MTV Instructional Strategy and Reflection

Although I felt that my lesson went quite well, I felt like we could have done more with
it. I felt that we tried to crunch a lot of our lesson together when we could have taken more time
to analyze and understand what our poetry video was saying and how it made the “students” feel.
We had the Color, Symbol, Image strategy. I liked the way we opened our lesson with a practice
question as this strategy felt quite subjective. For strategies where students need to assess their
feelings and emotions toward content, I felt that we needed to start with a question where they
could analyze themselves in the moment. We decided to go with a starter question about how
they felt in general, so we could build on trust and understanding of the task. When we
introduced the poem, which was quite a heavy topic, we had them think of colors, symbols, and
images associated with this rather than with themselves. I believe that starting with themselves
and then moving into a body of work helped them transition into this creative thinking with more
ease. A piece of feedback we received was stopping the video at points and asking the question
of color, symbol, and image throughout. This was because the poem we showed changed in tone
a few times, meaning our students interpretation of the poem likely changed over the course of
the video. In the future, I would Monitor student thinking multiple times during the task rather
than assessing their thoughts at the end. I felt that I gathered a sense of how important the
progression of learning and emotion throughout a text can change as students experience it.
Through my reflection and use of this strategy, I felt that there were a multitude of ways
in which I could use this in my content area (which is English). From the small experience I have
had with students, I have seen the ways in which the English content areas subjectivity is hard to
grasp. English often deals with feeling and assessing one’s own understanding of various texts.
This strategy proved to be a great way for students to assess and analyze their emotions about a
text. Furthermore, I also saw the progression from assessing emotions to then connecting these
emotions to the general themes seen throughout the text. I might use this to analyze pieces of
poems or excerpts from class novels. I think this strategy would work particularly well when
analyzing pieces of text that might be controversial or hard to dissect. I even found it easier to
pick up the tone and emotion behind the poem we used as I imagined different colors and
imagery.
Moreover, using this strategy to pinpoint emotion and understanding, I could see the CSI
strategy used for writing units in the English classroom. Students could use evidence gathered
from the activity to write argumentative essays on why the poem portrays specific colors and
images. Additionally, students could even use this strategy to complete a narrative writing unit
about why they feel certain emotions during different parts of text. To elaborate, I would see
student learning through determining if they are making connections with the text emotionally.
This is a very subjective activity, and it is hard to assess whether students are making
connections that make sense. It is also an activity where we may not be able to tell a student that
they are doing it wrong, because it is so based off feeling. In my opinion, if students are making
connections and at the same time backing up their findings with real pieces of evidence from the
text, they are Likely where they need to be.
Another strategy I could see myself using in my classroom is “The Circle of
Viewpoints”, given by Zoe. She used the example of Wagner and the controversy of using his
work in schools. She asked a few questions including one about Wagner along the lines of
“should _____ be taught in schools”. They gave ample background knowledge and provided us
with a jumping off point to form our opinions. What was unique about this strategy was the ways
in which students had to also come up with arguments from the other sides of the argument. I
could see myself using this in an argumentative writing unit. In English it is also important for
students to see other sides of the argument to counter their claims. Moreover, I think this exercise
builds empathy and understanding for the sides of an argument which may be different from our
own. Because of this, I also think this would be a good exercise to use when students are learning
ethos, logos, and pathos in the classroom. This exercise builds on soft skills and logical skills,
and I could see myself using it to supplement a diverse range of content in my classroom.
Additionally, Abbey and Bo used the “Step Inside” activity. In this activity, the students
look at a body of work or an image to analyze. The students were asked to assess the emotions,
thoughts, and beliefs of the people in a painting by Picasso. Students were given the background
knowledge necessary to understand the significance behind the painting and in turn what the
people depicted in the painting might be doing or thinking. Students were then asked to zoom in
on one piece of this painting and think about who these people might be and what they might be
feeling. This was a heavy painting to analyze, but discussing the feelings of the people depicted
with groups almost made It easier to dissect, especially because when we came back as a whole
class we all had chosen different imagery, meaning we gathered a sense of what the painting
might be doing when put together again. I could see myself using this strategy when building
empathy in my classroom. Specifically, I could see myself using this in a whole class novel,
asking students to assess the feelings, thoughts, and beliefs about characters, especially
characters who might be harder to understand. If each group were to choose one character from
the text in which they were intrigued by, we would have a good understanding about how they
are all working together to create a story, just like each image in a Picasso painting works
together. I might also follow up this strategy with a mini lesson about character choice, and how
these choices develop and change the outcomes.
The last strategy I could see myself using is the “Tug of War” strategy taught by Lily and
Jaqueline. I felt like this strategy tied in well with the “Circle of Viewpoints”. I felt this way
because they both deal with thinking and assessing other viewpoints. Although the strategies
seemed to have a lot of similarities, I found that this one relied more heavily on making the
decision. I felt that I could use this when students were stuck about what the right or wrong
answer was. Students can use evidence to determine which side is correct, while also
understanding that there are arguments for both sides, as well as arguments which are different
from our own. This could be used to allow students to form solid opinions. I would specifically
use this at the beginning of an argumentative writing unit to help them begin to form and back up
opinions with evidence. I might also use this when students are divided on moral issues within
text. I think it is important to never disclose your opinion during this activity, but to encourage
students to have their own opinions and to understand that there are other sides worth exploring.
I found all of these strategies useful tools for my future classroom, I am excited to begin
implementing them into my lessons moving forward.