Inclusive Classroom: A Lesson Plan Enhanced with Technology

This section aims at showing the use of LucidChart and Quizizz to make the EFL classroom more inclusive.  

This task was done with Sofía Chaher. Here's the link to her PLE

This lesson plan was taken from Methods 2 subject and is aimed at adult students who are studying to become Chemistry technicians at UTN.

Theme/Topic: Laboratory elements

Time allotted: 80 minutes

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to

• Identify specific vocabulary related to Chemistry

• Create a mindmap including the terms learnt through the lesson

WARMER

1. T show the students the following picture to elicit the topic of the lesson

Once the topic has been elicited, she will encourage students to brainstorm what lab elements they already know on a LucidChart. They can write them or, if they are not sure of the spelling of the words, they can just include images. This is the link they will use  https://lucid.app/lucidspark/fa912d07-a534-4445-8bdb-85594ee43d5f/edit?viewport_loc=2908%2C1374%2C3072%2C1430%2C0_0&invitationId=inv_cdeb7115-4427-4c17-88a9-2d5708e552f6 Students will be explained that this is a collaborative document, so they will see what all their peers are doing in real-time, and they will be explained how to  edit the sticky notes. 

WEB

We will give students the following text. We will encourage them to make predictions as to what the text is about after reading the title and after having looked at the picture. Once they find out it’s about safety rules, we can ask them what rules they think will be mentioned. 

Then, we will allot them 10 minutes to read it to check their predictions against the text (reading for general information)

Then, learners will be given some time to complete the following true or false activity on quizziz.com check their comprehension of the text. 

Read the text and write true (T) or false (F)

1. No one is allowed to enter the laboratory without the LI supervision. ______

2. The students are required to wear safety gloves in the lab at all times. ________

3. The students can carry out activities that involve toxic gases in a common workbench ______

4. It is essential for students to close all containers with the appropriate cap before they take them into the hallway to the dispensary ________

Then, students will complete the following exercise on an online interactive whiteboard

Students will also be provided the following link https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ so that they can check the meaning of words in case they cannot infer it from the text. 

WHAT’S NEXT

Students will be presented with the following scenario:

You are a project manager working for a biotechnology company, and your team is tasked with designing a more efficient laboratory inventory management system. The current system lacks organization and often leads to confusion when researchers need to locate specific equipment and supplies. To address this issue, your project sponsor has asked you to create a mind map that categorizes laboratory objects and supplies for the new inventory system.

Students will create their mind map on lucidchart.com 

Why is Quizziz useful to enhance and make our classes more inclusive?

True or False questions have a straightforward format, making them easier to understand for students with disabilities or those who struggle with complex phrasing or language.

Quizizz typically provides immediate feedback on each question. This feature benefits students with special needs as they can receive instant reinforcement or correction.

The true and false options can be visually distinct, including images that aid comprehension, which helps students with visual impairments or learning disabilities recognize and differentiate between the choices more quickly (Delaney, 2016). Moreover, as Delaney suggests (2016), the consistent and repetitive format of True or False questions can help students with special needs become familiar with the assessment format, reducing anxiety they may experience when being presented with other question types.

Finally, Quizizz often incorporates gamification elements, such as timers and leaderboards, which can motivate and engage students, including those with a short attention span.

Why is Lucidchart useful to enhance and make our classes more inclusive?

Lucidchart allows for the creation of visually engaging diagrams and mind maps. This can be particularly useful for students with learning disabilities, as visual representations of concepts can enhance comprehension and memory. This website also has adjustable font sizes and different colour schemes which is crucial for visually impaired learners (Delaney, 2016). Also, it allows students to customize the appearance and layout of their mindmaps, thus, learners can adapt the tool according to their individual preferences and in a way that aids their learning process. In addition, this tool supports real-time collaboration, which can be useful whenever SEN students require assistance or peer collaboration.

Last but not least, some students may struggle with organizing information from scratch. Luckily, Lucidchart provides a wide range of templates and ready-made charts and diagrams that can serve as starting points.

FRAMEWORKS:

SAMR MODEL

SAMR is a paradigm for understanding how we can integrate technology into education (Puentedura, 2006). This paradigm consists of four stages: substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition. 

Substitution: technology acts as a direct substitute with no functional change. The task remains the same, but a computer is used as part of that task.

Augmentation: Technology acts as a direct tool substitute for an analogue activity, but with functional improvements.

