VideoLink

PBI
ProjectReport

HowCanWeDrawOurStudentstoEngagein
ReaderresponseActivitiesbyUsingtheOnlineTool
VoiceThread?

DebrahLee,ShashaZhu,JingHe,andYingDai
NorthCarolinaStateUniversity
November2015

Rationale

ForourProjectBasedInquiry,wehavedesignedaneighthgradeEnglish
LanguageArtslesson.Throughourlessonwehopetoanswerthefollowingquestion:
Howwecandrawourstudentstoengageinreaderresponseactivitiesbyusingtheonline
toolVoiceThread?Thereadingmaterialwechoseforstudentsisashortstoryforyoung
adultscalledElevenbySandraCisneros.
LiteraturereadingplaysasignificantroleinmiddleschoolstudentsEnglish
LanguageArtsclass.Ideally,aneffectiveandsuccessfulLanguageArtsclasscan
provideourstudentswithnewculturalexperiences,diverseperspectives,andaspaceto
exercisetheirimagination,aswellasastimulustoinvitethemtoexpressandsharetheir
ideas.Generally,wewantourstudentstoexperiencegenuinereadingpleasureand
becomelifelongreaders.Realistically,wedonotexpecttoachieveallofthesegoalsand
objectivesatonceyetaneffectivewaytogetstartedwouldbeexercising
readerresponsewithstudents.
Thetheoryofreaderresponseisaformofliterarycriticismthatfocuseson
readersandtheirexperiencewhenreadingaliterarywork,anditconsidersreaders'
reactionstoliteratureasvitaltointerpretingthemeaningofthetext.Thisactivityserves
asabridgebetweenthereadersandthetexts,whichhelpsreadersmakeconnectionswith
theliterarywork.Thisconnectionisimperativeinaccomplishingallthegoalsand
objectiveswehavesetforthislesson.Thus,wechosetoadoptthistheorytoengage
studentsinourreadingactivities.

Asteachers,weknowthat
BloomsTaxonomy
,amodelthatclassifiesdifferent
levelsofhumancognition,thinking,learning,andunderstanding,helpsustofocusonthe
mainpointswewanttoachievewithourstudents.Choosingthistheoryasatheoretical
framework,teachersaremorelikelytostayontherighttrackwithteachingobjectives
andstudentslearningoutcomes.Sixthinkingskillsareaddressed:remember,
understand,apply,analyze,evaluate,andcreate.Ourdesignedlessonaddressesthese
thinkingskillsintwolevels:Englishliteraturereadingcomprehensionandusingnew
digitaltools.
Firstofall,withtheshortstoryreading,wemadesuretogivethestudentsenough
timeandspacetoread,comprehendthestory,andmakeconnectionstotheirownlife.
Thisprocessenhancesstudentsunderstandingofthetext.Inordertohelpthestudents
sortouttheirideasandunderstanding,wedesignedsomeleadingquestionsforthemto
thinkaboutanddiscuss.(Ideally,wewouldliketogivestudentsenoughtimeandspace
tocomeupwiththeirowninterestingquestionstothinkabout.However,inourlesson
implementation,duetolimitedtime,weactuallyassignedtheseleadingquestionstoeach
group.)Theyalsomadecomparisonsandcontrasts,distinctions,andclassifications,and
throughsmallgroupconversations,theyformedsomenewquestionsinthinkingabout
thoseleadingquestions.
Finally,wewantedstudentstocreatesomething,thatis,toconstructmeaningful
textsandexpressionsthatareespeciallymeaningfultothem.ViaVoiceThread,theywere
freetochoosemultipleforms,texts,images,videos,audiotoconveytheirideas.They
couldchooseanythemesortopicstheyfeltmostcompelling,aslongastheycouldmake

