Running head: CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

Contextual Factors
May Smith
Fontbonne University

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

In any educational setting, it is important for the instructor to know the contextual details
about the audience they are presenting to. These contextual factors can allow the instructor to
customize a lesson to a specific audience, assuring that the educational message and its delivery
are both appropriate and relevant to the learners. In addition to the educational message, an
instructor should also reflect on their own self-awareness of potential bias or assumptions they
might be bringing into a classroom. A quality lesson requires that all of these are taken into
account and factored for properly before a lesson is delivered.
I have been given the opportunity to present to three senior level family and consumer
science classes at Timberland High School, part of the Wentzville R-IV school district. This
school district is located in Wentzville, Missouri and has an average senior class size of 373
students (World Media Group, 2014). According to the United States Census (2014), Wentzville
had a population of 32,509 as of 2013. Of that population, 33.7% was under the age of eighteen.
The primary racially represented demographic of the area is Caucasian, making up 89.9% of the
population. African Americans are the second most represented group, but still a minority at
only 6% of the population. The United States Census (2014) estimates the area is currently
showing strength of economy, with only 4.3% of the population quantified as poverty level, over
two-thirds less than the Missouri average of 15.0%. The median household income was $72,882
on average between 2008 and 2012, or about $30,000 more than the state average (United States
Census, 2014). In Timberland High School, 16.4% of the student population is eligible for the
free lunch program with an additional 3.7% eligible for the reduced-lunch program (World
Media Group, 2014).

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

I talked with Jaime Daughaday, the FCS teacher, to discuss some of contextual factors
about her students. The sex of the students taking FCS classes is predominately made up of
female and the age range is generally seventeen to eighteen. Due to the transitional period of
their life, I felt that a lesson covering the six dimensions of wellness would be an appropriate
topic. In the complete lesson plan, learners are given education and tools on how to strengthen
all six domains of wellness. I will be specifically teaching the senior students on their emotional
and spiritual wellness, a topic that many teenagers could use reinforcement with as they are
undergoing many hormonal and life situation changes. The achievement level of the students
will vary widely from a classroom filled with relatively high achieving students and two
classrooms filled with medium to low achieving students. Some assumptions about the students
are that they will have the basic level of understanding needed to grasp the lesson, but their
ability to pay attention and not be disruptive could be lower in the medium to low achieving
classrooms. Additionally, props and the original lesson plan have been modified on the
assumption that not all the students will be able to practice adequate restraint or time
management skills to allow for the original overly ambitious lesson plan. It should be noted this
assumption also takes into account my own ability as an educator and my potential lack of skill
in being able to adequately manage a disruptive student(s). Due to the classroom schedule, the
instructor is expected to travel between classrooms to present to different classes. Because of
this and the limited time schedule, certain limitations on classroom modification are restricted.
This lesson was built for an audience that I am unfamiliar working with, so many of the
lessons and activities have been based on assumptions. However, assumptions are the breeding
grounds for bias, so I need to remain self-aware of potential instructor bias that could be

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

detrimental to my classroom. Much of my potential instructor bias comes from a general

perception of teenagers as a mostly unruly and disruptive crowd. On top of that, I have my own
perception of my senior year of high school home economics class as being a fluff class that I
went to only because I didnt want to take shop or music. Though often times a shared
experience can be useful in a client setting, I need to be careful to not bring my own negative
perceptions of what I was like as a teenager and project it on the students of Ms. Daughadays
classrooms. I need to approach all of these students with higher expectation than what I would
have expected from myself so that I dont judge them too harshly and negatively before the
lesson has even begun. Instead I should see the potential in their both their attention and their
disruptions, knowing that both of those can be utilized as creative energy. I plan on doing this
by trying to utilize the same strategy we use for client counseling; namely listening intently and
with 100% focus when someone else is talking, both vocal and body language. I will welcome
ideas in the class, but I will also try to be careful to not force the class through the lesson. I have
tried to create a lesson plan where I can try to actively engage the class in discussion, but not
enforce a requirement of class wide participation.
Overall, I am looking forward to teaching these classes on the emotional and spiritual
dimensions of health. I know there are factors I have not included just out of inexperience or
realizing they were important. Ive tried to take into account as many contextual factors as
possible, but nothing will be beat the value of the real world experience of actually presenting it
to them. It will be something to draw on during my internship and further on into my career.

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5
References

United States Census Bureau. (2014). State and county quickfacts: Wentzville (city), Missouri
[Data set]. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/29/2978442.html
World Media Group, LLC. (2014). Public schools: Timberland high high school [Data set]
Retrieved from http://www.usa.com/public-school/timberland-high-wentzville-mo293165002844.html