Reading #7 - D&Z Chp. 5 & 8: Tools for Thinking & Reading in Content Areas

As Daniels and Zemelman point out, there has been a lot of discussion on textbooks thus far in the semester. The question now becomes, once a teacher finds the reading materials for their course how do they implement the material and ensure that their students are getting the most out of what their learning. Well, as you might imagine, this does not happen by chance. This is the part I have been waiting for and alluding to in my previous posts. I have made mention of "making students accountable for their learning." In order to make that possible, we the instructors, need to engage our students. D&Z provide a BEVY of material and learning strategies to help make this possible.

Chapter 5 starts by acknowledging the fact that not everything needs to be graded in the classroom. The "tools for learning" are the jumping points in which we prepare our students for their assignments. What I find to be exceptionally beneficial about these various tools is that any of them can be "expanded" into a larger assignment if a teacher sees fit. Versatility, as I have come to find out, in the most poignant buzzword for a teacher.

While I find the "gradual release" format of these activities to be moderately traditional, the variety that D&Z provide help to avoid complacency and that "stale/traditional" sense. What I find most intriguing about these activities is what they accomplish. If done correctly and purposefully, at the end of these activities students are going to be able to expand on what they already know. Rather than learning isolated materials students are able to make connections and elaborate on what they already know. The big picture learning is what's most important for our students.

These activities are largely didactic. Their main goal is to provide students with reading/learning strategies BUT at the same time, if implemented correctly, there is ample space to be teaching content.

The "THINK ALOUD" is what I can see myself using the most. For example I would implement it while teaching any Shakespeare play that we might cover (obviously this works for all reading but I love Shakespeare). I would take the time to read in class, firstly so we can make progress on finishing the play in a timely manner. I would also read as a way to introduce themes, questions, and concepts that I want my students to be looking at throughout the play's entirety. But most importantly, I will be able to teach the students the necessary tools for dissecting, analyzing, and understanding the text. I would also provide resources that they could use on their own. The goal of this assignment would be to prepare students for independent reading. I can ensure that the students are following the text and that they are getting what I want I want them to be getting out of it. The think aloud provides the opportunity for students to ask me questions about the reading that I might not have thought to cover. While the think aloud provides the students with reading skills for complicated texts it also helps to eliminate uncertainties on what is expected of them. I know for me, when I was in high school, sometimes reading (especially complicated texts like Shakespeare) assignments made me feel left in the dark. The teacher assumed that we could read, therefor left us to our own devices. Sometimes the reading was so difficult that the most important points were lost.


This video is on reading Shakespeare...it's mostly just for fun but there is some sound advice! Go Shakespeare!    

Reading #6 - D&Z Chp. 6&7: Textbooks & A Community of Learners

My last few posts have been filled with textbook related gripes. After reading chapters 3 and 4 from Daniels and Zemelman, I was beginning to wonder if textbooks really deserve a place in our education system. While that question may still up for debate, in chapters 6 and 7, Daniels and Zemelman provide some timely advice on how to cope with a textbook if a teacher is mandated to use one. Their advice is reassuring to me because I feel as if I have already been following their train of thought as you can see in some of my previous posts. Ideas such as not assigning the whole textbook – not letting them dictate lesson plans but using them to enhance instruction – sample different text materials instead of using one book as the end all be all – GET STUDENT FEEDBACK. The last note is pivotal to classroom success and most closely relates to the next chapter from D&Z.   

D&Z delve into “classroom community.” The classroom community, I believe starts with us teachers. Gradually, I feel as if I am starting to make the transformation that Dr. Horwitz has been talking about. This transition of course is from student to teacher. Not only do we need to be thinking and acting like teachers rather than like students, but we need to be thinking and acting like teachers FOR our students. While this transition is paramount, we mustn’t forget our roots. What will make us good teachers is by remembering where we came from. Compassion and empathy. Our students and their learning need to be the crux of all decisions and discernments we make as education professionals. It starts with reaching out to the individuals and catering to our student’s differentiated learning styles. Students need to feel welcomed and assured that they are an asset to the class. Students need to be accountable for their own learning but also made to feel as if they are a part of a team. Cooperative learning allows for this communal sense. The best example of this idea is represented in our very own SED 407. Seldom do I get the sense of feeling that translates into the traditional, rigid, and formal classroom format. I feel as if every Wednesday at 4 I get together with a group of people to have a well guided discussion about our passion for education. The secret is getting students to learn without them knowing that they are learning. This is exactly what Dr. Horwitz has accomplished. A classroom community filled with learners who are responsible for their own learning. As D&Z recommend, students need to feel comfortable enough to take risks and they need to know that their opinions are valued.

