Module+1

1. What does the research say?

JM: Research says that that it can improve reading instruction if it is properly applied. The researcher and the audience must use the research for the same purpose in order to aviod confusion and misunderstanding. Research should allow us to reflect on our teaching, and it gives us ideas that we would not necessarily develop on our own. LH: Thanks for setting up the questions JM. Research says that there are certain methods, strategies, styles, ect that work more effectively than other. I agree with JM that research gives us ideas we would not think of on our own, an important component of effective teaching is to always be searching out new and better ideas. I think we also must not forget our own knowledge and expertise. We need to use what we know as professionals to apply the research properly. ML: There are different types of research in education, and the most reliable is experimental. Products that say they are research-based are becoming more prominent, but they haven't been proven to work. Educators need to be mindful of what the different types of research are and what they mean when making decision for the classroom. Just because it is written doesn't mean it's proven to work. Lj: I think that using research in the field of public education is a relatively new concept for many of us. Many of us heard of "classroom autonomy" and if a child did not learn, there must be a problem with the child, not the instruction. Using research to provide guidance on how children learn and the important building blocks of reading can help teachers to reach more struggling learners. MS: I AGREE RESEARCH IS SO VITAL IN THE SET-UP OF THE CURRICULUM AND THE EXECUTION OF THE CURRICULUM. WITHOUT RESEARCH, WE WOULD BE DOING WHAT WAS BEST FOR THE TEACHER AND NOT WHAT WAS BEST FOR THE STUDENT. WE ARE NOT STUDENT CENTERED AND STUDENT FOCUSED. RV: Reading instruction can bepositively influenced by research by finding new innovative practices and applying them in appropriate setting. Research shows us as teachers what methods are being proven to work so that we can use them and reap the benefits from them. I agree with Lisa that we have to use what we know as teachers to put the reserach based methods into practice.

2. Apply the four dimensions of teaching and learning to your teaching style. Be specific.

JM: Transformation occurs in our classroom when one student has learned a skill well enough from me to teach another student. They usually do not teach it the same way I originally modeled the skill, but they transform it in a way that they understand as well as their peer. A great deal of time is spent on discussions and reflection in our classroom. During social studies we discuss the decisions made by early explorers, monarchies in Europe, our Founding Fathers, and early settlers. This allows students to reflect on the events in history, as well as clarify questions they have about the past. Application can be seen while working on math skills. I can model the basic skills of estimation and weight, but in order to show mastery of the skill my students must apply what they have learned. In the fall our class uses pumpkins to estimates the circumference, weight, height, and number of seeds found inside. They must then apply what they have learned about measurement to accurately see how close their estimations were. I constantly provide feedback to my students during the writing process. Students must go through all the stages of writing with productive feedback in order to become stronger writers. LH: Explicit v. Implicit: If I am teaching explicitly, I will determine which skill I want to teach this week and then seek out literature, activities, and games to teach that skill. If I am teaching implicitly, I will pick a book, activity, or game just becuase I want it and then point out certain aspects of the book that children can learn from. Systematic v. unsystematic: If I am teaching systematically, I will have a rational, thought-out progressions of skills and I will have planned ahead. For example, I know to teach the most common consonants first, along with the vowels, before I begin teaching digraphs, and endings. An unsystematic approach would be a random order of teaching letters and sounds beginning with vowel digaphs before single vowels have been introduced. Mindful v Mindless: If I am usig mindful teaching, I am not only expecting my kids to have rote memorizaton of letter names and letter sounds, but also the knowledge of the alphabetic principle. They need to know why they need to know the letters and sounds and how to apply them. ​ LJ: I think that there is a place for mindful and mindless instruction. Rote memorization of math facts, letters, and sounds to the point of automaticity can free up learner to other things. If a child has a good fund of sight words that they know automatically, it frees him to construct meaning from what is being read. ML: 1. explicit vs. implicit: In my classroom, I tell the students what the skill is I want them to learn and why it is important to learn it. I explicitly model the skill in practice. 2. systematic vs. unsystematic: In my classroom, I thoughtfully plan skills and activities and use assessment to inform what skill should be taught next. 3. Mindful vs. mindless: In my classroom, I have student record in their journals something new they learned and how it helps them, or in math class, they write out and draw the steps to solving a math problem instead of just working it. 4. contextualized vs. decontextualized: In my classroom, I try to incorporate literature and activities that make sense to the students and connect to their lives. Using previously taught skills in different context and drawing the students' attention to it is a good way to contextuaize learning.

