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Post by parkerh13 on Feb 19, 2016 8:55:54 GMT -5
The readings for this week are about the crisis in Adolescent literacy and the myths behind literacy, but my big problem with this is everything I found was about "reading." George and I discussed this on Wednesday when going over the Florida Statutes, I was talking to him about something when they said "reading" and he asked me if what I mean by "reading" and what they mean by "reading" is the same thing. I realized that it's not, but they are so focused on the actual act of reading that the comprehension part is completely irrelevant to any statute. When looking up "Crisis in Adolescent Literacy" and "Myths behind Literacy" all I found was articles and things about reading. In one article it said "The term 'literacy' has come to include reading, writing, and many other skills, but it is most often data on students' reading skills that generate concern." ( www2.ed.gov/programs/slcp/finalcrisis.pdf ) This is the article if anyone is interested. We are so focused on the test scores and I know that this is not a new topic, but I am concerned about the fact that we are not looking at the "important" part of reading. So I think my question for y'all is how, as educators, do we pull away from making literacy about the physical act of reading and make it more about reading for comprehension? |
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Post by lindseynharrell on Feb 24, 2016 11:40:59 GMT -5
I think about this a lot. It's something I really struggle with internally in terms of what kind of teacher I want to be. In my opinion, there is no point to reading if you do not gain some kind of intrinsic revelation from it, and that is not possible without comprehension. This all goes hand in hand with the fact that my goal of teaching is to create lifelong learners that enjoy reading merely on the premise that they want to be continual learners, and not lazy short-minded individuals who just aim to complete what is right in front of them - in this case a test.I think this is the crisis, that learning is no longer valued by adolescents in terms of what is exciting and thrilling for them because it has been smashed down by the need to pass some test in order to prove some thing that is completely irrelevant in terms of continual and purposeful learning.
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kasee
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Post by kasee on Feb 24, 2016 15:45:11 GMT -5
I have thought about this a lot as well, and the article that you provided was very interesting and eye-opening. I think it is really sad how teachers are expected to teach to a test, rather than focus on the student's actual learning and motivating that student to learn and read so that he/she may become whatever is it that they want to be, pushing the student to fulfill their dreams, and reach their maximum potential. Instead, I have seen many teachers threaten the student's or "motivate" the student to pay attention so that they score well on the state test. I think that our education system is so concerned about test scores and the numbers, rather than the student. However, I don't place all of the blame on the higher ups in the educational system. I fully believe that the student has to have some degree of self-motivation and desire to learn to go to college, or to get their dream job, or to simply be a functioning citizen. I agree that teachers need to construct value and meaning into learning for the student, so that they will grasp the bigger picture of what learning is and where it can take them in life. Something that the article touched on was absenteeism. I think this is a major testament to the just how very little students value learning and the learning process. Florida has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country.. so I have to ask myself why, and how can we as future educators make a change? One thing that I did agree with in the article was when it talked about how learning goes beyond the classroom and we are preparing students for college and the workforce. I know that we all know this, but due to the state standards and high-stakes testing, I feel that this concept is not exactly easy for teachers to express to their students. I know that I want to prepare my students for the real world and equip them with the knowledge that they need, but weighing on my shoulders are the state standards and teaching to the test. I think a balance needs to be found, and perhaps that is what is being sought after with Common Core... trying to give it the benefit of the doubt..I have sat in many teacher's lounges and nine times out of ten, they are gossiping about students, parents, or other faculty members, or about Common Core. Rarely did I ever hear any talk of concern for a student, and their literacy level, or lack of desire to learn. I may be getting off topic here... but I hope to never be that teacher that complains or shouts the problems going on in the education system, but rather tries to come up with solutions and focus on the students.
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Post by hannahhiester on Mar 1, 2016 13:02:26 GMT -5
I think you are right about balance, kasee and our need to put our energy into doing what we can for our students. One of comments early on in the article said "students’ low levels of belief in their ability to succeed at reading and subsequent lack of engagement in academic tasks" (p. 1). This reminded me of the court to classroom reading we had and how students develop a practice based identity. I think one of our responsibilities as teachers is to help students develop positive practice based identities. My hope would be that they then have the confidence and motivation to tackle the challenges associated with the practice be it reading or any other component.
I also thought the comments about all teachers being responsible for helping students read were important. Reading a science text is different to reading a novel but I am not sure that all experts always realize this.
