This past week we had a discussion of incorporating technology into teaching. Yesterday while I was driving to work a story came on NPR about an interesting new way of bringing technology to students.
The MacArthur Foundation recently gave a grant of 1.1 million dollars to a school in New York City focused on "gaming literacy".
To hear the story and read more visit the site below:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11259040
Friday, June 22, 2007
Textbook Ripoffs
Recently in class we had a discussion about textbooks in the classroom. Although in public schools students are not purchasing their own books, this is not true for college students. Unfortately students across the country are being overcharged and "rippedoff".
This past year I worked for the Student Public Interest Research Group, a student advocacy group. One of their campaigns has been an effort to take on publishing companies. Companies continually put out new editions with little or no changes from previous copies. They also bundle the books with CD's and DVD's, often left unused, forcing students to but new editions.
Find more info at the sites listed below:
www.maketextbooksaffordable.org
www.studentpirgs.org
This past year I worked for the Student Public Interest Research Group, a student advocacy group. One of their campaigns has been an effort to take on publishing companies. Companies continually put out new editions with little or no changes from previous copies. They also bundle the books with CD's and DVD's, often left unused, forcing students to but new editions.
Find more info at the sites listed below:
www.maketextbooksaffordable.org
www.studentpirgs.org
Invisible Children
taken from my media artifact presented June 12th -
Invisible Children is a documentary created by a group of young college students about the war in Northern Uganda. During the last twenty years tens of thousands of children have been kidnapped and made into children soldiers or sold into the sex trade.
The documentary these students produced has received overwhelming support from young people across the country. The creators of the campaign have made the process of helping to support the situation engaging by encorporating media and events like the "Global Night Commute".
For more information check out the website below:
www.invisiblechildren.com
Invisible Children is a documentary created by a group of young college students about the war in Northern Uganda. During the last twenty years tens of thousands of children have been kidnapped and made into children soldiers or sold into the sex trade.
The documentary these students produced has received overwhelming support from young people across the country. The creators of the campaign have made the process of helping to support the situation engaging by encorporating media and events like the "Global Night Commute".
For more information check out the website below:
www.invisiblechildren.com
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Subjects Matter - Teaching strategies
Chapter five presents the reader with various methods on teaching reading skills to students. I think it can be tempting in teaching to fall into a routine continuously implementing the same teaching methods. This is not only boring for a teacher, but it makes work become monotonous for students as well. Although for me the acquisition of the spanish language and a general understanding of culture are always the goal, Chapter Five provides many different strategies at achieving this. Although all are not necessarily functional in a foreign language class (especially a lower level course), they all bring up valuable points and suggestions which will hopefully prove useful.
STRATEGY I
The first lesson plan suggestion that stood out to me was the Anticipation Guide. Using this strategy students are asked to respond to a few open ended question prior to doing a class reading. They then discuss their responses in pairs, and then students discuss together as a class.
As a Spanish teacher I would have students initially write their thoughts in Spanish, and then speak in the language when sharing their thoughts with fellow classmates. This will allow for both written practice and also the opportunity to practice pronunciation, and explore new vocabulary.
Another aspect which I like about this lesson is that none of the questions given are suppose to have a correct response. They are to be open ended questions where students can have the opportunity to explore some of the higher level thinking skills desciribed I Bloom's Taxonomy of Knowledge. This may be a great opportunity to explore some more controversial issues such as illegal immigration, the genocide in Guatemala, Jugo Chavez's Presidency in Venezuela, or stereotypes about Spanish and Latin culture.
STRATEGY II
A second strategy that stood out to me was the written conversation. During this lesson students complete an activity (such as reading an article or watching a video), and then correspond with one another back and forth by writing brief notes to one another.
Although being able to speak a language is important so is being able to use proper spelling and accent marks when writing the language as well. When learning a language in an academic way, being able to both write and read are hugely important.
One thing that came to my mind is that this would give students to correct one another's work as they corresponded to one another in Spanish. This will help them recognize some commonly made errors that both they make and others students in the class make as well. One fault I see in examinations is that often students are not made to look at the errors they have made, and never learn what it is they are doing wrong. The exchange back and forth will allow students to see some of these mistakes.
I also like this strategy, because it encourages students to ask one another if they have questions or concerns. I once heard a teaching strategy where students were told if they had a question they had to ask three of their fellow classmates before approaching the teacher. Although I think it is important that students see their teacher as a resource, I think it is also great when they can see one another as a resource as well.
I think many students also may feel more comfortable raising questions to one other person. Sometimes I think students are worried about asking in front of the entire class for fear of looking "stupid". They may not be as hesitant to pose a question to a partner.
