Brainstorming & Critical Thinking by Shahzadi Laibah Burq

For a PDF of the lesson plan, click on the link below:

Lesson & Context Description:

The proposed lesson builds on translanguaging and culturally sustaining pedagogy to instigate inclusivity and critical thinking among international students in second language writing classes. The writing course that incorporates this lesson plan is designed specific for Arizona State University ENG 107 course, first-year composition for multilinguals. Most of the student body in this course come from the Middle East and Asia i.e., India, China, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia etc. However, the lesson is laid in a way that is compatible with all groups. This research-based teaching lesson strategically incorporates translations of an English poem “Oriental” by Jenny Yang Cropp, in students’ first language (L1) to have them connect and reflect over the topic of their writing project, “Identity, Representation, and Belongingness”. The proposed lesson is created for a full period of class i.e.75 minutes. Students in ENG 107 write three projects in total over the course of their semester.

Prior to finishing the project, they receive instruction that helps them understand the genre of writing and the skills it requires. Completing one project takes anywhere from 5-6 weeks and this lesson plan is one of the many others that can be implemented by the teacher for the sake of students’ learning of Project 1.

Note: Before we move forward to read the lesson plan, it is important to refresh our knowledge of the writing assignment and its objectives because this lesson can be considered as a single step towards achieving our goal.

107 Project Description

In this project, students explore the genre of the analytical essay and use it to reflect the values, assumptions, and practices of the broader group memberships they belong to, as well as how these groups and norms shape their individual identities. For this, students focus on any of the following:

the complex construction of identity through membership in various (and sometimes conflicting/competing) groups
how you represent your identity in relation to the social expectations or stereotypes of being a member of a group (expectations vs. reality)
the tension or struggle you encounter as a member of certain groups (e.g., how you represent yourself to others from different groups)
how entering a new, possibly unfamiliar group (for example, moving away from home and/or starting college) affects the values and assumptions you brought with you.

Learning Objectives

reflect upon your own background and experiences to convey and articulate specific thoughts, ideas, and knowledge to your audience
select, arrange and develop details from your personal experience and the perceptions of others to generate insights
think critically about your identity and how it is shaped by your membership in different groups
think critically about the facets of identity construction and representation in various situations

Now that we have established a good understanding of the goals and objectives of the writing assignment, let’s check out the objectives the current lesson:

Students will be able to think and verbalize their identity in relation to the social groups they are a part of.
Students will learn about the concept of stereotypes, representations, negotiations, in short the overall complexity and sensitivity of the topic through the example of the poem “Oriental”.
Students will be able to connect with ideas in the poem.
Students will be able to think critically about the multifaceted concept of identity.
Students will be able to brainstorm and create a mindmap on the topic of identity, representation, and belongingness.

Rationale

The nature of the writing assignment requires students to compose a critical commentary on their identity. If we pay closer attention to the objectives of the writing assignment, it is laid to foster “criticality” in students. This means that the success of the writing assignment depends on students' analytical skills. For these students to be able to compose an analytical piece of writing, it is important to understand analytical thinking. This lesson is set to help them to comprehend the inquisitive, investigative, and interpretative nature of the cognitive process. Furthermore, it will help them think deeply about themselves and reflect on their lived experiences in the first place. These analytical skills that students will acquire through this lesson are not limited to the composition course but have larger implications outside the classroom. (Tip: discuss with your students about the implications of critical thinking and how it can help them beyond the classroom).

These translations are used in the classroom as a starting point to have the students think about their own identities. These translations in students L1 not only boost the understanding and internalization of the concept but this poem is chosen on the basis of its rhetorical situation relevancy with the topic of the writing project. Talking about identity is a sensitive subject, students can be shy so sharing (tip: Make sure to read more on what identity could mean multilingual students. What are some of the ways to generate a talk around the subject in a culturally appropriate manner? You can start with the resources shared in the assignment sheet of Project 1). The poem “Oriental” which encapsulates the racist experiences of an Asian American navigating their way through everyday life in the United States, is a step to ease students into the idea and create a shared and safe space of vulnerability"

The translingual stance of the instructor to utilize translations of a poem in this writing project helps achieve following merits:

The representation of students L1 in L2 writing course promotes inclusivity in classrooms.
Multimodal and multilingual representation of the poem helps students engage better with the content.
Students exercise the use of the full linguistic repertoire to think and reflect on the subject of their identity (of which language is a big part).
The inclusion of students' language and culture while learning helps them form deeper connections with the subject of the writing.

