Sunday, November 25, 2012

Double Journal Entry #13

1. The community of practice I am in is the education program.

2. Referring community of practice to people makes it seem like we are trying to label people and say who is in and who is out. When referring it to space, lets the people sort of float in or out of it and doesn't make it so defined.

3. The generator is the content which content would be the generator in school as well.

4. Content organization is how the content is designed or organized and an interactional organization is how people organzie their thouht, beliefs, values, actions, and social interactions. When referring content organization to school, this would be when the teacher decides how to teach the content based on the students needs and learning styles.

5. A portal is anything that gives access to the content and to ways of interacting with that content, by oneself or with other people. Textbooks would be a portal.

6. Affinity refers to the different backgrounds or lifestyles that students come from or are exposed to. Recognizing your students affinities can help you become a better teacher, you'll understand where they are coming from and how to teach them.

7. An affinity space is a space where all students should feel like they belong and this is where it supports the idea of an inclusive classroom. An inclusive classroom wants to build a sense of community. The students' affinities can help them get to know each other and see what they have in common. Also, Students as Problem Solvers would be great for letting the students work together which would also build a sense of community.

8. Tradional classrooms are more teacher centered than student centered. They do not let students build that sense of community that they need.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Double Journal Entry #12

1. The main argument withing this chapter is whether video games increase learning of the person playing them. The author suggests that video games have strategies behind them that can increase learning.

2. Patterns and principles constitute theory of learning.

3. The author needed the motivation to want to succeed with the game. Without that, then there was no point in trying.

4. By not succeeding with the game, that means he failed. Failing in school means low grades and when a student receives a low grade, their self esteem lowers. Do you think receiving low grades makes a student, especially a young student want to keep trying? Unfortunately, failing doesn't make people want to try harder the next time.

5. A horizontal learning experience could be better for at risk students so that the student can stay at the one "rung" for a while and work on really understanding that concept.

6. At risk students often get the "dumbed-down" versions of things to catch them up to basic skills but these students need to be challenged. Yes, they need to know basic skills but they need to be challenged because they can learn and they know more than we think.

7. The school's need to let students take on their full identities and make students feel challenged, but not defeated, just like video games do.

8. Students feel disconnected in school but they do not feel this way in the games.

9. The tutorial let the student assess how they should learn but in school, the students get assessed and then the teacher's decide for them what the best way for them to learn is.

10. The sand box tutorial lets the player get a feel for what the game is going to be like. School isn't like that. We don't get to have a test-run at school. Time is so precious in school that we barely have time to get through everything we need to get through in order to make a living for ourselves on time.

11. We need to use genres in good learning because a genre is a type of thing.

12. You learn as you play in a lot of instances.

13. Skills tests in school are normally not developmental and evaluative.

14. RoN lets the players work in groups.

15. Dewey-1. The create motivation for an extended engagement.
      Vygotsky-12. They offer supervised (i.e. guided) fish tank tutorials (simplified versions of the real system).
       Gardner- 10. They teach basic skills in the context of simplified versions of the real game so that learners can see how these skills fit into the game as a system and how they integrate with each other.


       Bandura- 14. They give information via several different modes (e.g. in print, orally, visually). They create redundancy.

       Skinner-15. They give information "just in time" and "on demand."


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Fostering High Frequency Formative Assessment

1. Formative assessment occurs during the learning process and it emplasizes the quality of student work, gives advice instead of grades, and provides feedback and motivation.

2. The central purpose of formative assessment is student learning. A formative assessment just helps the teacher see what and if the student is learning. This then helps the teacher identify what they can do to help the students or what may need changed in the future.

3. The teacher may set objectives in order for the students to be able to see the specific goals that the teacher wants them to accomplish. Providing feedback is another great research based strategy practiced in formative assessment.

4. A rubric may be used during a lesson so that the students know what is expected and then used at the end (or summatively) so that the students can be graded on the lesson.

5. When reading with my students in my placement, when they come across a word they should know because it is one of their high frequency words that they have been learning, I don't tell them the word right away. I let them sit and think about it because most of the time they know it but they just want me to give up and do the work for them but when we come across a word that was introduced earlier that week, I give them a minute, ask them if they remember it from the day before, and then go over it with them.

6. When giving feedback, a teacher must also idenitfy strengths as well as weaknesses. A student does not like to look at a paper all marked up in that dreaded red ink. It makes their hearts sink a little bit. I know I have felt this way many times! First identify the strengths and then write the weaknesses in a more positive way.

7. High quality assessment can help the students gain a sense of confidence and control in their work. Also, they are more likely to transfer learning from one class to another because they understand the given area thoroughly and can relate new learning to what they already know.

