Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso

Facultad de Filosofía y Educación

Instituto de Literatura y Ciencias del Lenguaje

Digital Notebook for autonomous learning

TRABAJO DE TITULACIÓN
Para optar al título de Profesor de Inglés y
el grado de Licenciado en Educación

Alejandra Trinidad Toledo Figueroa

Tutor Mg. Enzo Pescara
Diciembre 2020
Tabla de contenido
I. Introduction 3
II. Theoretical framework 6
Digital Learning Platforms (DLPs) 6
Writing as a process 7
Notion as a Digital Learning Platform (DLP) 8
Developing students' writing skill using Notion 15
III. Action plan 16
General objective 16
Specific objectives 16
Didactic material 16
Instruments to collect data 17
Didactic sequence 17
Evaluation plan 18
Gantt chart 19
IV. Reflection 20
V. Conclusion 22
VI. References 23
VII. Appendix 25
A. Aixia & Wang (2011)’s questionnaire 25
B. Didactic sequence 26
C. Self-evaluation rubric 29

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 I. Introduction

The 2020 pandemic has changed the way humans all over the world interact.
Fortunately, technological advances opened a window during this lockdown, allowing
human interaction in a digital world. Education has not been the exception and also has
been forced to adapt to these digital times. In this context, e-learning has become the
perfect complement to the traditional face-to-face education we have been used to during
decades and centuries.

The institution in which I have been working has implemented during the last years
a blended-learning methodology, which is described by Law, Geng, & Li (2019) as “a
fundamental redesign that transforms the structure of, and ways to, teaching and learning.
Blended learning is defined as an instruction which takes place in a traditional classroom
setting augmented by computer-based or online activities that can replace classroom seat
time.” In current times, the entire institution has adopted a 100% online functioning, so the
implementation of the blended-learning methodology has meant a unique opportunity to
prepare students in a transition from real interaction to online lectures.

In fact, this year’s lessons have been planned biweekly, where the first week is
aimed to present new content, continued by the autonomous homework and study done by
the students between sessions, and finally everything is reviewed on the following week
during the second lesson. This online methodology shapes the way the semester has been
planned.

Considering the abrupt changes on the way education was imparted, it was natural
that some problems in the learning-teaching process appeared, and therefore, new didactic
challenges emerged as well. Indeed, there was the necessity of creating an instrument that
helps students to learn and do homework at any time beyond traditional digital text
documents and synchronic online lessons. Consequently, the Digital Notebook was pre-
designed.

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 To organize the students, the institution created a 3-categories classification
according to their access to internet connection. Out of the 39 students of my class group,
the average of students that connect and participate in the weekly synchronic lessons is
only 15, which is the number of students who can be classified in the “Good or excellent
internet connection” label. The next category is composed by 8 students who have not
activated their Google Classroom profile yet, and consequently, it can be inferred that they
are the students who have a “low or none internet connection”; finally, the third category is
labeled as “low or regular internet connection” were the rest of the group can be classified,
meaning 16 students.

Figure 1. Class group’s access to internet connection.

Based on this information, it is possible to deduce that an important number of

students are studying and doing their homework at any time of the week without teachers’
scaffolding and monitoring. Besides, the final project of the semester consists in the
creation of an invitation letter and its writing process must be guided in order to have
quality outcomes, which is difficult to happen without human interaction as in a traditional
classroom. As a consequence, in an attempt to orient students’ autonomous work between

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sessions, the didactic sequence presented in this pedagogical proposal is thought to
scaffold students’ writing process whether they participate in a 90 minutes synchronic
session once a week, or they do their homework by their own at any time of the week.

Hence, the research question that motivates this pedagogical proposal is the
following: How can Digital Learning Platforms (DLP) improve students' performances
when applying the writing process wheel model to their writing processes?

The main objective of this pedagogical proposal is to contribute teachers’ labour

with a concrete instrument that enhances students’ autonomous work, at the same time
that makes the transition from a traditional pre-quarantine classroom to a digital learning
environment less aggressive for both teachers and learners. Besides, the proposed Digital
Notebook includes interesting features that can foster students’ acquisition of a foreign
language.

