This post is a way to collect your biggest learnings from the course. Write about 3 major learnings so far and incorporate something from your interview with tech coach/media specialist. The best posts will make connections between different texts and explain how the learnings connect to your current and future practice.
One of the first readings in this course was in regards to Photovoice. I had never heard of Photovoice before and I found it to be a bit confusing at first. Through this reading, the gallery walk in class, and experiencing Photovoice myself through our assignment, I learned how valuable this process could be for my students. Each student could benefit from using their artistic abilities and personal lives in school. With ELL learners, shy students and visual learners, gaining valuable information about Photovoice gave me confidence in the sense that I could use this strategy within my classroom in various ways. Using technology and giving each child access is imperative. At The Seague Institute for Learning, each student is given a chromebook of their own and each student is able to access any learning materials necessary.
ReplyDeleteJames Gee discussed how each individual has an “identity kit” that they carry around and everyone has their own discourses through their interests, upbringing and family dynamic. Connecting Photovoice and Gee’s understandings about literacy and discourse opened my eyes. All students are children that can contribute so much to the classroom when their unique identity, discourses and abilities are embraced. Photos and art express each student in a particular way and analyzing this information as a teacher only creates a stronger bond and classroom community.
Not only should a strong sense of community be implemented within the classroom for the students’ day-to-day experience, but it gives each child a sense of pride and purpose when they are held responsible for their actions. The use accountable talk to communicate with peers allows each student to respectfully agree or disagree and their thought processes become more explicit. With the use of key words, sentence restructure and restating questions that are asked, I believe that a strong sense of self and community nurtures life-long learners. Each specialist, classroom teacher and administrator serves a purpose in each student’s education and standing strong together and putting students first every single day is so beneficial to each and every child.
Learning #1: Education is not neutral.
ReplyDeleteQuote: Ira Shor writes that “no pedagogy is neutral, no learning process is value-free, no curriculum avoids ideology and power relations” (What is Critical Literacy? 2000).
Connection: Elie Wiesel, author of the novel Night (in which he details a firsthand account of surviving Auschwitz), stated in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize that “neutrality only helps the oppressor.”
My Learning: For years I have encouraged my high school students to ponder Wiesel’s claim every time they witness an injustice against another human being. Now, after reading Ira Shor’s piece, I will continue to contemplate what messages I might be sending in my classroom specifically by what I don’t teach. In other words, what I do teach speaks for itself, I hope: the texts, the words I say, the activities I require of the students, and so forth. But going forward, I’m going to think a little more about what gets excluded as a result of both my choices and the demands of curriculum. Most English teachers use texts with different perspectives about the same topic in order to provide students with a balanced view (for example, slave narratives and Native American legends are sometimes used with excerpts from Columbus’s travel journal when he arrived in the New World). But I will continue to keep a close eye on what gets left out. As the world evolves, so do the voices in global discussion. Are we including everyone who should be included? Are we including anyone who shouldn’t be included? Why? Ultimately, these are issues of power.
Learning #2: Regarding digital literacy, students should have formal and specific instruction.
Quote: Brianna Crowley writes that “Educators should define essential skills and steps for helping students navigate their devices (and the unfettered world of the Internet)” (What Digital Literacy Looks Like in a Classroom)
Connection: The technology coach that I interviewed at Lawn School created a Google Bootcamp for students that consists of seven interactive lessons, each of which teaches a specific skill within Google: creating docs, slides and sheets; sharing; drawing, etc. The skills and steps are very clearly defined. The district as a whole - teachers, administrators and school board - have made technology in general and Google Bootcamp in particular a high priority.
My Learning: I observed that the students at Lawn use technology appropriately and wisely. Generally speaking, they are neither obsessed with it nor reluctant to to use it. Because the district has made smart and appropriate use of technology a high priority, the students have absorbed this attitude and have, in my opinion, a very healthy attitude about it. The technology coach shared a number of resources with me that are very helpful and which will help me meet the goals I have set for myself with regard to technology.
Learning #3: Literacy is comprised of Discourses, and . . .
