Double Entry Journal #6

1. Read the Introduction. What "dominant paradigm" is showing signs of wear?

The dominant paradigm that is showing signs of wear are is the "instructional
model of the teacher and the textbook as the primary sources of knowledge, conveyed
through lecturing, discussion, and reading, has proven astonishingly persistent."

2. According to the research, how does Project-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

In today's workforce, it is crucial for employees to be able to work together and to complete tasks such as presentations. I believe that project-based learning supports student learning better than traditional approaches because it allows the students to work towards completing a real-world task. Project-based learning also allows students to transfer their learning to new kinds of situations and problems and to use knowledge more proficiently in performance situations. Shepherd (1998) studied the results of a unit in which a group of fourth and fifth graders completed a nine-week project to define and find solutions related to housing shortages in several countries. Researchers also created a performance task in which students participating in the Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project and a comparison group developed a brochure informing school officials about problems faced by homeless students (Penuel, Means, & Simkins, 2000). A more ambitious, longitudinal comparative study by Boaler (1997, 1998) followed students over three years in two British schools that were comparable with respect to students’ prior achievement and socioeconomic status, but that used either a traditional curriculum or a project-based curriculum.

3.  According to the research, how does Problem-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

Problem-based learning supports student learning better than traditional approaches because students are learning real-world problem solving skills. The students learn how to deal with problems and the best way to solve and deal with these issues. Students work in small groups to investigate meaningful problems, identify what they need to learn in order to solve a problem, and generate strategies for solution (Barrows, 1996; Hmelo- Silver, 2004). Problem- or case-based approaches have been used in business, law, and teacher education to help students learn to analyze complex, multifaceted situations and to develop knowledge to guide decisionmaking (see, e.g. Lundeberg, Levin, & Harrington, 1999; Savery & Duffy, 1996; Williams, 1992). Additional studies have demonstrated that students who participated in problem-based experiences are better able to generate accurate hypotheses and coherent explanations (Hmelo, 1998b; Schmidt et al., 1996).

4.  According to the research, how does Learning by Design support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

Learning by Design supports student learning better than traditional approaches because it allows students to design and create an artifact that requires understanding and application of knowledge. By using learning by design, once students have completed an assignment, they feel that they have accomplished something and are very proud of the outcome of their designs.

5. What are the differences between the three approaches?

The differences between these three approaches are that  project-based learning allows students to explore real world problems and find ways to handle and fix the issues. Problem-based learning is to teach students problem solving skills. Learning by design is a project-based inquiry that deals with reasoning.

6. In your opinion, what is the most important benefit to learning that is common across the three types of inquiry-based learning approaches?

In my opinion, the most important benefit to learning that is common across the three types of inquiry-based learning approaches is that the students are learning about real-world issues and how to handle this situations. They also allow students to participate in real-world activities.


Resources

Barron, B., & Darling-Hammond, L. (1991). Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

Culturally Responsive Teaching Reflection

 


Although language, literacy, and power all have different meanings they are all part of the same concept. "None of us is born knowing how to talk appropriately in church, in court, in school, in a group of friends, and so on. Similarly, none of us is born knowing how to write a personal letter, a story, a science report, an excuse note, and so on (Purcell-Gates, 2002)." For educators to teach in the Appalachian region, they must understand that the language spoke in this region is different from other languages across the United States. The people within the U.S. who hold powerful positions believe that people who speak with the Appalachian dialect are unintelligent and ignorant. However, the students within the Appalachian region have a vast amount of knowledge but they must fight the cultural deficit placed upon them. Many people within society place cultural deficit perspectives on students and this makes a teacher’s job even more difficult. Teachers and schools help contribute to poor literacy instruction by viewing students with cultural deficit perspective rather than with a cultural difference perspectives on the students.
One way for teachers to overcome the cultural deficits perspectives placed on their students is to allow each student to create a digital story to portray where they come from. By allowing students to create this digital story they are able to demonstrate many skills dealing with literacy and language that may not be portrayed with a pencil and a piece of paper.