meaningfulandreasonableconnectionsbetweenthetextandtheirownexperiences.After
that,studentsreviewedtheirpeerscreationsandmadecomments,alsoindifferentforms.
Thisfeedbackprovidingprocessexercisedtheirskillsinevaluating.
Therefore,throughthislesson,weactuallyaddressedcriticalthinkingskillssuch
asunderstanding,analyzing,creating,andevaluating.AsfortheCommonCore
Standards,ourlessoncorrespondstoCCSS.ELALITERACY.RL.8.2,whichfocuseson
studentsabilitytoidentifythecentralideaandkeydetailsinatexttheyread,
CCSS.ELALITERACY.RL.8.3,whichaimstoanalyzehowdialogueorinstancesina
storycatalyzedramaorinstigateadecision,andCCSS.ELALITERACYRL8.6,which
stressesstudentsabilitytoanalyzehowdifferencesinthepointsofviewofthe
characterscreatesucheffectsassuspenseorhumor.
TPACKframeworkismorerelatedtousingteacherscontentknowledgeand
pedagogicalknowledgecombinedwithdigitaltoolstoachieveourteachinggoals.Inthis
lesson,intermsofcontentknowledge,weusedthereaderresponseliterarycriticismin
termsofpedagogicalknowledge,weusedstudentcenteredmodeofinstructionandalso
integratedgroupdiscussionandpeerreview.ThedigitaltoolVoiceThreadwaschosen
becauseitallowedstudentstochoosetheirownpreferredwayofexpression,beittext,
images,audio,orvideo.Thismadestudentsfeelfreeandmoreconfidenttoexpressand
create.Atthesametime,peerscouldcommunicatewitheachother,makecommentson
eachothersideas,andcontributetoeachotherscreations.Theseexchangesofideasare
verymeaningful,especiallyintermsofreadingliterarytextsbecauseitwillconstantly

bringnewideasandcreations,thushelpingtocreateanenrichedcommonreading
experienceforeveryoneintheclass.
Bearingthesegoalsandobjectivesinmind,wedesignedourlessonbasedon
thesetheoreticalframeworksandhopedtoachieveourteachingobjectivesandlearning
outcomes.

Implementation
WeimplementedthelessonatCulbrethMiddleSchool(ChapelHill,NC).Our
classforthislessonwasaneighthgradeEnglishLanguageArtsclasswith23students.
Ms.

Grinnell,theteacherofthatclass,helpedthestudentssetuptheaccountsfor
VoiceThreadinadvance,whichmadeitmucheasierforustomakefulluseofthe
45minuteclass.Debrah,oneofourteammembers,instructedtheclass.Shasha,Ying,
andJingassistedherwithvideoshooting,picturetaking,andotherlogisticalaspectsin
class,suchaspassingoutthematerialsandhelpingstudentsgetfamiliarwiththedigital
tool.
Aftereachofusgaveabriefselfintroduction,Debrahexplainedtheobjectivesof
thislessonandthestepswewouldtaketoachievethemsothatstudentsgotinformedof
whattheyneededtodoandalsogotmotivatedbyanewlearningexperience.Wealso
explainedtothestudentsthatitwouldbeacollaborativework.Thus,wedividedthe
studentsintofourgroupsaccordingtotheirbirthdays,whichwasahintforthethemeof
theassignedreadingmaterial.

ThefirststepisreadingtheshortstoryEleven.Eachofthestudentswasgivena
copyofthereadingandtenminutestoreadit.Theshortstorywasnotdifficultforeighth
graderstoread,soallofthestudentsfinishedreadingitontime.Then,wepassedoutthe
reflectionquestions:
1. Whydoyouthinkthemaincharacterwassilentthroughoutthewhole
experience?
2. Ifyouwerethemaincharacter,whatwouldyoudo?Whatareyouremotions?
Whatareyourthoughts?
3. Rewritethestoryfromtheteachersperspective
4. Whatdoyouthinktheotherstudentsarethinking?

Eachgrouphadadifferentquestionandhadfiveminutestogivetheirresponses
tothequestiontobeginworkingontheirVoiceThreads.
Thenextstepwastoexplaintothestudentsthetechnologytheywoulduseto
sharetheirresponses.Eachgroupreceivedalaptopwithinternetconnection.Debrah
demonstratedhowtologintoVoiceThreadandaddmediafromdifferentresources.The
studentswereencouragedtoaddpictures,texts,audio,andvideothatcouldconveytheir
responsesandideasappropriately.Wealsotaughtstudentshowtomakecommentson
theirclassmateswork.Thestudentshad20minutestoworkonit.Intheprocess,we
walkedaroundtheclassroomtoobservethestudentsworkingandanswertheirquestions.
Asthelaststep,Debrahdemonstratedhowtosharetheirworkontheirclass
website(Ms.GrinnellusesBlogger).Beforetheclassended,wedidaquicksurveytoget
feedbackfromthestudentsbyhandraisingtoindicatewhethertheyenjoyedusingthe
toolforthislessonornot.Someofthemgavereasonswhytheylikedthisactivityorthe
tool,orwhytheydidnot.