Quote: “A Discourse is an integration of saying, doing, and valuing” (Gee, “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: An Introduction”, 1989).
Connection: An educator’s ability to connect material to students’ prior knowledge is dependent upon that educator’s willingness to consider the students’ various Discourses.
My Learning: For the last six years, I have been teaching in communities where the students have a wide variety of Primary Discourses. Gee’s piece has given me a broader perspective of both cultural identity and individual identity as well as more specific vocabulary with which to think and talk about identity. The “valuing” piece is especially interesting to me because it brings to light the political aspect of culture in general and public education in particular. Whether we like it or not, we, as teachers, are constantly sending messages to students about what we value and how much we value it. Going forward, the readings for this course will remind me to continue to reflect about exactly what messages I’m sending, both explicitly and implicitly.
1. Educators are “in it together” to Become Fluent in Digital Literacy
ReplyDeleteNo matter how familiar an educator is with technology, whether it be their amount of accessibility or exposure, teachers of today are responsible for familiarizing themselves with tools such as the internet and other software programs in order to help their students thrive in a technologically growing world. During my interview with a Media Specialist at Lawn Middle School in Jamestown, I expressed my concerns as an up-and-coming educator about being able to learn all of this new information about how technology has grown. The myth for some older generations is that people whom are millennials (like me) should have no problem grasping digital literacy because my generation never knew a world before the internet. However, the focus platform when I was in school was being proficient with Microsoft Programs, whereas now, Google is all the rage. The Media Specialist reassured me that: 1.Microsoft and Google aren’t as different as them seem (Google totally snagged some ideas) 2. There are plenty of resources at my finger-tips 3. I am not going to be left alone with figuring out how to use Google Classroom or other programs on my own. All in all, teachers across districts are in the same boat when it comes to familiarizing themselves with technology today, and utilizing these resources as a way to strengthen the quality of education for students. As for myself, I plan to pick up a few starting books to read as a way to develop a stronger foundation of my knowledge of digital literacy. In addition to that, the Media Specialist gave me some cool Twitter pages to follow that provide free and helpful resources.
2.Literacy Is Everywhere!
Before being exposed to Wang’s “photovoice” method, I never realized how far literacy spreads beyond reading and writing. Although at first I was nervous about if I was doing mine own photovoice assignment correctly, I found that conducting that project (and writing the paper) helped me gain a better understanding of my content and myself. Cullen’s article was particularly helpful with seeing how literacy branches off into different domains such as: performing, viewing, speaking, listening, and reflecting. In addition, I found that the Fisher & Fray chapters paired nicely by providing me with ways to make reading more than just reading (ex. through a read-aloud activity with an added reflection). In terms of learning about myself, I think it was really helpful for me to see how my personal literacy skills transcend into everything I do, from hobbies to part-time work. No matter if I end up teaching in a middle level or high school setting, I plan to take what I’ve learned from this photovoice project and adapting it to my classroom in order to both learn about my students, and help them feel empowered by the knowledge that they already have.
3.Know “the System” (of Education), and you can change it for the better
Although our class didn’t particularly go into depth about the history of institutionalized education in the United States, I again found Cullen’s article to be helpful with getting a grasp on education as a “system”. I’m not even a huge history buff, and getting this background knowledge how education has been in the past & current day is helpful for me because I don’t want to be that teacher who perpetuates a focus on meeting state and national testing standards. Without being about to comprehend that history, I could very well step into a school and unknowingly develop negative a mindset like that. Now, I don’t think that shaping a professional identity is that simple, but being able to learn about digital literacy and photovoice before stepping into the field is beneficial for me because I think that I’ll be much less likely to conform to teachers whom might be toxic. Cullen’s research has inspired me to keep my eyes and ears open to education as a whole in order to be a participant in positively changing the system for the new generation and ones to follow.
