Double Journal Entry #10

Chapter 3: Language and Identity At Home

What are the features of the forms of language that are spoken in a home environment that align with academic varieties of language?

Some features of the forms of language that are spoken in a home environment that align with academic varieties of language include: oral story telling, vocabulary and structure learned through read-alouds by parents or other adults, and/or the use of video games and the complex thinking involved in navigating the structures involved.

What are the features of Leona's specialized form of language?

Leona's specialized form of language comes in the form of poetry. Her experiences have a consistent rhythm with her culture, and specific poetic features used by Leona are as follows: parallel structures, syntax patterns, and stanzas.
 

Why is Leona's specialized form of language not accepted in school?

Leona's specialized form of language was not accepted at school because it was misunderstood. Many perceived Leona as someone who has been rambling and mumbling, rather than as someone of different culture. Because of this and the school's approach to reading as instructional, Leona was expected to use academic varieties of language.

Explain the contradiction between the research conducted by Snow et al. (1998) and the recommendations made by Snow et al. (1998).

The contradiction between the research  and recommendations by Snow is that the research showed that impoverished children tend to fall behind despite initial reading levels. As a result, an instructional approach to reading (focusing on reading as skill) is recommended. If this is so, the contradiction is that these students who will likely fall behind are expected to flourish and excel in an environment that does support their needs.

What other factors besides early skills training will make or break good readers?

Racism, cultural bias, and stereotyping all have a negative impact on a student's ability to learn to read. As was previously discussed, learning to read is a cultural process, and by only accepting one culture, those students who are considered diverse will not have the support they need to excel. The factor of whether or not students feel like they are a valued part of the social structure of the school also has a huge impact on mastering academic forms of language. (Gee, 37)

Why do some children fail to identify with, or find alienating, the "ways with words" taught in school?
Students struggle to identify with the academic "ways with words" taught in school because it does not support the language varieties used at home.

Gee, J. (2004). Situated language of learning: a critique of traditional schooling. New York: Routledge.

Double Journal Entry #9

Chapter 1: A strange fact about not learning to read.

What is the strange fact about not learning to read?

Students from lower socio-economic incomes and/or students from minority groups seem to have an increased difficulty in learning to read than students from higher socio-economic incomes and/or students not considered from minority groups.

Why is this fact so strange?

It is not that students from lower socio-economic incomes are less capable of learning; it is the fact that poverty is almost always linked to low achievement in school as well as poor literacy skills.

What is it about school that manages to transform children who are good at learning things like Pokeman into children who are not good at learning?

The students' loss of interest often reflects educators failing to make the subject matter entertaining or motivating for their students. Additionally, teachers do not make use of "funds of knowledge" when creating their lesson plans, which often results in students feeling discouraged.

What are the differences between a traditionalists approach to learning to read and more progressive educators?

Traditionalists believe that we should teach reading using phonics skills and "skills and drill" approaches. Progressive educators, on the other hand, use "meaning making" to create a relationship between the reader and the text.

Is learning to read a natural process like learning to speak a language?
Learning to read will not occur naturally because it is not biological, meaning that it is not a natural process such as walking or talking.

What are the differences between natural, instructed, and cultural processes, and which process should reading be classified under?
Natural learning is biological and occurs naturally for almost all people where as instructed learning is how you acquire knowledge. Culture learning is a process of its own used when learning to read; it is a skill passed down through culture.

How do humans learn best: through instructional processes or through cultural processes? How is reading taught in school?

Reading is typically taught using overt instruction in the classroom, but humans learn more effectively through personal experience and cultural process.

According to the author, what is the reason for the "fourth grade slump"?

Students engage in reading in the early grades, but as the content becomes more complex, they begin to fall behind; this is due to "phonological awareness" which initially helps students but holds no long-term benefits.

What is a better predictor of reading success than phonemic awareness?

Vocabulary, story recall, and comprehension are all early language abilities obtained by engaging in interactions with adults and are better predictors of reading success than phonemic awareness.

 

What is the difference between "vernacular" and "specialist" varieties of language? Give an example of two sentences, one written in the vernacular and one written in a "a specialized variety", about a topic in your content area.
Vernacular language is the non-formal variety most people use when talking to friends and family. Specialist languages are connected to special purposes or activities, such as school-based content. Vernacular example: We will never go back to the beach in July; it was way too hot and sticky. Specialist example: The beach tends to be extremely warm and humid during the month of July.

What is "early language ability", and how is it developed?

Early language ability is considered the verbal skills students obtain in their preschool years as they interact with family and older peers, using challenging and varied genres of language.

According to the author why and how does the traditionalist approach to teaching children to read fail?

A traditionalist approach does not acknowledge a student's early language ability or lack thereof. With a traditionalist approach, students are being taught how to decode vernacular language on a page yet end up having trouble reading academic varieties as time move forwards. When teaching, isolating the area of phonics is not an effective strategy.

Are parents of poor children to blame for their children's inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school?