Teachers and schools help contribute to poor literacy instruction by placing cultural deficit and difference perspectives on the students. For example, after reading about the Moll research, I had never put into perspective how it may feel to totally not understand one or more important concepts of life. However, the Moll research stated that it is unfair to tell someone of a different nationality that they are incompetent and unable to learn to drive when in reality they just need to be taught differently than the people within the United States. I thought that this was a wonderful example of how teachers contribute to poor literacy. The cultural deficit perspective is a wonderful way to describe the issue about driving. However, cultural deficit perspective is also portrayed against students from different cultures within the U.S. Some teachers and school districts do not want to take the time to teach struggling student’s different strategies to become proficient in literacy. An example of a strategy that can improve literacy instruction for speakers of non-standard English to allow the student to create their own digital story about their heritage and where they come from. By allowing students to create their own digital story, a teacher is drawing on students’ cultural capital and allowing them to exhibit their strengths without feeling pressure from others.

Teachers can eliminate cultural deficit perspectives of their students by creating teaching lessons around their students "funds of knowledge" (Moll, 1992). For instance, the article written by Moll about Funds of Knowledge is about examing what is going on within the society and how the community can help the teacher prepare and implement lessons dealing with the things occuring. By teaching things that the students understand and believe is usefull in their lives, the students can better relate and understand the concepts. By using the student's funds of knowledge, they will be able to participate better within the classroom and on their daily assignments.

The where I am from project supported culturally responsive teaching and inclusive practices by allowing each student to tell their own story and use their own background information within the story. The digital story designed instruction that was appropriate to each student’s stages of development, learning styles, strengths, and needs. It also created a learning community that respected each student’s individual differences. It is sometimes difficult for students who come from different backgrounds to feel comfortable telling people about their heritage and family. This project made the concept of a family history paper and made it a project for the 21^stcentury. I look forward to being able to allow each student in my class to create a “Where I Am From” project. I believe that this project is a great way to get to know each of your students and to begin a new school year. Implementing culturally responsive teaching practices is essential to having a functioning classroom. As teachers, we should be advocates to students and should be there whenever our students need our help. We need to be able to understand their heritage and background information to be able to help them gain their full potential within the classroom.


References

Moll, L. (1992). Funds of Knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. (1992). Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132-41.

Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). “...As soon as she opened her mouth!” In L. Delpit & J.K. Dowdy (Eds.), The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language, culture and power.

Where I'm From

Double Entry Journal #4

3 Things I learned about teaching and  literacy development

Three things that I learned about teaching and literacy development were 
1.) To include the dialect spoken by the students in classroom discussion
2.) Look to people within the community to help develop teaching strategies
3.) Do not dismiss the dialect spoken by the students. This could make the students believe that the way they speak is bad or incorrect.

  

2 examples of how the strategies for literacy instruction presented in this article reflect Culturally Responsive Teaching.

Two examples of how the strategies for literacy instruction presented in this article reflect culturally responsive teachings are

1.) Build bridges of meaningfulness between home and school experience.

2.) Encourage students to share their varied perspectives and experiences & create a supportive environment where this can occur.

1 example of literacy instruction from your own schooling experience and explain how it reflects or does not reflect Culturally Responsive Teaching.

An example of a literacy instruction from my own schooling experience would be when I was in middle school and was instructed to write my first, long essay. I was instructed to write a five page essay on any subject thought I would like. I was very excited to write the paper. However, once the paper was graded and returned to me, I was not as excited anymore. I did not receive a very good grade. Once I asked the teacher why my grade was so poor, she told me that the grammar in the essay was awful. I was bothered by this because as a class, we were never corrected when we spoke. But, when we wrote the words like we said them, we were wrong.

Response

 

I chose this picture because I felt that it gave different resources for literacy instruction that reflects culturally responsive teaching. Children and families, as well as the teacher, need to use different groups and members of the community to help build literacy. If people within the community are used to help instruction of literacy, children will feel more comfortable when speaking and writing. 

References

Epstein, P., & Herring-Harris, L. (2011, Sept. 15). Honoring dialect and increasing student performance in standard english. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655 

Weigal, D. & Martin, S. (2007, June 01). Identifying key early literacy and school readiness issues: Exploring a strategy for assessing community needs Early Childhood Research and Practice, 8(2), Retrieved from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v8n2/weigel.html