For that purpose, this pedagogical proposal is structured first with a theoretical
framework that reviews academic literature regarding e-learning, Digital Learning
Platforms, writing as a process and the writing process wheel model. This is complemented
with a proposal of how a productivity tool as Notion can help students in their writing
process. Next, the general and specific objectives of this pedagogical proposal are
presented, to continue with the action plan of the project, which includes the instruments
to collect diagnostic data, the didactic sequence for the implementation of this program, the
material created and a Gantt chart.

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 II. Theoretical framework

1. Digital Learning Platforms (DLP)

According to UNESCO (2010), Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

“is an all encompassing term that includes the full gamut of electronic tools by means of
which we gather, record and store information, and by means of which we exchange and
distribute information to others”. In fact, Faustmann, Kirchner, Lemke & Monett (2019)
declare that “Information Technology (IT), especially the modern digital and networked
technologies in the digital age, has the potential to transform education itself, the education
market with the institutions, commercial providers and the regulations, and, last but not
least, the didactical respectively pedagogical concepts.” In that sense, UNESCO (2010)
explains that

The term e-learning is apt for education because it combines in its name e
(electronic) and learning, and thus puts an emphasis on learning in a way that
the term ICT by itself does not. In other words, we use ICT to participate in
various electronic learning activities.

E-learning is a trend that will only increase in the following years and it must be
considered as an enormous opportunity in the teaching world, especially in the EFL field. In
this regard, López (2017) explains that “the implementation of technological resources
such as computers, video beams, tape recorders, and networks increases students’ interest,
enthusiasm and language understanding and command. These kinds of resources encourage
students to interact with the language in an interesting and different way assisting them
to grasp meaning easily.”

But language learning is not an event that occurs spontaneously, it must be

conceived in a dedicatedly prepared digital environment. An example of that can be a
Digital Learning Platform (DLP), which is defined by Faustmann, Kirchner, Lemke &

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Monett, (2019) as “a learning environment that connects teachers and learners (two-sided)
so that they can interact with each other. Often, DLPs have more than only two participants.”

Moreover, in relation to the use of a DLP, Lopez (2017) indicates that the findings of
his study “showed the usefulness of ICT in the EFL classroom in order to improve
students’ writing performance and vocabulary along with their willingness and confidence
towards the writing process wheel to write different kinds of paragraphs”.

2. Writing as a process

Writing is one of the skills required to be considered literate in modern society.

Therefore, writing is part of the basic knowledge that must be taught in formal education
contexts. As a consequence, the teaching of writing can be focused on two different
perspectives: the writing product or the writing process. In that sense, Harmer (2001) adds
that “whatever the reason, we need to help such students build the writing habit so that they
recognise writing as being a normal part of classroom practice and they come to writing tasks
with as much enthusiasm as they do other activities”. This must be applied for online
teaching as well.

Considering the most frequent cognitive processes during the task of writing a piece
of text, the writing process wheel was proposed by Harmer (2001) as a tool for teaching
the process of producing a piece of writing to EFL students. Based on this model, four
stages are distinguished: Planning, Drafting, Editing and Final version. The first of them,
Planning, aims to foster a brainstorming moment to think on the rhetorical situation,
reactivate prior knowledge on the topic, and prepare the rest of the writing process. Then,
the drafting stage has the purpose of transforming the material collected on the first phase
into the first draft of the outcome. The third stage of the model is Editing, in which students
improve their productions, asking for feedback or recurring to online tools. The final stage
is when the writer considers that his or her production is finished and prepared to be
shared or published. It is important to highlight that, as life itself, in any stage the writer

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can move into another stage, not following a linear order necessarily. For instance, it is
possible to re-plan the writing process after making decisions during the editing stage.

Figure 2. The writing process wheel model.

Extracted from Harmer (2001).

Lastly, López (2017) regarding writing on online platforms manifests that “The
writing process wheel in combination with ICT tools such as online platforms augments
student’s confidence, letting them come up with coherent and logical ideas. (..) Besides,
interaction with ICT resources, tools, and applications makes students feel confident
with the language by having a support represented in feedback, correction, modelling,
examples, and the like that help them achieve common language goals.”