1.According to Lisa Delpit (1988), issues of power are enacted in classrooms. This very topic was addressed while interviewing, Susan Murphy, media specialist at ASFMS. I asked Susan, “Where is the biggest area of need to increase literacy in all content areas?” She stated that we need to provide resources that appeal to all students at their current reading levels. Resources that range from our lowest readers to our highest readers. Mrs. Murphy also noted that many students still prefer a paper book versus a digital version. She continued to say that it takes time and money. Our district, along with many other districts, are constantly under budget restrictions. Our school budget depends on the approval of the town council and the voters of Coventry. Unfortunately, when the budget needs to be reduced, the media center is often part of the cuts. The amount of money that our media specialist has to invest in resources depends on the approval and reductions made in the budget, She does not have the ability to purchased solely based on the needs of the students. As a classroom teacher, I try to create a class library that includes a wide range of topics and lexile levels that will appeal to my students.
ReplyDelete2.Crowley (2014) discusses what digital literacy looks like in a classroom. This article provided important, relevant information that every teacher should be covering in their classroom. Many schools are one-to-one. It can not be assumed that students understand what a digital footprint is or that they know how to safely use the internet. Crowley (2014) continues that many school districts and government organizations are taking a proactive stance on devices in the hands of children and teens. My school is implementing Common Sense Education, a K-12 Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum. This is a free program that I encourage everyone to explore at www.commonsense.org. There are eight different topics: Privacy and Security, Self-image and Identity, Relationships, and Communication, Cyberbullying, Digital Footprint and Reputation, Creative Credit and Copyright, Information Literacy, and Internet Safety. As you can see, the program covers many topics ranging from internet safety to evaluating sources for credibility. I am excited to use this program throughout the year. I taught the first lesson this week. The printed and digital materials were very engaging. The lessons also sparked a whole-class discussion about how much time adults spend on their devices! I look forward to more of these authentic discussions in my class. This program is being implemented in grades 6-8, with all students.
3.My third greatest take-away from this course comes from the many chapters from Fisher and Frey and the information from Isabelle Beck. I am always looking for new strategies, as well as resurrecting some old ones, to keep learning exciting in my classroom. Specifically, Fisher and Frey (2011), state that isolated instruction of individual words is an ineffective use of instructional time, and is proven to be inadequate to keep pace with the content area needs. This chapter reminded me of the importance to discuss and explicitly teach tier two vocabulary. Our sixth-grade curriculum starts with evidence responses based on short reading passages. Instead of simply reviewing vocabulary words, I have prepared small group lessons to engage students with the vocabulary from each of the articles. Participating in the silent line-up in class, I realized that I might not spend the time needed for all of my learners to access and understand the text. While conducting the miscue analysis, it was evident how some students substitute words that change the meaning of the sentence and overall comprehension of the text which will be addressed in the miscue analysis paper. Specifically in my classroom, I will use the reinforcement activities provided by Beck (2008) and the generative sentence activity from Fisher and Frey (2011). This reinforcement activity has the student use a vocabulary word in a specific place in a sentence, such as the third word. This will make a great exit ticket!
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to my Blog. For some reason I cannot get the link to work.
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1SQvGjqCO-BElhCH8uKYZVl8NNHr6EgD-685ZGcR55mc/edit?usp=sharing
1. Literacy is everywhere.
ReplyDeleteBefore the photovoice project, and Wang's article, I never knew that literacy addresses anything other than reading and writing. Literacy is having the skills and confidence to complete a specific task with mastery. Whether that be reading, writing, math, or hobbies that one may do in everyday life. Literacy is having the knowledge to complete a task, as well as, being able to explain it through steps to another person. Wang states, “In the United States, that homeless women and men have found the Photovoice process to be a useful tool suggests that it may be a relatively inexpensive way to enable people to reflect on their lives and communities and effectively communicate their perceptions and insights to others” (Wang 191). This allows for people to share their own literacies and knowledge through the photos to other people. When I created my own photovoice photos and paper, I realized that I have so many literacies. I am literate in swimming, frisbee, music, etc. I had no idea that these were types of literacies. Cullen's article helped eme see literacy has different domains such as: performing, viewing, speaking, listening, and reflecting. By understanding this, students bring all types of literacy to the classroom. Students have all types of skills that can be used into lessons and keep them engaged. By connecting lessons to their litercies, it will help students become literate in the information that we discuss in class. Also bringing photovoice into the classroom can allow for students to share their own voice and help create a better community among everyone in the classroom. This project helped me gain a better understanding of myself and my content, which brings me to my second learning.
