Double Entry Journal #9

“School, they say, should be a place for learning. There’s plenty of time for play at home.”

I chose this quote because I strongly disagree with the concept. From reading the article I know that most individuals do disagree with this statement, but I find it hard to believe that even one person believes this. School was not just developed simply for learning. Beyond education, school also develops social skills, friendships, and character. If we were to sit our students down every day for a whole year and lecture to them, we would see a very low success rate. Young children need to play. By playing they learn new experiences that can’t be explained by a simple lecture.

“Young children work hard at play.”

This quote, along with the paragraph following it, is a very powerful quote. When we think of the word “play” we often think of it as a time when children are having fun, taking a break from learning, and mingling with their peers. In many ways, we diminish the true meaning of the word “play.” It takes effort for a child to play. Children have to establish some type of real-life concept and use the information they know to continue “playing.” Students mingle with their peers and use new language and discuss new concepts during play time. A lot of times, adults fail to see how important play time is. We teach our students from the start that one day they will go out in the world and have to survive on their own. If we let these children play, they are already doing this. They are going out, without being closely watched by a teacher, and using information they know to play various games and roles. Why would we want to take away something that children put such an effort into?

“How can we expect our children to thrive in the imagination economy of the future if we deny them opportunities for play and creativity in kindergarten?”

This quote goes along with what was stated above. I strongly agree with what is being said. As an adult, I have learned that it is very difficult for adults to learn new concepts compared to how simple it is for a young child. As the old saying goes, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” At a young age children are brave and very imaginative. If we pull our students away from imagination, how will they ever grasp this concept as an adult?

Resources:

Martina, E. (NA). The importance of play . Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIayLh2P5C0

Miller, E., & Almon, J. (NA). Crisis in the kindergarten why children need to play in school . Retrieved from http://earlychildhoodcolorado.org/inc/uploads/Crisis_in_Kindergarten.pdf

Double Entry Journal #8

What are some challenges to inquiry approaches to learning?

Challenges occur when teachers do not fully understand inquiry approaches to learning. At first glance, some teachers may view inquiry approaches as “unstructured,” and will fail to do many things to make this approach a success. Teachers may also struggle to implement discipline-appropriate strategies when working with inquiry approaches to learning. 

Make connections between project-based learning and three research based strategies (Choose strategies you have not already been assigned to read about). Give a brief explanation of the connections.

Cooperative Grouping-In a project-based learning setting it is very common to see a classroom working in cooperative groups. Effective cooperative learning occurs when students work together to accomplish shared goals and when positive structures are in place to support that process (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). This strategy would be a good way to implement PBL in the classroom.

Providing Feedback-In my opinion, this is one of the most important research-based strategies. During PBL the teacher must provide positive feedback to each of her students in order to motivate them further. Feedback has been shown to be one of the most significant activities a teacher can engage in to improve student achievement (Hattie, 1992). While doing my PBL I will definitely provide as much positive feedback as possible to my students.

Simulations and Games-This is one strategy that I believe could make PBL very successful. Simulations enhance this potential by making modeling dynamic. Games and modeling activities can elicit curiosity, create a demand for knowledge, and enable students to discover knowledge through exploration (Edelson, 1998). Simulations allow students to actually be involved with the situation at hand. Games teach many strategies, such as conflict resolution. This could be a very effective PBL strategy, but must be introduced in the proper way. It is easy for a classroom to get “out of hand” during a simulation or game, so it is important to have discipline points introduced at the beginning of the lesson.

References:

Baron, , B., & Darling-Hammond, L. (1991). Teaching for meaningful learners. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

NA. (2005). Focus on effectiveness. Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/focus/

Focused Observation of Struggling student

During my focused observation I chose to observe a young boy who has an IEP. I am not positive as to what is on his IEP, but after my observation I believe he may have ADD. This third grader is mainstreamed with the regular class most of the day. He goes to the Special Needs teacher for about 45 minutes at the most daily. During my observation, I noticed many interesting things. The child does not have severe trouble in the classroom. If the teacher or I remind the boy to keep working he does well. If we forget to after about 15 minutes, he falls off track. I observed him during a reading lesson, where the teacher was reading to the class in front of the room and asking questions. While the teacher was reading, the boy had his book placed on his lap and flipped through the pages often. The child never looked at the teacher and seemed very “tuned out” the whole time. During the class discussion, the young boy always looked down. Very rarely did I see his head rise. He never attempted to answer a question, and I’m not positive he even paid attention to the questions that were asked. After the lesson, the teacher passed out a reading worksheet while stating the directions. After the worksheet was passed out, the child walked up to the teacher and asked her to repeat the directions.

