Justification Paper
User Assumptions
Grade: 1
Unit of Study: Plants & Animals
Curricular Area(s): Science & English Language Arts
This unit of instruction is a thematic approach to Grade 1. Specifically though we are looking at Provincial Science and Language Arts outcomes within a traditional classroom setting. The setting and dynamics associated with this setting are important as they play a role in:
- Instructional design of tasks
- Nature of the learner attending classes
- Frequency at which learning occurs in said setting
- Student background familiarity with subject matter and or foundational educational skills
The students in this group attend a Home School program. This means that these students attend a classroom setting with a teacher 1-2 days per week. The rest of the time is spent learning at home under the guidance of a parent. Both the parent and teacher are approaching the educational year with a thematic approach to learning. Parents are paired up with a facilitator who oversees the students learning plan which is crafted by the parent educator. Parents at this junction have a choice to follow Alberta Education Program of Studies outcomes or the Alberta Education Home Education guidelines for their students learning plan. When in the classroom students are taught and assessed based on the Provincial Curriculum guidelines regardless if at home they are using Home Education guidelines or the same Provincial guidelines the teacher is using. For some of the students this is their first foray into an structured educational setting. For other students the grade 1 level marks a short stop in an already lengthy educational journey. Due to these dynamics students are entering the classroom with a wide range of academic skills, and the expectations of those skills and the growth benchmarks for those students is different both at home and at school.
Graphics designed for this project play an integral role in the process and student understanding of what to do. You might see limited text on screen to support each graphic this is primarily because these students feel uncertain when they see a lot of text. They know it means something but are not sure what. When they see a graphic stand-alone they seem to second guess themselves much less.
Graphic Description
Lesson #1
Introduction to plants and plant life graphic
The intro graphic makes use of typography by combining images and text that is representative of the images. In this introductory graphic we can see the use of contrast and depth as a typography tool to enhance the image (Lohr, 215). The type on these images fluctuates between dark and light so as to compliment the background. If we look at the text on the seeds we can see that the images of seeds are dark so the type is light. This creates a contrast between the image and the type. One thing that might need to be tweaked is the amount of contrast and depth. Another thing to take note of on the type is the choice of type for instruction. If we take into account the “it depends rule” the focus becomes on the learner, the content and the task versus the graphic itself (Lohr, 226). In this case we have grade 1 students who’s educational background is minimal. The experience with these students has demonstrated that they have a difficult time identifying letters and words when the font type is different in appearance than what written word looks like. The best example is the letter “a” in many types this letter takes on an appearance that is unlike the written version of this type. At the start of the school year after students had received their name cards a student approached me and said “Mr. Jovan this is not my name, and I don’t know what “this” letter is. It was an “a” written in Arial font. From that point forward any graphics designed needed to take into account the lack of literacy experience that these students had.
Sketching graphic
The image for sketching is another way to use typography as well as color to highlight a sight word that is connected with the image for our grade 1 learners. In this graphic the concept of cueing devices is used to signal to the reader a change in message (Lohr, 242). In this case the word “sketch” is italicised as well as depth is added and it is the only text on that graphic to have an element of color. This was done so that the text could cue the user to see this was a new image but also to pull the users attention to the text. This fits with the instructional intent of the graphic which is meant to teach a sight word to the student.
Plant Diagram
The final graphic of the plant diagram makes use of shape tools to help the learner differentiate between the different parts of the plant. This graphic is used to help organize the information that will serve the basis of the unit for students I tried to keep the design of the graphic simple using arrows and different shaped text boxes to help differentiate the parts of the plant for students. The concept here is to use simple shapes to support the content on the page. Different shapes represent different information zones (Lohr, 249). By using color and shape to divide the graphic into information sections the viewer’s mind will automatically create perceptual groupings (Lohr, 249). This works with this age and stage of learner as many of them are only going to be able to pick out one or two words from the graphic that they can relate to or understand. By adding the shape tools in this cues the learner and enables them to see distinct separations of information.
Lesson #2
Observation Graphic
This image hinges on the design principle of using white space. White space is added to chunk the graphic down into important focus points that although related are different (Lohr, 263). The eye ball on this graphic is separated from the plant with white space in behind so that the focus for the learner is solely on the images. Color is added to the black and white graphic to signify crucial content and play into the concept of hierarchy (Lohr 263). The plant is in color and should signify to the learner that “this is important”.
Garden Exploration Graphic
This graphic was designed using the design principles of contrast, alignment, repetition and proximity. The focus concept here is repetition, which refers to the use of typography to express meaning (Lohr, 195). This graphic is very simple, according to Lohr the simplicity of the graphic should make it easier to understand for the learner. This would be why there is only the text with an arrow on the path into the landscape. The idea here was to inform students that we would be exploring the green space at our school. Since our students are primarily still interpreting pictures and not necessarily reading graphics like these work quite well for the emerging readers in my class.
Photosynthesis Graphic
In the photosynthesis image the design principle used was CARP (contrast, alignment, repetition, proximity). The idea here was the use each of the above elements to highlight different aspects of the graphic. For example contrast was used so that the key sight words stood out from the rest of the graphic but also related to the image students could understand. This action was meant to grab the attention of the student (Lohr, 195). My goal was to use the concept of brining images to the foreground and sending other to the background in order to highlight or diminish their “importance” to the user. The plant is important but not as important as the sight words and the directional arrows.
Lesson #3
How to Sift Soil Graphic
The first image on sifting soil uses a design principle of selection. To create this I used a neutral tone background to allow for the arrow to be in white space and not take away from the two core images showing students how to sift soil. When developing this graphic I thought about the questions out of the selection chapter from the Lohr text book. Specifically things like, what was the most important information, and how do I make that information stand out (Lohr, 100)? After reflecting on these questions I was able to narrow down my specific needs for the graphic which then made it easier to build.
Planting Seeds Graphic
The second image focuses on the design concept of: color and the four elements of color those being scale, texture, space, and dimension (Lohr, 272). When looking at scale I tried to make sure that the proportions of the image as they related to the text and the respective picture was similar so that the learner could make a connection between the two. By adding patterns to the text this added that element of texture to the words to match with the image (Lohr, 272). Due to the nature of the class (face to face) students just needed to be aware of the different tools they would use. I tried to texture the letters and make them stand out more (I am not sure if I have been able to achieve that).
Charting Graphic
Organization design principle
This graphic is more about organization, order and hierarchy than it is about rich images. The goal here was to show students how to structure their chart. This graphic would have been accompanied by instruction and examples in class from the instructor.
Process Design
The instruction for this unit of study follows a constructionist instructional framework using project based learning principles. Students are expected to construct a product (their planted pots) with the strong curricular content at the heart of the work students are engaged in.
When accessing the home page there are three links for students (lesson 1-3). Each lesson follows the same outline:
- Introduction and agenda for the day
- Opening activity for students
- The graphic created to support the in class instruction
- Assignment associated with the final product that is supported by in class instruction, the respective day’s activities, as well as the graphic created for the course.
The graphics are designed to be used in conjunction with face to face instruction hence why there is little text to accompany them. The text that is there (supplementary to the graphic) is meant to assist the teacher more so than the student as it guides the teacher through the day. If this were an online or blended classroom where the online / digital content was created to support independent student learning then it would need more text. In this case the graphics / digital content are meant to add to the face to face in classroom instruction and not serve as standalone instructional material.
Resources
Lohr, L. (2008). Creating graphics for learning and performance (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.