Reflection
Success
Thereadingmaterialwechoseattractedthestudentsbecauseitisastoryabouta
teenageroftheirageandthestudentscouldconnectittotheirreallifeveryeasily.The
questionswedesignedgavethemmobilitytorelatetotheirownexperiences.Mostofthe
studentswereveryengagedinthediscussionprocess.Thisprovedthatonlystudentsread
whattheyareinterestedinandwhattheycanreallyengageinandenjoyreading.
StudentslearnedhowtouseVoiceThreadveryquickly.Theymasteredsoonhow
touploadpictures,recordaudioandvideoaswellasaddcomments.Manystudents
reflectedthattheylikethistoolbecauseitisveryeasytooperate.Anotherreasonwhy
theylikethetoolisthatitprovidesvariousoptionstosharetheirideas.Themultimedia
wayofpresentingtheirideasmadethemmoremotivatedandinterestedinthelearning
processthanthetraditionalway.
Ms.

Grinnell,theLanguageArtsteacherofthisclass,mentionedthatsheis
interestedinthistool.Shewantedtoapplythistooltotheirfutureclassesandshealso
wantedtoshareVoiceThreadwithmoreteacherstouseitindifferentsubjects.Shefound
thatstudentsweremoreeagertolearnandthisfascinatingtoolbroughtbettereducational
effectsthanshethought.
Thefeedbackfromthestudentsandtheteachertestifythesignificanceofthe
frameworkTPACK.Intheageofglobalization,studentshavebecomedigitalnativesand
arelearningindifferentways.Asteachers,weshouldnotconfineourselvestothe

traditionalwayofteaching,butshouldcombinetechnologywithcontentknowledgeand
pedagogicstrategies.Currentteachersaremoredigitalmigrantscomparedwithstudents,
soitisvitaltoprovideteacherswithmoreopportunitiestolearnhowtoapply
technologiesinclass,andinthemeantime,providebothteachersandstudentsmore
accesstotechnologies.

Challenges
:
Thefirstchallengeduringthewholeprocesswastocomeupwithacompelling
question.Wehadtocombinetheareaofnewliteracieswiththecontentknowledgeand
pedagogy,anddesignourlessonbasedonthiscombination.Wetendedtoproposeavery
broadandambitiousquestionatthebeginning.AftergettingLisassuggestion,we
managedtonarrowitdowntoaspecificquestionwithagoalthatcouldbeachievedwith
a45minutelesson.
Thesecondchallengewastofindaschoolthatwasinterestedinthisprojectand
atthesametime,hadtheappropriateconditionsforustocarryoutthisplan.
Ying,Shasha,andJingcomefromChinaandhavenocontactwithanylocalAmerican
school,sowehadtodependonDebrahforallthecontactswithaschoolthatwecould
workwith.Wechangedourplanseveraltimesduetothechangesoftheschools
schedule,andtheteachersteachingplan,andindividualscheduleofeachgroupmember.
Anotherchallengeinimplementationcamefromthetechnology.Eachgroupof
studentswereequippedwithonlyonelaptop,whichlargelyreducedtheefficiencywhile
searchingtheinformationandcreatingtheproject.Also,someofthestudentsdidnot

participateenoughinthisactivity.Thisisoneofthereasonsthatsomestudentssaidwhy
theydidnotlikethisactivity.Infutureprojects,wemayconsideralternativewaysof
arrangingsmallergroupsandmoreaccesstotechnologies.VoiceThreadismosteffective
whenstudentscanworkonitindividually,asopposedtosmallgroups.Timewasalso
limitedtomakethewholeprocesshappen,sothestudentsdidnothavethechanceto
presentandsharetheirworkstotheentireclass.
Oneofthebiggestchallengesweneededtoovercomewerethecultural
differencesduringthewholeprocess.ItiscooperativeworkbetweenthreeChinese
studentsandoneAmericanstudentthatdemandseffortstocommunicateeffectivelyand
efficiently.WealsohadtodesignandimplementthelessoninanAmericancultural
context,andthisposedsomedifficultiesforthreeChineseteachers.
Intermsofclassimplementation,firstofall,wefeltitalittlechallengingto
organizeallthestudents.ItindeedtookthefourofusandMs.