2. Literacy in the classroom is different across all subjects. I learned that literacy should not be left to the english/literacy teacher. Each subject has a wide variety of difference in literacy. Especially math, Zwier states, “A student must read not only left to right but right to left, up and down, and even diagonally when reading graphs and tables, for example.” (Zwier 92). As I read this line, I laughed knowing all too well how true this statement is. The funny thing being that because of my math background, and becoming familiar with this type of reading, I had forgotten how truly foreign that would be to a middle school math student. That being said, all subject literacies are different, and all need to be addressed individually.
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ReplyDeleteLiteracy is different across content areas.
If you know how to read, then you can read anything; at least that’s what I went into this class thinking. It never occurred to me that it required different sets of skills to understand readings from different content areas. As Zwiers states simply, “thinking and talking in science differ from thinks an talking in history.” (Zwiers) He goes on to point out that history involves a great deal of interpretation, and requires students to infer the “invisible connections” between sentences that connect to other figures and events. Without being explicitly taught to look out for and handle these features of social studies texts, students will be missing huge chunks of information. For example, the article I used in my lesson plan assumed that students knew what the American Revolution, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were. It also assumed that students would be able to see the connection between those things and freedom of speech and press. I can tell you that no one in the inclusion class knew about any of these things, and less than a handful of at-level students knew about them either. They needed to rely on me to show the the connections and how everything was related. Without my explicit instruction of the “invisible connections,” the students would have missed the whole point that the article was trying to make. Zwiers explains that “as experts in our content areas, we teachers often have “expert blind spots” that keep us from realizing that much of our complex and abstract knowledge has become concrete and basic to us.” (Zwiers) We as “experts” often forget to stop and think about what might be new or confusing to a student. Teaching literacy isn’t just the job of the English teacher. If we want students to understand our subject, and to make the best use of what we have taught them, then it is our job to teach strategies of literacy too.
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ReplyDeleteDigital literacy extends learning beyond the classroom.
The biggest takeaway from my digital literacy interview of a technology coach, is that digital literacy helps to extend students’ learning beyond the classroom and allows teachers to personalize what they give to students. The tech coach could not say enough good things about Google Classroom. By having assignments posted to the digital classroom, he can make sure that every student has access to the readings. The Google based technology also allows for teachers to provide students with attached supplementary supports like vocabulary sheets, educational video clips, and graphic organizers. The ability to add in multiple supports makes it easier for students to get immediate help with their work. Its a unique way of helping those who may not have asked for help in class; the resources are there if you need them. The majority of students prefer to do their assignments and readings for class in a digital format. Even the most reluctant readers will attempt to do an assignment if it means they can use their personal devices.
Digital literacy extends learning beyond the classroom because it makes learning available anywhere at anytime. If a lesson runs long and can’t be finished during class that day, teachers can send home a screencast video through Google Classroom and the students can continue learning from home. It also allows students to cooperate on assignments without having to meet together in or outside of school, with things like shared documents and slides. Additionally, teachers can send home links to other sites and apps to help students review what they’ve leaned in class. Sites like Socrative, Kahoot, and Quizzlet, allow students to test there knowledge and better prepare themselves for assessments. They can work on things at their own pace and from the comfort of their home. I’ve used Kahoot with students for end of the unit tests and it really did help to improve their knowledge retention and their grades. I also noticed how students who didn’t pay attention during lessons became more engaged when a technology based review game was used. Technology and literacy are two things that are only going to become more interwoven into our lives. As teachers it makes sense to blend the two together so that we can find the best ways possible to get students more engaged in their learning.
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ReplyDeleteTeachers need to get to know and understand their students better.
