It's a New World

As technology is expanding each and every day, it is our job as teachers to keep up with these changes. The technological advances that happen in the world around us effect us directly as they bring in new literacies that our students have already begun to understand. As the world has grown to learn with the new advancements we as teachers must know that the definition surrounding being literate is directly affecting our practices. Students not only have to learn the content but also know how to understand it when branched out beyond the single text. The multimedia success has allowed for a better degree in learning but we must teach our students that learning just like we would the text. Using technology helped in making me become a teacher because my teacher in the fourth grade really used technology as a key aspect in our learning. As the chapter discussed the internet can be a big part in aiding in the inquiry method and that was what really expanded my learning then. The different modes of technology, such as, video, blogs, internet, sound, etc. reaches a new type of literacy students are faced with.

As a teacher, I want to put the use of literacies in the classroom by making it relevant. Now with many classroom having all of these literacies at the fingertips of the students it is our job to create a curriculum that allows them to have to greatest success in learning and thinking with these new assets. I thought it was interesting to read about the nonlinear characteristics of the new literacies. Although, I am part of the technological generation, it is important to instruct and teach students about the new literacies are different from the text and how they should be viewed and looked at to expand their learning and thinking. As a teacher we cannot just have technology in our classroom it has to be apart of the students learning environment that will help in their thinking and expand their knowledge about our content area subject. 

Getting Your Students to Write

Having your students write is a great way to understand their voice as well as their connection between the material and their learning. There are multiple ways to have students write such as writing to learn, public writing and writing for tests and assessments. In the reading, the book explored the more formal options of public writing and writing for tests and assessments. Through requiring your students to write for a grade it is vitally important for us as a teacher to prepare the students for this task.

In public writing, it is must the opposite of the different writing to learns tasks we have previously discussed. As a teacher, it is more of the intentional writing we require from students that will be taken for a grade as well as being more time consuming for the writer. The work the students should submit should be written so that it could go out into the world for show to the audience. In order for students to submit the best, us as teachers require from them, we must prepare them for their writing. Some ways the book has mentioned to do this was to allow for choice, writing during class and a response or feedback of their writing. I thought the most interesting thing the book pointed out though in regards to modeling the activity, was the use of trade books. As an aspiring math teacher, public writing may not be as apparent in my classroom, but in order for my students to understand how a mathematician would formally write about certain topics would be through the use of trade books. This chapter again just solidified by preconception on the use of trade books in my future classroom. 

When discussing using writing during tests it is vitally essential to make students aware of the expectations for the writing as well as prepare them on how to write for the test in order to allow for continual learning. As a teacher, if we are going to require writing for a test we must make sure that the question or prompt for the task is clearly written and asks what we expect the student to know. The prompt is the key in writing process for a test. If the prompt is poorly written it will lack a detailed or expected response from the students. Fun, this is a key aspect that is missing from a lot of writing tasks on tests and if this is brought into the writing a teacher will see better responses from students as well as continued learning during the writing process from student.s To have this teachers must prepare the students to take these tests as it has been seen in the other forms of writing. Preparation is key in order to get the students to write what is expected from them.

Connecting the Words and Concepts

One point we have really addressed this semester is the use of reading and writing within the classroom. By doing this it will increase the students vocabulary. However, as teachers we need to make sure the students are learning the appropriate academic language for our content area by providing connections and definitions among key words and concepts. This chapter focused on getting away from having students rely on rote memorization of the words and concepts. Students need to activate their prior knowledge on key concepts and words and provide connections among these.

I liked how this chapter provided ways on how to have students learn these two thing. Having the writing to learn strategies also mentioned here as a way to encourage students understanding of the words and concepts provided me with more context in which to use them. After our demonstrations, I could more easily see how they would be used in my math class but after reading this chapter I have been able to find key uses in which I can help students better their learning in my math class. Through the graphic organizer ideas as well as the varying writing to learn strategies it will help my students conceptualize different terms. Therefore, it will provide a good foundation into their reading of the the text books or other activities in which they may be used.

Throughout this chapter, I was challenged to incorporate the different strategies and techniques in my future practice as a teacher. Understanding mathematical concepts and terms are a vital success in achieving in the subject and through this chapter it gave me a foundation to help my students achieve. I have come to realize that the concepts and terms that need to be defined also need to have an active use in the classroom in order to avoid just rote memorization. Through varying applications it can really come through to students which is what is needed especially in my content area of math. 