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jklee
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Post by jklee on Mar 1, 2016 17:01:33 GMT -5
Kasee, I really like your dedication to not talking badly about your students. I think, in order to create a positive practice based identity, as Hannah mentioned, we must view our students in a positive light. I know that it will not be the easiest thing to do when your students are misbehaving or refusing to listen, but it would be very detrimental to that practice based identity if you started to gossip about your students. A part of creating a positive practice based identity is creating a caring and safe environment. A part of my teaching philosophy is to create a strong community in the classroom. Doing this will help students navigate the challenges of literacy practices.
This article was really great and I definitely agree with what you're saying, Hannah P. I think that a part of the physical act of reading is comprehension. If a student is truly reading something, they are also understanding it. Reading and comprehension are intertwined when it is being done correctly. In order to focus on the comprehension facet of literacy, as an English teacher, I think that you can do more dialogue based classes. Focusing on the theme of a novel or symbolism is a great way to promote comprehension. Personally, I love multimodal text interactions and creative projects. I think having students react to a text creatively helps them develop a deeper understanding of the meaning of a text. For the other content areas, what are some practices that will promote reading comprehension?
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kasee
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Post by kasee on Mar 2, 2016 5:01:13 GMT -5
I think anything that is hands-on or other activities can promote reading comprehension and comprehension of the content that is being presented. I hope to teach a civics/government class at some point in my career, hopefully sooner that later  and I plan to implement as many hands-on and real-life scenarios as possible for my students. They aren't going to be my students forever and will need the necessary tools to be well-rounded citizens and ultimately, I want to help instill in them the skills to be functioning adults. For example, if we read a passage on voting, voting rights, and the voting process as a citizen in this country, I would have students work in groups to further discuss and research the topic. From there, I would have them choose certain roles: a campaign manager, a communications director, and the candidate that is running for office. They would all have specifics tasks that led to a mock debate for the class and a class vote at the end. Each student would be one of these three roles plus a voting citizen. This would be an activity designed to demonstrate some of the people that are involved in a campaign, plus the roles of the people. They would be required to research issues and be informed before making a decision. I think the students could learn more on voting and the voting process through this type of activity, rather than simply reading about it from a book. They would get a taste of what their rights are, and how they can practice those rights in a real way someday. So, this is how I would promote reading comprehension and be a form of a literacy practice for my class. |
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Post by felishadake on Mar 2, 2016 9:48:47 GMT -5
I think the point about relating what we are learning about in class to a real life context is extremely important. From a science standpoint, I could have students read out of a science textbook and they would likely not comprehend anything they are reading, or realize how the concepts affect them in any way. Instead, I could have students come up with a question they want to investigate- such as, why do water droplets form on the outside of a cold glass of water? This will ensure it is something they are interested in knowing, and then have the students try to determine the answer through reading articles, researching, and using their own experiences. In this way, they are not reading because they have to or just reading without comprehension, but they are reading to come up with possible explanations for their question. They have to understand what they are reading and be able to transfer it to their own situation.
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Post by ronettekortbein on Mar 2, 2016 10:12:35 GMT -5
I agree with you, Felisha. Having students just read from a textbook does not promote their literacy. I think literacy involves reading, writing, speaking, and listening. A great way to promote literacy like you discussed is to provide a hands-on activity. Activities like you discussed are also thought provoking and get the student involved in something that they are actually interested in. Although it is necessary for students to read the textbook, I would rather them read it because they are genuinely curious instead of treating it like a chore. I want my own classroom to be student-centered so that the students are held responsible for their own learning. I believe this is one of the best ways to promote literacy.
