Explanation Note

The class in question has eighteen students, a combination of American, Asian, and African nationals, and all genders are included. Three African people are from English-speaking countries, and two African students are from French-speaking countries. Furthermore, there are only three Asian students in the class, all of whom are from non-English speaking countries, while the rest of the students are from the United States. The class consists of EAL/D (English as an Additional Language/Dialect) students who are in the Emerging, Developing, and Consolidating English learning stages, making them capable of understanding spoken and written English. Revision and Rationales for each Change

As discussed by Pentland the need to have a lesson plan altered from the original lesson plan is done to ensure that the lesson plan fits the nature of the class that it applies to. The lesson plan needs to provide a platform for each and every student to gain the desired knowledge and skills that are required for a particular subject they are involved in learning (Sadaf, Newby and Ertmer 941). Most of the students in this particular class are from English-speaking countries, which makes them conversant with the language and capable of reading and understanding both written and spoken English; thus the lesson plan will suit most of the students in the class. However, there are EAL/D students who are on several learning stages of English and may require some help with their comprehension of the language. Most of these EAL/D students are at a disadvantage if the lesson plan becomes a standardized and fixed edition that is used throughout the several class diversities involved.

EAL/D students are still learning the English language, and therefore it should be understood that their level of comprehension of the English language may not be as perfect as that of their American counterparts who have been taught and spoken English since their childhood days. Additionally, the involvement of EAL/D students should be considered in the creation of a lesson plan for the lesson plan to be considered a successful tool for the learning needs of the students. According to Hiebert and Morris, the primary goal of having a lesson plan is ensuring that the subject being taught in class is made easy and possible for the student to understand and impact the necessary knowledge and skills being passed to the students (98). The changes are done to have a dedicated lesson plan that is tailored for the particular class with room for alterations in the future in the event of other classrooms with or without diversity and a multicultural number of students.

Also, having a multicultural classroom presents a challenge towards creating a suitable lesson plan for the class. Since it has been identified that the class consists of different nationalities from around the continent, it is only proper that the lesson plan takes into account this crucial fact. The presence of diverse cultures comes with various cultural beliefs, traditions, norms, and religion that make each of the many cultures of the world unique in their way (Moran, R., Abramson and Moran, S.). Having an understanding of the fact that some of these multicultural practices may clash with the lesson plan such as the times of learning and the periods in which a teaching can be carried on. When religion is involved, there is conflict on the times of prayer and the required period of lessons in the lesson plan. Another challenge is that with such an environment that is made up of multiple cultures, there are often incidents of cultural clashes where students of different cultures may be in conflict with one another due to some cultural practices disagreements. Therefore, taking into account the need to have a lesson plan that suits the multicultural group becomes a priority for the lesson plan to attain its goal of impacting knowledge and skills of the students in the classroom.

Moreover, there is the issue of gender variation that needs to be considered. Sex holds a prominent place in the society and often leads to conflict if neglected in the most important topics and in such a case the creation of a lesson plan (Oakley). Having both male and female students in the classroom, there needs to be a lesson plan that takes care of the diversities involved with both gender, in terms of the activities that are available in the lesson plan. The lesson plan should cater for the improvement of education; both skills and knowledge of the female and male students. Both require some degree of attention that can only be achieved if it is understood and then made possible in the process of actualizing a lesson plan. Connell argues that gender variation comes with various problems with regards to the specific needs and limitations that each gender holds (1679). Gender sensitivity adds to complicating the process of creating a lesson plan but ensures that once established it provides that most of the students are given the knowledge and acquire the skills they need.

Shortcomings of the Original Lesson Plans

The original lesson plans only took account of English speaking students who have an advanced level of understanding and comprehension of the English language. Having a lesson plan that does not address the unique needs of some of the students in the class will only lead to affecting the learning of some of the students from non-English speaking countries with a limited understanding of the in depths of the English language (Jons and Hoyler 54). Things like communication and speech of EAL/D students may not be bright as that of their other counterparts and therefore create a significant language barrier in the learning process which positively affects their knowledge and skills acquisition. The lesson plan does not take to account that the language being used in the subject may be the leading cause of EAL/D students failing to understand some of the concepts of the issue that the lesson plan is created for.

