Jessi Towne

EDUG 511
PRQ #6
October 29, 2015

How do I define the purpose/value of strategies, activities, and materials?

In school, I was taught how to memorize information, but I never knew why I
was learning what I was learning. It was like I was walking around with a head full of
knowledge with no comprehension of why its there or what I am going to do with it.
Value is an important characteristic because it conveys reason and purpose. I will
teach my students to value information so they can be successful in their future
educational and professional endeavors. The value of strategies, activities, and
materials can be determined by understanding how my students learn, engaging
students in the material, and evaluating their assessments.
In order to determine the value of strategies, activities, and materials, I need
to know my students. The better I know my students, the more I will be able to
attend to their individual needs in the classroom. According to TPE 8.2, I will assess
students prior mastery of academic language abilities, content knowledge and
skills, and maximize learning opportunities for all students (Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC), 2013). Vygotsky (1978) says that the zone of proximal
development is the difference between what a student can do with help and what
the student can do without help (p. 208). The better I know my students, the better
I can differentiate instruction to meet their needs. One of my placements is a 2 nd
grade classroom. I get to see and work with these kids twice a week, which means I
am getting to know them pretty well. I know what the students struggle with and
how best to meet their instructional needs. When I learn about my students, I will
understand how they learn most effectively so that I am able to strategize, plan
activities, and utilize the materials needed to meet their needs.
When teaching material is engaging and fun for students, they will be more
inclined to participate and eager to learn. According to Burden and Byrd (2013), a
few strategies that help promote student engagement are providing a supportive

learning environment, having clear goals that are meaningful and relevant,
providing feedback on student performance, providing an optimal level of challenge
for the students ability levels, and providing opportunities for students to
concentrate on tasks (p. 187). Every Monday afternoon, I tutor two struggling
students. One of the activities we do every week is a word study that helps the
students with their foundational English skills. For one of the word studies, we
played a word game. Not only were my tutees engaged, but they were learning
while they were having fun. When teachers see that their students are engaged in
the material, it helps bring value to strategies, materials, and activities used in the
classroom.
Assessments are the final check for understanding of how the value of
strategies, materials, and activities have worked for the students. According to
Stiggins (2007), Assessment for learning turns day-to-day assessment into a
teaching and learning process that enhances (instead of merely monitoring) student
learning (p. 22). When I taught the shared reading lesson in my 2 nd grade
classroom, the activity that I had the students complete for an assessment was a
flip book that evaluated the students depiction of the characters, the setting, and
their favorite part of the story. This assessment activity enhanced their learning
while engaging the students, which brought value to the strategies, materials, and
activities that made the assessment a success.
By knowing that the value of strategies, activities, and materials can be
determined by understanding how my students learn, engaging students in the
material, and evaluating their assessments, I can equip my students in
understanding why we learn what we learn.

References
Burden, P.R., & Byrd, D.M. (2013). Assessing and Reporting Student Performance.
Methods for effective teaching (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education, Inc.
Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2013). California teaching performance
expectations. Retrieved from http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/TPAfiles/TPEs-Full-Version.pdf
Stiggins, R. (2007, May 1). Assessment Through the Students' Eyes. Retrieved
October 29, 2015, from
http://learn.vanguard.edu/pluginfile.php/420355/mod_resource/content/2/Stiggi
ns - Assessment through the Students eyes.pdf
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Interaction between learning and development. In Mind and
Society: The development of higher psychological processes (pp. 79-91).
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.