8. Its a challenge to distinguish between high quality formative assessment and assessment that is under-conceptualized or not fully developed. It is also a challenge to get parents to see that high quality assessments are good and not just the teachers being lazy.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Double Journal Entry #11

Chapter 4: Simulations and Bodies

1. According to the author, "Learning doesn't work well when learners are forced to check their bodies at the school room door like guns in the old West." means that people learn things as a cultural process and that means that their bodies are involved because cultural learning involves experiences that facilitate learning and not just memorizing words.

2. To acquire a large vocabulary, you must read and read A LOT.Reading a lot is not the only way to achieve these large vocabularies though. One must experience the "worlds" to which these words refer.

3. A word has a specific meaning when you can "play" the word in a specific situation. A word may have many meanings but the "player" must know when to "play" the word in the right way.

4. a. The phrase "off the hook" in this sentence refers to the sister no longer having to get her sister a present.
b. "Off the hook" in this sentence means "cool", "awesome", "sweet", "hip"and whatever other kinds of slang terms you want to throw in there but it basically comes down to that whoever said that phrase likes the shoes and thinks they are very nice.
c. Once again, in this sentence the phrase means "awesome", "cool', "crazy" even. The person is saying that you should have been there to see it.

4.5. According to the author, the "work" of childhood is play. I think I do agree with this statement. Unless one has been involved in the situation, how can one say that they fully understand it. I think children need to play and experience things in order to get a better understanding of life.

5. If you haven't experienced the game, then the instructions are going to be confusing. At least try the game out once before reading the instructions so when you go to play the game you will have a better understanding of how to play the game.

6. Its both. First you should know the general meaning of the word when reading it so you know about what it means and then knowing the literal meaning can help you further define it. The general meaning seems to stick with a person longer than the literal meaning.

7. Three identities or "games" I play would be: student, daughter, and fiance. I would "identify" myself as an appropriate student, daughter, and fiance. I am making all the right "legal" moves in all three of those "games".

8. Good learning is understanding word meanings in their contextual situation.

9. I believe that children need to experience more things in order to get better understanding within all subjects of school. Physically experiencing things and being able to touch, see, smell, and hear things helps children learn so much more than one would think.

10. Communication is the way of life. Children need to practice peer to peer interaction as soon as they start talking. Being able to communicate socially with one another is so much more important than you would think. In my clinical, there is a little boy that is just one of the brightest kids in the class but due to him being the youngest, he just doesn't quite know how to socially interact with the other kids and he speaks out in class way too much and disrupts the class quite often. He likes to think that he is mature and will take over the role as teacher when he pleases but he just comes off as immature. Due to his lack of social understanding, he is always getting into trouble.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Double Journal Entry #10

1. At home, there are many stories that are being told. Also, vernacular language is used mostly.

2. Leona talks in stanzas. Her stanzas are full of complex repetition and parallelism. She uses "an" to start many of her sentences and also cuts the "g" out of "baking". When telling a story, her main goal isn't to cut straight to the point. The author of this book seems to think that there is meaning behind the way she tells the story. He says she is speaking in almost a poem. When reading Leona's story, all I hear is a little girl who can't get everything she wants to say condensed down to one paragraph.

3. This story would not be accepted in schools because it is too "poetic", as the author puts it. The teachers would rather here a "blow-by-blow" story which means step-by-step or event-by-event. Other students would not understand that she was speaking poetically and the teachers do not want children thinking that is how standard English is suppose to sound.

4. In the report by Snow et al, there is no difference between whites and blacks in their skills of reading and Americans seem to be doing very well in reading. Americans are even doing better in reading than in math or science. In the recommendation by Snow et al, students who live in areas of high poverty are falling further behind.

5. It is not only early skill training that makes or breaks good readers. It is a variety of other factors. Students need to feel a sense of belonging and are a valued part of the social group within where their learning takes place. This boosts their confidence and will help them branch out on their learning.

6. School language may be to complex and technical for the students. The "ways with words" in school may be uninteresting to them.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Journal Entry #8

1. This book is written for those who feared reading and language arts. The thought of academic language made them queasy. The main problem is that those "big" words intimidated most people and made them frustrated by reading.

2. The "ways with words" the author is talking about is the new way of learning words we use today.

3. The author states that “The core argument of this book will be that people learn new ways with words, in or out of school, only when they find the worlds to which these words apply compelling.” This means that people will learn new words if they find it interesting. I see it as like reading a book. I can only read books if I find them interesting and I'm sure a lot of other people are the same way. If the person finds what they are learning interesting to them, then they are more likely to hold onto the knowledge.

4. As a server, we have a different "ways with words". We don't necessarily use diner lingo but we do use "86" which means that we are out of something. And we tell other servers "you're up" which means you have food ready to be run and "you're down" which means that you have a table sat. I did not know many of these terms until I started as a server.

5. The author states that people learn "ways with words" best when they can tie the new words with experiences they've had that can stimulate their memory.

6. For people to be successful in the 21st century, they must be able to transform themselves to satisfy this ever changing society.

