3351 Double Journal Entry #9

Quotes:


"Create is at the root of  creative thinking. If we want
children to develop as creative thinkers, we need to provide
them with more opportunities to create (Resnick)."


"How can we use new technologies to integrate play, design,
and learning? One way is to provide children with the
opportunity to design their own games (Resnick)."


"In recent years, schools have adopted more “hands-on”
design activities, but the focus is usually on the creation of
an artifact rather than critical reflection on the ideas that
guided the design, or strategies for refining and improving the
design, or connections to underlying scientific concepts and
related real-world phenomena (Resnick)."

Response:

I chose the first quote because I strongly agree with what it says. To get students to become creative thinkers they have to be given a chance to create and sadly once a student reaches the secondary schools most of the opportunities to create something for themselves have been taken away or the guidelines are so strict that there is seldom room for their own creativity. The next quote I chose because I thought this was a great idea. Just think about what students would learn by creating their own games. They would learn how to use technology in a very creative fun way along with several other things including design and even problem solving. I see this last quote as still being a major problem in our schools today. Teachers are having students create projects but that spend little time on why they did this project and how it relates to the real world instead once the project is done then the students get a grade and they move on.

Here is a YouTube video with Mitchel Resnick talking about the kindergarten approach to learning.

Sources:


All i really need to know (about creative thinking) i learned (by studying how children learn) in kindergarten. Retrieved from http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/kindergarten-learning-approach.pdf

3351 WebQuest Link

The WebQuest I will be working on with Donnie Harrison is here.

3351 Double Journal Entry 8

What are some challenges to inquiry approaches to learning?


One of the biggest challenges to this approach is teachers simply lacking the skills and knowledge to implement these approaches. If a teacher does not fully understand how to do something then they get frustrated and see it as a waste of time. Through most of my blog postings I have touched on this problem especially when dealing with technology. The first step in creating a better education system is to first teach the teachers.

Project-based learning and research-based strategies:


Setting objectives can be seen in project-based learning through the fact of there is a common goal that the students are working towards.

Simulations and Games can be connected to project-based learning because they both are using different means to teach students knowledge in a way that is grabbing the students attention.

Cues, Questions, and Advanced Organizers is connected to project-based learning through the fact that it is using students prior knowledge to build upon.

Sources:


Barron Brigid. (n.d.). Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf


Research-based strategies. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/

2201 Magazine Cover

2201 Double Journal Entry #6

Relationship between media literacy skills and traditional literacy skills:

   Media literacy skills and traditional literacy skills are related because they both share the same skill sets such as using prior knowledge and making predictions.

Quote:

"Even though students are spending more and more time on the Internet and teachers increasingly expect their students to do assignments online, digital media literacy skills are vastly underrepresented in the curriculum for all but the most advanced students (as, indeed, are offline critical-thinking and reading-comprehension skills).(David, 2009)".

Response:

This quote sums up yet another huge problem in today's education field. We are requiring students to use technology yet we are not teaching them how to use it. In a lot of cases some of the teachers do not even know how to use the technology either as they pointed this out also. Our education system is stuck in a traditional state of mind. As I have said in previous posts the old way worked during the time it was useful but that time passed with the coming of the Internet. In this article it also pointed out that other countries educational field are surpassing ours because we have not yet started using technology to its fullest potential. I understand that our culture is rich in traditions and in a lot of situations we bulk at change but when it comes to educating our children we should do whats best for them even if it means reteaching teachers that are already teaching.

Here is a great site that you can use to learn more about media literacy.

Sources:

David , J. (2009). Teaching media literacy . Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Teaching-Media-Literacy.aspx

Double Journal Entry #7

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


The "dominant paradigm" they are referring to as showing signs of wear is the traditional way we have been educating our students. This method was based on the teachers and the textbooks being the mane source of knowledge. In this method the knowledge was taught through lecturing and reading.

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


In the traditional approaches the focus was on content knowledge. With Project-Based Learning not only are the students learning the content they are also learning how to transfer the knowledge they have to handle new problems they encounter. They learn how to use their prior knowledge more proficiently in performance situations that they will face in the real world and in future jobs. The first benefit form Project-Based Learning is an increase on test scores dealing with critical thinking as we can see in the study done by Shepherd (1998). The second benefit is seen in Boaler (1997, 1998) study. In this study students in Project-Based Learning school were taught mathematical knowledge that engaged them in exploration and thought. These students did better on conceptual problems then those taught in traditional schools and within three years more of these students passed the National Exam. A third benefit is a increase in students ability to define problems from Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal (1992) study.


