Placement observations
Reaction to Readicide
Assignments
I have learned so many things during my placement. For the last several weeks of placement, my host teacher scheduled opportunities for me to observe every single Math teacher in the school. By observing each teacher, I was able to witness many strategies in action. Some of the things that I saw I do hope to repeat in my own teaching, other I hope to never repeat! One especially nice thing to see was a Math teacher who successfully used a frayer organizer. She said that she recently saw them at a conference and loved them. It was so encourahing to see them be used, that I tried one as a literacy engagement!
Because I have completed my placement, all of my actual implementation is finished. Now, it os just time to write everything up! I have finished my TWS (at least I have turned in a rough draft), so now I should be able to turn my focus to other assignments. I feel that having these literacy engagements as assignments has helped me to see how to really implement these various strategies. I believe this process has helped me to get some very real life experience as a teacher.
After reading Readicide, I am very concerned about the generation of students that we have in our classrooms now. I am glad to see some strategies inthe book that offer possibilities to fixing the problem. If teachers can be more aware of the problem and have ways of fighting it, then maybe we can begin to make some impact. It can be very discouraging to see students who are simply disconnected from the outside world. They know so much about celebrities and television, but nothing about their own nation. I think that it is important to keep a pulse on how our students are thinking and to find ways to get them interested in reading about real life.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Blog #6
Prompt- Field experiences relating to content literacy- observations, interactions, and questions. Response to Readicide. Suggestions for seminar topics on 3/08, progress with literacy explorations and strategy lesson, reflection for how to avoid readicide in your content area.
I am finding myself somewhat at a lost for discussing content literacy in my field experience. For the past couple of weeks, the only literacy that I have witnessed at all has been directly implemented by me. My host teacher simply does not bring in outside examples of literacy to the classroom. In his defense, this is a Math classroom and for two-thirds of he day, he is teaching either AP or Accelerated classes. The students in these calsses are highly self motivated and are often reading literature on their own. This is my his first semester teaching any Support calsses in a long time and I truly believe that he does not feel a need to implement other literacy. On the other hand, I do see that the teacher holds a high standard for communicating Mathematically. He continually requires the students to explain steps to example problems using Mathematically appropriate language. I find this strategy very meaningful and I have tried to use it myself in my TWS unit.
I thoroughly enjoyed Readicide. Although it can be very discouraging to read about how schools are contributing to students low reading achievement, it is also nice to have some pointers about what can be done better. I also really like th part in Chapter 5 that talks about how maybe we are fixing the wrong things. Professor Yong Zhao points out that although there has been a scare about the United States being "Math and Technology Illiterate" that we still manage (at least for now) to produce a considerable amount of teachnology and Math to the world.
Seminar topics ideas: I was hoping to just hear about other literacy engagements and how they are coming for others. I have found it difficult to find five different opportunities to implement strategies and I would like to know what has worked.
Speaking of literacy engagements, I have completed two more since our last class meeting. One involved an Article of the Week type activity where we read the article together as a class and I tried to model strategies for reading mathematical literature. The other engagement involved a graphic organizer to assist the students' understanding of some pretty tricky vocabulary terms. I actually like this much better because I actually heard the students reference the organizer later when preparing for a quiz over the topic.
As far as avoiding readicide in the future, I can onlyhope to balance between overteaching and underteaching. This is something that I have found is a difficult balance for me in general. One of my negative critiques from my first observation was that I shouldallow for more "wait time" and allow the students to have a chance to answer.
I hope that everyone is surviving all of this and I will see you Monday!
I am finding myself somewhat at a lost for discussing content literacy in my field experience. For the past couple of weeks, the only literacy that I have witnessed at all has been directly implemented by me. My host teacher simply does not bring in outside examples of literacy to the classroom. In his defense, this is a Math classroom and for two-thirds of he day, he is teaching either AP or Accelerated classes. The students in these calsses are highly self motivated and are often reading literature on their own. This is my his first semester teaching any Support calsses in a long time and I truly believe that he does not feel a need to implement other literacy. On the other hand, I do see that the teacher holds a high standard for communicating Mathematically. He continually requires the students to explain steps to example problems using Mathematically appropriate language. I find this strategy very meaningful and I have tried to use it myself in my TWS unit.
