The idea behind our group’s Interactive Learning Design is how we can teach and provide different teaching methods to future French teachers. We’ve found that the most effective method is learning a language through music and singing. With singing and learning a language through music, we focus on the interactivity element, incorporating interactive videos, therefore, allowing our audience to feel encouraged to learn. A video that I found on Youtube focuses on French Greetings, and it is an excellent way for future French teachers to learn and review their vocabulary. This song is short and informative, allowing the audience to maintain their focus and grasp the overall concept. This particular French greeting song is effective because it’s a song which is scientifically proven to have a stronger impact on the memorization and comprehension of another language. In addition, the song repeats each greeting three times. It translates the greeting from French to English, allowing the audience to be familiarized with the French saying before connecting it to the English meaning. Our focus for the Interactive Learning Design is tailored to the method of designed interactivity. We chose a medium of song learning that will require students to watch, learn, and listen to the song.
Any interactive method is effective because it pushes the students to connect to the topic/concept they’re learning. We chose this interactive resource because we associate words better when we can physically say them aloud rather than just looking at French vocabulary on the screen or paper. When you say words aloud, your brain can comprehend the information more clearly, enhancing your learning ability. Because this activity is going to be singing-based, the audience is most likely going to be listening and comprehending the video to the best of their abilities. They are welcome to make notes on what the video talks about, such as the French words and translate them into English. Afterwards, we prepared questions to ask the audience what their thought process was after watching the video. This process allows for analysis, critical thinking, and synthesis. In addition to asking questions, we prepared a short article they could read to understand further why we chose this particular topic. The article aims to provide the opportunity for them to dive deeper into why the activity was introduced in the first place and help them make the connection about how and why it’s effective. After the two activities, we’ve created a Kahoot that will have questions catered for what they had just learned to see if the knowledge and skill have resonated with them. This is an efficient way to see how much information has been retained and whether or not these methods are supportive in terms of the various teaching methods. One way students can get feedback on the activity is through discussion. Instructor-to-learner feedback is intimate and prioritized; instructor-to-group feedback is interactive and allows for deeper analysis and critical thinking.
Resources:
French Greetings Song for Children: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXkJ88ygPY0&list=RDQMeEPHNfetHdY&start_radio=1&ab_channel=MLSnatasha
We certainly remember information and experiences that trigger an emotional response better. It is a great idea to include media that play to a range of emotions and senses. I wonder if you had a chance to discuss the feedback I gave on your Interactive Learning Resource Blueprint. You may want to review it with your learning pod, as from what you describe, I still see some misalignment of objectives/content-activities/assessment.