Without a clear path to adopt with regards to ensuring that the EAL/D students can gain the most with the use of the lesson plan, it is considered unsuitable for the learning of the class. It does not take to account to assess and evaluate the level of comprehension of the course by the students in the class. When creating a lesson plan, the goal is to have it oriented towards meeting the learning needs of the students in the class and impacting the necessary skills and knowledge that the students require (Hollins 33). To achieve the above, the lesson plan should be made to cater for the multicultural students’ needs that also involve an understanding of the subject despite their EAL/D status. The lesson plan fails to take this into consideration and therefore requires appropriate revision.

Discussion of Revisions Made

Each student should be able to write a short report on what they have learnt in the lesson. Not only does this ensure that each student tests their knowledge and skills gained in the class but also allows the tutor to verify the level of comprehension of the students’ understanding of the subject. By writing a report, the tutor can test the writing skills of the EAL/D students and gain an understanding of their level of comprehension of the language as well as their knowledge of the lesson that was taught to them. It also ensures that the teacher identifies the problematic areas and the challenges that face each member of the class and also identify uniquely the problems that the EAL/D students encounter.

EAL/D students should be able to interpret what they have learnt in class. Through means of interpretation and oral presentation of the core areas of study in the lesson, the students can demonstrate their comprehension of the language and demonstrate the skills and knowledge they gained in the process. It also allows the teacher to assess the level of English and the understanding that the students achieved in the learning process. This lesson plan has to achieve some of the following aspects by ensuring that the students in the class meet the requirement of being on an Emerging English Learning phase and beyond. Garcia and Wei note that this not only ensures that the students can communicate but also understand both oral and written English that is the language used in the lesson.

Lastly, the use of labelled pictures of the apparatus and elements to be employed in the lesson, provide a platform for the EAL/D students to be able to remember and get an understanding of the necessary materials that are required in the class. The lesson involves experimentation thus the need to have a chart that allows for easy remembering of the essential components of the course to boost the levels of learning and ensure the students in the class gain useful knowledge and skills. Understanding the language provides that there is an understanding between the students that enhances collaboration and teamwork in their studies at the same time limit cultural misunderstandings that may occur in the process since there is a clear understanding of each other (Moolenaar, Sleegers and Daly 255).

Works Cited

Connell, Raewyn. “Gender, health and theory: conceptualizing the issue, in local and world perspective.” Social science & medicine 74.11 (2012): 1675-1683.

García, Ofelia, and Li Wei. “Translanguaging and Education.” Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2014. 63-77.

Hiebert, James, and Anne K. Morris. “Teaching, rather than teachers, as a path toward improving classroom instruction.” Journal of teacher Education 63.2 (2012): 92-102.

Hollins, Etta R. Rethinking field experiences in preservice teacher preparation: Meeting new challenges for accountability. Routledge, 2015: 33.

Jöns, Heike, and Michael Hoyler. “Global geographies of higher education: The perspective of world university rankings.” Geoforum 46 (2013): 45-59.

Moolenaar, Nienke M., Peter JC Sleegers, and Alan J. Daly. “Teaming up: Linking collaboration networks, collective efficacy, and student achievement.” Teaching and Teacher Education 28.2 (2012): 251-262.

Moran, Robert T., Neil Remington Abramson, and Sarah V. Moran. Managing cultural differences. Routledge, 2014.

Oakley, Ann. Sex, gender and society. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2015.

Pentland, Alex. Social physics: How good ideas spread-the lessons from a new science. Penguin, 2014.

Sadaf, Ayesha, Timothy J. Newby, and Peggy A. Ertmer. “Exploring pre-service teachers’ beliefs about using Web 2.0 technologies in K-12 classroom.” Computers & Education 59.3 (2012): 937-945.