Class: TED 531 English Methods 2

In this assignment, we were instructed to study Ruddell and Unrau’s Model which shows
reading as a meaning-constructing process. The model shows how both teachers and students
both have knowledge, experience, learning strengths, and cultural differences. The teacher must
keep these in mind when planning lessons. In every lesson, teachers learn more information
about their students which will help inform them when planning their future lessons. This
assignment helped me further understand how teachers and students work together to create a
positive and productive learning environment, and how to keep learning more about my students
to meet their individual needs.

Reading Response 1

Alyssa Walsh

9/13/2021

Part 1:

Ruddell and Unrau’s model has a lot of moving pieces. Imagine, however, you needed to briefly

explain the big picture to a group of teachers. In Part 1 of this reader response, explain

(summarize) the model in about 200-300 words.

Ruddell and Unrau’s model demonstrates how students and teachers both bring varying affective

and cognitive conditions that affect the learning and instructional process. The learning

environment, consisting of the teacher, reader, and classroom community interact to create a

culture that allows students to construct meaning from texts and allows teachers to gain insight

on their students that will help them create more effective lessons in the future. Both the teacher

and the student have prior beliefs and knowledge (affective and cognitive conditions) that they

bring to the classroom. These conditions affect how lessons are formed and taught, and how

knowledge is constructed. Within the learning environment, students and teachers work together

to find meaning from the material. As an outcome, students gain semantic and lexical knowledge
and may have changes in motivation, attitudes, and beliefs. Teachers gain these as well as

insights into their students and their instructional methods. Teachers can then use these insights

to inform future lesson planning and better serve their students.

Part 2:

Dr. Denise gave a guided pre-reading lecture on the model. What effect did the lecture have on

your understanding of the model components, including the academic vocabulary? What if there

had been no lecture—what do you think reading the chapter might have been like for you?

Before Dr. Denise explained the model to us, she asked for our first impressions. While I was too

nervous to admit it at first, the amount of words and complex visuals overwhelmed me and I

couldn’t focus in on what the model was actually saying. Molly eventually noted that it was a lot

of words for her at first, so her mind focused instead on the visual structures of the model. That

is similar to how I felt at first, and I’m sure similar to what many of my students would feel if I

presented them with a seemingly complicated model like this one. After Dr. Denise zeroed in on

specific parts of the model and explained each component individually, I was able to understand

the overall picture much easier. Something that helped with understanding the academic

vocabulary was when she reminded us of the terms we learned in Ed Psych over the summer.

Connecting “cognitive and affective conditions” with the content of the class triggered memories

of meaning in not only that vocabulary, but also in related vocabulary. This helped my overall

understanding of the model. In Ed Psych, we talked about sociocognitive theories, which assume

that both social/environmental factors and cognitive factors contribute to behavior and learning.

This relates to the model’s “prior beliefs and knowledge” component of the model, because both

conditions relating to social and cultural backgrounds and cognitive conditions are factors that
contribute to students’ and teachers’ meaning-construction process. If there hadn’t been a lecture,

I believe I would have eventually gotten the idea of the model, but it would have taken me a bit

longer and I likely would have missed certain connections.

Part 3:Now that you have thought about your own experience with the complex schematic

(visual handout) and the academic vocabulary in Ruddell & Unrau’s model, respond to this:

What have you learned from this experience that you can apply to your own planning for

instruction? Be specific in your response; then give a concrete example to illustrate your

response.

The biggest thing that stands out for me in this model is how students’ affective and cognitive

conditions affect how they process new information. In the lecture, Dr. Denise discussed the

importance of learning as much as we can about our students so that we can prepare for these

conditions and plan our lessons with students’ perceptions, beliefs, prior knowledge, and other

backgrounds in mind. I have a student in one of my English 12 classes who hates reading. We

gave out “get to know you” surveys at the beginning of the year, and that was one of the first

things he mentioned when it asked about “likes and dislikes” in English classes. A few days later

we had a class discussion on an article that talked about shame in the classroom, and the student

spoke about how when he was younger he was always made fun of in class when he would read

aloud, because his skills were lower than most of the other students in the class. This had a great

effect on him, and the negative associations he had with reading caused him to no longer enjoy it.

Knowing this has made me further consider ways to make sure all my students feel safe

participating in class. I want to be careful to not put pressure on him or any other student to read

aloud when they might not yet feel comfortable. I hope that with time, he will feel safe enough to

read aloud, and that positive experiences in the class will help him find enjoyment in reading
again. I was also recently given the Lexile scores of all the students recently. Knowing an

approximate level of where my students are at will help me plan instruction accordingly, and will

help me focus in on the students who may need extra support. The section of the model

“Outcomes of Instructional Decision Making” is also something I will be thinking about when

planning for my classes. The reflective aspect of teaching is so important to improving strategies

and making sure that the teacher is instructing in a way that is most beneficial to the students.

There can always be improvements to make. Every lesson is an opportunity to reflect and gain

more insight on my students so that I can make changes to best help them.