3. Notion as a Digital Learning Platform (DLP)

The abrupt change of lifestyles produced by the COVID-19 quarantines fostered the
digitalization of human and social processes. During 2020 several digital apps and
platforms have exponentially grown due to the massive consumption of their services,
particularly those who provide business and educational assistance. In that way, Notion is
one of the productivity apps who has caught users’ attention.

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 Notion (allowed in www.notion.so) is described as an all-in-one workspace and as a
tool to empower any team, where users can write, plan and get organized (Notion website,
2020). It is ideal to create notes and to manage projects and tasks. Notion is not only
available for internet browsers, but also counts with a desktop application and a mobile
app (compatible with iOS and Android), which are always cloud-sync and allow users’
access in multiple devices all over the world. Due to this characteristic, the proposed Digital
Notebook can be accessed in any device, online or offline, anywhere, making this option
perfect for the XXI century students.

The potential of Notion as a Digital Learning Platform is provided by the wide

variety of tools and opportunities offered to the students/users. Other interesting features
are the possibility of co-editing pages among several users, allowing team collaboration,
and the chance to let comments in each content block, allowing group discussions and
teacher’s feedback everywhere.

It is a fruitful chance to develop students’ metacognitive abilities as they are

constantly learning and applying new ways to organize information, therefore, data and
knowledge. In a scaffolded context, this platform may reinforce and strengthen students'
learning processes, as well as the willingness to learn autonomously and the motivation for
lifelong learning.

The process of creation of the Digital Notebook was oriented by the ADDIE model
presented by Bates (2018). “This design model is used by many professional instructional
designers for technology-based teaching and it is also heavily used in corporate e-learning
and training” (Bates, 2018). In this model, ADDIE stands for Analyse, Design, Develop,
Implement and Evaluate, which are the five stages of this cycle. Even though this model
inspired the development of the DLP, the last two stages (Implement and Evaluate) could
not be put into practice as this report is just a pedagogical proposal. Further
implementation and evaluation of the Digital Notebook is ideal.

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 To continue with this section, a description of the Digital Notebook is presented. The
“Home” section is the most probable section of the notebook to be personalized by the user,
because it is mainly a presentation section. In general, the Digital Notebook is supposed to
contain several authentic videos recorded by the teacher, whose purpose is to scaffold the
usage of the platform and the development of the activities. It is important that the teacher
orients the learning process by establishing this asynchronous contact with the student,
because it is expected to reinforce the commitment of the students with their study.

On the “My English class” section there is a board with all the relevant information
regarding the course. The purpose of this section is to group all the relevant information of
the course in order to facilitate the students' access.

Figure 3. Preview of the “My English class” section of the Digital Notebook on
Notion.

The most relevant pedagogical resources can be found on the “My notebook” section
of the platform. Here are four mini sections which pursue different pedagogical goals each,
namely, My first checklist, Session’s materials, Vocabulary chart and My class notes.

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 Figure 4. Preview of the “My notebook” section of the Digital Notebook on.

On “Sessions’ materials” the main materials for each class can be found. The section
includes a page for each lesson and every page has the same internal design and tools.
Every session page contains a side for the lesson’s objective, a paragraph and a video
introducing the lesson, a navigation section, plus the class notes, the favourite connectors
page and the vocabulary chart. Besides, there is a section named “moments of the lesson”
which includes a toggle list with the activities and content of each section of the class.

Each lesson is divided into 4 moments: warm up activity, content development,

closure and exit ticket. The lesson page is complemented with a column named “Resources”
composed by 6 bookmarks to different external websites that can be used as helping tools
at the moment of writing. Students are expected to use these tools whenever they need it to
facilitate their production processes. Having these tools at hand may decrease students’
anxiety and increase students’ self-confidence when producing texts in the L2.

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 Figure 5. Preview of the “Sessions” pages of the Digital Notebook on Notion.

The Vocabulary chart is a database intended to help L2 learners to monitor,

motivate and facilitate the cognitive process of acquiring new vocabulary, converting the
abstract silent experience into a concrete, visual and explicit process. This database not
only allows the registration of new concepts, but also provides more complex options in
direct benefits of the learners. Further research on the pedagogical implications of this
vocabulary tool is suggested to be done in the future.