I thoroughly enjoyed Readicide. Although it can be very discouraging to read about how schools are contributing to students low reading achievement, it is also nice to have some pointers about what can be done better. I also really like th part in Chapter 5 that talks about how maybe we are fixing the wrong things. Professor Yong Zhao points out that although there has been a scare about the United States being "Math and Technology Illiterate" that we still manage (at least for now) to produce a considerable amount of teachnology and Math to the world.
Seminar topics ideas: I was hoping to just hear about other literacy engagements and how they are coming for others. I have found it difficult to find five different opportunities to implement strategies and I would like to know what has worked.
Speaking of literacy engagements, I have completed two more since our last class meeting. One involved an Article of the Week type activity where we read the article together as a class and I tried to model strategies for reading mathematical literature. The other engagement involved a graphic organizer to assist the students' understanding of some pretty tricky vocabulary terms. I actually like this much better because I actually heard the students reference the organizer later when preparing for a quiz over the topic.
As far as avoiding readicide in the future, I can onlyhope to balance between overteaching and underteaching. This is something that I have found is a difficult balance for me in general. One of my negative critiques from my first observation was that I shouldallow for more "wait time" and allow the students to have a chance to answer.
I hope that everyone is surviving all of this and I will see you Monday!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Blog #5
So far, during my placement for student teaching, I have witnessed very little effort to incorporate content literacy into the classroom. My host teacher is a very diligent and impressive teacher,but he makes very lttle effort to enhance the lessons with anything that is "extra". While he is very gifted in explaining the content, he does not seem to believe that implementing literacy is very important. I believe that the reason behind this particular teacher's approach is that he believes that the students are very capable of seeking out information for themselves. This teacher has very high achieving students in his classes and, for the most part, the students do perform on a very high level on their own. I do wonder how the class would improve if there was more of an eort to enhance literacy in the class.
While Readicide is a very dense read, it is also very informative. While it is so important for literacy to be improved, it can also be dicsouraging to think about the statistics presented in Readicide. As I consider the daunting task of covering all of the required standards, it is little more discouraging to think about also trying to implement meaningful literacy. I think that what we can take from this book is the importance of working literacy into the content areas as an improvement to our content rather than an obstacle. As daunting a task as it seems, it is important that we keep trying to find ways to encourage an interest in literacy among our students.
I am very interested in learning how everyone's placements have been going. I am wondering if the host teachers are all very similar to mine or if there are some teachers who make more of an effort to implement content literacy.
So far, my progress in my inquiry project has consisted of a literature review. I have simply looked over professional journal articles that pertain to my topic. There are many articles that references vocabulary in general. My only struggle that I have faced so far is the fact that many of the articles do not include strategies that can be easily implemented into Math.
While Readicide is a very dense read, it is also very informative. While it is so important for literacy to be improved, it can also be dicsouraging to think about the statistics presented in Readicide. As I consider the daunting task of covering all of the required standards, it is little more discouraging to think about also trying to implement meaningful literacy. I think that what we can take from this book is the importance of working literacy into the content areas as an improvement to our content rather than an obstacle. As daunting a task as it seems, it is important that we keep trying to find ways to encourage an interest in literacy among our students.
I am very interested in learning how everyone's placements have been going. I am wondering if the host teachers are all very similar to mine or if there are some teachers who make more of an effort to implement content literacy.
So far, my progress in my inquiry project has consisted of a literature review. I have simply looked over professional journal articles that pertain to my topic. There are many articles that references vocabulary in general. My only struggle that I have faced so far is the fact that many of the articles do not include strategies that can be easily implemented into Math.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Blog #4
I am excited about the possibilities of implementing literacy in my classroom. I can feel myself becoming the type of person who is constantly on the look-out for resources for my classroom. In the past, I have generally felt a little discouraged about adding anything to my lesson plans that would require me searching for more supplies, spending more money, or pulling together more engaging activities. Now though, I am starting to notice that need to scavenge for resources that may become useful to me in the classroom. I have become very aware of literacy. I am starting to see that a teacher's job is never done. I am starting to truly buy into the idea that literacy explorations for me will mean simply keeping my eyes and ears open to the world of literacy and to truly think like a Mathematician. After all, this is what I am asking my students to do, why shouldn't I become more attentive to the literacy connections to Math in the world around me?
