High school is a time when young learners are coming to terms with who they are both inside and outside of the classroom. Ideally, an educator is able to bridge both, so that students are able to develop academic and personal skills that they can carry beyond graduation and into their adulthood. A key component of teacher preparation programs is helping educators facilitate classroom activities that are meaningful for every learner. Activities that will leave a lasting impression on students, whether it be because they learned something about themselves or the world that they are growing up in. As a novice educator, I recognize the importance of designing collaborative experiences that encourage collaboration, empowerment, and connection to self.

Here's a link to the memorialization document my lesson study team worked in throughout our study cycle.

My lesson study team chose to focus on the development of students feeling connected to their work for our second cycle. We were intrigued by what it means for work to be "meaningful" in the classroom and noticed that one of the biggest challenges as a novice teacher is being able to design experiences that allow students to connect with the content and understand the real-world implications of what they are learning. To guide our lesson study, we focused on the following questions:

• What are the attributes of "meaningful" educational experiences?

• How can students feel connected to their work through collaboration?

• In what ways are students able to challenge the world around them through classroom activities?

While considering these questions as I did some research, I found three themes:

• Meaningful work in the classroom

• Designing collaborative discussions that foster empowerment

• Literacy as a tool for social justice

Annotated Bibliography

Literature Synthesis

Research Theme

We will design collaborative experiences for students that foster a sense of empowerment through meaningful activities. 

Equity Theme

Students will make personally relevant connections to their work and lives through collaborative experiences that center their voice and choice to tend to their sense of empowerment.

Link to PDSA Cycle Data

Lesson Hypothesis

If we employ meaningful group work while students are making sense of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, then students will improve the development of their academic voice to tend to their sense of empowerment as evidenced by the chalk talk and exit tickets.

Lesson-Specific Information:

Content Goal

Students will be able to understand Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and make predictions about what they have to do with communities.

Grounding in Research

1. Meaningful work centers around educational experiences that are active, constructive, intentional, authentic, cooperative, or relational. 

2. Collaborative discussions can foster empowerment by encouraging active participation and ownership of learning while practicing communication skills.

3. Students can use literacy as a tool for social justice to develop critical thinking and connection to self and their communities to promote change. 

The Lesson Plan: 

I was the host teacher for this lesson study cycle!

Launch:

Students will come into class with a question on the screen: "What are human needs? Name some examples." Students will settle into their seats and begin discussing with their tablemates. Their ideas will be unpacked in a full group discussion.

Students will be introduced to the vocabulary for the lesson: hierarchy, esteem, physiology, and self-actualization.

Then, in small groups, students will work together to place the categories of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs on the provided poster papers. Once students determine the order, they will work together to place the needs from the article into each section of the pyramid. Ideally, students will make educated guesses and debate with each other to decide where each need goes on the poster.

Explore:

As a whole group, students will read Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs article from CommonLit. As they read, students are prompted to annotate their articles, finding the main ideas from each paragraph. Students will also be encouraged to check whether their guesses from the warm-up activity were correct on their posters. Throughout the reading, I will pause students to make sure they are annotating their articles.

Then, students will be introduced to the group roles for the chalk talk activity. After defining what each role is, students will determine which role they will play in the activity. Students will move around the room to 5 different stations (the back side of their posters), where they will work together to write down some ideas regarding Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

• “For example, a person with an eating disorder may ignore the need to eat and the security of health for a feeling of belonging.” Why did the author put this scenario into the article?

• Why might it be true that a student who doesn’t eat a nourishing lunch will likely do poorly in school? Use examples from the article.

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has not been proven with science, it’s a way of thinking. Why is it difficult to prove Maslow’s theory?

• What kind of community programs exist to help with physiological needs that aren’t being met? Name some real life examples.

• How can psychological theory (like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) be useful in understanding the motivations of people? Reference an example from the article.

Drop your anchor:

The final portion of this lesson will involve a discussion about community: "If needs aren't being met in a community, what do you predict will happen? Can you name any historical examples?"

Lastly, students will fill out an exit ticket, where they can choose from two prompts:

"Which needs feel most important to you in your life at the moment? Why?

"How does it feel when your needs are being met? When they aren't being met? Give examples."

Observations of Focal Students:

FS1: 

• Generally really engaged, but at times distracted with classmates outside of their table group.

• They were excited to see if they were right for the intro activity.

• They annotated a lot when reading the article as a class.

• They were social but not distracted during the chalk talk, was excited to engage with their classmates.

• Asked a lot of questions. Some to clarify instructions, some to push the thinking of their tablemates.

FS2: 

• Seemed very quiet and reserved, but ready to work during the warm-up and chalk talk.

• They started to do the group work without knowing exactly what their role was, but asked for clarification as the activity started.

• Even though their role was the facilitator, they played more of a background role because their two tablemates dominated the discussion.

FS3: 

• Very engaged, right from the bat started writing and looking at the screen to follow directions.

• Seemed to take the lead in group settings.

• They only talked with one of their tablemates for most of the lesson.

• They annotated their article a lot when reading as a group.

General Observations of Lesson:

Glows:

• Students were clearly engaged, they wanted to participate with each other.

• Impressed with the classroom's routines and structure.

• Lots of clear examples of students' selves in their responses in the chalk talk.

• Teacher talk time was low, students engaging with each other was high. There was an even number of boys and girls called on.

Grows:

• So many activities happened, but did they go deep enough? However, the lesson gave them a lot to chew on, students made connections and applied them to their world.

• Wondering if full group discussions that allowed students to make meaning of the content together could have happened. 

Personal Reflection:

I think the overall goal of our lesson was met. Students were engaged with the content and with themselves. I want to also celebrate the routines we have in class, including the starting prompt for class, the popcorn reading strategy, and the general culture surrounding collaboration in my classroom. Because students were comfortable with these routines, the content came more naturally to students. I was also happy to see that students were engaged with their group roles, allowing students to feel empowered by their thoughts.  

Of course, there will always be room for growth. I think the biggest missed opportunity was for students to engage with the content as a whole group. The plan was straightforward and included a section for a group discussion, but because of how many activities were planned, I made the executive decision to cut that part out.   With that discussion, students could have brought their ideas from their posters to life before engaging with a closing exit ticket.

In the future, I hope to bring students back to the hierarchy of needs to see where their learning has transformed. A big shift I will make in the future when teaching this lesson again is to start with the comparison of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs with the Blackfoot tribe's version. One of the main goals of Ethnic Studies is for students to challenge their learning, and starting with this would really hone in on this skill.