The last mini-section is “My Class notes”. This database contains a premade
template whose purpose is to register students’ notes every class. It contains a list for the
new learned content, a list of to-do boxes, and enough space for important notes and other
spontaneous ideas. This tool, and the Vocabulary chart as well, are powerful learning
gadgets that can strengthen students’ acquisition of the L2.

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 Finally, the “Extra resources” section is a bookmark repository full of direct accesses
to different websites related to students’ learning process.

Figure 6. Preview of the “Extra resources” section of the Digital Notebook on

Notion.

To move on, the feasibility of the Digital Notebook has been determined based on
Faustmann, Kirchner, Lemke & Monett’s (2019) top defining characteristics of a successful
digital learning platform. Indeed, the Digital Notebook contemplates the following
imperative characteristics: access to multimedia content, sharing knowledge, use of
collective knowledge, fast search for relevant content, personalized control of knowledge
progress, exchange of content with others, and better control of the learning process.

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 Figure 7. Top 10 defining characteristics of digital learning and teaching.

Extracted from Faustmann, Kirchner, Lemke & Monett (2019).

Figure 8. Top 10 Success factors of digital learning and teaching technologies.

Extracted from Faustmann, Kirchner, Lemke & Monett (2019).

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 Besides, one of the conclusions of the same study is that students are not willing to
create or participate in communities related to a given topic, instead, they prefer to avoid
interaction to foster autonomous learning at a personal and individual pace. In relation to
that, the Digital Notebook considers most of the success factors of a DLP, namely, learning
materials are always available, quality of the content, user-friendly and intuitive, free-
access, reliable material, offers a variety of activities, different learning groups and types
feel addressed and, of course, frequent use of the technology.

4. Developing students' writing skill using Notion

Students are expected to interact with the platform on three levels based on their
commitment to use the Digital Notebook: “Essential”, “Intermediate” and “Master” levels.
The first category refers to those students who use the platform exclusively to develop the
lesson’s activities with an optional use of the complementary tools. Next, he “Intermediate”
level expects the use of the Vocabulary chart, the “My class notes” database and the Extra
resources section, demonstrating a deeper level of knowledge about the Digital Notebook.

Finally, the “Master” label is for the user capable of personalizing the design of the
whole Digital Notebook, having a deeper knowledge about the functionalities of the
platform. Hence, the students are able to use Notion’s potential to foster their own
metacognitive strategies and optimize their language acquisition process.

In terms of results, students are expected to improve their writing performance

showing progress when contrasting their results on the diagnostic task with the final
outcome of the invitation letter. This must be achieved after following the different writing
stages extracted from the writing process wheel, scaffolding the student from a
brainstorming task until the writing of an authentic letter.

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III. Action plan

From the original research question emerged the following objectives and the next
didactic sequence for its implementation.

General objective:

- Students will apply the writing process wheel model to perform a writing task
(invitation letter) by using the Notion app as a Digital Learning Platform.

Specific objectives:

1. Students will implement the writing process wheel model in their writing
production;
2. Students will monitor their writing process using Notion as a Digital Learning
Platform (DLP);
3. Students will develop a positive attitude towards the use of technology as support to
the improvement of their writing skills.

Didactic material

The main platform created for this pedagogical proposal is the Digital Notebook and
is hosted on the Notion platform. To visit the material, use the following information.

Link & QR code to access the Digital

Notebook:
https://www.notion.so/DIGITAL-
NOTEBOOK-
bcc05e61f08844ed96089e5daf7e6457

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 Figure 9. Access to the Digital Notebook on Notion.

Instruments to collect data

To collect diagnostic data from the students, two main instruments and instances
have been considered. One of the instruments proposed is a questionnaire based on one
applied by Aixia & Wang (2011). This questionnaire aims to collect data regarding
“students’ attitudes toward e-learning environments” and is composed of 10 questions
with a perception scale. The inclusion of this questionnaire is intended to collect students’
preconceptions and predisposition to work with the Digital Learning Platform and to
analyze students’ performance working with the DLP after the implementation of the
proposal. [To see the original questionnaire, go to appendix A.]