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


Problem-Based Learning is better than traditional approaches because unlike traditional approaches that use a single approach to solving problems Problem-Based has several approaches that can lead to solving the problem. They have the students break into small groups to identify a problem then come up with a approach to solve it. Most of the research on this method has been done with students in medical education. According to the study done by (Vernon & Blake, 1993; Abanese and Mitchell,1993) medical students who were taught by Problem-Based Learning scored higher on clinical problem solving measures then those who were not. In teacher education this method better prepares teacher candidates to think through and resolve classroom dilemmas more productively (Darling-Hammond & Hammerness, 2002). Also students who are taught under this method are able to come up with accurate hypotheses and coherent explanations (Hmelo, 1998b; Schmidt et al., 1996).


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


Learning by design supports learning better by giving students a better understanding and application of knowledge. A benefit of this method can be seen in developing technical and subject matter knowledge (Newstetter, 2000). Another benefit with this method is better learning outcomes as fount in Hmelo, Holton and Kolodner (2000) study. In a study done by Fortus and colleagues (2004) showed that this method help students learn the targeted science concept better.


5. What are the differences between the three approaches.


 The major difference I see between the three approaches is determining which approach better benefits the content you are trying to teach. A example of this would be I would use the problem-based approach over the learn by design to teach math.


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


The fact that they are teaching students skills that will help them in the real world.

Sources:


Barron Brigid. (n.d.). Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

Voki 2

Voki 1

Unnecessary Words

Really (1)    Removed (1)
Just     (3)    Removed (1)

Passive Voice:


I feel by using technology we can make learning history fun and make a lasting impression on the students so my digital story was geared towards this concept.

Active Voice:
I feel by using technology we can make learning history fun and make a lasting impression on the students so my digital story is geared towards this concept.

Research Based Strategies

Thematic Instruction


   After reading about thematic instruction I can definitely say the PowerPoint quiz did not support this research based strategy. There are several way in which this is apparent from the fact that the quiz did not have a theme that related to students lives to it not having a theme that was formed as a question. The one that really stuck out to me was were we were only aloud to ask the teacher for help. According to thematic instruction you should have the students form small groups so as to help with problem solving.
   To make this activity fall under thematic instruction I would first come up with a theme something like "How does learning to use PowerPoint help future teachers in the classroom?" Then I would have the students work in a small group to come up with a PowerPoint slide show to explain this. By doing this I have came up with a theme that is appropriate for the students involved because we are studying to be teachers. This would also help because by having the students work in small groups they can help each other. Not only will they learn how to use PowerPoint but they will also learn something of value they can use in the real world or as you called it "Meaningful Learning".

Resources:


Focus on effectiveness. Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/them.php

2201 Double Journal Entry #5

Question

Does the digital story you created and uploaded to YouTube fall under Fair Use Guidelines? Explain.


Response

   The answer to this is simple, yes it does. My digital story falls under this and can best be explained by the fact that it was designed for educational purposes. Also at the end of my Digital Story you will notice a slide giving credit to the cites at which I took and used the photos from. Along with this the music in my digital story fell under open sources. This reading was very lengthy and at the same time all the material is important. Instead of just saving the cite I printed off the 22 pages as a resource for future use.

3351 Double Journal Entry #6

Speaker #1


1. Why is this video helpful for teaching in West Virginia? I found this video helpful for teaching in West Virginia because our students also have to overcome a dialect that they speak and write in that is not considered standard English.

2. What evidence is presented that supports the credibility of the speaker? When they first introduce her they talk about the many degrees she has earned from different Colleges. To have obtained these degrees it shows she has a background in what she is talking about especially the PHD in Linguistics.

3. Describe the traditional approach to responding to student writing? The traditional approach is to find error and then respond with correction.

4. Why does the traditional approach not work in improving student writing? This approach is not working because they are not looking at what  the student is doing only what they are doing wrong.

5. Name the three strategies associated with the linguistic approach to writing instruction? The first strategy is the scientific method followed by contrastive analysis and the last one is code switching.

6. How do you know the cat and Taylor go together? Because Taylor is the owner and the cat is what he owns.

7. What is different between the two patterns of possessives for informal and formal English? The informal is the owner followed by what they own where the formal is the owner followed by a apostrophe s then what they own.

8. What strategy is being used for teaching the second grade students the different patterns between informal and formal English? By having the students look at each way and then find out what is different in the formal way she is using code switching, scientific method, and contrastive analysis.

9. Describe how the scientific method is used to teach students to code switch. First you have to collect data then have the students observe the data searching for a pattern. They then describe this forming a hypothesis which they will then check their hypothesis and if a example comes t does not hold true to their hypothesis then have them modify it.