Grinnellwithgreatefforts
andattentiontoorganizetheclassactivity,respondingtostudentsquestions,checking
ontheirprogresses,makingsuretheyareworkingonthetaskcollaboratively,andsoon.
However,inarealclass,therewouldbeonlyoneteacherresponsibleforthewholeclass.
Wethinkitmightbeachallengefortheteacher,evenfrustratingtobeteachinginchaos.
Yet,asteacherswhoaredeterminedtointegratemultimediaandtechnologiesinclass,we
needtounderstandandkeepinmindthatusingtechnologies,especiallyatthebeginning,
cansometimesgetdisorderedandchaotic.Weshouldnotexpecteverythingtogoin
orderasweimagineitwould.Bearingthisinmind,weneedtotakeitasanindispensable
partoftheimplementationandthisisaveryimportantmentalpreparationforteachersto

getready.Herewealsoseeapointforteacherstoworkcollaboratively,especiallywhen
itcomestousingtechnologies,becauseitisanewchallengeforalmosteveryone.

Collaboration
Wearrangedameetingtodiscussthecompellingquestionandtheinitialplan
includingthetimeschedule,thematerials,andthetechnologyweweregoingtouseand
thetargetclassroomtoimplementourproject.
Debrahwasresponsibleforcontactingtheschooltoensurethesmooth
implementationofthislesson.Inthemeantime,Jing,Shasha,andYingworkedonthe
detailsofthelessonplanandpreparedthematerialsneeded.
AsDebrahisanativeEnglishspeaker,shewasmainlyresponsibleforgivingthe
detailedinstructionstostudents,whileShasha,Jing,andYingassistedhertohelp
studentswhentheyweredoingtheprojectandrecordtheprocesswithphotosandvideos.
Afterthelessonwascarriedout,Shasha,Jing,andYingdraftedthereportandDebrah
madethevideoandwereviewedandrevisedthedraftstogether.
Thecollaborationwasveryeffectiveandefficientbecausewemadefulluseof
eachmembersadvantages.Eventhoughtheculturaldifferencesbroughtsome
challenges,itturnedouttobebeneficialandenjoyableintermsofbringingusdiverse
culturalexperiencesandmakingusconsiderourprojectfromarealglobalperspective.

References

1. CommoncorestateandNCessentialstandards,retrievedfrom
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/acre/standards/
2. EnglishLanguageArtsStandardsretrievedfrom:
http://www.corestandards.org/ELALiteracy/RL/8/
3. RevisedBloomsTaxonomyretrieved
from:
http://www.slideshare.net/007aud/revisedbloomstaxonomy
4. IntroductiontotheTPACKModelretrieved
from:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/introductiontothetpac
kmodel


AppendixI

Lesson Plan

Basic information:
Subject: English language art
Students grade level: Grade 8
Time length for each session: 50 mins

PART 1: BACKGROUND / PLANNING

1. Objectives of this lesson

Students will learn how to use the digital tool voicethread;
Students will be able to finish reading the short story and make some
connections with the story;

Students will get a rough idea about the main themes of the novel;
Students will be able to demonstrate their multiliteracy skills to express their
ideas and present it to others;
Students will be able to make reasonable comments to others ideas and
provide suggestions.

2. Materials/technology/resources
The short story
Eleven
Digital tool voicethread
Responding question list

PART 2: IMPLEMENTATION

1. Lesson introduction
Guest Teachers do brief self-introductions
Explain to the students what we will be doing for this class

2.
Procedure of class

1) Have students organize themselves according to birthday and break up

into small groups
2) Read the short story by themselves
3) Pass on questions to reflect on
4) Teach them how to use the tool
5) Give students 15 mins or so to finish the project
3. Closure
Have one group present their output
Ask their ideas about using this tool to relate to reading

4. Follow-up plans
After-class assignment: check other groups voicethreads, and make
constructive comments on their work.
PART 3: ASSESSMENT

Since the major objective of this lesson is for students to make meaningful
connections with what they read with the help of the digital tool to express
their ideas, there will not be a formal assessment. Students just need to finish
their product making use of the tool.