Case Study in American Literature: Using Audio Files of Eudora Welty

Veronica August, Julia Cashel, Vicki Cosby-Jefferson, Anita Gross, Robin Phares, Glen Selby, Mattie Walton

University of Phoenix

CMP 555: DESIGNING AND PRODUCING EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Instructor: Janet Luch

June 22, 2008

EUDORA WELTY READING OF “WHY I LIVE AT THE P.O.”

In the case study provided in the text the instructor chose the stories of Eudora Welty, specifically, “Why I Live at the P.O.” as the audio instrument to enhance the listening skills of her students. In the case study the teacher used the ASSURE Model of lesson planning to determine how and what would be presented to the students to engage their critical thinking skills and build on their previous knowledge of literature. Please use hyperlink to hear Ms. Welty read her story. http://web3.streamhoster.com/idstaff/excerpt/9780694520145.mp3

Analyze LearnersAnalyze Learners

General characteristics:General characteristics: The instructor did a good job identifying why the The instructor did a good job identifying why the

students are taking the class and good job at students are taking the class and good job at assessing the reading abilities of the students.assessing the reading abilities of the students.

Entry Competencies:Entry Competencies: The instructor found positives in that the students The instructor found positives in that the students

are motivated to learn, but also discovered that they are motivated to learn, but also discovered that they have little familiarity with contemporary literature. have little familiarity with contemporary literature.

Analyze Learners (cont.)

Learning Styles: The instructor was able to identify that the

learning styles of the students vary greatly, although most seemed to be verbal learners, and are good listeners.

State Objectives State Objectives

After listening to the story, the students After listening to the story, the students will be able to do the following:will be able to do the following:1.1. State the main theme of the story.State the main theme of the story.

2.2. Discuss the motivations of the main Discuss the motivations of the main characters.characters.

3.3. Identify the relationships among the main Identify the relationships among the main characters.characters.

4.4. Compare the behaviors of the characters Compare the behaviors of the characters with those of people they know.with those of people they know.

Select Media,Materials, and Methods

The instructor selected “Why I Live at the P.O.” because she knew about the recording by the author. She believes that hearing as well as reading the short story will help the slower readers. She knows that Miss Welty is an amateur photographer and that a book of her photographs of people and scenes in her native Jackson, Mississippi, has been published. After securing permission from the publisher, the instructor asks the media center to make a series of slides from selected photographs from her copy of the book to give the students the flavor of the environment of the story. The instructor asks the Southern wife of a faculty member to read the narration she has written to accompany the set of slides. This will give the students some practice listening to a Southern accent before hearing Miss Welty.

Utilize Media and Utilize Media and MaterialsMaterials

The classroom is acoustically suitable for hearing the tape, but the instructor realizes that a playback unit with better speakers than those on her portable machine will be necessary. She arranges with the media center to obtain a good playback unit. She has also requested a slide projector and screen and has arranged the slides in the tray.

The reading assignment included material on the influence of the South on Southern writers. On the day before the oral reading, the instructor hands out a sheet listing colloquialisms from the story with explanations.

On the day of the reading, the instructor introduces the woman who will read the narration for the slides and proceeds to present the slide set. The slide presentation elicits a number of questions about life in the South. The instructor then introduces the recording, closing with the warning that contrary to what they may have heard about languorous Southern speech, Eudora Welty speaks very rapidly.

Require Learner Participation

The students are encouraged to ask questions during and following the slide presentation. They take notes while the story is being read. After the recording, the class discusses the short story. The older women in the class give their insights into the problems of family relations.

As a culminating exercise, the instructor asks the students to write a short essay comparing the characters in the story with people they know.

Evaluate and Revise

From the discussion in class, the instructor determines that the recording added to the understanding of the theme and the motivations of the characters. On the basis of the response to the slide presentation, the instructor decides to use the technique in other units of the course.

The essays demonstrate that the students gave a good deal of thought to the way behavior patterns are influenced by where people live. The instructor gives the class a brief multiple-choice test on the people in the story to determine how well the students understood the interactions among the characters.

Conclusion

Instructor used ASSURE Model to develop lesson plan.

Followed model guidelines Chose audio media to enhance the lesson.

Justified this choice through analyzing entry characteristics understanding students’ learning styles

were limited to verbal learners their age group allowed exposure to diverse audio

information Students had ability to possess good listening skills.

References