10. What question is being asked to engage students in the comparison and contrast strategy? She asked the students what changed?

11. How does code switching support meta cognition? It has the students choose the language to fit the setting.

12. What evidence is presented that the code switching approach works? Describe one of the studies? A teacher in Chicago had one freshman classroom were she used the traditional approach of teaching and then in another classroom she used the contrastive analysis method. After one semester in the traditional classroom she had a 8% more vernacular features in their writing. In the contrastive analysis classroom her student produced 59% less vernacular features in their writing.

Second Speaker


1. How did the students respond when asked how they felt about being corrected when they talked? They said that this made them feel stupid, angry, and even confused.

2. Give an example of a "fund of knowledge" the teacher drew on to help students learn to code switch? She asked the kids what they wore when they dressed up and explained this was formal. She then asked them what they wore when they did not dress up and explained this was informal. This gave them a clear understanding of what formal and informal is. She then had them explain were they would wear certain clothes hence that some places they wore formal clothes and other places they wore informal clothes. This then lead to language and when they used formal language and informal language.

3. What are some added benefits aside from raising test scores that stem from using contrastive analysis?  They learn that all people don't speak the same therefore they are more accepting of other peoples dialects. This  know to use formal English when trying to get a job and sounding more professional.


On your own


  Explain how contrastive analysis for writing instruction is an example of each of these researched-based strategies:

Generating and Testing Hypothesis
   Contrastive analysis is an example of this with the scientific method. First the students gather the data then look at it to find patterns with which they then from a hypothesis that they test.

Identifying Difference and Similarities
   This goes along with contrastive analysis by comparing and contrasting. Here the students compare the data sources looking for a difference.

2201 Digital Story On Teaching

Here is my Digital Story for Teaching!!

2201 Double Journal Entry #4

Quote

"Although the nature and structure of stories very for personal, artistic and cultural reasons (Ohler 2006)"


Response


  I chose this quote because I feel in touched on a way to overcome a issue that teachers find in their classes today. The issue is learning about your students culture and having them embrace it along with sharing it with their classmates. Sure you can ask a student about where they come from or even write about it and then have them talk about it but isn't the old saying " a pictures worth a thousand words". I feel that digital stories would be a great way for teachers to learn things about their students that they never would have otherwise. i also feel that by seeing each others stories that classmates learn more about their other classmate and might find out they are more alike then they thought they were and this might even help them make more friends. This might be the way to get someone who feels socially awkward to break out of their shells.
   Even when you have students do digital stories on other things then themselves you will still get a glimpse of what is important or interesting to them. you can then build upon this base of knowledge. I feel digital stories are a great tool to use in the classroom because it makes teaching more personal and the more you get to know your students the better prepared you are to help them learn.


   Here is a site I fount interesting giving a slide show about digital stories and why you should use them in the classroom. Slide show


Sources


Ohler, J. (2006, January). Retrieved February 8, 2012 from. http://www.jasonohler.com/pdfs/digitalStorytellingArticle1-2006.pdf

Bayuk, R. (2010, August 2). Digital storytelling in the classroom. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/robbayuk/digital-storytelling-e-book

3351 Digital Story

Double Journal Entry #5

   The research points to the way a teacher with a negative attitude towards students ethnicity and language variation set these students up to fail. By a teacher having this negative attitude towards the student the student is less likely to try because they figure they are going to fail anyway so whats the point. What these teachers are doing is making these students hate school because they see school as a place were they are made to feel inferior. Once they have this mindset then they don't want to learn because again they don't see the point. Teachers like this are setting these students up for failure and sadly there are a lot of these type of teachers still out there and I'm sure we have all had one.

   A assessment pit fall would be when a teacher first hears a student talk they instantly judge that student as being average, bright , or below average. they then categorize these students and put them into a group based on what they think is their ability just from hearing them talk. They then teach students based on this. Also they teach in one way and this may not address certain culture of certain students therefore basically ignoring them. the biggest thing that is a assessment pitfall is the teachers judging their students based on a limited amount of information.

   The first approach used to transform student's dialectal diversity into a asset is the awareness approach. Basically in this approach you encourage students to use their dialect in some projects. Plus they also learn the history of certain dialects. The next approach is the critical pedagogy in which they have the students study critically analyze the ideology of the current language of power and it also gives the students a chance to flip flop which the social order. The final is called the critical awareness approach. this is basically using both of the first two.

