8/10/2019 Instructional Design Teaching Unit Reflection

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Angela Falkenberg

Library Media Practicum

Instructional Design Reflection

Prior to working with the Mrs. Singman, the ESOL teacher, I was unfamiliar with the standards

and lesson planning for this particular educational setting. Her classes last slightly longer than other

content areas, and the students are pulled from their homerooms to attend her class each day. When

we began the process of planning lessons with the integration of technology and my suggestions as a

media specialist, we brainstormed tools that both kindergarteners and students requiring ESOL would

be able to understand with the aid of a teacher or media specialist. Although the students have less test

score history than older students, Mrs. Singman and I discussed what she has noticed from the students

or heard from teachers about their struggles in the classroom. Typically, these students found it difficult

to remember the pronunciation of some of the letter. Others found sight recognition a struggle,

especially if they were learning this alphabet from a language with a completely different alphabet. Mrs.

Singman and I agreed that visual and audio practice would be important aids in helping the students

master the alphabet.

We decided to design our unit around the instructional design element of backwards design. As

a school that incorporates Expeditionary Learning, the end product through a showcase or project

guides what teachers do in their planning. The beginning step in designing the unit was determining the

end product and desired results. Mrs. Singman pointed out that she would like the students to be able

to teach other students what they have learned, so we decided flash cards or a similar product would be

the best way to help others. From there, I found an app, called Whiteboard Lite: Collaborative Drawing,

the students would easily be able to use to demonstrate and meet the standards. Once we planned the

final product and acceptable use of evidence, we were then able to plan the instruction. This lastelement was an area Mrs. Singman was more familiar with since I have not used the ESOL standards

before.

Our school does not have a variety of technology, and it’s often not available for unique classes

like ESOL. We are trying to bring Chromebooks into these classes, but at the time these tools were being

used by another ESOL teacher. As a result, Mrs. Singman and I planned the lessons around her personal

iPad. Since tools were limited, we decided to create centers to ensure students could rotate around and

try different elements throughout the lesson. In groups, they could help each other and share their

background knowledge while also learning how to cooperate with and support one another in their

learning.

Overall, I believe the unit could be further tweaked once more technological support becomes

available to the school. For instance, if more iPads were at the school, perhaps the students could use

their drawings to create ebooks for future ESOL learners. Backwards design certainly has its merits in

creating worthwhile lesson plans, so I would encourage other teachers I collaborate with to try this

method.