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.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
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.
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