Eliza Pierce's Portfolio Page
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Introduction
I have been teaching for four years as a High School Spanish teacher and have enjoyed watching others learn my native language and cultural experiences. I have been in the CDIT program since 2013 and I am almost at the end of this incredible journey in order to continue this chapter in my life in education. I have been a single mom for over six years which have been spent working hard to raise my daughters to help them become positive, strong, intelligent, and independent young ladies. I also have two cats named Hermoine and Fergie as well as two dogs named Duncan(rat terrier mix) and Lexi(golden retriever). I love to spend time with my daughters, reading, listening to my old records, and gardening.
My Topic/Purpose
This mini course is based on the usage of cultural artifacts in the language classroom. In other words, using any cultural item to support a specific lesson in the Spanish classroom within a high school setting. For example,I have often used food to support a short reading or cultural activity in my classroom. Since it is a New York standard to teach culture in the language classroom I have found that this adds a level of "real life" that a book or article cannot access on its own. Teaching Spanish with cultural artifacts creates layers of understanding that helps students see more than mere words could ever express on a piece of paper. How could a student who has never set foot on a beach touching the ocean ever really know how it feels by just reading about it? How can a student understand the feeling of walking through a rain forest and hearing the sound of a beautiful Coquí without actually hearing what they sound like in real time? Artifacts can do this and so much more! Cultural artifacts can bring a whole new world that in the past was out of the students reach and into the palms of their hands in an instant.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this mini course learners will be able to:
- Understand the meaning of artifacts.
- Know how to use cultural artifacts in a classroom environment.
- Develop lessons that support both cultural artifacts and foreign language learning.
- Understand the importance of using cultural artifacts in the foreign language classroom and how to properly assess students in the process.
Needs Assessment
Instructional Problem
Often times in teaching,getting kids to be motivated to learn a new language can be a difficult task. Creating an environment that is engaging and motivating to language learners can be done by the addition of cultural artifacts that provide a visual stimulant for the language learners. In “The student perception of visual arts in the speaking classroom”(2010) it is discussed that “the use of works of art as authentic cultural artifacts of the language is not a common practice for motivating students in the speaking classroom.” which is an unfortunate reality in some language classrooms of today. In creating this mini-course I intend to help participants to better understand the proper usage and importance of using cultural artifacts in the language classroom in order to garner better results for their students as well as higher levels of success in language acquisition.
Cultural artifacts are not limited to the use of visual arts. Participants will better understand how to use all manner of cultural artifacts in lesson plans to support grammar lessons and various levels of reading and listening comprehension. Unfortunately, with the current focus on data and assessments, many language teachers are using their teaching time to focus on knowledge that is needed for passing assessments only rather than utilizing the time to also focus on the long term language usage of the learner outside of the classroom environment. By adding cultural artifacts to the learning process, participants can not only create a learning environment that is conducive to long term language usage but they can also fulfill their requirements for more successful assessment results.
Goals of mini-course
The main goal of this mini-course is to allow participants to gain a better understanding of what cultural artifacts are and how they can help support learning of a new language in a learning environment. This mini-course will also support participants in the learning of creating lesson plans and assessments that support cultural artifact usage for the sake of learning a new language.
Analysis of the Learner and Context
About the learner
This course will be primarily for adult participants that have a background knowledge of teaching languages other than English. The participants should already understand the value of teaching a second language and should have an education background in such fields. Participants should also have a basic knowledge of creating lesson plans and assessments for a language classroom. They will use these basic skills to create lesson plans and assessments that support cultural artifacts in the language classroom.
Instructional Context
Participants will need access to a computer and the internet to create lesson plans and assessments that support the usage of cultural artifacts in the language classroom. They will also need to read supporting materials that promotes the usage of cultural artifacts that will be provided through the mini-course. These readings will be the springboard to the participant’s learning process as well as future research/investigations on the topic of cultural artifacts within education.
Performance Objectives
- Given an introduction on cultural artifacts, learners will gain a better understanding of what these are and how they can support the language learning process.
- Given a step by step instructional lesson on using artifacts, learners will be able to create lessons that make use of an array of cultural artifacts.
- Given an artifact, learners will be shown how to create a lesson plan based on this artifact and how to support it with additional cultural supporting artifacts.
- Given sample lessons and a reflection piece, learners will analyze and deduce possible solutions and /or conclusions to pros and cons of using artifacts for learning a new language.
- Given a final project, learners will be able to create their own lesson plan using cultural artifacts based on their learning throughout the mini-course.
Task Analysis
This mini-course includes the following units. Click the title of a unit to go to its page!
Unit 1: Introduction to Cultural Artifacts
- In the first half of this unit, participants will learn the meaning of cultural artifacts in Lesson 1: What is a cultural artifact?. Here participants will complete a series of scholarly readings and then participate in an online discussion with other participants. Once this discussion is complete, participants will complete a brief assessment based on their new knowledge of cultural artifacts.
- In the second half of this unit, participants will consider the pros and cons of teaching with cultural artifacts in Lesson 2: Positive and Negative Effects of Learning with Cultural Artifacts. Here participants will review articles and videos, participate in a small discussion with other participants that is based on the readings, and then complete an individual reflection on the pros and cons of using cultural artifacts in their specific subject matter.
Unit 2: Utilizing Cultural Artifacts in the Classroom
- In the first half of this unit, Lesson 3: Factors that make an effective lesson plan when using Cultural Artifacts. participants will review both the positive and negative effects that entail teaching with cultural artifacts. Participants will complete readings/videos, review a sample lesson plan that uses cultural artifacts both in a positive way as well as in a negative fashion and then reflect on what should have been different in the sample lesson plan. Here participants must also begin to think about a topic they will be using to create their own lesson plan in the next section of this unit.
- In this last section of the course, Lesson 4: Creating lessons using cultural artifacts. participants will be creating their own lesson plans based on a topic of their own choice that is based on their known subject matter. Lesson plan must include 3 artifacts, a rubric, and sample assessments. Participants will also participate in a class discussion and post on at least 2 other discussion posts to give suggestions/comments based on individually reviewed lesson plans based on a given lesson plan rubric from the course.
Curriculum Map
Below you will find the course curriculum map developed to show the connections between course topics, course objectives/student outcomes, and course assessments throughout the course units and lessons.
File:CurriculumMapforTeachingwithCulturalArtifacts(2).pdf
References and Resources
Bayri, G. The Student Perception of Visual Arts in the Speaking Classroom. http://www.openaccesslibrary.org/images/RLN220_Gaye_Bayri.pdf