In my experience, it seems that students only value learning something if they can connect to it in a personal way. Without knowing who our students are, what cultures they belong to, or what experiences they have had, we run the risk of causing them to disconnect and disengage from their learning. The article by Cullen has a section about culturally responsive teaching with social justice. Cullen argues that we must get to know our students and their backgrounds, and we also to be aware of how our own experiences have had an effect on our teaching. She states that “a primary goal of culturally responsive teaching is to ensure that students from diverse backgrounds have meaningful opportunities to experience quality instruction that consistently incorporates cultural components to support learning. Culturally responsive teachers support students by seeking out knowledge about different cultures.” (Cullen) In social studies, students pick apart readings and the textbook find evidence of bias or persuasion used by the author. Cullen points out that a socially just teacher will work to identify how those same factors effect the way content classes are planned and taught to students. Every student comes into our classroom with their own unique primary discourse. Gee defines a Discourse as “a sort of 'identity kit' which comes complete with the appropriate costume and instructions on how to act, talk, and often write, so as to take on a particular social role that others will recognize.” (Gee) One way we can get a better glimpse into our students “identity kits,” and what they value, would be to use photovoice. Photovoice would be a great tool to use to harness the power of images so that teachers can get a better look into who or what has shaped their students’ “identity.” The more we know about our students, the better we can prepare lessons that they can personally connect to.
1. Literacy goes deeper than just reading or writing
ReplyDeleteLiteracy is often described as somebody’s ability to read and write, but it is sometimes overlooked that actually understanding the content of what you are reading or writing is an important aspect of literacy. J.P. Gee also makes the point that “the focus of literacy studies or applied linguistics should not be language or literacy, but social practices” (Gee 1989). Literacy is not just restricted to ELA, which I feel is a common misconception. There are various opportunities to improve upon your understanding of the world around you and everything in it, as we are exposed to a variety of literacies in the average day. Encouraging social practices amongst each other are the most effective ways that we learn and apply our literacies.
2. Children need to be taught how to effectively have digital literacy
In Brianna Crowley’s article, she mentions the fact that “Many adults think that because children have been immersed in a technology since a young age, they are naturally ‘literate’ or skilled in using technology.” (Crowley, 2014). When I had interviewed my media specialist Ann about digital technology in the school, I mentioned that often times I would see the students on the computer but not really having any idea of how to acquire research. We discussed how the technology that is available really just going to waste, as students are never actually taught about how to conduct research, and how there needs to be a structure in place for the students to follow so that they can improve upon their digital literacy. In an effort to educate our team on the dangers of the internet, my induction coach and I recently put together a quiz about “digital citizenship” and using the technology safely that the students had to pass in order to get their “license” to be on the computer. That way the students had to prove to us that they were responsible or at least learned how to be responsible from the quiz.
3. Language in regards to education can never be neutral
In discussing the idea of critical literacy, Ira Shor cites a “stance by Jerome Bruner (1986) which states that “…the medium of exchange in which education is conducted—language—can never be neutral…”. It makes sense that any educator has their own personal values and views that will inevitably spill into their teachings. As impossible as it is to be completely neutral, educators need to look at their teachings and try to force values onto their students. It is not our job to tell them what to think; we simply need to hand them the tools and information that they require. Let the students decide their own thoughts and feelings on subject matter where it is applicable.
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ReplyDeleteI have learn a lot in this class and it has helped me become a better educator. On the first day of class we were told to write a definition of literacy. During that first class I wrote down that literacy is the ability to read with fluency and to be able to comprehend what is read. After taking this class I learned that I was looking at the term literacy very black and white. Doing the photovoice assignment helped me realize that literacy is much more. I never thought of literacy being anything other than something related to academics. But by bringing in pictures of literacy in my world I was able to see that literacy is all around us and takes many different forms. Out of all the readings we have read the best definition of literacy for me was the one by Gee. Gee states, “ literacy as the mastery of or fluent control over a secondary discourse. Therefore, literacy is always plural: literacies(there are many of them, since there are many secondary discourses, and we all have some and fail to have others). This definition helped me see how the activity(creating a name tag and drawing things we were good at) we did during the first class related to literacy. The whole photovoice assignment helped me create a definition of literacy. I could have read a million articles on what literacy is but creating mine own allowed me to learn so much more. By doing this assignment it mean me realize that I want my students to be active learners. Having them create something is more powerful than lecturing them on a topic. I never realize that a picture could tell you all that information about literacy in your world or content area. I think it is important as educators we teach our students a more encompassing definition of literacy. Many students are quick to say they don’t like literacy but in reality they don’t understand that many things they are passionate about is their literacy.