I also think that collecting these dialogues at the end of class will help me see some of the questions and concerns students had about the activity. It will be a way of assessing how much of the activity the students comprehended. More than anything I just think it is a novel way of conducting a class and students (as well as the teacher!) may be happy to have a change from the day to day routine.
STRATEGY I
The first lesson plan suggestion that stood out to me was the Anticipation Guide. Using this strategy students are asked to respond to a few open ended question prior to doing a class reading. They then discuss their responses in pairs, and then students discuss together as a class.
As a Spanish teacher I would have students initially write their thoughts in Spanish, and then speak in the language when sharing their thoughts with fellow classmates. This will allow for both written practice and also the opportunity to practice pronunciation, and explore new vocabulary.
Another aspect which I like about this lesson is that none of the questions given are suppose to have a correct response. They are to be open ended questions where students can have the opportunity to explore some of the higher level thinking skills desciribed I Bloom's Taxonomy of Knowledge. This may be a great opportunity to explore some more controversial issues such as illegal immigration, the genocide in Guatemala, Jugo Chavez's Presidency in Venezuela, or stereotypes about Spanish and Latin culture.
STRATEGY II
A second strategy that stood out to me was the written conversation. During this lesson students complete an activity (such as reading an article or watching a video), and then correspond with one another back and forth by writing brief notes to one another.
Although being able to speak a language is important so is being able to use proper spelling and accent marks when writing the language as well. When learning a language in an academic way, being able to both write and read are hugely important.
One thing that came to my mind is that this would give students to correct one another's work as they corresponded to one another in Spanish. This will help them recognize some commonly made errors that both they make and others students in the class make as well. One fault I see in examinations is that often students are not made to look at the errors they have made, and never learn what it is they are doing wrong. The exchange back and forth will allow students to see some of these mistakes.
I also like this strategy, because it encourages students to ask one another if they have questions or concerns. I once heard a teaching strategy where students were told if they had a question they had to ask three of their fellow classmates before approaching the teacher. Although I think it is important that students see their teacher as a resource, I think it is also great when they can see one another as a resource as well.
I think many students also may feel more comfortable raising questions to one other person. Sometimes I think students are worried about asking in front of the entire class for fear of looking "stupid". They may not be as hesitant to pose a question to a partner.
I also think that collecting these dialogues at the end of class will help me see some of the questions and concerns students had about the activity. It will be a way of assessing how much of the activity the students comprehended. More than anything I just think it is a novel way of conducting a class and students (as well as the teacher!) may be happy to have a change from the day to day routine.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Fostering a Community of Learners
The responsibility of a teacher goes beyond just relaying an academic subject matter to students. According to the book Subjects Matter by Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman it is about creating a "community of learners". Students must feel somehow connected to their teacher, fellow classmates and the subject which they are learning. Modern day education is not just about rote memorization, but rather focused on being able to work cooperatively with others and have a more focused understanding of a subject matter. The authors cite research which varifies that providing "social support" is the best way to do this (167).
Many of the pieces of advice which the book pointed out are things which my high school teacher, Mr. O'Malley took to heart. As suggested in the reading, he listened to what his students had to say, valued their opinions, and also took time to share pieces of his own life with us. In doing this he was not only an authority figure, but someone who we felt we knew and respected as a person. I did not enjoy studying Spanish as a high school student. The majority of my teachers did not discuss Spanish beyond just the language itself. It was not until I began college and began traveling that my interest began. I think it is important that I share this with my students so that they understand my struggles. I also want them to be able to approach a Spanish class from various different angles, and not just see it as a one dimensional class consisting only of grammar and vocabulary. I think fostering this type of exchage with students will help to foster the "community of learners" model.
In addition, Subjects Matter speaks about "connecting learning with students lives and and the larger issues around them" (169). This is also very true in a cultural sense. I know that as a Spanish teacher I will have the opportunity to discuss culture. As an Anthropology major, I am looking most forward to this aspect of teaching. I would like students to be able to experience latin culture in some sort of authentic way, by a guest speaker, visit to a foreign country, interaction with exchange students, or some other way. I hope that through this students will also have the opportunity to examine their own culture. This will help them to better understand where we differ and also in what ways we are alike.
Many of the pieces of advice which the book pointed out are things which my high school teacher, Mr. O'Malley took to heart. As suggested in the reading, he listened to what his students had to say, valued their opinions, and also took time to share pieces of his own life with us. In doing this he was not only an authority figure, but someone who we felt we knew and respected as a person. I did not enjoy studying Spanish as a high school student. The majority of my teachers did not discuss Spanish beyond just the language itself. It was not until I began college and began traveling that my interest began. I think it is important that I share this with my students so that they understand my struggles. I also want them to be able to approach a Spanish class from various different angles, and not just see it as a one dimensional class consisting only of grammar and vocabulary. I think fostering this type of exchage with students will help to foster the "community of learners" model.