Students learn early language abilities from interacting with adults and older siblings, and if parents are too busy or show a lack of interest, their child is not going to develop these skills, holding the parents somewhat accountable for their child's inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school.

Did you struggle with reading this text? Why? Are you a poor reader or are you unfamiliar with this variety of specialized language?
I found this text manageable to read. I consider myself a good reader, but I was still unfamiliar with this variety of specialized language.

Gee, J. (2004). Situated language of learning: a critique of traditional schooling. New York: Routledge.

Double Journal Entry 8

Situated Language and Learning: A Critique of Traditional Schooling: Introduction

What is the main challenge being addressed?
The main challenge being addressed in this reading is finding an instructional strategy that addresses  each student's learning style.

What does the author mean by the phrase "way with words?"
The author when using the phrase "way with words" (in my opinion) is placing emphasis on the various ways to learning. Being that there are numerous new approaches to learning, teachers should address all different ways of learning; it is beneficial for teachers to explore other ways of learning besides the traditional classroom-based learning.

What is the core argument being made by the author of this book?
A majority of educators believe that teaching students to read and students learning to read is the hardest part when it comes to teaching the curriculum. The real issue, however, is that students get frustrated with the vocabulary, wording, and language that is integrated into different content areas. Sometimes "less is more".

Give an example of a specialized variety of a language or "way with words" you have learned outside of school.
Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I was a cheerleader. There is a lot of vocabulary and wording that people would not understand unless they were associated with this sport in one way or another.

According to the author, how do people learn a specialized variety of a language or "way with words" best?
According to the author, people learn a specialized variety of a language or "way with words" best when the individual is ready and willing to learn; he or she must be willing to think in real-world context and apply the learning experiences to his or her everyday life. Individuals learn best when connections are made.

If people are to be successful in the 21st century, what must they become?
In order for people to become successful in the twenty-first century, they must become "shape-shifting portfolio people" -meaning that they must be willing and capable of adapting to a variety of situations.

The author states that learning academic language is NOT sufficient for success in modern society. Do you agree? Why or why not?

I agree with the author. As I previously states, individuals learn best when able to make connections. Hence, this is why scaffolding is vital in the school system. We, as individuals, need to build on prior knowledge, and it is when we incorporate prior knowledge into our everyday lives that we learn and grow.

What do you think about this author's "way with words?"

The author definitely has a "way with words"; the author's writing style was sophisticated yet easy to understand.

Gee, J. (2004). Situated Language of Learning: A critique of traditional schooling. New York: Routledge.

Interviews

When interviewing the struggling student, student "X", I received the following responses:

Q: Do you enjoy school?
A: Yeah

Q: What kind of student are you?
A: Quiet but friendly/respectful of my teachers

Q: What do you do for fun outside of school?
A: Play X-Box

Q: How would your classmates describe you?
A: Nice

Q: Who are you friends with? What do you and your friends do together?
A: I'm friends with Waylen, a kid in my neighborhood. We haven't seen each other a lot
     lately, but when we do see each other, we like to ride bikes and sometimes play
     basketball -eventhough I don't really like it because I'm not good at it.

Q: Tell me a good memory you have about school.
A: I have never forgotten the kids in my fifth grade class.

Q: Tell me a bad memory you have about school.
A: I try not to remember those.

Q: Describe a "good" teacher or tell me about a favorite teacher you had in the past,
A: Mrs. Zorik was my favorite teacher; she was nice.

Q: What is one thing you wish your teacher knew about you?
A: (could not think of a response)

Student  "X" is rather quiet; he distances himself from peers and teachers -never engaging in anything related to social interaction (not even when it comes to participating in class). I learned that when you take the time to speak to him on a one-on-one basis, he is more receptive to speaking and sharing. It is when you take the time to acknowledge him and show him that you care about him as a student and as a person (by questioning, encouraging responses, and sharing your experiences) that he begins to open up. He needs to feel accepted and appreciated before he can take the risk of engaging in a social situation. I learned from my host teacher that he has not been given many opportunities to engage in any extra-curricular activities or sports outside of school, and I think that is to blame for his lack of social skills.



When interviewing the high-performing student, student "Y", I received the following responses:

Q: Do you enjoy school?
A: Not really

Q: What kind of student are you?
A: Good

Q: What do you do for fun outside of school?
A: Play soccer and basketball

Q: How would your classmates describe you?
A: Kind

Q: Who are you friends with? What do you and your friends do together?
A: Geno, Gavin, Dominick...play sports

Q: Tell me a good memory you have about school.
A: In the third grade, we used to do a lot of science experiments; I liked those.

Q: Tell me a bad memory you have about school.
A: (could not think of a response)

Q: Describe a "good" teacher or tell me about a favorite teacher you had in the past,
A: Mrs. Albertson....She was nice, and we did a lot of activities with movement that I
     thought were fun.

Q: What is one thing you wish your teacher knew about you?
A: I like hands-on stuff!

Student "Y" is usually very sociable, with both his peers and teachers, but not in a way that has ever been disruptive. He knows when to socialize and when to listen, but during this interview, he seemed more on the listening side than the talking side. He seemed rather reserved. I learned that when he is placed in a more intimate setting (as I interviewed both students alone in the hallway), he becomes more uncomfortable and less responsive.