The observation somewhat intrigued me. I knew this young boy was struggling, but when I was solely focused on him, I saw many new things. The student’s behavior always connects with what is going on in the classroom. During quiet times, such as reading, he is unfocused. When things become louder or more "hands on," he is interested. For example, at one point during my observation, the teacher asked a question and many students had an opinion. The noise level went up a lot, and this quickly caught the young boy’s attention. He sits in the front row therefore the teacher can often use proximity to grab his attention. I often work one on one with the young child. He is very smart and receives good grades. The child just needs a reminder every few minutes to stay on track. I definitely learned a lot from this observation, and I feel that I can now better assist this young boy.

Double Entry Journal #7

1. Read the Introduction. What "dominant paradigm" is showing signs of wear?

The “dominant paradigm” that is showing signs of wear, is when the teacher relies on the textbook to form readings, discussions, and lectures.

2. According to the research, how does Project-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

Project-Based Learning enables students to develop higher order thinking skills. It will help students to think more critically and write and speak more effectively. (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999; Bransford & Donovan, 2005)

Studies have shown a positive impact on learning when students participate in lessons that require them to construct and organize knowledge, consider alternatives, engage in detailed research, inquiry, writing, and analysis, and to communicate effectively to audiences (Newmann, 1996).

Students who engage in the project-based learning approach benefit from gains in factual learning that are equivalent or superior to those of students who engage in traditional forms of instruction (Thomas, 2000).

3.  According to the research, how does Problem-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

Problem-based learning better supports flexible problem solving, application of knowledge, and hypothesis generation (for a meta-analysis, see Dochy, Segers, Van den Bossche, & Gijbels, 2003).

Students who participate in problem-based experiences are better able to generate accurate hypotheses and coherent explanations (Hmelo, 1998b; Schmidt et al., 1996).

Students can better support their claims with well-reasoned arguments (Stepien et al., 1993).

4.  According to the research, how does Learning by Design support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

Design activities, rather than using a traditional approach, are better for helping students develop understanding of complex systems (Perkins, 1986).

Design activities are better for developing technical and subject matter knowledge (Newstetter, 2000).

The design-based approach allows students to set constraints, generate ideas, create prototypes, and develop plans through storyboarding or other representational practices. Each of these subjects is a Twenty First Century Skill that traditional approaches would not incorporate. (Newstetter, 2000).

5. What are the differences between the three approaches?

The three approaches go hand-in-hand but there are key differences. Project-based learning leads the class up to a “main event,” where they present their knowledge in the form of a realistic project. Problem-based learning involves students working in small groups to find a problem. Group members work together to learn more about the topic of the problem and try to find strategies for a solution. In the Design-based approach, students design and create an artifact. In order to create this artifact, understanding and application of the criteria will have to be used.

6. In your opinion, what is the most important benefit to learning that is common across the three types of inquiry-based learning approaches?

“Students learn more deeply when they can apply classroom-gathered knowledge to real-world problems, and when they to take part in projects that require sustained engagement and collaboration.”

In my opinion, this is the most important benefit in using the inquiry-based learning approaches. I feel that I am a model of this statistic. If I go to a class every day where the teacher just lectures and I take notes, I do not retain very much information, actually, most of the time my notes turn into drawings. Classes where I am a part of a hands-on project or an interesting deep discussion grab my attention and increase my knowledge. Young students especially do not have the patience to sit in class all day and read from a textbook. Through these approaches students will be more engaged in each lesson and their knowledge is sure to increase at a more rapid rate than when using traditional approaches.