English is my content area and I really want students to enjoy reading and writing. Are school is fortunate enough to have one to one devices. With the one to one devices it helps make literacy more accessible for struggling students. I met with the tech specialist at Ferri and he was telling me about the Apps he was putting on the students chromebooks. The apps that will assist with literacy are bookshare, readwrite, and cowriter. CoWriter has word prediction, topic dictionaries and speech recognition. This app is great for struggling writers. It makes writing easier because it predicts the word they are trying to type. Some students are able to express verbally there thoughts but have a difficult time writing it down. If this is the case they can use speech recognition. Cowriter helps students that struggle with spelling and grammar and allows them to feel more confident in their writing.
ReplyDeleteThe app that really stood out to me t was Bookshare. Bookshare reads the book to the student but highlights each word as it is reads. We read an article by Fisher and Fry that talks about shared reading. This is actually what bookshare does. Fisher and Fry state that “ a shared reading is a text or passage that is jointly shared by teacher and student, but is read aloud by the teacher”(2011, p. 18). This article supported the benefits of students using a program like bookshare or having teachers read to their students. Many of my students dislike reading and always want me to read the text to them. I was always on the fence with this. I felt by me reading they would never learn to enjoy it and they could not practice their fluency and decoding. Everytime I read the text to the students I found myself wondering If I was doing the right thing. But after reading the chapter by Fisher and Frey I realized that there was nothing wrong to reading to students. This was a big realization for me. Being and RtI teacher I work with many students that are below grade level in reading and dislike it. Knowing that there is research to support read alouds really helped me as a teacher. I am now using read alouds and shared reading a lot more in my classroom. I have put bookshare on each of their computers. They don’t mind if they are getting assigned to read a chapter in “The Giver” because they have bookshare. Previously my students would just not read the assigned chapters. Now they are using the app in order to help them complete their homework. I am noticing how much students are comprehending if they are not the ones reading. I decided to test out this theory. I gave my students two readings from EASYCBM and had them answer the multiple choice questions. One text they read by themselves and the other I read to them. Out of nine students seven of them did better on the comprehension question when the text was read to them. This supports Vygotsky’s zones of proximal development and that “shared reading events allows teachers to address comprehension strategies through modeling(Fisher, Frey, & Lapp, 2008)
ReplyDeleteAnother major concept of learning for me was disciplinary literacy. I had never heard that term before but as I read up on the subject it really made sense. Cullen defines disciplinary literacy as “the use of reading, reasoning, investigating, speaking, and writing required to learn and form complex content knowledge appropriate to a particular discipline” (2016, p.3). Many times I have students refereed to RtI and the science, math, and social studies teachers report that the student is struggling with reading comprehension. The first thing I do with the student is some reading comprehension benchmarks. Many of the times I would administer one or two test and the students would be at grade level. I would be confused with the results because it did not match with what their teachers were saying. It was not until I read about disciplinary literacy that it had clicked for me. The student might be having difficulty with reading comprehension in that subject. All of the tests I had given look at reading comprehension in terms of English and literacy. That made me wonder if there were certain benchmark for reading comprehension in each content area. After reading the article by Cullen I started to do further research on teaching disciplinary literacy strategies. I am making it a goal of mine to teach these different strategies and realize that literacy looks different in each content area.