Modification: Technology allows for significant task redesign.

Redefinition: Technology allows for the creation of new tasks previously not possible.

In the case of our first activity in which our students had to complete a true or false on Quizziz, we believe that this task is at the  Substitution stage. This is so as we have substituted the traditional paper-based true or false assessment with a digital one. Quizizz provides advantages like automatic grading and instant feedback, but it doesn't change the basic essence of the assessment, which involves answering true or false questions. In essence, Quizizz replaces the traditional paper-based method while preserving the fundamental nature of the task

In the case of the mindmap on Lucidchart, we believe that we are at the Modification stage, as technology enables significant redesign of the learning task by fostering collaboration, integrating multimedia, providing instant feedback, allowing customization, enhancing accessibility, among others. This computer tool allows us to do things we wouldn’t be able to do on paper like students working collaboratively, adding pictures and videos to their mind maps, getting feedback right away, and even making their mind maps look exactly how they want to.

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY

We can examine the use of Quizziz and LucidChart through the lens of Bloom's Taxonomy, a pedagogical framework that categorizes cognitive skills for designing learning experiences (Dincer, 2020). This taxonomy proposes various levels of thinking, characterized by action verbs such as remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. These levels guide students from basic to advanced cognitive abilities.

The objective is to encourage active participation among students in the lesson. Given that they are tasked with generating a final product, it can be affirmed that employing LucidChart facilitates the application of higher-order thinking skills by students.

In this lesson plan, students go through the different levels of Bloom’s taxonomy in a bottom-up fashion. By writing down terms they already know (background knowledge) on a given topic, students begin with the lowest level of thinking in this pyramid which is remembering. At this level, basic order thinking skills are at work. Later on, when reading the text and checking comprehension with a true or false activity, students are working at the understanding level. Finally, students are asked to create a final product, integrating both what they knew and what they have learnt through the lesson, in a freer activity. Students are at the creating level, putting higher-order thinking skills into practice.

EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK FOR THE DIGITAL COMPETENCES OF EDUCATORS

This framework poses that Educators need a set of digital competencies in order to innovate and adapt to today’s education needs. It consists of 22 different competencies grouped in six categories: Professional Engagement, Digital Resources, Assessment, Teaching and Learning, Empowering Learners and Facilitating Learner’s Digital Competence.

Among all these competencies, the ones that are at stake with the inclusion of LucidChart are:

• Collaborative Learning: students are enhancing learner collaboration by using a digital tool that allows real-time collaboration and a chat to communicate while creating the mindmap.

• Content Creation: Students will be creating and accommodating content in a digital format using LucidChart.

• Accessibility and inclusion: LucidChart is a free site that ensures access for everybody. Besides, inclusion is achieved due to its flexibility and visually-friendly design. Students can design and accommodate content in a way that best helps in their learning process. This can be done by including pictures, arrows, and other elements.

• Differentiation and Personalisation: Each design is unique and personalised according to the student’s needs.

As regards the exercise on Quizziz, we believe that we are empowering learners, as we are using this technology to address learners’ diverse learning needs. This is so because this app contains images, it is game-like and the type of exercise is short and visual enough for those students with attention problems. Also, learners can advance at their own pace. In addition, this app allows for several assessment strategies. This tool allows teachers to give both formative and summative assessments and it provides learners with the possibility of getting instant feedback.

REFERENCES

Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy Verbs For 21st Century Students (2016) https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/blooms-digital-taxonomy-verbs-21st-century-students/

Wedlock, M.S (2017) The Technology Driven Student: How to Apply Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy to the Digital Generations  http://jespnet.com/journals/Vol_4_No_1_March_2017/4.pdf

Sneed (2016) Integrating Technology with Bloom’s Taxonomy https://teachonline.asu.edu/2016/05/integrating-technology-blooms-taxonomy/

The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens.

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC128415

Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu) https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/digcompedu_en 

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García, M. Ledesma, P. Cendoya, A., Samuel, V. (2017) “Creating technology enhanced language learning materials”  (On Classroom) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X-jfzh_iUf1WsRITQNekMpKKoJ9KHWsW/view?usp=drive_link 

Hockly, N.(2017) Unit 45: 10 things to know about SEN students and technology. EtPedia: Technology. pp. 159-161. Hove: Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd. 

Delaney, M. (2016) Special Educational Needs.  Chapter 6: Assistive Technology. Oxford: OUP