References:

Baron, , B., & Darling-Hammond, L. (1991). Teaching for meaningful learners. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

Research Based Strategies

     The PowerPoint Quiz activity did not support thematic instruction. The main goal of thematic instruction is to “choose themes that relate to students' lives to ensure interest and engagement in the content.” The activity that was performed in class was just the opposite. The teacher in the PowerPoint Quiz activity plays a very active role. It is somewhat a “my way or the highway” project. On the other hand, in thematic instruction, learners are very engaged and encouraged to ask questions. In a classroom where thematic instruction takes place, the teacher will make many connections throughout the activity to help the students relate with their prior knowledge. The activity in the class was just introduced and monitored. There were no explanations or reasoning behind the assignment. Some students were left with the question, “What exactly is the point?” Through thematic instruction, students will understand the situation given and, as stated in the article, “be engaged in immersive learning experiences.”

     The activity that we did in class can somewhat be modified to reflect thematic instruction. At the beginning of the project the teacher could introduce a problem such as: Is there a way we could link slides together in PowerPoint to somehow create questions and different responses? Students could research through PowerPoint, talk amongst their peers, and the whole class could share the evidence they discovered on PowerPoint. Another modification could be developed in the question asked on the quiz. The question could reflect something that is of interest to the class, and it could ask something that would lead the students to research what the answer is.

I believe that thematic instruction is a very successful strategy in the classroom. Students feel like they have more of a voice, and they actually feel like the teacher cares about them. In the activity introduced in our class we felt rushed, stressed, and embarrassed. Before we knew that it was just a simulation, we felt like the teacher was almost being rude. I feel that this activity would have more negative effects than positive. It is important to use thematic instruction in our classrooms as much as possible.

Resource:

NA. (2005). Focus on effectiveness. Retrieved from  http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/them.php

Double Journal Entry #6

First Speaker

1. Why is this video helpful for teaching in West Virginia? This video is very helpful to West Virginia because of the informal dialect that is very popular in this state. As teachers, if we stay in this state, it is almost a guarantee that we will come across a dialect that is very non-standard every year. This video will guide us on how to deal with this in the correct way.

2. What evidence is presented that supports the credibility of the speaker? She is a professor of English at a university. She has been active in many researches and works on the National Council of English. She also holds many degrees.

3. Describe the traditional approach to responding to student writing? Traditionally, teachers simply correct student writing.

4. Why does the traditional approach not work in improving student writing? This approach does not work often because it focuses on what the student is doing wrong.

5. Name the three strategies associated with the linguistic approach to writing instruction? scientific method, code switching, and contrastive analysis

6. How do you know the cat and Taylor go together? Because Taylor and cat are right next to each other. The owner is stated right beside whatever he/she owns.

7. What is different between the two patterns of possessives for informal and formal English? Informal-the owner plus what is owned. Formal-there is an owner then the apostrophe s before what the person owned.

8. What strategy is being used for teaching the second grade students the different patterns between informal and formal English? Code switching is being used for these second grade students.

9. Describe how the scientific method is used to teach students to code switch. Teachers can collect data by looking at patterns of language that the students use, they can lead students to observe the data and discover/describe the patterns. Students can then check the hypothesis and modify it.

10. What question is being asked to engage students in the comparison and contrast strategy? The question is: What changed?

11. How does code switching support metacognition? Students think about where they are and what they want to do to succeed in this setting.

12. What evidence is presented the code switching approach works? Describe one of the studies? Honey Taylor was an English teacher in Chicago. She discovered that her African American students were failing. She decided to use the traditional approach and contrastive analysis approach to discover results. After one semester with the traditional approach, students produced eight percent more vernacular features in writing. In the contrastive analysis class, students produced a 59% decrease in vernacular features.

Second Speaker

1. How did the students respond when asked how they felt about being corrected when they talked? The students felt stupid, angry, and confused.

2. Give an example of a "fund of knowledge" the teacher drew on to help students learn to code switch? The teacher described informal and formal language by making a comparison between formal clothes, such as something you may wear to church, and informal clothes that you may play outside in.

3. What are some added benefits aside from raising test scores that stem from using contrastive analysis? Added benefits when using contrastive analysis include the fact that students are now prepared to write formally in any needed situation. Students will be better prepared for a job interview and will make a strong impression with their formal writing.