Through the interview with my school’s tech coach/media specialist I learned that my seventh grade math students have access to an e-textbook version of their McGraw-Hill printed textbook called ConnectEd. Through ConnectEd, my students can read their math e-textbook, complete homework on their e-textbook, and watch tutorial videos in Spanish. Also, my students can use their Chromebooks for twenty minutes per day to access a math resource called ALEKs (Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces) which is a web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about Photovoice, I was intrigued, so engaging in the Photovoice process was a welcome learning experience for me. I had volunteered during an Operation Stand Down event in South Boston where photos of the event, interviews of volunteers, and testimonies of homeless veterans were used to publish an article raising awareness of homelessness in America. Wang states, “In the United States, that homeless women and men have found the Photovoice process to be a useful tool suggests that it may be a relatively inexpensive way to enable people to reflect on their lives and communities and effectively communicate their perceptions and insights to others.” I intend to introduce Photovoice during my school’s Community Engagement Committee meeting next month. Photovoice can be used as a platform for discourse resulting in improved after school academic, recreational, and family programs for our title one school.
The Fisher and Frey readings reinforced my current practice of teaching literacy in my content area. Teaching literacy had been modeled for me through my math professors at Rhode Island College. I made a connection between how I felt as a student of mathematics from an early age through college about the importance of literacy when learning key math concepts to my ideology of teaching math to my students. As a result, I have always and will continue to teach and support my students’ literacy in the classroom as well as support my students’ literacy goals in other contents. Fisher and Frey point out the need for teaching tier two words, so I will continue to do that and search for opportunities to learn more about supporting my students’ literacy through meetings with colleagues to professional development opportunities.
The Zwier readings echoed my understanding of why I teach my students particular words that have particular meanings in mathematics. It makes sense that learning literacy spans across content areas, that teaching it is “not the sole responsibility of the English Language Arts teacher” (Zwier). It is my assertion that all teachers should meet at least monthly to share their strategies for teaching literacy and to stay abreast on current best practices for teaching literacy in their content area. In my classroom, students’ literacy is supported through tier two word and math terms with definitions, one-on-one, small group, and whole group instruction on how to dissect the math text/ word problems to successfully learn key math concepts, and by integrating blended learning using Chromebooks to access the ALEKs math program where students’ literacy is supported through video tutorials in English and Spanish.
3. Digital literacy extends learning beyond the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMy media specialist really emphasized the idea of digital literacy allowing students to learn outside of the classroom. She stated "Students have access to world wide audience, but it’s important to teach them about the responsibilities that come with that and how to maintain a good digital footprint." Having the access to the world and every topic imaginable comes with the 21st century. This is what all these kids have been growing up with, and because of that, they need to learn how to use it properly. This is why digital literacy is important! Knowing how to use the internet, and technology is important for these kids to gain as much knowledge as they can! They can do so many things, like collaborating with others, researching in their own, creating amazing projects, and even learning things that interest them! Allowing students technology usage can enhance lessons, even math ones. The media specialist talked about math games, Kahn academy and many more resources I can use in my classroom along with exit slips and collaboration pieces.
1. Literacy expands across all content areas, not just ELA.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article by Cullen, I learned how literacy can be implemented in different content areas. As Cullen pointed out in his introduction, “texts that were used in algebra likely contained many symbols, figures, and examples but few photographs” while “texts that were used in history probably contained many photographs, along with sections featuring timelines and excerpts of historical documents” (Cullen,2017). One thing that I took from the article is that literacy strategies can connect across content areas. Cullen pointed out, “Across disciplines, titles and headings will likely differ, but what they have in common is that they give the reader a preview of what is coming” (Cullen,2017). I never focused on the title of the lesson in my two years of teaching but after reading this, I started to. I now begin every lesson talking about the title and use it to introduce what students will be learning that day. Just as Cullen mentioned, it gives a students a preview of what they are learning. When teaching a lesson, I now refer back to the title to remind them what skill we are trying master that day. I also like how Cullen used Table 2 to show similarities and differences in literacy between disciplinary areas because it made me realize how similar literacy is between science and math. Vocabulary learned in these areas are very specific to the content and can have the same context in both math and science. An example would be a table that displays information and has several columns. Both content areas also use symbols to represent different things. I now make a point to make connections about how a literacy tools and highlight how it may be used in another class so students are able to make connections and be able to apply what they learned in my class to another class that may use the same literacy tools. For example, I used a venn diagram to compare and contrast two equations the students were learning about. Before completing the task we talked about how venn diagrams were used in ELA before discussing how we were similarly going to use it in math and its purpose for the lesson.