The second method to collect data is a writing challenge where the students should
write an invitation letter in a mock writing task at the beginning of the didactic sequence.
The inclusion of this activity is to obtain information about students’ writing skill and prior
knowledge on the genre. All this collected information will be contrasted with students’
performances on the final project to analyze their development working on the Digital
Learning Platform after the study of the writing process wheel model.

Didactic sequence

The didactic sequence is composed of six sessions of 90 minutes each. These

sessions are thought to be online, however they are adapted so every student can follow
the sequence asynchronously. The final outcome of this sequence is an invitation letter that
students are, hypothetically speaking, going to send to their favorite international artists.
This piece of text will be worked on during the whole didactic sequence following different
stages and processes, based on the writing process wheel model.

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 In the first session, students are supposed to activate prior knowledge regarding the
genre invitation letter and learn how to interact with the Notion platform. Then, in the
second session students will know the writing process wheel model, interiorizing its
purpose, stages and utility, to later apply it on a writing mock task. In the same lesson
students are exposed to the final project of the semester. In the third session students learn
how to create a writing plan (a sequence based on the writing process wheel to structure
the writing production process) and prepare their own writing plan for their invitation
letters. Next, students learn planning strategies to start working on the production of their
letters.

In the fourth, fifth and sixth sessions students convert their outlines into a coherent
piece of text. In those sessions, students learn writing strategies, obtain feedback from the
teachers and their pairs, and prepare their texts for the final submission. To finish with the
writing process, students complete a self-evaluation rubric. [To understand the didactic
sequence, go to appendix B.]

Evaluation plan

As an evaluation plan for this didactic sequence, two different categories have been
raised: evaluation for students’ performances and evaluation of Digital Notebook’s utility.
On the one hand, a self-evaluation rubric for the students has been developed in order to
allow them to evaluate their own performances while writing the invitation letter. This
rubric has four main criteria, namely, Class work, Use of strategies, Ask for feedback and
Self-improvement. [To check the self-evaluation rubric, go to appendix C.]

On the other hand, regarding the evaluation of the platform, there was an exit ticket
included at the end of sessions 2, 4 and 6. These exit tickets aim to obtain feedback on the
utility of the Digital Notebook during the writing process, the utility of the writing
resources and tools included on the platform and the platform’s affability.

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Gantt Chart

The following Gantt chart aims to illustrate the process of design and
implementation of this pedagogical proposal. It includes a phase of materials preparation
named “Pre-sessions stage” and a phase of data analysis tagged as “After sessions stage”.

Figure 10. Pedagogical proposal’s Gantt chart

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IV. Reflection
It has not been easy to adapt the teaching style from a classroom context to a digital
environment due to the pandemic consequences, however, the creation of the Digital
Notebook is an incredibly useful tool to narrow the distance between both learning
contexts and to help both, learners and teachers, to face this current challenge. Besides, the
consideration of the Digital Notebook’s feasibility based on Faustmann, Kirchner, Lemke &
Monett’s (2019) top defining characteristics of a successful digital learning platform is an
important support regarding the probabilities of success of the created material.

Regarding the writing task, it has been especially designed for this class group
considering their context, and the distribution of the writing plan within the didactic
sequence is an opportunity to scaffold the writing process in spite of the asynchronous
work of the student.

According to the internet connection access graphic of my students (see figure 1),
the digital notebook can be used for 80% of the class group. Consequently, there is a 20%
of the students, those with low or none internet connection at home, that will require to
work with printed materials. The good news is that every material created on Notion is
totally downloadable as a PDF document, and therefore, printable both in color or in
grayscale. This feature implies that teachers will not be forced to create double material for
online and offline students, concluding in more free time and less workload for the teachers
that have been seriously affected in their mental and physical health during this pandemic.

The only consideration is to include all the digital content in a printable version so
the offline students are able to work on the printed versions of the worksheets without any
trouble. This can be done by including the transcription of videos or audios, including a
PDF capture of a recommended website or the screenshots of any picture attached from the
web in the digital notebook. Having this in mind, any student will be able to work with this
material, either by using Digital Learning Platforms or traditional paper-based documents.

