Jonathan Saldana
Vanguard University
EDUG-511
PRQ#6
How do I intentionally use strategies, activities, and materials to make content
accessible to students?
In my classroom of physical education, I plan to intentionally use strategies
of inquiry and exploration for students to build and make connections from past
activities and lessons to new and current activities. In the physical education field I
feel as if there are many aspects to performance skills, movement and strategy that
are related to and can be transferred from one activity to another. Using student
background knowledge and past experiences to make connection between lessons is
one way I hope to make content accessible to them. Having students compare and
contrast similarities and differences between lessons/activities is sure to build
knowledge of what the lesson is and what it is not. Additionally, exposing students
to an inquiry based lesson I feel gives students the idea that they are in control of
their learning and can develop ideas and hypothesis to test out when discovering
the fundamentals for new movement skills or activity.
With the use of these strategies for example, compare and contrasting the
similarities and differences between activities allows for students to use what they
know about a past activity and try to find similarities as to how it relates to the new
lesson. Additionally students will also find differences in the two and determine
what it is not. In class discussion, we learned that students often times can grasp
the concept of a new topic by understanding what it is not(Class Lecture). Having
students make connections and discover how movement skills can be transferred
from one activity to the next is how I can make content accessible to students.
Design and implement instruction and assessment that reflects the
interconnectedness of academic content areas and related student skills
development in literacy, mathematics, science, and other disciplines across the
curriculum, as applicable to the subject area of instruction (TPE 4.3).
Another strategy I would use is an inquiry based learning strategy. I like the
idea of introducing a new lesson to students by having them hypothesis and
discover for themselves how to effectively perform a physical movement. I like the
idea that students will get to experiment and express their creativity and critical
thinking when it comes to identifying what is necessary in order to be successful.
With the use of this strategy, I have to have a clear objective as to what I want
students to take away from this lesson. Mastery of the fundamental ideas of a field
involves not only the grasping of general principles, but also the development of an
attitude toward learning and inquiry, toward guessing and hunches, toward the
possibility of solving problems on ones own (Bruner, pg. 20). Having students
make discoveries on their own is an essential method to having students engaged
and excited about their learning.
Questioning plays a large role in inquiry-based lessons. It can create
excitement and spark interest in students to make discoveries, it extends their think
and allows them to find solutions and make connections. Promote students critical
thinking and analysis through activities that provide opportunities for inquiry,
problem solving, responding to and framing meaningful questions (TPE 1.5). To
keep students engaged, I believe that metacognitive thinking out loud models for
students my thought process as Im working to find a solution to a problem.
Students observe this and can internalize the process of questioning to solve a
problem. Through modeling, students observe and use symbolic coding and
categorizing to make meaning of information and allows them to recall and retain
that information for a longer period of time (Bandura).
In conclusion, these are some of the strategies and activities I plan to
incorporate with my class in order to make content accessible to my students. I
believe that creating a supportive and encouraging environment to students to learn
is great way to keep them engaged and excited about learning. Bruner claims, The
best way to create interest in a subject is to render it worthy knowing, which means
to make the knowledge gained usable in ones thinking beyond the situation in
which the learning has occurred. Making content relatable is fundamental for
student success.
References
Bandura, Albert, 1977. Social Learning Theory
Bruner, S, Jerome, 1963. The Process of Education. Harvard University Press,
Cambridge-Massachusetts.
California Commission on Teaching Credentialing (CTC). (2016). California Teaching
Performance Expectations, TPE 1.3, p. 5
