Personally, I feel that the lesson plan is structured mainly according to the Interactionist and Cognitivist theories.
I
Interactionist
Looking at the main activities, it is not difficult to identify the Interactionist theory behind it. For most of the lesson, the students worked in pairs and listened to how their classmates speak, which provides a platform for peer evaluation when they evaluate both their classmates’ and their own readings. The lesson is generally interactive as the students are working mostly with their partner or classmates online. According to Vygotsky (1978), such social interaction brings about the development in students language competence.
Interactionist
Looking at the main activities, it is not difficult to identify the Interactionist theory behind it. For most of the lesson, the students worked in pairs and listened to how their classmates speak, which provides a platform for peer evaluation when they evaluate both their classmates’ and their own readings. The lesson is generally interactive as the students are working mostly with their partner or classmates online. According to Vygotsky (1978), such social interaction brings about the development in students language competence.
C
The Cognitivist likened the human mind to that of the computer where the “information comes in, is being processed, and leads to certain outcomes”. In the lesson plan, the teacher explains the ‘rule’ explicitly – syllables have a fall tone before a full stop or an exclamation mark, and a rising tone before a comma or a question mark. Following on, the teacher also explains how pitch and tone lead to expressiveness, especially during reading aloud, which reminds the students to be aware of their own speeches. These explicit teaching would make up the information input to the students. Through peer feedback, the students reflect on their own reading [processing] and put the new knowledge into practice, just like the processing of the computer.
The Cognitivist likened the human mind to that of the computer where the “information comes in, is being processed, and leads to certain outcomes”. In the lesson plan, the teacher explains the ‘rule’ explicitly – syllables have a fall tone before a full stop or an exclamation mark, and a rising tone before a comma or a question mark. Following on, the teacher also explains how pitch and tone lead to expressiveness, especially during reading aloud, which reminds the students to be aware of their own speeches. These explicit teaching would make up the information input to the students. Through peer feedback, the students reflect on their own reading [processing] and put the new knowledge into practice, just like the processing of the computer.
f
Strengths
1) A wide range of suitable ICT tools [video,IFS, e-portal recording, e-portal forum] used in the lesson to engage the students. According to Towndrow (2007), “Children are generally excited about using technology especially when it is compared with individual work that is based on a textbook or workbook. ICT is acknowledged for its power to motivate, engage and empower…”
- Using a video to start the lesson strikes an interest in the students as it engages them directly.
- Using the IFS gadget provides immediate feedback and helps to monitor the students’ understanding, so that the teacher can identify and assist the students who need help with the task.
2) Student-centred approach is highlighted
- As students collaborate and learn from one another, there is an emphasis on the active roles of students in learning which “gives them control over what and how they learn”, according to Towndrow (2007).
- Peers as channels of feedback when they observe each other during pair work – Chapelle & Jamieson (2008) found it beneficial “to provide learners with opportunities for interaction because interaction often entails getting clarification about the meaning of language that learners do not initially understand.”
- The use of e-portal forum encourages the student-pairs to assess both their peers’ and own justification of their readings, which brings about ownership in learning.
3) Rule is explicitly taught by the teacher
- Students who did not have the knowledge of varying pitch and tone will then be more conscious of their own speech. According to Chapelle & Jamieson (2008), “learners do not simply pick up important linguistic expression”, instead they have to be explicitly taught to “accomplish specific purposes”.
4) Having rubrics for oral reading allows the students know what is expected of them and how they will assess themselves and their peers.
Weaknesses
A) The teacher decides on all of the learning materials where one size fits all (no differentiation and choices) instead of the students despite the student-centred approach. The students are not given the opportunity to select the learning materials according to their needs and interests, as opposed to the criteria of content selection, one of the four dimensions of student-centred instruction according to Towndrow (2007).
B) The choice of video could be more relevant to the students. It focuses more on plosive sounds instead of the pitch and tone, thus there is a missing link between this video pre-activity and main activity 1.
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