for an
upcoming chorus concert. As they learned the foreign languages needed for the songs in the new
program, they would interact with students in other countries to learn more about what they were
singing about, creating a more authentic experience. Additionally, the students would create
digital posters and presentations about the culture and country they studied for public view on
the night of the concert.

Creating the “Around the World in 30 Minutes” project allowed me to demonstrate my

ability to model and facilitate the use of a research-based, learner-centered strategy. Since I
knew that the students would be learning songs in languages other than English for a concert, I
wondered about possible methods for developing the proper pronunciation and accents that
would be more exciting than just plain repetition. Then, I stumbled upon www.epals.com and
the connections my students and I could make with others overseas. I knew I wanted to avoid
any unintentional stigmas or prejudices to develop as we learned a new language; there are
moments when students don’t know any better, but it is our job as educators to give them
information so that they do know better. When I discovered research that pen pal interactions
could be a fun and creative way to cross borders, connect through shared experiences, and find
ways to overcome adversities on top of learning a new language, I knew it was the ticket for this
project (McMillion, 2009). The learning experience gained through a pen pal intervention also
creates a more learner-centered environment. Using this strategy allowed the learning to stay
firmly in the hands of the students as they control the communication and conversations taking
place between them and their pen pals. Students are allowed to explore the other culture and
inquire freely as many young children do, bridging social gaps between diverse groups of
students (Green, 2016).

Diversity is an element of my class markup that I do not shy away from when planning for
concerts. In my class, we celebrate our differences and rely on each other’s experiences to help
get the most out of what we are doing. For example, I have many native speakers who help with
the pronunciation in Spanish songs and I have even had a student, who was interested in
American Sign Language, work on an interpretation of “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest
Showman and teach it to the class. It is important to allow these opportunities to occur
organically in the classroom so that the negative stigma of difference goes away. This project,
diving into other cultures by communicating with the electronic pen pals, continues to embrace
differences in a safe and understanding environment.
 This project was fun to put together, as well as being practical for the needs of my choral
students. I learned that projects of this size take a good deal of planning, particularly by starting
with the end goal in mind and working backwards. I also learned that student engagement is
important for any project or initiative to be successful and those methods of engagement should
be research-based and validated. To improve the quality of the artifact, I would also look for
connections within the school and the community for more information about different cultures.
I start the project with my own personal culture, as my mother is Filipino, but that is it. I could
start lessons with a different highlighted “guest” each day to help remind the students that
diversity is all around us, even here in Georgia.

Overall, the work that went into creating this project helped me develop my own planning
styles, ensuring that the activities I have chosen for my students have true, research-based
purpose. I think it can be so easy to select projects because they seem cool or engaging when, in
reality, there is no instructional benefit at all. The impact of this development can be assessed
through my future creations for lessons and activities as I keep my engaged learning and LoTi
frameworks nearby as I plan. Additionally, student learning is impacted through the designing of
this project as the students were to discover different cultures, connect with students from other
countries, and display what they learned for a digital presentation. Since they were going to
establish personal relationships with the foreign students within the project, the end products
were going to be way more meaningful and valuable than a basic research project. Impact for
the overall effect of the activity can be assessed through student feedback, reception of the digital
gallery from family and Russell Middle School faculty and staff members, and my own personal
reflection.
 References

Green, S. K. (2016). Using a pen pal program to assess student learning through culture and
school gardens. Graduate Theses and Dissertations (Publication No. 15004). [Master’s
thesis, Iowa State University]. Iowa State University Digital Repository.

McMillion, G. M. T. (2009). Pen pals without borders: A cultural exchange of teaching and
learning. Education and Urban Society, 42(1), 119-135.