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Post by janinesherman on Mar 2, 2016 10:18:21 GMT -5
I really like where this discussion is going because reading comprehension is so crucially important and as Hannah said our statues do not really go out of their way to support literacy beyond the surface level. All this talk about creating lifelong learners and making reading relevant/meaningful through activities is very exciting and something I definitely include in my teaching philosophy. Balancing standardized testing expectations as well as real life application lessons are something as teachers we should be constantly checking. I know for English it could be easy to get into a rut of teaching only argumentative writing for the FSA's in our classroom, but exposure to difference genres is an important and enriching experience that could making writing more meaningful to students. I wanted to bring up my experience at Ghazvini here because it seems to me that the computer work that the students are doing is not truly effective. Like what Hannah said, my student is reading but not actually comprehending what he is reading. Since the students are all on different grade levels and assignments and working independently on their computer work, they are not receiving the attention needed to actually learn. My student is 2 grade levels behind in English and I have been working with him individually to catch him. He appreciates the attention very much because he does not often get the chance to talk to a teacher and ask questions about his work, instead he just guesses. When I first began with him he was simply guesses through the test questions making 30% grades. However, with individually help I can use strategies to aid his comprehension. Like when he reads a long passage I can stop him every couple paragraphs to ask him for a summary so far so his mind does not get too distracted or overwhelmed. Also when we are going through multiple choice I can ask him to textually support why he picked the answer he did. Strategies like this require reflection and therefore students must go beyond the physical act of reading and make sure they are actually understanding. My worry is that if I was a teacher with 30 students struggling with these types of computer based assignments I would not be able to help them all individually and make learning meaningful. It turns into a guessing game or can I get the teacher to give me the answer game. Does anyone have any ideas how this can be fixed? Even when I am working with my student individually and his grades are improving because I am talking to him through the questions, I am worried that he will not retain a lot of the information. For example, he did not know what the word hyperbole was so I explained it to him and gave examples. Ten questions later.. he could not remember it. Because I have limited time and platform to provide accurate lessons because he is in the middle of a TIMED computer test it leaves little room for actual learning. Sorry for my rant, but some advice would be helpful here |
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Post by keturahyoung on Mar 2, 2016 11:16:09 GMT -5
I really like where this discussion is going because reading comprehension is so crucially important and as Hannah said our statues do not really go out of their way to support literacy beyond the surface level. All this talk about creating lifelong learners and making reading relevant/meaningful through activities is very exciting and something I definitely include in my teaching philosophy. Balancing standardized testing expectations as well as real life application lessons are something as teachers we should be constantly checking. I know for English it could be easy to get into a rut of teaching only argumentative writing for the FSA's in our classroom, but exposure to difference genres is an important and enriching experience that could making writing more meaningful to students. I wanted to bring up my experience at Ghazvini here because it seems to me that the computer work that the students are doing is not truly effective. Like what Hannah said, my student is reading but not actually comprehending what he is reading. Since the students are all on different grade levels and assignments and working independently on their computer work, they are not receiving the attention needed to actually learn. My student is 2 grade levels behind in English and I have been working with him individually to catch him. He appreciates the attention very much because he does not often get the chance to talk to a teacher and ask questions about his work, instead he just guesses. When I first began with him he was simply guesses through the test questions making 30% grades. However, with individually help I can use strategies to aid his comprehension. Like when he reads a long passage I can stop him every couple paragraphs to ask him for a summary so far so his mind does not get too distracted or overwhelmed. Also when we are going through multiple choice I can ask him to textually support why he picked the answer he did. Strategies like this require reflection and therefore students must go beyond the physical act of reading and make sure they are actually understanding. My worry is that if I was a teacher with 30 students struggling with these types of computer based assignments I would not be able to help them all individually and make learning meaningful. It turns into a guessing game or can I get the teacher to give me the answer game. Does anyone have any ideas how this can be fixed? Even when I am working with my student individually and his grades are improving because I am talking to him through the questions, I am worried that he will not retain a lot of the information. For example, he did not know what the word hyperbole was so I explained it to him and gave examples. Ten questions later.. he could not remember it. Because I have limited time and platform to provide accurate lessons because he is in the middle of a TIMED computer test it leaves little room for actual learning. Sorry for my rant, but some advice would be helpful here Janine, I experienced the same thing with my 50 Large student. I realized that he wasn't comprehending when he would read an entire passage and not be able to answer some of the simplest recall questions; he was actually a lot better at critical thinking that related to real world experiences. Once I realized this, I would have him read each paragraph and then give me a summary of it. Once we were able to break it down in sections, he could no longer say "I don't know" when I asked him what the passage was about because he was understanding. I think using the computers for all of their work is actually a terrible idea. The students are basically teaching themselves and if they don't understand it, they cant express in words to someone what they are having trouble with. All they can really do is re-watch the instructional video, which is a sad excuse of what teaching is. Imagine doing a science course with this type of instruction; my student was working on physics. He misses out n any type of hands on experiment or demonstrations, which might really help him grasp the concepts. |