Embracing Diversity

In Chapter 3, discussing the Culturally Responsive Teaching, I thought really recapped and added to the instruction I learned among my Education 212 course. In any classroom diversity should be embraced and used to enhance the classes learning as a whole. More classrooms are adapting the culturally responsive teaching method as it truly enhances the environment for all students but also better their learning. I thought the 7 characteristics of culturally responsive instruction highlights the necessary work it will take in order to benefit all students' learning. The one key idea though is to make this instruction relevant to all students. When teaching a class this instruction shouldn't just be placed in here and there it should truly be embedded into the curriculum all year long in order to ensure the best possible outcome as well as making the students feel comfortable to learn.

Making students feel welcome in their environment is just a part of the culturally responsive teaching. I thought the chapter's idea of the ABCs of cultural understanding was an interesting take in order to understand your students and where their culture lies. The ABCs of cultural understanding and communication allows for the relationship to be built between teacher and student and possibly family. By starting the communication at the beginning of the year for all students allows for continual growth throughout the year but also uses this knowledge to better the class. The one challenge that I saw for this was getting to know families although it will be difficult to do this for all students I believe it should be very important even for students who are culturally alike to me because all cultures have their differences that lie within them.

In understanding the importance diversity brings to the classroom, this chapter provided me with multiple to ways to go about understanding someones culture in order to embrace the diversity. Through literature, trade books and other resources they can really supplement a students learning. As mentioned within the chapter the knowing from the students is intertwined with the ways of interacting and learning for a culture. It is especially important to go about our instruction to truly encompass all the ways a student can bring in their diversity within the classroom. 

Teaching Your Students How to Study the Text

This chapter, over the studying of texts, provided me with new information on how students can approach the text in a manner instructed by the teacher. As it started out, studying texts is not just about rote memorization but rather it’s about how students should really learn and interact with the text. The first concept the chapter discussed was the text patterns. To fully comprehend the text, you must first discover the patterns purposefully done within the book. For a teacher to spend class time pointing out the features that exist within the books gives both the accelerated reader and the struggling reader a chance to adapt and understand what is provided within the text.

Once the pattern of the text is discovered, the next step is to see how the patterns relate to the information that is needed to come out of the text. One method that allows for students to visual interact with the text is through graphic organizers. Graphic organizers allow the students to understand the pattern of the text then apply it in organizing the information. Although there are different methods of graphic organizers, it should be through a scaffolding effect on how students go about this task. Towards the beginning of the year teachers should provide their students with the tools to go along with the text and illustrate to them why this form was used. Then the teacher should start taking away the process of providing them with the organizer by asking questions on what the best method that should be used or what type of pattern they see within the text. Finally, by the end of the year they should be organizing their ideas to reflect what is provided within the texts.

The one key fact through all of the different ideas for teaching students how to study the text was the idea of teaching them. In many classrooms today, studying the text is expected of students who don’t understand or know how to study it. Teachers need to be the support for their students by gradually giving them the reigns and expecting them to study the text. First, though, the teacher should provide them with the ideas and methods they need to go about studying the text which was discussed within this chapter. 

Reflection on Microthemes Presentation

After presenting my write to learn strategy, microthemes, I reflected on how I could have presented it in a different matter. I think providing the class with notecards was a good idea because it showed them how it can be used as a study tool. When allowing them to participate in how the microthemes is used in a class, I should have wrote out the question for them rather than just repeating it a few times and having it on the model. Providing both examples would have allowed for a better purpose in what they were doing. Although I provided a model that I had premade, I think it should have been supplemented with me providing a model during class. It would allow the students to see the right approach to this type of writing should be done. 

Engaging a Classroom

Through this week's reading, I came to explore the variety of ways to engage a classroom on the discussion of a reading assignment. I developed different methods to not only engage the students among the discussion but also ideas on how to tap into information they already know. The main point I seemed to understand from this chapter is that we,as teachers, need to prepare our students to think purposefully. The first way to go about doing this is to help them build their own self-efficacy. One way to aid in a students self-efficacy is to provide a response-centered classroom, as well as constant encouragement and support to assist in their reading. One quote I took from this section was, "brains may be born, but minds are made".  I feel as this shows why we need to encourage self-exploration among our students to engage them in their own thinking.