At a Glance:

The following lesson plan incorporates translations of the English poem “Oriental” to have multilingual students immerse deeply in the topic of identity and encourage them to critically reflect upon their experiences of identity negotiations, representations, and belongingness. The class begins with students composing a Haiku poem in their native language to introduce themselves leading into a reflective discussion on the ideas represented in the poem “Oriental”. Moving forward, students are encouraged to brainstorm their ideas and create a mind map using any language, symbols, signs, illustrations, voice recording, video recording etc. (multimodal, multisemiotic, multi linguistic approach).

Materials required:

Multimedia
Poem and translations
Audio recording of the translations of the poems
Blank Papers
Markers and white board
Computers connected to the wifi (optional)

Plan: Step by step teaching plan for teacher and students

Teachers

Free write/Haiku (15 min)

1) The teacher will ask students to write 3 lines of Haiku of poetry in their own language to introduce themselves.

Students can identify themselves in relation to the social groups they are a member of, i.e., Being a videogamer, or a comic reader, a cook, a daughter, etc.
Teachers can create their own Haiku to introduce themselves.
An example of a Haiku in my native language, Urdu:

Ustaad aur kitaab
Parhoon aur parhaon mai
Ilm ko sarhaon mai

To learn about haiku poem and check some example, follow the link https://literaryterms.net/haiku/

2) The teacher will share their example first.

3) The teacher will invite students to respond to an anonymous online board. (Teachers can use platforms like pear deck, padlet, flipgrid)

4) The teacher will call volunteers to read some of the responses.

5) Teacher will then ask students to now translate their poetry in English

Students

Student will compose a short 3 verse haiku in their native language and post on an online platform by following the link (code) appearing on the multimedia
Students will translate what they have written in English and post it next to their native language version.

Oriental/Translation Narration + Discussion (25 min)

1) The teacher will play the narration of “Oriental” in English and any of the languages (depending on the demographics of the students) it has been translated to, alongside its transcript.

2) The teacher will use this poem as a starting point of discussion around identity.

3) Students will be asked to reflect on the following points:

Which narration did you feel most connected with and why?
Have you experienced something similar to the author’s experience in the poem?
How do you feel about that experience?
What did you do at that moment?
What do you think might have possibly caused an event like that?

4) The teacher will write the important analytical points on the whiteboard.

Students will get 10 minutes to think/write about these prompts and will be called upon to share their response with the class.
Students will discuss the topic of identity representation, stereotypes, identity and looks, identity and language for 15 mins.

Introduction of Project 1 “Analytical Essay on Identity, Representation, and Belonging. (15 min)

1) The teacher will introduce the writing project to the students.

2) The teacher will highlight the objectives/purpose of the writing assignment.

3) The teacher will also share the assignment description sheet with the students.

Students will skim through the assignment sheet once the teacher has introduced the project.

Brainstorming/Mind Mapping (20mins)

1) The teacher will model a mind map for the students. The teacher could use these same bullet points to map out their own mind map of ideas related to their own identity and then ask students to brainstorm their ideas.

2) Use the following points that can guide their mind mapping process and feel free to add any other relevant point that you consider important

Their identity in terms of different group memberships
Different characteristics of their identity specific to different group memberships
Aspects of their identity that are negotiated between different group memberships
Stereotypes attached to any of their identity groups.
How do they want to represent their identity in a social group vs how it is perceived

3) The teacher will encourage students to brainstorm their ideas and create a mind map using any language, symbols, signs, illustrations, voice recording, video recording etc. (multimodal, multisemiotic, multi linguistic approach)

Students will upload their mind map activity on a discussion board on canvas.
Students will submit it as homework
Students can use their phones and computers if they would like to submit it in an audio or video form.
Students will post it on a discussion portal on canvas.

Educator Biography

Shahzadi Laibah Burq is a multilingual speaker of Urdu, English, Persian/Dari, Pashto, and Punjabi. She is currently doing her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics at Arizona State University. Her research interests include L2 pedagogy, language planning and policy in higher education, and cognitive linguistics. Burq did her Bachelors in English Language and Literature from a University in Pakistan. She taught ESL for four years and became an enthusiastic advocate for linguistic diversity in academia. As an instructor, She takes a translanguaging stance and encourages the use of students' full multilinguistic, multimodal and semiotic repertoire to create inclusivity and equity among students. (updated 2022)