I think that the numerous statistics that are offered in Readicide are the most shocking. Before, I know that literacy was definitely a concern, but I truly was unaware of how much of a concern. When I consider that students are simply test-taking machines rather than learning to become critical thinkers, I am very concerned. These statistics are convincing me that I must become very intentional about presenting my students with meaningful literacy opportunities.
As I consider the fact that many students are losing their love for learning, I am both encouraged to include more relevant literacy opportunities into the classroom and discouraged about the discrepancy in meeting standards and producing individuals who will be able to contribute to society. In other words, I am nervous about trying to both teach students what I would think they need to be successful and also meeting all of the standards.
On a positive note, I feel more connected to the literature in my content than ever before. I have really learned so much about how to find resources for Math. I am starting to collect literature that may become meaningful to me in the future.
I think that the numerous statistics that are offered in Readicide are the most shocking. Before, I know that literacy was definitely a concern, but I truly was unaware of how much of a concern. When I consider that students are simply test-taking machines rather than learning to become critical thinkers, I am very concerned. These statistics are convincing me that I must become very intentional about presenting my students with meaningful literacy opportunities.
As I consider the fact that many students are losing their love for learning, I am both encouraged to include more relevant literacy opportunities into the classroom and discouraged about the discrepancy in meeting standards and producing individuals who will be able to contribute to society. In other words, I am nervous about trying to both teach students what I would think they need to be successful and also meeting all of the standards.
On a positive note, I feel more connected to the literature in my content than ever before. I have really learned so much about how to find resources for Math. I am starting to collect literature that may become meaningful to me in the future.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Blog #3- Readicide Intro/ Ch.1
I believe that the message of Readicide so far is the drastic problems are resulting from the high stakes testing that we see in schools today. Students and teachers are so encouraged to focus on the test that actual learning is becoming overlooked. As long as multiple choice test are the central method for assessing reading comprehension, students will not have the motivation to really read. Instead, they will simply learn (and be taught) to skim the readings for the answers to the multiple choice questions. I am truly disappointed that students are being placed under such pressure to pass these end of course test, graduation, and other high stakes tests. It is clearly not as beneficial to offer these test as such a definite and abrupt assessment of their "knowledge".
I was a Junior in High School the first time I had to take a "Graduation" test. Even though my class was the pilot class for this program, I was still very nervous at the idea of a single test that could cancel out all of my work. I believe that having these tests are a serious problem for students as well as teachers.
As an application of what I have read so far, I hope to truly integrate meaningful content reading into my classroom. I understand that it will be a struggle to integrate strategies to improve reading comprehension while keeping up with the Math standards as much as possible. I hope to bring in reading comprehension strategies that will encourage my students to read beyond the "multiple choice" level and to really enjoy what they are reading.
I was a Junior in High School the first time I had to take a "Graduation" test. Even though my class was the pilot class for this program, I was still very nervous at the idea of a single test that could cancel out all of my work. I believe that having these tests are a serious problem for students as well as teachers.
As an application of what I have read so far, I hope to truly integrate meaningful content reading into my classroom. I understand that it will be a struggle to integrate strategies to improve reading comprehension while keeping up with the Math standards as much as possible. I hope to bring in reading comprehension strategies that will encourage my students to read beyond the "multiple choice" level and to really enjoy what they are reading.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Blog # 2
Prompt: What are your initial thoughts and ideas about your inquiry topic? What are your beginning ideas about your contribution to the inquiry project? How are you now understanding reading in your discipline?
I am excited about my upcoming research into my inquiry topic. My inquiry group is hoping to take a detailed look into vocabulary as it relates to various content areas. We each plan to analyze the use of vocabulary in each of our respective content areas. My initial thoughts regarding this inquiry topic are that this is a very meaningful concept in the Math classroom. I have long felt that Math students need a strong understanding of vocabulary (especially that vocabulary that is Math specific) before they can fully understand what is happening in the class. Math not only requires that a student have a reasonable literacy in general, but also that they are able to learn a completely new set of vocabulary that seemingly (from their perspective) is not connected to the "real world". I am very excited to dive into this topic because I feel that it is one that I can truly use to improve my teaching methods.
