I had trouble sleeping last night. Class was so much fun and it got my brain spinning. I was excited by the level of discourse (little d) among the students. I had a bunch of guiding questions devised, but never had to pull them out because the students just took control of the readings and really dug into them. I did provide a framework through the graphic organizer as a place to collect their thinking about the texts (what is literacy, how do we acquire literacy, how does oral language support literacy learning), as well as a suggestion for them to revisit the terms introduced last week and in the readings. I also asked them to create a cluster chart that showed the relationship of the texts to one another. I don’t know if they needed those to lead them into conversation or whether they would have done as well without those tools, but nonetheless, the conversations I overheard and participated in got to the main points.
What I’m less satisfied in (and this is an ongoing problem not isolated to this class) is the “sharing out” of group discussion. I’m not convinced that it’s a productive use of time. What I need to get better at doing is using the sharing out as a trigger or springboard for whole group discussion. I ended up doing a lot of the talking during that section of class. Maybe that’s ok. Afterall, it is my job to help pull all these things together.
I also did a couple of “minilectures.” I’m not convinced of the value of them either. The first one was a return to forms of social thought that I introduced with the in-class readings last week. I very quickly went over interpretivism and positivism and introduced critical theory and postmodernism. I drew on what Dr. Arndt gave me from Danforth & Taff. My intent was to connect it in particular to Larson & Marsh and their discussion of the two primary approaches to teaching (traditional/transformational). I’m not sure if I accomplished that. I did in my mind, but I’m not sure if I helped the students make the connection. The other minilecture was to go over that traditional/transformational approach to teaching. Again, same doubts about the teaching effectiveness. My self-doubts point to the weakness of lecture based teaching. Even when you do it for a short period of time, there are no assurances that the students are making sense of it. Sure, I could quiz them, but that would only show me that they can regurgitate. It wouldn’t show understanding. But listening in on their conversations did show me what they got out of the readings. I’m hoping the annotations will demonstrate that too.
Speaking of which, we did a quick workshop on the annotations. I modeled revision to an annotation written by one of the students (thanks!). The annotation was strong to begin with, and my revisions were meant to help develop an academic voice. I’m looking forward to receiving the revised annotations. My gut feeling is that they’re going to be good.
I also introduced the two main readings for next week. Before class I was struggling to select a prereading strategy that would be most effective for introducing the texts. I didn’t really come up with one I liked, so I fell back on looking at the headings and using them to guide one’s reading and questioning. But, as I was introducing the Kucer chapter, I realized that Daniels & Zemelman’s “Guidearama” would be a good strategy. It really turned out to be what I was doing orally. I quickly introduced the Freebody & Luke article, but didn’t do much with it. Ah, the tyranny of time.
I asked students to end class by introducing them (very superficially) to Mill’s concept of intellectual craftsmanship and “the file.” I need to do more with that. Time was too short to really reflect. But at least it’s a start. I’ve decided it’s how I want to end every class.
I’m looking forward to seeing comments on this blog and what people post on the wiki (I hope everyone is able to get on now). There are things I’m changing with that next time I teach this course too. Indeed, every time through a course is a learning experience for me.
September 17, 2008 at 12:20 pm
The second night of class really cleared a lot of confusion for me. Although it was a lot of work to discuss all of the readings (in a short time frame) I felt as though it really helped in understanding a lot of the authors’ concepts and points about literacy. The group work also enabled my group (GO RED!!) to dig deeper into the authors’ thoughts and find fault with some of them. I enjoyed the mini lesson on the four quadrants of teaching, but I think I would have a better understanding of them if there was a connection between those and what we discussed in class or even with the assigned readings. Hopefully next week will go just as smoothly and will facilitate a better understanding of this week’s readings (particularly Kucer’s which was indeed very dry and dense). ~Jessi Laemlein
September 17, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I have to agree with Jessi. The second night of class cleared up a lot for me as well. I really enjoyed talking through the articles and finding out that everyone actually thought they were about the same thing that I had thought they were about!!! By the end of class, I was much more confident in my reading and reasoning skills than when I first started the articles. I am starting to see how these courses will fit into attaining my master’s degree and how in the end it will make me a better literacy teacher and a better content teacher. Although the articles are long and sometimes hard to understand or even, read. I do enjoy learning about the different theories on reading. OH! also good job “yellow team” on getting everything posted, I am sorry I couldn’t help.
September 18, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I have to agree with Jessi and Danielle. The second night of class did bring about a lot of clarity concerning the course, the readings, and the annotations. I felt very unsure of my comprehension and interpretations of the readings when I walked into class. However, after discussing the readings and connections with the Yellow Team I was glad to know that I really was understanding what I was reading. I also enjoyed the quadrant graphic of instructional styles and I think it was a good way to illustrate what we were discussing. I really enjoyed reading the Pine Cone Wars article last week because it was a concrete way to show literacy theory in action; I hope that more of our readings are like this as well. -Megan Bowen
September 18, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Like Megan, I felt pretty lost with most of the readings before class Monday night. However, through discussions and conversations with my group members, I realized that maybe I’m not as “lost” as I thought I was. There were a few moments where I thought to myself, “Wow, ok, so maybe I did understand the gist of what this author was saying.” It’s really helpful to talk with other students in the class about the readings. Most of the time, we are confused/not clear about the same parts of the reading – and if there is something that the most of us don’t understand, but one person does, that person can usually explain what needs clarification (in a way that I can better understand it.) I think our group discussions are the most useful tool to use when it comes to analyzing and understanding the readings. I also agree with Jessi on her comment about the quadrants of teaching – I think I’d have a better understanding of them if we could have in some way connected them to our discussions or readings.