3. What constuctivists-like principles can you identify and what are the implementations for the classroom?

JM: I can identify with the "metatextual awareness" principle. In our class we don't just read to answers questions, we read to understand and gain new knowledge. We use prior knowledge to help create meaning and dive deeper into the text. Students can explain what strategies they like to use while reading and why those specific strategies work well for them. LH: I can identify with the 'authentic' nature of constructivism. Teaching rote memorization of facts doesn't lead to real learning. Impementing many authentic ideas into your classroom would ensure you are on the path to constructivism. I like the pumpkin idea from JM in question 2, we do that in kindergarten too. I think of learning to make and read graphs also. We have ditched our workbook for that section and make our own picture graphs, bar graphs, and tally mark graphs. We graph the types of vehicles that pass the school, the colors of teachers shirt, how many boys vs girls enter the library,ect. That makes the learning real for the kids. LJ: I can see constructivism as being closely related to how we prepare a child to read an unfamiliar text by activating background knowledge, etc. You have to provide the child with the glue needed to stick the new information in their brains. Otherwise, it tends to fall away. MS: I REALLY LIKE CONTRUCTIVISM AND METATEXTUAL AWARENESS. I FEEL A TEACHER CANNOT POUR KNOWLEDGE INTO THE STUDENT BUT THE STUDENT MUST BUILD IT FROM THE GROUND UP. I FEEL ALSO THE STUDENT SHOULD BE ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN THE ACTIVITY--THAT IS, THE STUDENT ACTIVELY REACTS TEXT TO SELF, TEXT TO TEXT, AND TEXT TO THE WORLD. THE STUDENT MUST KNOW THE STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT AND BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THE NEW KNOWLEDGE IN MULTIPLE WAYS.

4. Your questions

JM: Evaluation is one process that teacher in the construcivist classroom use. Who else besides the teacher can give this kind of feedback, and how do you ensure that it will be productive and appropiate? ALL PEOPLE CAN GIVE FEEDBACK FROM THE SELF, THE OTHER STUDENTS, THE TEACHERS, AND THE OTHER SUPPORTING STAFF. LH: You picked a tricky questions! If there is not a co-teacher or assistant in the classroom, I don't know who else could give valid evaluation feedback. Depending on the age of the kids, could they be trained to give productive and approprite feedback? If you developed a series of lessons to train the kids in what is appropriate and constructive and what is not, they could evaluate each other. ​ LJ: A learner in a constructivist classroom is constantly evaluating their own performance, asking themselves, "How am I doing?" If there is a strong sense of collaboration in a group, it can also come from other learners. I think that often we think of an evaluation as something concrete--a pencil and paper type thing. ML: I think self assessment rubrics would be an important part of a constructivist classroom because it provides opportunity for students to self monitor their learning and behavior. Using peer assisted learning (PALS) may be another way to provide this type of feedback. RV: I think that the learner in the constructivist classroom should have an internal monitoring system. They "know" when they understand or do not understand. I also agree that other students can provide valuable feedback to thier peers.

ML: All students, classrooms, and teachers are unique. If we use assessment to inform instruction, I think it is very hard to teach the exact same material at the exact same time. RV:I think that all students will learn at thier own pace and it become hard enough to monitor differentiated instruction in one classroom so it seems unreasonable and uneffective to try to keep all students in a grade level doing the same thing at the same time. LH: Thanks for your responses, I think I will use the assessment reasoning to help me with this one. No 2 classes could be exactly alike, so no 2 teachers should teach exactly alike.
 * 2. LH: If there are multiple sections of one grade, is it best to make all rooms teach exactly the same material on exactly the same day. . . following the same lesson plan?? Or if we use explicit, systematic, mindful, conceptualized teaching, would it be different from room -to -room, week- to -week and year- to- year? * **

ML:. (MY 3 QUESTIONS) 1.In the constructivist classroom, collaborative groups are utilized, and many think that the class is "loud" or not on task. How do you convince your administrator that the students are learning from one another and it is beneficial? * MS: I HAD AN ADMINISTRATOR THAT HATED THE "NOISE" AND ANOTHER ONE WHO LOVED THE INTERACTION AND LEARNING TAKING PLACE. I WOULD EXPLAIN TO THE FIRST ADMINISTRATOR THE INITIAL GOAL, AND MEANS TO THE GOAL AND THE END PRODUCT AND TELL HIM TO WATCH THE STUDENTS TO SEE IF THEY WERE ON GOAL. BEFORE I WOULD HAVE THEM WORK, I WOULD "SCHOOL" THE STUDENTS WITH WHAT I WANTED TO SEE, WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR, AND WHAT I EXPECTED IN A NUMBER OF MINUTES AND THEN WITH A HAND MOTION, I COULD LEAD THE WAYWARD STUDENT BACK INTO THE TASK. FOR THE SECOND ADMINISTRATOR, I JUST WATCHED HIM SMILE AND LOVE THE LEARNING. RV: I would ask the administrator to sit in and watch the lesson in all parts. The modeling by the teacher as well as the collaborationg from students, and then the discussion as a class on what learning took place. I think this would be a powerful example of how it isnt just a bunch of noise but rather several teaching techniques rolled into one. 2.What are some strategies that you use to engage students in the learning process and encourage risk taking? 3. If you were new to teaching only fourth and fifth grade language arts, what constructivist type literacy activity would you suggest? RV: I would incorporate meaningful vocabulary strategies such as picture dictionary or mind mapping in order to make sense of new words they encounter in the text. This would allow them to use it in all subject areas since vocabulary is to important in 4th and 5th grades.