On Your Own

Explain how contrastive analysis for writing instruction is an example of each of these research-based strategies: Generating and Testing Hypothesis, Identifying Difference and Similarities

Generating and Testing Hypothesis is an example of contrastive analysis because it allows students to compare things that are similar, and contrast things that are different. The students become active learners by forming a rule from their findings, and testing if this rule works in other situations.
Identifying Difference and Similarities is an example of contrastive analysis because it encourages the students to make connections through patterns. The students explore similarities and differences on their own, by linking things to knowledge that they have already obtained. Students make new categories for information that may not fit into the already present ones.

References:

Generating and testing hypotheses . (n.d.). Retrieved from        http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/gene.php

Identifying similarities and differences. (n.d.). Retrieved from                 http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/iden.php

Wheeler Rebecca. (Writer) (2007). Teaching standard english in urban classrooms in [Web]. Retrieved from http://forum-network.org/lecture/teaching-standard-english-urban-classrooms

Double Journal Entry #5

What does the research say about the impact of negative teacher attitudes about students ethnicity and language variations on student learning?

The research states that negative teacher attitudes towards student’s ethnicity and language differences can, sadly, lead to students being misdiagnosed with language disorders. When teachers are not prepared to instruct in a language diverse classroom, this can lead to students feeling uncomfortable in their own classroom. Students with language variations may feel “out of place” or “insecure”. When students develop this feeling, they are already on a downward spiral, and the only way out of that is for a teacher with confidence to help the child.

What are some assessment pitfalls?

Assessment pitfalls occur because not enough things are actually assessed. Many students are only being assessed on the cultural aspect of language. Many other things need to be brought into these assessments. A child’s cultural background needs to be looked at, because it has a strong effect on the student’s performance in the classroom. Along with this, a child’s cultural experiences also need to be examined. Without using these aspects, assessments fall short of being accurate.

What three approaches can be used to transform students’ dialectal diversity into an asset (funds of knowledge) rather than a liability (cultural deficit).

The three approaches used to transform students’ dialectal diversity into an asset include the awareness approach, critical pedagogy, and the critical awareness approach. The awareness approach involves allowing students to use their native dialect  while doing schoolwork. Later, the students will compare and contrast their native language with Standard English. Critical pedagogy is when teachers allow students to have a voice, and critically analyze todays “Standard English.” Critical pedagogy allows for there to be a dominant language, but also accepts the native culture’s language as well. The critical awareness approach combines the other two approaches. Students are taught Standard English, but are encouraged to closely examine it, and to also use their non-standard dialects.

How prepared do you feel to teach in a culturally diverse classroom?

In grade school and high school I was never introduced to a culturally diverse classroom. After coming to FSU, the Elementary Education teachers did a wonderful job of preparing me to work in a culturally diverse classroom. I feel very prepared for the challenge, and I feel like my teachers have given me many tips and ideas for this type of curriculum. When I first enter the culturally diverse classroom, I am sure that I will be very nervous, but in time I know that I am prepared to do the job  well.

Reference:

Wikidot.com. (2009, September 4). Linguistic diversity in ece. Retrieved from http://ecelinguisticdiversity.wikidot.com/teacher-attitudes 

Where I am From

Poem: Where I am From

I am from the creek banks of a small town, from homemade food at the diner and from wishing on every star in the night sky.

I am from the back bedroom in the two story house, painted tan and built on love and encouraging words.

I am from first loves and football wars, crowded bleachers on a Friday night. I’m from walks around the loop and evenings spent on the front porch swing.

I am from the Barkers and the Bosleys, Ella and Lena. From strong willed, soft spoken, beautiful ladies. I am from the competitive holiday games and short cuts on a back road.

I am from pine tree shadows lying over rolling hills and deer sneaking through the backyard. From small town gossip and a wave from everyone that passes on the streets.

I am from the youngest of three girls. From laughter in the sweetest voices. From daddy’s girl and momma’s endearing advice.

I am from Pine Grove roots, from the loving Aunt Mary Ann, who will always be there. From the jokes around the table with Uncle Jeff.

From the friendships built on laughter, the love built on trust, and from a family that was raised to be kind to everyone.

I am from giving thanks to the Lord, from saying my prayers each night. From second chances and chasing dreams.

I am from four wheeler rides and Chevy trucks. From good times around a tailgate. I am from a little story near the Mason Dixon Line, from a town that will always be my loving home.