RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

Lesson Plan Critique Using Different Learning Theories

Tiffany Tseng
University of British Columbia

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

Lesson Plan Critique

There is no one particular learning theory that encompasses all aspects of education.
Therefore, a meaningful and engaging lesson should employ teaching strategies from different
learning theories. The Building a Quadratic Function lesson plan was provided by the Howard
County Public School System in Maryland. This is an introductory lesson on quadratic functions.
The lesson begins by asking students a real-life problem involving a quadratic function.
Students then form groups and build different rectangular areas using toothpicks. They calculate
the area of the rectangular areas, record their data, and build a function for the area using length
and width. Students then discuss different features of the graph of a quadratic function.
The hands-on activity in this lesson is an excellent strategy to help students explore and
learn quadratic functions. When students work with toothpicks to find the enclosed area, they
are using different senses including sight, touch and hearing to learn math. From the cognitive
neuroscience perspective, learning is stronger when students use different senses in the learning
process (Goswami, 2008, p. 389). In this lesson plan, the students spend an extended period of
time exploring quadratic functions. In order to strengthen these newly-learned skills, I would
suggest that the lesson closes with more questions for students to practice at home. Many studies
suggest that practice does result in changes in the brain. As suggested by Zamarian et al.,
practice leads to a shift of activation from fronto-parietal to specific parietal areas (2009, p. 918).
Thus, in order for students to be able to identify quadratic functions and write quadratic
equations in a timely manner, more practice will be necessary. I have added another homework
question in the lesson plan to help students practice what they have learned in class (this new
addition is marked in red on the New Lesson Plan document, please see Appendix B).

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

According to Vygotskys social development theory, development is a process whereby

socially shared activities are internalized (John-Steiner & Mahn, p. 192). In this lesson plan,
students from groups of three or four people, and explore how to obtain different areas by
arranging 20 toothpicks. In the process of working with their peers, students collaborate together
to create different combinations of lengths and widths to create a rectangular area. They also
discuss different features of the graph of a quadratic function as a group. From Vygotskys point
of view, this is an excellent way for students to develop intellectually. To make the lesson more
meaningful to students, the teacher should also take the zone of proximal development into
consideration. When students solve problems independently, how do the results differ from the
solutions they derived as a group (John-Steiner & Mahn, p. 198)? This lesson plan should
evaluate students both individually and in a group setting to allow the teacher to have a better
understanding of students abilities. This will help the teacher to provide a better guidance to
students. I would change this lesson by asking students to complete the two homework questions
individually and submit them in the next class. After the submission has been made, they will
meet in their groups once again, and come up with a group solution to both questions. This is a
good way for the teacher to compare how students perform individually and collaboratively.
Any discrepancies between the individual and group solutions can be identified and further
guidance from the teacher can be provided.
This lesson is geared towards high school students and they are required to use different
combinations of lengths and widths to determine the possible areas. Based on Piagets theory,
students in the Formal Operations stage should be able to come up with different combinations
of objects or events (Good et al., 1978, p. 689).
suitable to students this age.

Therefore, the activities in this lesson plan are

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

Piaget also sees intelligence as adapting to physical and social environment (Good et al.,
p. 688). When students work as a group, they are constantly examining their own ideas, and
adapting these ideas to fit the environment. I would suggest that the teacher circulates around
the room when students are doing the group activity. If the teacher recognizes any mistakes,
dont point them out right away. Encourage students to collaborate and compare their answers
with their group members so they have a chance to examine their own ideas. This process helps
students to reflect their own thinking so they can build new mental structures.
This lesson is also a great example of the constructivist approach. When students create
different rectangular plots and find a quadratic equation to represent the area, they are
constructing their own knowledge. According to Von Glaserfeld, the cognitive organism tries
to make sense of experience in order to avoid clashing with the worlds constraints (2008, p. 41).
In this lesson, the group activity allows students to constantly exchange ideas with their peers.
As a result, students ideas are examined by their group members, and they are required to make
sense of their ideas if their answers clash with those of their classmates. This process helps
students to build their understanding and solidify their learning. Von Glaserfeld also believes
that the goal of math instructions is to make students aware of what he or she is doing, and why
it is being done (2008, p. 44). It is good that this lesson starts off with a real-life problem of
enclosing an area for a dog by using 100 feet of fence. This helps students see the practicality of
their activity, and also adds a sense of purpose to why this activity is being done. Throughout
the lesson, the teacher should also ask questions that encourage students to be reflective in their
thinking processes. For example, if you created a larger area than the previous attempt, what
was it that you did differently? If the width is x, what would the length be in terms of x?

