Read the following vignette, then
Four teachers want their students to understand the rule saying that non-essential clauses in sentences
are set off by commas.
Janet Reeve displays six sentences on the overhead, three of which contain essential clauses and three
others that contain non-essential clauses. She points out the clauses, correctly punctuates them, and
explains why they are punctuated in this way. She then gives the students several sentences for
practice, directing them to correctly punctuate the clauses in the sentences.
Steve Smith presents several sentences which contain essential clauses and other sentences that
contain non-essential clauses. He directs the students to look for clauses in the sentences that have
commas around them, and he guides them to conclude that the clauses set off by commas are not
essential, whereas those that don't have commas around them are essential. He then gives the students
some additional sentences to punctuate correctly.
Javier Sanchez presents a paragraph which contains three underlined essential clauses and three other
underlined non-essential clauses, each punctuated correctly. The class discusses the common features
of the underlined and italicized clauses, and, with Javier's guidance they arrive at a rule for punctuating
essential and non-essential clauses. Javier then directs the students to write a paragraph containing at
least three examples of essential clauses and three other examples of non-essential clauses, all
punctuated correctly.
Susan Welna presents a passage in which several examples of essential and non-essential clauses are
embedded. She asks the students to describe the passages, and after they have made several
observations, she punctuates the sentences properly, explaining the rule in the process.
1. Which teacher in the vignette most nearly based his or her learning activity on the suggestions for
classroom practice that are grounded in the principles of cognitive learning theory? Explain.
2. Which teacher in the vignette least nearly based his or her learning activity on the suggestions for
classroom practice that are grounded in the principles of cognitive learning theory?
Answer (1)
Javier Sanchez's approach to teaching essential and non-essential clauses aligns closely with cognitive learning theory due to its constructivist nature, fostering student engagement and understanding. In contrast, Janet Reeve's method is more traditional and less engaging, which does not promote cognitive processing effectively. Therefore, Javier's activities are more conducive to cognitive learning principles compared to Janet's. ;
