Mary Ellen Tillotson, Ph.D.
Departments of Counseling, Educational Leadership, and School Psychology

Graduate course titled “Teaching and Learning in the Middle Level School.” This course examines the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual characteristics of early adolescents, as well as the impact of society on early adolescents.

Task

Graduate candidates are asked to freewrite for 10-15 minutes in response to the prompt: “When I was … (10, 11, 12, 13, 14).” The course instructor also engages in the task along with the students.

Purpose

• Prompt as Projective
  • Ambiguous task related to adolescent developmental domains
  • Teacher-Student Connection and Buy-in
  • The ambiguity morphs into scaffolding…upon which to fasten knowledge content and course objectives.
• From Projective to Objective
  • Draws on content knowledge for the course
  • Formative Assessment (self-analysis)
  • Ultimately can be used in a Summative manner to bring ideas together-one might even ask students to rewrite this later on in the course and incorporate all domains in self-reflection. Ultimately, it allows students to forge meaning to the content-- to identify connections to their own experience and ultimately, to the objectives of the course.
• Teaching Content through Writing via Sound Learning Principles
  • Student as active learner
  • Elicits prior Knowledge
  • Creates opportunities to elaborate

• Elicit prior knowledge as a schema upon which we can fasten new content or deepen understandings in a truly constructivist manner.
  • Students “discover” in a sense, the big ideas that we will touch upon in the course through reflection. Then that discovery is organized for them through an understanding of the domains of early adolescent development. Therefore, this can serve as an advanced organizer for content to come.
• Additionally, we know that eliciting prior knowledge will help students make connections
  • If students are able to expand concepts or elaborate these ideas, the more engaged they are with the material. Therefore, the technique goes a long way toward creativity, eliciting and elaborating material for greater acquisition of learning objectives.