September 18, 2008 at 6:13 pm
After completing the readings for last week I was very unsatisfied with my ability to synthesize what I was reading and complete an annotation on the reading. It felt like I was reading in another language. In a way it was beneficial in several ways. I can’t remember the last time I have struggled with reading as I did with the first few and as I’m sure I will with the rest. I know that with struggle comes growth and I’m confident that I’m growing as a reader with each additional article/chapter. In addition, it put me in the shoes of some of my struggling readers in my own class. As I thought of things I could do to better my comprehension I thought of strategies I could use with my students. At the beginning of class I was relieved to hear that these readings were supposed to be difficult and that I was not the only one who struggled with them. When class was over with I felt I left with a new understanding of the readings. It was because of the talk within our groups. I found myself organizing the information that I had read as I explained my interpretations to the group. By explaining my perspective to my peers, without knowing, I was organizing my ideas in my head. The reading organizer really helped as well, I was able to go back and revise my annotations with much help from the organizer. I too hope that next class will run as smoothly and allow for continual understanding and interpreting of the assigned readings.
September 20, 2008 at 11:44 am
I agree with everyone that has blogged so far. After the first night we met and we went over the syllabus, I have to admit that I was a little scared. The amount of reading we have to do for this course can be overwhelming at times- especially if you are taking other graduate classes. However after meeting for a second time and going over the readings, my worries were put to rest. I really appreciate the time we are given in class to discuss the readings and our findings. I think it is so beneficial to work in a group setting and be able to talk through any confusion or misunderstandings that came up during the readings. Initially, I was nervous that we weren’t going to get a lot of class time to do that but I was pleasantly surprised when actually did
September 20, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Talking with others in our groups really helped me to buetter understand the main ideas behind the readings. Doing the readings before class was difficult because I didn’t have much background information. By cooperating and collaborating in our groups we were able to put our ideas together and come up with common concepts. After Monday’s class i definitely have a better understanding on what literacy is. However, I’m still a bit confused on the specific differences in the authors’ definitions. It felt good to know that others from my group felt the same way about the readings, and as we talked and made the reading organizer, our understanding grew. I also think a recap from the professor to help confirm that our ideas are correct would be helpful.
September 20, 2008 at 4:35 pm
The class discussions with our groups were very helpful in my understanding of the readings. After working out some of the confusing or misunderstandings in the text, I was able to understand the main arguments of each author. I also enjoyed putting together our cluster charts and showing how each author could be connected in their theories or arguments. The group discussions really helped to clear up any confusion I had had prior to class. Monday’s class was very productive for me.
September 21, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I tend to agree with what I have been reading on this blog so far; talking in our groups about the reading definately helped me understand what I read. Proof that literacy is a social interaction! I like having the time to work in groups and hash out the reading; and I was glad to hear Dr. Jacobs say that she doesn’t expect us to agree with everything we read. I think it is important for us (as graduate students) to begin to really value our own thoughts, experiences, and questions as they relate to what the “experts” are putting out there. I also thought the mini lecture on the four quadrants of teaching was a good use of time. These are terms that were foreign to me, and I don’t think I would have been able to understand them if I had just read them in a text. As for this week’s readings, Kucer is, as we were warned, dense and dry, but offers a good referesher on the processes readers engage in as they read.
September 21, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I feel that the discussion groups on the articles and excerpts of the books that we had to read did help in better understanding what we read. It was interesting to hear other people’s take on the reading and what they thought. I was looking to discuss a couple more examples of an annotation with the whole group just to make sure that I was getting the idea. I still feel that I do not understand pieces of the annotation fully. I am not a 100% confident on handing in this first annotation. I hope to get comments to help me feel successful on the next ones to come.
September 21, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I also found that the discussion groups were very helpful to me. Taking the time to discuss each article and hear what my group members learned from the readings supported my learning. It was a non-threatening atmosphere where we could discuss our confusions and support each other. I think using the graphic organizer and cluster chart helped our group organize our thoughts and guide our discussion. With what I learned from our discussion and the whole group share out session, I was able to make my annotations clearer and stronger. I also like the minilectures. They were very helfpul in introducing vocabulary that I did not previously know. Monday’s class was very productive for me.
September 21, 2008 at 10:01 pm
I also have to agree with what everyone has said on the blog so far. When I completed the readings after the first class I felt very lost. Although I read the texts several times, I wasn’t sure if I understood them fully or if I was doing the annotations correctly. I think a big help to me was discussing the readings together in class. It helped me to be able to talk through the texts whether it was to clear up any uncertainties I had or to reinforce what I had thought the texts were implying. I think the group discussions are extremely beneficial and I felt more at ease after leaving class Monday night.
September 22, 2008 at 8:19 am
I came into our second class unsure of myself and what I had gathered from the readings. As we discussed what we had read in our table groups though, I was able to realize that I did have the general idea from each one and was just not confident in my own interpretation of them. I feel that the discussions are going to be very helpful to me throughout this course. Our first class left me with alot to wrap my head around (assignment wise) but the second class cleared much up for me and I am no longer feeling so overwhelmed.