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Kate Lomazzo

CURR 611-01

Adult Coaching Lesson

Topic: Sewing

Goal of the

James is a 22-year-old Caucasian male. He recently ripped a very large hole in a

instruction

favorite quilt and expressed the desire to learn how to mend it. Therefore, the

Who?

goal of the instruction is for James to learn how to sew, particularly in order to fix
his blanket. Sewing is also a useful skill that he should be able to use in the

Preparation/Consid

future.
Preparations and Materials:

erations

Since James reported no prior experience in sewing, I gathered scraps of fabric


and dark thread for him to practice. Although thread is often selected to blend
into the fabric, it made sense to scaffold instruction with dark thread for guided
practice. Therefore, the needed materials are black thread, scrap fabric, white
thread, the ripped quilt, sewing needles, scissors, and a flat surface.
Other:
An additional consideration is that James has extensive previous experience with
welding (a metal-working technique which involves the fusion of two pieces of
metal). I will be able to link his prior knowledge of welding with the new

Process of

knowledge of sewing as both processes involve joining two pieces of a material.


Activation of prior knowledge:

instruction

Since I am relatively unfamiliar with welding, I asked James to describe the

How?

general purpose and process to me. I then asked him to find parallels between
welding and what he knows about the goal of sewing. I extended his prior
knowledge of welding technique to sewing by guiding him towards the
identification of similarities between the two (i.e. the materials need to be close
together; the goal is to have no gaps between the materials; the end product
should be strong; etc.).

Modeling/Think-aloud:
Using two pieces of scrap fabric and the dark thread, I modeled my process as I
sewed the two scrap pieces together. This included the initial steps of cutting the
thread, threading the needle, and tying the knot. I thought aloud during the
process, for example: I need to connect these two pieces of fabric, like well
need to do later on your blanket. Just like with welding, then, I need to make sure
that both pieces are involved so I have to bring the thread through both, like this.
I want to be sure there are no gaps in the stitches, so I make the stitches very close
to each other.
Guided Practice:
I then provided James with pieces of fabric, dark thread, a needle, and the scissors
and asked him to sew the two pieces together. As he worked, I encouraged him to
go slowly at first. Occasionally I guided his hand with my own to help reinforce
the under-over motion. I watched over his shoulder and pointed out areas that I
thought were very good, and asked questions to prompt his thinking. For
example: What do you notice about your stitches? and I notice that there are
no gaps between the fabric because your stitches are tight!
Then, we moved from the sample fabric to the actual blanket. As needed, I
reminded him about proper technique by showing him on the sample fabric
alongside his work on the blanket. During this practice, new situations arose like
how to remove a stitch that was messed up and again I demonstrated the solutions
with the sample fabric. I did all demonstrations on the scrap fabric to ensure that
Reflection: What

he felt ownership in his work on the blanket.


Since I am used to teaching very young children, teaching an adult was an

did I learn about

interesting experience for me. I noticed that there are actually many parallels

the way that I

between the two age groups. Primarily, I learned that both adults and children are

teach/coach?

motivated when the skill is relevant; I dont believe James would have ever
wanted to learn how to sew if his blanket hadnt ripped. I also learned that
explicit vocabulary instruction is sometimes necessary for adults (as it often is
with children) because James didnt know certain terms like hem. The primary
difference that I noticed, however, was the language appropriate for use. Certain
phrases we use often with children would seem condescending to adults.
I also learned that when teaching an adult, the goal should not be for him to
complete the task your way. While my example provided a solid example of
effective sewing, James employed other intuitive techniques that worked well for
him (for example, he held the needle differently than I did because otherwise,
without fail, the thread got tangled around his fingers). This is an important
consideration for literacy coaches who must respect teachers knowledge and

Review:

beliefs, even if they are different from those of the coach (Bean & DeFord, 2012).
Choice Words:

Did I

Even while working with an adult, I was able to employ choice words (Johnston,

employ

2004). The most common phrase I used was I notice that As mentioned

choice

words?
What

worked?
What

above, I said this often during guided practice to help James attend to things like
the size of his stitches. Additionally, I often said Thats like when drawing
attention to the connection between welding and sewing. This worked by helping
James transfer his old knowledge about welding to the new context of sewing.
Before he began working on the actual blanket, I asked How are you planning to

didnt

go about this? to which he responded with a retelling of the steps of the sewing

work?
What

process. This prompt also increased his self-confidence with using the new skill.
Finally, when he finished sewing and held up the mended blanket, I told him You

would I
do

must be so proud of yourself! so that he hopefully attached positive feelings to


the act of sewing.

differently

Positives:

next time?

I believe that the use of choice words really enhanced my lesson. First of all, they
helped set the tone that we were in a non-evaluative learning environment
(Shanklin, 2006). For example, saying I notice was an objective way to help
James think about his progress and actions. Additionally, inquiring about his plan
for the blanket put us on an equal level, rather than me appearing as the expert.
Another major strength of the lesson was that it was based on James authentic,
real-life problem. This provided a seamless (no pun intended!) transition from the
problem to the act of problem-solving for a solution.
Negatives:
Since the lesson took place in his apartment, there were many interruptions. For
example, we had to leave the sewing a few times to take dinner out of the oven,
switch the laundry to the dryer, answer the doorbell, etc. James often became
confused about where he had left off in the sewing upon returning from the
interrupting task and this proved to be frustrating for him. Uninterrupted time
would have allowed for greater concentration and attention to detail, which is
especially important when learning something for the first time. However, I
suppose that since people generally sew in their homes, this hectic setting at least
provided a realistic experience.
Considerations for next time:
If I were to teach an adult to sew again in the future, I would like to employ a
more constructivist approach. To this end, I would provide the opportunity to
experiment with different types of stitches and decide which stitch would work
best in the particular situation. I would also invite the person to experiment with
the advantages of single- or double-threading the needle. By allowing the
individual this time for exploration, I believe he or she would better remember

and maintain the skill. I would also try to ensure a larger block of uninterrupted
time for the lesson, especially if sewing was completely new to the person.

References
Bean, R., & DeFord, D. (2012). Do's and don'ts for literacy coaches: Advice from the field.
Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse, 1-5.
Johnston, P. (2004). Choice words: How our language affects childrens learning. Portland, ME:
Stenhouse Publishers.
Shanklin, N. (2006). What are the characteristics of effective literacy coaching? Literacy
Coaching Clearinghouse, 1-3.

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