So far, my understanding of the inquiry topic is that we all would like to learn how vocabulary can be implemented into our various content areas. We would all like to contribute to the literature review as a group while also using the various strategies Moje mentions in Chapter 4 of Improving Adolescent Literacy. We hope to each focus on our individual research to the effectiveness of each strategy inside of our own content areas. For instance, I will research various vocabulary strategies as they apply to the Math classroom. I believe that it will be interesting to see a comparison of the different strategies in various settings.
At this point, my understanding of reading in Math is that, as a Secondary Math teacher, I am not personally responsible for my student's understanding of Math and Literacy, but that the two can very easily go hand in hand. Before we started this class, I would have struggled to believe that Math students will really benefit from literacy strategies. Now, I am becoming very convinced that teaching literacy is bot absolutely necessary and beneficial in a Math classroom. I am hopeful that the strategies that we have begun to discuss will be very effective and that helping my future students with literacy concerns will serve as a positive influence in my classroom.
I am excited about my upcoming research into my inquiry topic. My inquiry group is hoping to take a detailed look into vocabulary as it relates to various content areas. We each plan to analyze the use of vocabulary in each of our respective content areas. My initial thoughts regarding this inquiry topic are that this is a very meaningful concept in the Math classroom. I have long felt that Math students need a strong understanding of vocabulary (especially that vocabulary that is Math specific) before they can fully understand what is happening in the class. Math not only requires that a student have a reasonable literacy in general, but also that they are able to learn a completely new set of vocabulary that seemingly (from their perspective) is not connected to the "real world". I am very excited to dive into this topic because I feel that it is one that I can truly use to improve my teaching methods.
So far, my understanding of the inquiry topic is that we all would like to learn how vocabulary can be implemented into our various content areas. We would all like to contribute to the literature review as a group while also using the various strategies Moje mentions in Chapter 4 of Improving Adolescent Literacy. We hope to each focus on our individual research to the effectiveness of each strategy inside of our own content areas. For instance, I will research various vocabulary strategies as they apply to the Math classroom. I believe that it will be interesting to see a comparison of the different strategies in various settings.
At this point, my understanding of reading in Math is that, as a Secondary Math teacher, I am not personally responsible for my student's understanding of Math and Literacy, but that the two can very easily go hand in hand. Before we started this class, I would have struggled to believe that Math students will really benefit from literacy strategies. Now, I am becoming very convinced that teaching literacy is bot absolutely necessary and beneficial in a Math classroom. I am hopeful that the strategies that we have begun to discuss will be very effective and that helping my future students with literacy concerns will serve as a positive influence in my classroom.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Blog #1
Prompt: What are your perceptions of content literacy and the adolescent reader? What are your experiences involving content literacy? What are your initial observations of effective reading in your discipline?
In my experience with adolescents, I have noticed an extreme distaste for reading in general (except for a very few exceptions). The typical adolescent that I am acquainted with comes in contact with more letters while texting than in any book that they might read. We live (all of us, not just adolescents) in a society that is constantly bombarding us with technology and multi-media. It is no surprise that adolescents find an activity that simply involves reading black print from a white page somewhat lacking. Today, adolescents are "digital natives"-they are currently at an age where they have been surrounded by technology from the beginning of their lives. Because the adolescent reader has many other distractions pulling for their attention, educators must truly work to bring more excitement to the classroom. I believe that adolescents can be taught to (when partaking in a general type of reading) build a mental picture of what is happening in the book or piece of literature that they are reading. As educators, I believe that utilizing any resources available (i.e., technology) to assist adolescents in learning this skill.
Content literacy, in my understanding, is a step beyond simply reading for enjoyment. When considering content literacy, it is important to note that each content field requires a different method of analysing the text. For example, while reading a piece of literature in English class might require a student to read straight through an entire text, a Mathematics text book would require the student to read a paragraph of explanation and then apply that information to a specific example. It is extremely important that the teacher of a content class understand the methods necessary for reading within their content and that that understanding is transferred to the students.