   As far as how prepared I feel to teach a culturally diverse classroom goes I fell like I am prepared to a certain degree. I feel by living not just in West Virginia but by living out West that I have been exposed to different cultures other than my own to a certain degree. I also feel that i am not very judgemental because of the way I was raised. I also feel that I do need more practice in this field because when you think you know everything there is to know you face things with a closed mind and this is some of the problems with teachers today. They might be willing to teach but are they still willing to learn?

Where I'm From

I am from the Southern woods, from RC Cola and fried Treet sandwiches.

I am from the house at the end of the old gravel road with the sound of the train passing by on tracks laid long ago and the smell of wood fires still lingering in the air.

I am from the Honeysuckle bush, the wild Greenbriers that are home to all kinds of wildlife.

I am from Sunday morning breakfast and strong Southern values, from Roy Bourne a man as strong as a rock with a heart of gold and Lillian Sears a true Southern Bell and Grand-paw Sears who will be missed through many tears.

I am from your word is your bond and don't bring shame to your family name.

From never give up and let your heart be your guide.

I am from the Ten Commandments and a baptism in the river.

I am from Ronceverte with Dublin calling, from the taste of brown beans and the smell of fresh cornbread.

From the hard working hands of a man who protected this country and gave all to his family, a man I call Dad, a woman who raised four children and never has stopped, this lovely lady has earned the name Mom.

I am from old family photos that hang on the walls for my children to stare at in aw, from stories told on cold winter nights, from laughter and tears of those that are dear, I am "American by birth, but Southern by the grace of God"!!

2201 Charting the News

   This is a strategy used on the high school level were students go onto a website that talks about recent important news going on in the world. They will find a article that interest them and then write about it or talk about it. The teacher in this example worked at a rural school were most of his students were only able to accces the Internet at school. He had noticed that most of these students were not up to date on current affairs. When he first had them look up articles on their own they would find things of little importance. To correct this he started having them use a certain web site that did list important world events that went along with his class. I find this a great way to get students aware of the world around them. I have seen something like this done in a 6 grade class were at the beginning of class students watch CNN student new and also felt this was a great way to make sure students are aware of their world.

2201 Double Entry Journal #3

Quote


" there is very little that is new about most of the abbreviations and lexical shortenings that make texting so maddening to so many. In fact, he said, with the exception of a few recent coinages like LOL, “virtually all the commonly used ones can be found in English a century ago.” For example, bn (been), btwn (between) and wd (would) can all be found in a 1942 dictionary of abbreviations."




Response


   I chose this quote from the  article "The Keypad Solution" by Ammon Shea because I totally agree with what it is saying. I do not understand what the big deal is with this "texting language". I do not know how many professors that I have had here at Fairmont State start of their first class by telling us when writing a email to them not to use abbreviations like students do when they text. People act as if this is some kind of new phenomenon. I know I'm a little older then most the students here but I can remember my mother telling me about taking a college course in shorthand. This course taught you how to abbreviate words and read them. My questions then is was not shorthand the 1960s version of texting. Here is another example how about all the abbreviations we use in the Education Department should these also not be allowed in emails to professors. Yes I do agree there is a time and place for standard writing and English but you can not tell me that because some people do not like a way something is done like texting LOL that therefore it is a problem and should not be recognized. If this was the case then you wouldn't say you were going to KFC for lunch you would say you were going to Kentucky Fried Chicken instead. I remember as a kid if you did say KFC nobody would know what you were talking about. My point is that change happens either get on board or be lost.




   Here is a sight I fount very interesting because it shows the texting language and basically the definitions of a few abbreviations. Texting 

Sources

Shea, A. (2010, January 22). The keypad solution. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/magazine/24FOB-onlanguage-t.html

Paradise. (n.d.). Text messaging--anem language. Retrieved from http://paradise7.hubpages.com/hub/Text-Messaging-A-New-Language  

2201 Learning Styles?

1. Do learning styles exist? In my opinion learning styles do exist. I feel that I learn something better when I can read about vs just hearing a lecture on the subject. Since I learn the material better by reading then by hearing then I feel I'm a visual learner.

2. Are they useful for classroom instruction? I feel that they are useful depending upon the content that you are teaching. If you are teaching a unit about the Civil War and dates of certain battles I would not just give the students a sheet of paper with the dates on it. While this might help the visual learners because they have something in front of them they can read what about those who learn by auditory? Sure they can also learn by reading the paper but would it not help to read out loud the dates you are trying to get the students to learn?

3. What is the best philosophy for using learning styles? In my opinion the best philosophy for using learning styles is to use more than just one. I feel you should use as many as possible when teaching a lesson according to the lesson being taught.

2201 Comics Strip