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 This pedagogical proposal, and especially the Digital Notebook, is thought to be a
contribution to any teacher or learner in the world who is wondering about new platforms
to support their learning process. E-learning is a trend that will only increase in the future
as new technologies develop and social challenges emerge. Therefore, friendly platforms as
this material are thought to be everytime more demanded by future learners and teachers.

In relation to my teaching philosophy, I consider that e-learning is the future of

education and is professionally relevant to continue exploring new ways of effective
teaching and learning using digital platforms and internet-based materials. I do not see
myself working in a traditional classroom with a limited number of students, instead, I
visualize myself as a teacher of the world, using the internet and the world itself as a
classroom, promoting lifelong learning beyond schools and fostering the study of new
contents that directly impact on my audience lifestyles. And that is one of the benefits of
internet platforms, because they are not limited to a few people, but they are thought to be
useful for unlimited users around the world, helping the share of knowledge with the rest
of human beings. A new era of knowledge can be closer than we think.

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 V. Conclusion

In conclusion, this pedagogical proposal has helped me to learn more about how to
do pedagogical research and its contributions to one’s pedagogical performance while
teaching something. It is always pertinent to know how to improve one’s teaching, taking
justified decisions for that.

Besides, I consider that I made a pedagogical contribution to the education field, as

solutions are being needed to improve the teaching-learning process in a digital context.
But not only that, adaptations of the Digital Notebook can be prepared for English courses’
tutorships at this university, with the goal of scaffolding students in their English language
acquisition during the first levels or years at the program. Another example of its use is
creating an adaptation of the material for the “Discourse strategies” courses that ILCL
Institute provides to pedagogy students of this university. The goal would be supporting
the inclusion of recently-graduated students in the higher education system at the same
time that they are being scaffolded in their learning process of academic writing.

Finally, after this pedagogical proposal, I can observe a concrete material to work on
in the future. The Digital Notebook is an instrument that I will develop, improve and master
with the time, in order to support my future pedagogical services as a digital educator.
Language acquisition is only one of multiple uses that the Digital Notebook can promote,
but several other uses are still waiting to be proposed.

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VI. References

Aixia, D., & Wang, D. (2011). Factors influencing learner attitudes toward e-learning and
development of e-learning environment based on the integrated e-learning platform.
International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning, 1(3),
264. Available at
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4b95/9f441c23319c1512c088d08f0399d91c6c6c.pd
f

Bates, A. (2018). Teaching in a digital age: Guidelines for designing teaching and
learning. Available at https://openlibrary-
repo.ecampusontario.ca/jspui/handle/123456789/276

Faustmann, G., Kirchner, K., Lemke, C., & Monett, D. (2019). Which factors make digital
learning platforms successful. In 13th Annual International Technology, Education and
Development Conference (INTED), Valencia, Spain. Available at
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Claudia_Lemke/publication/330727964_WHIC
H_FACTORS_MAKE_DIGITAL_LEARNING_PLATFORMS_SUCCESSFUL/links/5c5161de45
8515a4c7499632/WHICH-FACTORS-MAKE-DIGITAL-LEARNING-PLATFORMS-
SUCCESSFUL.pdf

Harmer, J. (2001). The practice of English language teaching. Longman. Available at

https://www.academia.edu/25472823/The_Practice_of_English_Language_Teaching_4t
h_Edition_Jeremy_Harmer

Law, K., Geng, S., & Li, T. (2019). Student enrollment, motivation and learning
performance in a blended learning environment: The mediating effects of social,
teaching, and cognitive presence. Computers & Education, 136, 1-12. Available at
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131519300508

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 López, J. (2017). The Influence of ICT in the Development of Writing Skills through an
Online Platform. Matices en Lenguas Extranjeras, (11), 19-44. Available at
https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/male/article/view/71852/65831

Notion.so. (2020). Product overview. Available at https://www.notion.so/product

UNESCO. (2010). ICT Transforming Education. Bangkok: UNESCO Asia and Pacific
Regional Bureau for Education. Available at
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000189216