Through encouragement and activating a students thinking, you can complement it by delving into their prior knowledge. As these two ideas tend to go together, it takes practice to fully go about activating a students prior knowledge on a subject matter. The book provided examples such as creating story impressions, establishing problematic perspectives and using guided imagery to help in understanding their knowledge while sparking interest in the subject. These strategies provide a good way that will engage students in material to come but also see what they already know. The key thing that was discussed in this whole process is to activate the students thinking. By doing this, added with a little encouragement, a students prior knowledge to a subject will be revealed and then will aid in the learning process of the lesson. 

More than One Way to Accomplish a Task

During our readings for today, both my purpose questions addressed the idea that there are multiple methods and ways to go about planning a lesson or implementing writing techniques. In the first chapter, it brought up new ideas that expanded my thinking on how to plan a lesson. Through my inexperience of planning lessons, this chapter provided me with different techniques to go about planning a lesson. One idea that really resonated with me was that lesson plans should encourage flexibility and change. A lesson plan may look good and well organized on paper but until it is brought into practice in the classroom is when the changes need to be made base on the students understanding or misunderstanding of the lesson. By incorporating flexibility and change within the lesson plan it provides for more success overall. Another idea that was brought up in the chapter was the Before-During-After Reading Instructional Framework. This concept was new to me as I have not actually planned a lesson before. This framework provided me with a interesting concept as it challenged the way I will plan my future lessons. When discussing the During Reading portion of the framework it mentioned how students disconnect with the math text the most. This was eye-opening to me as it made me understand that I will have to support my students the most during this part of the their reading as it provides the most struggle for them. The text provided me with some methods, such as, the use of study buddies, providing worksheets during reading or even asking guided question in order to help them connect with their text more. In learning of these different methods, I began to realize how although one might work with one class another method may work for another class. Therefore, I have to be prepared to provide my students with multiple options that will support their own method of connecting with the text in the best way possible.

In going along with this the second chapter in the reading for class had me explore was to implement writing practices in the classroom. The text brought up the new ideas of two classifications of writing, writing to learn and writing in disciplines. These classifications showed two different methods in which writing can be implemented depending on content area and intention of writing. In reflecting upon my future classrooms, I focused on the writing to learn attributes of this section because I felt as if it pertained to my math classroom more. Through reading the different methods, I often thought to myself, "These are creative ways to implement writing, however, I don't think they can be used in my math classes". I was pleasantly wrong in my thoughts given with support from the in-text examples. The examples provided me with a context in how they can be used as well as challenged me to think how I could use these different strategies of writing. By reading the examples, I began to think that through the multiple methods it will help engage the students to understand the concepts better as well as support me as a teacher to understand the problem areas the class is confused on. The different writing strategies are creative and unique ways to assess the students in their writing and knowledge. Also, they allowed for me to expand my thinking on how to implement writing in my math classroom. 

Useful tools for the classroom

Before taking education classes in college, I figured that when I taught my future math classes I would use the things that worked for me in my schooling. Little did I know that there was a lot more to providing a good classroom then what I thought. As mentioned in a previous post, I've often struggled with reading and writing because I have not found them necessary or I use the cop-out phrase of "But I'm a Math Major I don't have to like reading". I have discovered through our readings that I have this animosity towards reading and writing because I never did get encourage with other outside tools or never found anything I really enjoyed.

By reading Chapter 11, I began to understand what trade books are and their purpose within the classroom. Trade books can be a really good supplement to the textbook that can enhance a students learning in a content area. Developing a good classroom library will take time to build up but with the upcoming project I hope to get a good basis that I can hopefully build off of someday. One thing I thinking about while reading was how was I going to get a good enough trade book that will satisfy most of my students. I was thankfully reassured though that no one book will satisfy all readers. This really made me think that if I can find one trade book that will satisfy one student I will have accomplished something. The ultimate goal though would be to have every student have some form of a trade book that will aid in their learning.

In the Writing to Learn chapter, I found out that I do this more often then I would have expected. As it was briefly discussed about in the chapter most people who do this don't even know that they are doing this form of writing. I was surprised that I do this because I definitely don't look at the notes that I take as a writing tool for learning. I think this aspect that even the smallest or insignificant forms of writing should be stressed to students that this is a form of writing and it is a good thing to be doing this as it is a way for us to process our thoughts through words. I am looking forward to seeing the different forms of writing to learn in the upcoming chapters.