This is some good insight on classroom community building in regards to making student's learning PERSONAL. As D&Z suggest, if what the students are learning effects themselves and/or their community, they will become more involved/invested. Let me know what you think....and for some reason I wasn't able to patch the video in through the post so I just provided the link...it's a TED talk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-WnwKrMLEU

Reading #5 - Strong Chapter 6: C+RAFT

Immediately, I knew that I was going to enjoy Chapter 6 by Strong. While the Darth Vader analogy wavered on the side of exaggeration and hyperbole, it made me think: If the education system has been flawed for so long and little has been done to make a nationwide change in the system, is there a proverbial Darth Vader out there? Regardless of whether there is or not, the time has come to rally all of the Han Solo’s and Luke Skywalker’s of the world and start a “teaching-method rebellion.” Traditional and conventional teaching methods and styles have been missing the mark for most students for some time now and a change must be made.

“Assignments by Design” seems to be the Millennium Falcon, or the “air-CRAFT” (another horrific pun, excuse me) to this educational rebellion. To be honest, while reading some of this material I thought to myself, “well, duh.” I thought everyone knew things like, “choose topics with a purpose—choose topics that make the students pull from their own experiences—try to give students a choice in their writing assignments.” I thought that anything less was an insult to my students. But, the harsh reality is, however, we have all had at least ONE teacher who never even considered a single “design principle.” To have it all laid out in writing makes assignments by design seem so obvious, but really it’s genius.

Teachers who neglect to utilize assignment by design are serving a huge disadvantage to their students. As educators we need to guide students in the direction we want them to go in. It sounds manipulative, but we’re the teachers, they depend on us to ask thought provoking questions. It is not our job to ask a questions of them that simply require them to regurgitate the information they learned in a lecture. We need to be asking questions and getting them to write in a way so that allows them to apply what they have already learned so that they can reach their own conclusions. This is how you provoke thought and develop a thirst for learning. STUDENTS FORMING THEIR OWN OPINION?! Taking a personal stance and caring about the this is how you provoke thought and develop a thirst for learning. School is about teaching students how to think so that they can form their own opinions once they reach "the real world," not cramming their brains with facts so that they can pass the next state exam. 

Assignment by design most closely resembles my experience with AP United States History in my Junior year of high school. While the course required a tremendous amount of independent study and outside of class reading, the instruction time was invaluable. Commonly, we would practice writing for the AP exam and to do this we would write mock DBQs (Document Based Questions). As a student I enjoyed these questions very much. Typically a writing prompt/question in a history class falls along the lines of what Strong depicted to sound like, “describe the political, social, and economical climate of EXAMPLE A.” Questions lacking depth. APUSH gave a refreshing twist to essay writing. In a well thought out question/prompt, we were asked to use our prior knowledge of historical events, people, and concepts and to use the provided historical documents as evidence in our responses. They were timed as well, and I loved that. Writing is one of my passions, so to do it well and to do it quickly was always a challenge that gave me a certain rush. I’m a geek. Anyway – the design of these particular questions kept me interested in history class that year. The effect of this teaching method would have been tenfold, however, none of my other classes followed this design. When so many courses require you to think in such a linear way, it is hard to adapt your way of thinking for one single subject. Don’t get me wrong, it was still impactful, even out of a vacuum. I just feel that if every class strived to teach assignments by design, then our students will become for stimulated and they will be encouraged to think on higher levels. I’ve always thought that the purpose of education was to inspire thinking among students.  A student is only willing to learn new things if they possess the proper tools. Motivation and stimulation to encourage thinking.