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Post by keturahyoung on Mar 2, 2016 11:26:07 GMT -5
I think the point about relating what we are learning about in class to a real life context is extremely important. From a science standpoint, I could have students read out of a science textbook and they would likely not comprehend anything they are reading, or realize how the concepts affect them in any way. Instead, I could have students come up with a question they want to investigate- such as, why do water droplets form on the outside of a cold glass of water? This will ensure it is something they are interested in knowing, and then have the students try to determine the answer through reading articles, researching, and using their own experiences. In this way, they are not reading because they have to or just reading without comprehension, but they are reading to come up with possible explanations for their question. They have to understand what they are reading and be able to transfer it to their own situation. Felisha, I agree with you that literacy is more than just reading a textbook. I think literacy stretches beyond the classroom as well. For my content area (English), of course its crucial that my students know how to read and can interpret figurative language. But I also want to know that my students can think critically and thoughtfully about real life situations. I've been thinking more about this since I started my Young Adult Literature class this semester. We real texts that would appeal to and are written for young adults. It may have the same life issues these students are going through or just be entertaining. We often discuss whether its more beneficial to teach more canonical texts (basically the classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, Lord of the Flies, etc.) or Young adult literature. This sometimes reminds me of the debate of teaching the test or teaching the students. I think YA texts are better at engaging students and allowing them to connect to real life situation, whereas canonical texts are more about knowing these lists of "esteemed works". This is why we choose to scaffold with these texts to include both aspects of entertainment and what is expected of the students by standards. I think when teacher neglect to actually engage the students with things they are actually interested in or could become interested in, is when they lose desire to learn. Sorry for the rant |
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Post by hannahhiester on Mar 2, 2016 15:40:31 GMT -5
...I am worried that he will not retain a lot of the information. For example, he did not know what the word hyperbole was so I explained it to him and gave examples. Ten questions later.. he could not remember it. Because I have limited time and platform to provide accurate lessons because he is in the middle of a TIMED computer test it leaves little room for actual learning. I have similar concerns and think it is one of those realities of the classroom: however much we modify things to engage students, work with them individually where we can, enhance their critical thinking, encourage student responsibility there are only so many hours in the day. I don't want to do a disservice to my students but there are only so many things they can learn in a finite time and even fewer they can learn deeply. So I think as teachers we have the difficult task of being selective and having to make difficult decisions about what is most important. Is it important the student can recognize the word hyperbole? is it important that he could figure it out from context? is it important for him to be able to use it himself? This decision making will also mean we will often be caught between the standardized testing rock and teaching for deeper understanding hard place. Although, there is research out there to suggest that using the reformed teaching methods (in science at least e.g. inquiry) can help improve standardized test scores too. |
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Post by leahwertz on Mar 2, 2016 17:39:37 GMT -5
I think about this a lot and the standards discussion we had in the computer lab really bothered me. I'm wondering if the desire to "just read" as text comes from the length. I know there are all sorts of short works that pack a big punch, but I think after years of testing, students associate these kinds of short stories with the need to just answer the question and then never do anything with the text again. How often have you thought about the story you read while taking the FCAT? I think this is an idea engrained into us over time that short texts belong on tests and are unimportant after the grade is given and that longer, novel works are for pleasure or impact. It also comes with the idea of exposure time, reading a novel in class (whether it's from the canon or not) takes more time naturally and students become familiar with it and want to interact with it more so than a short text because they know ahead of time it is there to stay. I know I am personally more apt to ensure comprehension of a novel I'll be reading for two weeks than a story I'll read for 10 minutes. While it may be easier to comprehend the shorter work (in general, there are exceptions), there is less time to develop connections. This is just what I had come to mind - I want to know what your interpretation of this is as well?
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Post by hannahhiester on Mar 3, 2016 16:13:51 GMT -5
In addition to leahwertz question, what about application to poetry? I remember studying sets of poems and drawing connections between them. Could this work for short stories too? I agree that there is sometimes less of an investment in a short story, especially if considered alone.
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and I plan to implement as many hands-on and real-life scenarios as possible for my students. They aren't going to be my students forever and will need the necessary tools to be well-rounded citizens and ultimately, I want to help instill in them the skills to be functioning adults. For example, if we read a passage on voting, voting rights, and the voting process as a citizen in this country, I would have students work in groups to further discuss and research the topic. From there, I would have them choose certain roles: a campaign manager, a communications director, and the candidate that is running for office. They would all have specifics tasks that led to a mock debate for the class and a class vote at the end. Each student would be one of these three roles plus a voting citizen. This would be an activity designed to demonstrate some of the people that are involved in a campaign, plus the roles of the people. They would be required to research issues and be informed before making a decision. I think the students could learn more on voting and the voting process through this type of activity, rather than simply reading about it from a book. They would get a taste of what their rights are, and how they can practice those rights in a real way someday. So, this is how I would promote reading comprehension and be a form of a literacy practice for my class. 