7. I am in the in between on this question. I do wish that I understood textbook language and could talk that way. I think it would have helped me out with school. When I read a textbook, I feel insufficient. I do not understand a single thing I read once I am done with a textbook. However, I know that many people feel this way and that we do not talk in that sense. I guess I feel that learning academic language is not sufficient to be successful in the modern world. We do not communicate in textbook language so if we cannot learn it we are not doomed.

8. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book. It really caught my attention. I feel as if I can relate to this book because I am one of those who sometimes feel as though I am in that black hole. The bulleted points helped me read the points the author wanted to get across. I'm looking forward to reading more of this book.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Clinical Observation and Interview

I have been watching some of the students for a few weeks now. There are a few that I am concerned with. Student #1 I did not decide to interview but he is clearly a struggling student and my host teacher thinks that the student has a learning exceptionality of some kind. I noticed that this student absolutely cannot write his letters. When the student spells their name, you cannot read it at all. The teacher ends up writing it up in the corner of the paper so we know whose it is. I tried teaching the student today how to write their S's but the student could not grasp the concept. When asked to draw an S while looking at the S I drew, the student made a circle. I was blown away. I am really concerned when I look at the student's paper and am not sure how to grade it because every letter looks like a T or an F.

Student #2 is a very bright student. I would consider this student one of the brightest in the class. This student also happens to be the youngest. The student's birthday was the day before Kindergarten cut off. This student can read so well even words that have not been taught yet. This student is very polite and knows the schedule of the day so well he/she reminds the teacher of when they are suppose to be going to lunch or the restroom. The only trouble with this student is the fact that he/she is so young. The student is a little immature and has a hard time following directions. The student often cannot stay in their seat or sit still on the carpet. The student often tattles on the other students and is bullied by the other students. The student also talks out of turn and often gets their name on the board. The student really just wants to be a teacher's pet and my host teacher believes he should have been held back just because of how immature he is.

Student #3 is one of the students I interviewed. This student is also extremely bright. The student is also very bright and physically bigger than the other students. Student #3 was not held back but you can tell he/she is more mature than the rest of the students. This student seems quite bored with school. He/she often does not like to color when the other students are and find the worksheets boring but not hard. He/she is also a bit of a bully. When interviewed, I asked who he was friends with and one student mentioned Student #2's name and Student #3 replied, "no, don't write that down". He/she picks on Student #2 and if it doesn't get stopped now, it will be a problem in the future.

Student #3's Interview:

When asked "Do you enjoy school?"
Student #3 replied: "No, because there is lots of work and math papers."

When asked: "What kind of student are you?"
Student #3 replied: "A good one"

When asked: "What do you do for fun outside of school?"
Student #3 replied: "Play with Student #4 and fireball"

When asked "How would your classmates describe you?"
Student #3 replied: Used the student's name here.

When asked :Who are you friends with? What do you and your friends do together?
Student #3 replied: This student named of few of the other students and even his/her teacher and they played fireball and punching brothers.

When asked: Tell me a good memory about school.
Student #3 replied: "First day of Kindergarten because I got to learn something new"

When asked: Tell me a bad memory you have about school.
Student #3 replied: "When _____ annoys me" (I'm not sure who this student is)

When asked: Describe a "good" teacher or tell me about a favorite teacher you had in the past.
Student #3 replied: "(my host teacher) because she is the funnest!"

When asked: What is one thing you wish your teacher knew about you?
Student #3 replied: "That we could drive motorcycles around the playground"


I had not really watched Student #4 too much until my host teacher suggested that I interview him/her as the struggling student. This student has a hard time getting out what he/she wants to say and often thinks really hard but doesn't really make much sense when he/she speaks. I will have to observe this student more to see more of the signs of struggling.

Student #4's Interview:
When asked "Do you enjoy school?"
Student #4 replied: "Yes, I like to play outside"

When asked: "What kind of student are you?"
Student #4 replied: no response for this one.

When asked: "What do you do for fun outside of school?"
Student #4 replied: "I like to electric scooter"

When asked "How would your classmates describe you?"
Student #4 replied: ."They are my friends" "I have a girlfriend, she's bad"

When asked :Who are you friends with? What do you and your friends do together?
Student #4 replied: "I can't tell you" This student named a few of the students "Play army, ninja soldiers, numchuck, firepower, motorcycles"

When asked: Tell me a good memory about school.
Student #4 replied: "Outside"

When asked: Tell me a bad memory you have about school.
Student #4 replied: "My girlfriend likes to hold hands with me. She follows me. If I yell at her, she just sits right on her bottom"

When asked: Describe a "good" teacher or tell me about a favorite teacher you had in the past.
Student #4 replied: This student mentioned me, my host teacher the aide, and the special education teacher.

When asked: What is one thing you wish your teacher knew about you?
Student #4 replied: "Me and (Student #3) like people"" ____ my girlfriend"