2. Technology can motivate and support student literacy.
ReplyDeleteDuring this course I had the opportunity to interview a teacher named Paula that is now a leader in blended learning. This year she has taken on that role in the district after implementing blended learning in her classroom for several years. During our interview, I learned just how impactful it can be for students if technology was incorporated into their education. For one, it can motivate students to read. Programs like Reading A-Z, NewsELA, and Achieve 3000 begin with students completing a diagnostic test to make sure they are reading material on their level. It also provides progress monitoring for students so that they can see how they can see their growth. Most importantly, programs like these motivate students to read by providing articles on a multitude of topics and so that students can read articles on topics that interest them.
There are also many resources to support students in writing and math literacy as well. By using G Suite and Google Classroom, teachers and students are able to collaborate in ways that were not accessible before. During my interview, I learned how Google Classroom can provide opportunities of collaboration and allows students to receive instant feedback. If a student writes an assignment and turns it in, he or she has to wait for the teacher to grade before they can make edits. Depending on the length of the assignment, it may take a teacher a few days to grade it. By having students type writing assignments, a teacher can access it right away and provide comments on the document. That way the student can revise their work as needed at home before returning to school the following day. Google Classroom also has a live stream. This can be an asset to the students because they can converse on how to complete a homework assignment. Paula told me that she posted math homework on Google Classroom and that students would use the live stream to help each other complete the problems. She would also provide students with assistance on the assignment as well. If she noticed many stuck on a problem she would tell them to not worry and wait until the following day for her to explain it.
3. Everyone has primary and secondary discourses that determine who a person is.
ReplyDeleteIn the article by Gee, I learned a lot about discourses. Gee defines discourse as “ways of being in the world; they are forms of life which integrate words, acts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities as well as gestures, glances, body positions, and clothes” (Gee, 1989). He goes on to explain that discourse is “an “identity kit” which comes complete with the appropriate costume and instructions on how to act, talk, and often write, so as to take on a particular role that others would recognize” (Gee, 1989). In this article I learned about various types of discourses. I learned that the primary discourse is the one we acquire during our upbringing and can vary greatly from others. It is the initial identity we gain based on how our parents raised us, including language being spoken in the home, religion, and culture we were exposed to as children. As a teacher, understanding what discourse allows me to develop a new understanding about my students. I find myself in meetings with parents where they are confused as to why their child displays a certain behavior in school that is never seen at home. As Gee mentions, people develop secondary discourses as they leave home and begin interacting with people in public places such as school. He also mentions that “tension or conflict” (Gee,1989) can exist between “a primary discourse and a dominant secondary discourse” (Gee,1989). I found this as a tool to understand students who feel peer-pressured to act a certain way in order to be accepted by a particular group of friends while struggling to meet the expectations set by their parents for them. Learning about discourses allowed me to be more aware of changes in student behavior as well as what factors play a role in those changes. It also allows me to have conversations with parents about why their child may be displaying new behaviors at home and/or school and realizing that maybe a student’s secondary discourse is playing a role in that change.
Through my conversation with the media specialist, I learned about using the Chromebooks to create illustrations for a project the students are doing. I also learned about using the online version of the textbook so that students do not need to carry the heavy books home.
ReplyDeleteOne major course outcome comes from Gee's ideas of discourse. The idea of having different discourses that are used in situations that are appropriate. The primary discourse of a person, stemming from what is learned from person's upbringing. However, as you grow older, you develop more discourses to use in different scenarios. This is eye opening to me as a middle school teacher, because students are young and may rely more heavily on their primary discourse. This means that if they are not native English speakers, or have no been exposed to what "School" looks like, they my struggle. Understanding this can help me be more mindful of accommodations.
Lastly, Zwiers helped me to understand literacy throughout the content areas. As a teacher of ELA and Social Studies, I sometimes forget to apply the content specific skills for SS. (i.e.- reading like a Historian). It is important to focus on skill building specific for the content area, so that students can distinguish the different vocabulary and meanings. This is something I have already started to improve in my classroom.