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

The activity in this lesson also provides a degree of self-generated reinforcement. When
students create the largest area possible using the toothpicks, the fact that they have achieved the
goal of the activity is an excellent self-generated reinforcement. This positive result helps to
encourage cognitive potential in students (Von Glaserfeld, 2008, p 47).
Finally, this lesson asks students to use a graphing calculator to find the graphs of
quadratic functions. While this is helpful, I would argue that drawing a parabola by hand would
be even more meaningful to students. Technology allows students to see the shape of a parabola
in a short period of time. However, when students start drawing a graph by first building a table
of values, they could observe the symmetrical nature and the maximum/minimum characteristic
of a quadratic function. Thus, to improve this lesson plan, I would ask students to draw the
graph of a quadratic function by hand. The graphing calculator component can be used later in
the unit after students have gained a solid basic understanding of quadratic functions.
The behaviorist theory focuses on changes in students behavior as a result of a stimulusresponse association (Standridge, 2002). In this lesson, less emphasis is placed on the
behaviorist theory. One effective behaviorist strategy that could be employed into the lesson is a
reward system. According to the behaviorist approach, positive reinforcements increase the
desired behaviour, and also encourage students to be on-task during the lesson (Standridge,
2002). For example, a reward could go to the first group that draws the correct graph in the
shortest amount of time. This encourages students to use what they have learned and allows the
teacher to assess their understanding. A second reward goes to the group that shows best team
work. This encourages students to value team work and collaboration.

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

Based on the modeling theory of behaviorism, students display positive or negative

responses by observing those around them (Standridge, 2002). Therefore, when the teacher is
circulating around the room, he or she could provide positive reinforcement to the students who
are working hard on the questions. Students who are not on task will observe this, and this
modeling strategy encourages off-task student to display the desired behavior.
Distributed cognition theory states that cognitive processes are distributed across people
in a group. There is a coordination between the internal and external structure, and earlier events
can transform the nature of later events (Hutchins, 2000, p.1-2). By working in a group, students
could rely on the knowledge of other group members. In this lesson, the exploration of quadratic
functions first appears as an interpsychological process as students work collaboratively in
groups. Later, when students work on the math problems individually, intrapsychological
processes take place as students ask themselves questions and figure out how to work out a
solution (Hutchins, 2000, p. 5). Thus, a re-construction of cognition begins from the external
environment and moves towards the internal environment (Hutchins, 200, p.10).
Overall, this is a very good introductory lesson to quadratic functions. It encourages
students to build their own knowledge and provides opportunities for peer collaborations. It is a
good example of a lesson that focusses on constructivism and the social development theory.
The changes made to this lesson plan incorporate other learning theories to provide a more wellrounded learning experience to students. With these changes, this lesson plan would be even
more appropriate and meaningful to math learners.

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

References

Good, R., Mellon, E. K., Kromhout, R. A. (1978). The work of Jean Piaget. Journal of Chemical
Engineering, 55, 688-693.

Goswami, U. (2008). Principles of learning, implications for teaching: A cognitive neuroscience

perspective. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 42(3-4), 381-399.

Hutchins, E. (2000). Distributed Cognition.

Available online:http://eclectic.ss.uci.edu/~drwhite/Anthro179a/DistributedCognition.pdf

John-Steiner, V., & Mahn, H. (1996). Socialcultural approaches to learning and development: A
Vygotskian framework. Educational Psychologist, 31(3/4), 191-206.

Standridge, M.. (2002). Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning,

teaching, and technology.Von Glasersfeld, E. (2008). Learning as a Constructive Activity.
AntiMatters, 2(3), 33-49.

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

Zamarian, L., Ischebeck, A., & Delazer, M. (2009). Neuroscience of learning arithmetic:
Evidence from brain imaging studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 33, 909925.

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

Appendix A - Original Lesson Plan

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

10

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

Appendix B Improved Lesson Plan

11

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

12

RunningHead:LESSONPLANCRITIQUE

13