In addition, Subjects Matter speaks about "connecting learning with students lives and and the larger issues around them" (169). This is also very true in a cultural sense. I know that as a Spanish teacher I will have the opportunity to discuss culture. As an Anthropology major, I am looking most forward to this aspect of teaching. I would like students to be able to experience latin culture in some sort of authentic way, by a guest speaker, visit to a foreign country, interaction with exchange students, or some other way. I hope that through this students will also have the opportunity to examine their own culture. This will help them to better understand where we differ and also in what ways we are alike.
Two Characteristics of My Most Effective Teacher
During my Senior year of high school I had a teacher named Mr. O'Malley. He was a history teacher, but I took his Public Issues Forum class as an elective. The format of the class itself was unique in that there was a lot of freedom in the class curriculum. We were not preparing for standardized tests, and luckily Mr. O'Malley did not have specific guidelines as to what he was to cover during the course of the semester. Instead he was able to pick topics which were of interest to him, and also to interest to us students as well. I think Mr. O'Malley's greatest strength was that he followed his own interests.
Often teacher's can feel bogged down by being confined to teach a set curiculum. Even in Mr. O'Malley's regular classes however he made sure to incorporate issues which were of interest to him. We talked about social issues such as the School of the Americas (training camp for "terrorists" in the United States), sweat shops, and the importance of voting. They are all topics which he has felt passionately concerned about in his own life and he was able to better relay these subjects to us because of his strong sentiments. It is a rare occassion (at least in my high school academic experience) that students are able to openly discuss topics and debate their importance. This type of learning allows students to discuss critical thinking skills as opposed to using rote memorization methods often found in schools. Mr. O'Malley was genuinely interested in hearing the opinions of his students and although he surely had command of the classroom it still felt like an equal exchange of ideas and opinions. In expressing his own strong views he was able to bring out the views of his students.
Another strength Mr. O'Malley brought into the classroom was that he incorporated current issues and our community into the curriculum. There were many guests that came into speak to our class about a wide variety of topics. There was a women who spoke about having a shared bedroom where her entire family slept together, and there was also the national high school storytelling champion. I actually went to speak to his public issues forum class this year about the importance of young people voting. For me it was a great opportunity to thank him for cultivating a new way of thinking about learning as a young student. We went to see speakers and musical performances at URI and AS220 in Providence. By his unique teaching style we began to see the world as our classroom as opposed to just the hours we were confined to our school.
I hope that as a Spanish teacher I will be able to incorporate both of these aspects into my classroom. I have spent much time traveling in Latin America and I think sharing my passion for both the language and the culture will help to ignite interest in my students. Also, I want to make sure that I bring the community into my class and my class into the community. The Spanish language is not brought to life for most people until they are able to experience it in some authentic way. With Latin culture so present in our community there are many opportunities to make connections between students and Spanish language outside of school.
Often teacher's can feel bogged down by being confined to teach a set curiculum. Even in Mr. O'Malley's regular classes however he made sure to incorporate issues which were of interest to him. We talked about social issues such as the School of the Americas (training camp for "terrorists" in the United States), sweat shops, and the importance of voting. They are all topics which he has felt passionately concerned about in his own life and he was able to better relay these subjects to us because of his strong sentiments. It is a rare occassion (at least in my high school academic experience) that students are able to openly discuss topics and debate their importance. This type of learning allows students to discuss critical thinking skills as opposed to using rote memorization methods often found in schools. Mr. O'Malley was genuinely interested in hearing the opinions of his students and although he surely had command of the classroom it still felt like an equal exchange of ideas and opinions. In expressing his own strong views he was able to bring out the views of his students.
Another strength Mr. O'Malley brought into the classroom was that he incorporated current issues and our community into the curriculum. There were many guests that came into speak to our class about a wide variety of topics. There was a women who spoke about having a shared bedroom where her entire family slept together, and there was also the national high school storytelling champion. I actually went to speak to his public issues forum class this year about the importance of young people voting. For me it was a great opportunity to thank him for cultivating a new way of thinking about learning as a young student. We went to see speakers and musical performances at URI and AS220 in Providence. By his unique teaching style we began to see the world as our classroom as opposed to just the hours we were confined to our school.
I hope that as a Spanish teacher I will be able to incorporate both of these aspects into my classroom. I have spent much time traveling in Latin America and I think sharing my passion for both the language and the culture will help to ignite interest in my students. Also, I want to make sure that I bring the community into my class and my class into the community. The Spanish language is not brought to life for most people until they are able to experience it in some authentic way. With Latin culture so present in our community there are many opportunities to make connections between students and Spanish language outside of school.
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