RUNNING HEAD: Literature Review: Domain C 1

Literature Review: Domain C

Dale Johnson

National University

In partial fulfillment for TED 690

Professor Weintraub

June 14, 2019

RUNNING HEAD: Literature Review: Domain C 2

Abstract

The following document analyzes the peer reviewed article, Helping Students Develop an

Appreciation of School Content, by Kevin J. Pugh and Michael M. Phillips. In the article, the

authors discuss Jere Brophy’s model of content appreciation and the three principles central to

Brophy’s model: teaching worthwhile content, framing content to stimulate appreciation, and

scaffolding appreciation within the motivational zone of proximal development (ZPD). The

Pugh and Phillips use a case study in which a teacher is trying to foster content appreciation for

the sixth grade students in her classroom.

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Content Appreciation

Having finished my first year of teaching second grade, I can relate to the teacher in the

case study of this article, Helping Students Develop an Appreciation of School Content. A sense

of disappointment would flow over me when my students would did not get excited about

learning the content I would be teaching. In the article, authors Kevin J. Pugh and Michael M.

Phillips discuss Jere Brophy’s model of content appreciation. They summarize the key ideas in

the context of a hypothetical case study, to make the Brophy’s model accessible to teachers and

those in the education profession (Pugh & Phillips, 2011).

Selecting Worthwhile Content

The first principle in Brophy’s content appreciation model is selecting worthwhile

content. According to Pugh & Phillips, “content appreciation is developing value for the content

and coming to view the learning process as a worthwhile endeavor” (2001, p. 285). As a teacher,

the goal of instruction should focus on increasing “students’ understanding of the content,

appreciation for why the content is being learned, and application of such content in students’

every day, out-of-school lives” (Pugh & Phillips, 2011, p. 286). The first step in Brophy’s model

is to select worthwhile content. For example, teachers need to be selective in what they include

in the curriculum. Too much information makes it very hard to connect value to the content

being presented. In addition, the question of why this content is important needs to be addressed

as well. Pugh & Phillips write “educators can carefully select content with the most pertinent

affordances” (2011, p. 287). The content selected needs to connect with students’ lives outside

of the school. In addition, learning the content should provide students with ways to solve

meaningful problems in their lives or to develop new skills they can readily use.
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Framing The Content

The second principle in Brophy’s model is to frame the content appropriately. A useful

way to frame content in order to have the content appreciated, is to present the content as ideas

which consist of possibilities rather than concepts that have established meanings. For example,

from the case study in the article, a teacher wants to frame her lesson on geology in such a way

where her sixth grade students will be engaged and excited to learn. One strategy is to transform

ideas into metaphors. Pugh & Phillips write “For example, concepts such as crystal formation

and the rock cycle can be transformed into an idea through the metaphor of ‘every rock is a story

waiting to be read.’ This simple framing has a dramatic change on the conveyed purposes and

goals of the lesson” (2011, p.289). Another useful strategy discussed in the article for framing

content is modeling. Simply being enthusiastic about the content and sharing stories from one’s

own experiences can hook students into the content.

Scaffolding Appreciation of Content

The third principle of Brophy’s content appreciation model involves scaffolding. It is

important to note that Brophy extended further the concept of the Zone of Proximal

Development by Vygotsky into the topic of motivation (Pugh & Phillips, 2011). For example,

there is content that a student already appreciates, some content that a student could potential

appreciate with the support of the teacher, and other content that they cannot appreciate even

with scaffolding. The authors describe strategies in how to scaffold appreciation in their article

in the context of a geology lesson. The scaffolding occurred as telling rock stories. However,

telling stories of landforms did not work because students did not have a personal experience

with the landforms presented. The teacher proposed to have students tell stories of landforms
RUNNING HEAD: Literature Review: Domain C 5

that were personally significant to them, which brought the content to the students’ lives.

Teachers must support the students’ interests by “making statements that highlight the value of

particular discoveries and encouraging the development of competence in the area” (Pugh &

Phillips, 2001, p. 290).

Conclusion

Brophy’s model of content appreciation contains three principles that increase students’

appreciation of the subject matter being learned. When there is content appreciation, application

of the content in the students’ lives increase as well. The principles are: 1) teaching worthwhile

content, 2) framing content to stimulate appreciation, and 3) scaffolding appreciation within the

motivational zone of proximal development (ZPD). In their article, Pugh & Phillips describe

strategies in which teachers can implement strategies to carry out the three principles. Using

these strategies will increase the content appreciation among students in the classroom.
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Reference

Pugh, K., & Phillips, M. (2011). Helping Students Develop an Appreciation for School

Content. Theory Into Practice, 50(4), 285–292. https://doi-

org.nuls.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/00405841.2011.607383