In my experience, as a Math teacher, content literacy in my content is nearly non-existent. Many Math students will simply tell you that Math textbooks are not for reading. As a high school student, I completely agreed with this idea. Math textbooks did not look like they were meant to be read; however, the true reasoning behind each concept cannot truly be grasped unless it is thoroughly read and understood. Only when I signed up for College level Calculus did I realize that reading was extremely necessary. No teacher had ever explained to me that reading in different contents would be different. I was not actually taught how to read any textbook. I believe that this is true of many students. They truly believe that reading is reading is reading. It is an eye-opening concept for me that students simply need to be taught how to read inside of each content!
Effective reading in Mathematics requires a large amount of patience. It is extremely unlikely that any student will be able to read straight through the text of a math book and completely understand. I see this to be the central obstacle for reading in Mathematics. Students want to be able to zip through the text 100 words per minute and then be finished. Math will not work that way. Students much be taught how to use their text as a true resource. I also believe that effective reading in Math requires constant use self-monitoring strategies. The student must constantly ask themselves, "Did I just understand that sentence?". Lastly, effective reading in Math truly requires the student to learn the language of Math. Not only are there numerous vocabulary terms that must be used correctly, but a myriad of symbols and variables that must be decoded. Each of these requirements leads to potential frustration. As a Math teacher, I hope to explain the necessity of deciphering the text of a Math book. I want my students to understand that the text is a valuable resource for anyone who hopes succeed in Math.
In my experience with adolescents, I have noticed an extreme distaste for reading in general (except for a very few exceptions). The typical adolescent that I am acquainted with comes in contact with more letters while texting than in any book that they might read. We live (all of us, not just adolescents) in a society that is constantly bombarding us with technology and multi-media. It is no surprise that adolescents find an activity that simply involves reading black print from a white page somewhat lacking. Today, adolescents are "digital natives"-they are currently at an age where they have been surrounded by technology from the beginning of their lives. Because the adolescent reader has many other distractions pulling for their attention, educators must truly work to bring more excitement to the classroom. I believe that adolescents can be taught to (when partaking in a general type of reading) build a mental picture of what is happening in the book or piece of literature that they are reading. As educators, I believe that utilizing any resources available (i.e., technology) to assist adolescents in learning this skill.
Content literacy, in my understanding, is a step beyond simply reading for enjoyment. When considering content literacy, it is important to note that each content field requires a different method of analysing the text. For example, while reading a piece of literature in English class might require a student to read straight through an entire text, a Mathematics text book would require the student to read a paragraph of explanation and then apply that information to a specific example. It is extremely important that the teacher of a content class understand the methods necessary for reading within their content and that that understanding is transferred to the students.
In my experience, as a Math teacher, content literacy in my content is nearly non-existent. Many Math students will simply tell you that Math textbooks are not for reading. As a high school student, I completely agreed with this idea. Math textbooks did not look like they were meant to be read; however, the true reasoning behind each concept cannot truly be grasped unless it is thoroughly read and understood. Only when I signed up for College level Calculus did I realize that reading was extremely necessary. No teacher had ever explained to me that reading in different contents would be different. I was not actually taught how to read any textbook. I believe that this is true of many students. They truly believe that reading is reading is reading. It is an eye-opening concept for me that students simply need to be taught how to read inside of each content!
Effective reading in Mathematics requires a large amount of patience. It is extremely unlikely that any student will be able to read straight through the text of a math book and completely understand. I see this to be the central obstacle for reading in Mathematics. Students want to be able to zip through the text 100 words per minute and then be finished. Math will not work that way. Students much be taught how to use their text as a true resource. I also believe that effective reading in Math requires constant use self-monitoring strategies. The student must constantly ask themselves, "Did I just understand that sentence?". Lastly, effective reading in Math truly requires the student to learn the language of Math. Not only are there numerous vocabulary terms that must be used correctly, but a myriad of symbols and variables that must be decoded. Each of these requirements leads to potential frustration. As a Math teacher, I hope to explain the necessity of deciphering the text of a Math book. I want my students to understand that the text is a valuable resource for anyone who hopes succeed in Math.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)