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VII. Appendix

A. Aixia & Wang (2011)’s questionnaire

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 B. Didactic sequence

Lesson Activities

1 [Main topic] Diagnostic & Notion

Time [Warm up] Reflection question: What do you know

about letters? Brainstorming about letters.
90 minutes
[Content] Teachers introduce the diagnostic
evaluations: a questionnaire about e-learning
Objective experiences and a writing challenge; Students answer
the questionnaire and write an invitation letter from
Students will be able to: scratch as diagnostic; Teachers present different
models of invitation letters; Teachers present sections
- remember what of a letter; Teachers introduce Notion platform and
invitation letters are share the Digital Notebook.
- complete diagnostic
activities [Closure] Students participate in an interactive
- interact with a Digital tutorial to learn how to work on Notion.
Learning Platform

Lesson Activities

2 [Main topic] Writing process wheel & project

Time [Warm up] Students reflect on the importance of

writing in humans’ lives and its changes along
90 minutes history.

[Content] Teachers introduce the writing process

Objective wheel and its four stages; Students do
brainstorming on what processes are done in
Students will be able to: every stage; Students complete a writing wheel
exercise based on a mock writing task; Teachers
- understand the writing introduce the guidelines of the final project’s
process wheel and its writing challenge (related to Viña del Mar
stages Festival).
- apply the writing process
wheel principles in a [Closure] Students reflect on the following
writing task question: why is it useful to learn writing
- identify the main tasks for strategies? how can that improve our daily life
their final projects writing?

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 Lesson Activities

3 [Main topic] Writing plan & Planning

Time [Warm up] Students remember the writing

process wheel’s stages.
90 minutes
[Content] Teachers introduce a writing plan and
how to make it; Students create their own writing
Objective plan for their final project’s invitation letter;
Teachers present strategies for planning; Students
Students will be able to: do a brainstorming activity for the first stage of
their writing plan.
- understand the main
elements of a writing plan [Closure] Students predict what will be done in
- create a writing plan the future lessons based on their writing plans.
based on the writing
process wheel model
- learn and apply planning
strategies

Lesson Activities

4 [Main topic] Drafting & Editing

Time [Warm up] What are the most used linking words
and phrases? Brainstorming of connectors.
90 minutes
[Content] Strategies to create your first draft
(based on work done on the planning stage); Core
Objective activity: students transform the brainstorming
into a first draft of the invitation letter; Next,
Students will be able to: teachers help students to remember connectors
and add them into the draft; Students share their
- learn and apply drafting texts with the teachers to obtain feedback.
strategies
- remember linking words [Closure] Teachers present different writing tools
and phrases that are available in the Digital Notebook and that
- obtain feedback on their may be useful in the future stages of the writing
letter’s drafts plan.
- learn new tools in
Notion’s Digital
Notebooks

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 Lesson Activities

5 [Main topic] Improving the letter

Time [Warm up] Teachers show different models of

invitation letters; students extract ideas to
90 minutes complement their texts.

[Content] Teachers provide feedback on

Objective students’ drafts; Students continue working on
their invitation letters; Once the letter is almost
Students will be able to: ready, students share their draft with a partner
to obtain pair-feedback.
- remember main elements of
invitation letters [Closure] Students reflect on the utility of
- analyze teachers’ feedbacks obtaining pair feedback and the importance of
- integrate feedback and providing feedback to others.
improve their texts
- obtain pair feedback

Lesson Activities

6 [Main topic] Final letter

Time [Warm up] Students make comments on the

feedback they gave to their partners.
90 minutes
[Content] Teachers present strategies for the
final revision of a text; Students make the last
Objective edits to the invitation letters; students deliver;
Students apply a self-evaluation rubric.
Students will be able to:
[Closure] Teacher promotes reflection on the
- reflect on the feedback benefits of creating a writing plan based on the
obtained on previous writing process wheel and the utility of
sessions working with a Digital Learning Platform as
- learn and apply final revision Notion.
strategies
- finish their writing projects
- apply a self-evaluation rubric
- reflect on their writing
process

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C. Self-evaluation rubric

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