What are effective methods in assessing students?

Through my purpose question, I really focused on the different areas of assessment for students. At the beginning of this chapter, it talked about the formal method of assessments, standardized tests. This form of assessment is not an accurate or effective method for students. The standardized tests are more focused on helping the schools interpret their data rather than the teacher interpreting the data of their student. This use of formal, high-stakes tests can cause a lot of negatives for the students as their are many complications that can go wrong with students trying to take this test. One factor that plays into formal assessments is the student's literacy. Student's have to understand the language the test is written which can be far different from the language and vocabulary their teacher uses. Teachers can help in making the formal assessments more effective is by understanding the language that these tests are written. By doing this, it can better students performance because it will allow them to understand the instructions and questions within the formal assessments.

One of the more effective forms of assessment for students is the informal and authentic based assessments. These are more student and classroom based and provides a more accurate account of the knowledge students are gaining within the classroom. Through the observations based from the informal assessments it can better increase a teachers efficiency and effectiveness. Observations and assessments aid in the teachers understanding of his or her students. Through constant use of these methods it provides important feedback for the students improvement in performance as well as effective teaching methods from the teacher. Another informal assessment this chapter discussed was the use of a portfolio. I thought this idea was interesting to me as it provided me with a new type of possible assessment for students. Through one example given in the book I thought I could try and incorporate this in my classroom by have my students do research on a topic to better understand how math can be used in the "real world". I know I have wanted to incorporate this idea  into my classroom but having the portfolio provided me with a context in which I could use this to see if the students would understand the material being taught.

Through this chapter, I have learned that multiple forms of assessments should be used in order to be effective for students. By interchanging the forms it provides students with multiple ways to show their performance. However, for multiple forms to be effective it is up to the teacher to understand the strengths and weaknesses found within the classroom in order to challenge the students but also make sure it is an accurate display of the performances being observed within the classroom.

The Challenges Await

Throughout both of our readings for today, I compared it a lot with my personal experiences in school. As an aspiring math teacher, I excelled more in this subject and didn't take to fondly of subjects involving intense reading. I now believe this is because I was in part illiterate in other subjects. I could read and understand more of the text as a mathematician rather than a scientist, historian or an author. In the book, Content-Area Writing, it stressed the importance of how engaging students in writing can take different forms and is important in all contents and throughout a students life. I found this reading very interesting because it provided me with insight into how I can personally better my writing skills, as well as taking them into my teaching profession. I have struggled often with my writing and I know that it is an aspect I would like to work on, but often it falls short of my priorities because I was never taught to enjoy writing. This will play an important role as I begin entering the classroom because I will strive to better my writing while encouraging constant forms of writing for my students so they can learn and understand the importance of writing, within math as well as other content-areas. One aspect of this reading that challenged me as I go forward, is to make sure the writing in my class is engaging as well as a constant use of varying intelligences that are apart of writing. Writing takes many forms in different content-areas so teaching multiple will help in keeping the students engaged.

In our second reading for today, Content-Area Reading, I was again challenged in how this type of teaching or lack thereof played an important role in my life. I often have found myself disinterested in reading as it is a challenging thing for me. Whether it be the pace in which I read or a lack of comprehending I have really struggled with picking up a book just for fun. Due to this being a missing aspect in my life, I have struggled in other areas, such as writing, vocabulary, and overall knowledge. As a young student, I was engaged in many books and truly enjoyed this hobby, but as time grew on I wasn't as strong as my fellow classmates so I opted out of this hobby. I however, excelled in mathematics where others were not. I kind of blew this off thinking that it wasn't that big of an aspect missing from my everyday life. As I read this book, as well as discovering it over the years, I have realized the importance and emphasis reading should be within the classroom. This book has challenged me to incorporate this in my life and in the classroom by also encouraging and emphasizing it in the life of my students. Through the every changing world, new literacies have come about which bring on the task of having teachers be more aware of how we can better suite our students to strive to become literate as it will influence their life more than it may have ours. Along with writing, teaching reading in our specific content has to be engaging. Otherwise, like it did mine, this simple hobby or task can often be lost in a student's life. Through teaching reading, content-area teachers need to use the text and the different literacies that play into a classroom to highlight how the "content determines process" theory comes about. All in all, these readings have challenged me to make my classroom an engaging area for my students to learn through different processes, and to encourage the reading and writing methods found in my mathematics class.