Double Jounral Entry #7

In regards to the inquiry based approaches to student learning, several challenges can be inferred. To begin with, inquiry based approaches consist of planning –planning to be completed by the teachers  in great detail. Secondly, there is the concern with proper scaffolding techniques; balance is crucial, and teachers must be able to properly use tasks and assessments. Additionally, teachers need to recognize when redirection is needed and the proper ways to address the redirection. When a teacher lacks the skills and knowledge needed to implement this alternative way of teaching, another challenge (a greater challenge) occurs. This challenge can occur as the teacher may fail to execute proper scaffolding techniques, assessment, and redirection. When inquiry approaches are first being used, creating and conducting new classroom management skills and techniques will need to be implemented.

Barron, B, & Darling- Hammond, L. teaching for meaningful learning a review of research on inquiry-based and cooperative learning. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

 

Double Journal Entry #6

The dominant paradigm that is showing signs of war in the introduction is as follows, “The instructional model of the teacher and the textbook as the primary sources of knowledge, conveyed through lecturing, discussion, and reading…”

Project-based learning is an approach to teaching by which students search in real-world problems and challenges; students are active and engaged during the learning process and thereby gain a deeper understanding of the matter being studied. When an instructor gives a patient case file with symptoms to the medical students and they must find a diagnosis for that patient, there is not a right or wrong answer because the possibilities for illness/disease are endless. This learning, however, can be related to real-life instances where for every problem given, a solution must be found (4). Thinking more in terms of technology, technology projects combine knowledge and skills from multiple subject areas such as language arts, mathematics, geography; history, science, and social studies. This approach allows for students to create relevant learning experiences and a wide use of knowledge (http://www.technokids.com/blog/technology-integration/benefits-project-based-learning/). In a study, project-based learning has been shown to increase the rate of attendance; teachers who have conducted successful project-based learning activities also report a higher level of satisfaction with teaching (http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/engaging-students-with-project-based-learning).

Children tend to participate more actively when faced with problem-based learning because students become motivated to learn. Technology projects create situations for two or more people to collaboratively work to reach a common goal –to acquire information, share resources, and create original works using the computer as a tool. Building the foundation for team work and collaboration benefits students in terms of participation, responsibility, and social skills. (http://www.technokids.com/blog/technology-integration/benefits-project-based-learning/). By working collaboratively, students can share unique ideas and learn of the variety of ways to act upon such ideas. They learn respect and enhance their listening skills by doing so. Students can then be given the opportunity to execute their ideas by providing great services. (http://www.stevereifman.com/blog/51-blog/251-some-benefits-of-project-based-learning). In a given scenario displaying the content of which we speak of is, “A couple days ago my students, working in pairs, were using zomes to create three-dimensional representations of buildings and facilities that they would add to our city if they were given an opportunity to do so. The kids chose such ideas as a homeless shelter, animal care center, technology development laboratory, recycling center, and football stadium. (After all, we are in Los Angeles, a city that has been without an NFL team for a long time.) The project represented the culmination of our Geometry Challenge unit, and we will be displaying the structures at our upcoming Open House” (http://www.stevereifman.com/blog/51-blog/251-some-benefits-of-project-based-learning).

Learning by Design is a type of project-based learning; students learn what they need to learn in a timely fashion while designing something. Students can carry out the stages of design (creating, assessing, and redesigning) throughout the duration, but the work will most likely require collaboration and specific lead roles.  According to Hmelo, Holton, and Kolodner (2000), a few long-term studies have been conducted to determine the advantages of design-based learning. They found that design-based learning is helpful when complex figures are trying to be modeled or explained. An example of this would be the respiratory system. The students learn about the system in a more systematical manner and understood more about the structures and actual functions of the system. Design activity provides students with the opportunity to be “experts” in a particular area, and design projects require students to set limitations, generate ideas, create prototypes, and develop plans through the use of storyboards or other representational practices.

Project-based learning is more so student-based learning by which experiments pave the path for finding solutions. Students become active learners through this process. With problem-based learning, the students are presented with a specific problem. Afterwards, they think about and discuss a variety of solutions. Learning by design is different than the other two because the students have actually created an object in which they know about. The students create, review, and edit their own work. With all three approaches, students are actively engaged, using their critical thinking skills.

Citations:
"Six Benefits to Project Based Learning and Technology Integration." Benefits to Project Based Learning and Technology Integration. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. http://www.technokids.com/blog/technology-integration/benefits-project-based-learning/.

"Some Benefits of Project-Based Learning." Some Benefits of Project-Based Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. http://www.stevereifman.com/blog/51-blog/251-some-benefits-of-project-based-learning.

"Teaching Today | How-To Articles | Engaging Students with Project-Based Learning." Teaching Today | How-To Articles | Engaging Students with Project-Based Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/engaging-students-with-project-based-learning>.

Barron, B., & Darling-Hammond, L. Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf