Double Entry Journal #6

According to Teaching for Meaningful Learning, the dominant paradigm of teacher instruction and teacher reliance on textbooks as a primary source of knowledge acquisition through discussion and reading is showing signs of wear. Thankfully, this is being accomplished due to the increase in inquiry- based learning strategies that are being implemented across the United States. One approach to inquiry- based instruction is with problem- based learning.

Meaningful learning occurs with problem- based learning (PBL) as students complete and present complex, real world challenges that are central to the curriculum of their courses, are organized around questions that focus on the central principles of the content, are constructed to allow students to perform inquiry, are student managed, and are authentic, real world scenarios. (Barron & Darling- Hammond)

One benefit of PBL activities is that students gain in factual learning that is better or just as good as traditional  teaching practices. This is proven to be true in a study explained in Teaching for Meaningful Learning. In this particular study performed by Shepherd, significantly higher test scores were achieved by fourth and fifth grade students who dedicated nine weeks of their school time toward defining and finding solutions related to housing shortages of several countries. Not only did the students engaged in this PBL gain confidence in their learning but they also proved to increase their critical- thinking skills.

Problem- based learning approaches have many more advantages for students. Some of which are explained  in Teaching for Meaningful Learning in the following:

     "Other short-term, comparative studies of  traditional vs. project-based approaches have demonstrated several benefits from projects,  such as an increase in the ability to define problems (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992), growth in their ability to support their reasoning with clear arguments  (Stepien, Gallagher, & Workman, 1993), and enhanced ability to plan a project after working on an analogous problem-based challenge (Moore, Sherwood, Bateman, Bransford, & Goldman, 1996)."

In addition to project- based learning approaches, an approach to teaching that also is diminishing poor, past teaching practices is termed Learning by Design. This instruction method allows students to deeply engage with and apply their knowledge in order to create an artifact. One study, which is also explained in Teaching for Meaningful Learning, demonstrates the importance of implementing a design project. A group of sixth grade students were found to systematically understand the respiratory system and understand the functions and structure of it better than students who engaged in respiratory system activities that were not  approaches that supported learning by design (Hmelo, Holton, and Kolodner, 2000).

I find satisfaction in the fact that both of these instruction strategies are applicable in science as well as other content areas. It is hard to pick a preference because all of the instruction strategies associated with inquiry- based practices are beneficial for science students. The major difference is that there are different amounts of inquiry associated with each instruction method, which makes the Learning by Design approach a goal to carry out in my classroom as I believe it requires the most prior knowledge and effort from the students. The effort they put into their projects will be rewarded with an educational outcome equal to the amount of effort they put into the project.

Because the students are applying their knowledge and the content covered in class to real world scenarios, I believe that the most beneficial factor with inquiry- based instruction is that students will find meaningful connections of the school material with their current and future lives.




References

Barron, B., & Darling- Hammond, L. teaching for meaningful learning a review of research on inquiry-based and cooperative learning. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

Gallagher, S. A., Stepien, W. J., & Rosenthal, H. (1992). The effects of problembased learning on problem solving. Gifted
Child Quarterly, 36, 195–200.

Hmelo, C. E., Holton, D. L., & Kolodner, J. L. (2000). Designing to learn about complex systems. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 9(3), 247–298.

Moore, A., Sherwood, R., Bateman, H., Bransford, J., & Goldman, S. (1996, April).Using problem-based learning to prepare for project-based learning. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York.

Stepien, W. J., Gallagher, S. A., & Workman, D. (1993). Problem-based learning for traditional and interdisciplinary classrooms. Journal for the Education of the Gifted Child, 16, 338–357

Reverence and Listening

"...reverence is central to the kind of teaching and leadership we need in today’s schools and that listening is one of the prime activities of reverence." (Rud and Garrison)

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The word cloud above was created by the text associated with Rud and Garrison's article Reverence and Listening in Teaching and Leading. This was done in effort to summarize what the article attempts to explain, which is that successful classrooms and schools are those who have students and teachers who respect one another and their opinions. I've included this quote in order to describe how successful teachers practice reverence, which is done through listening. Notice that of the most used words in the article displayed on the word cloud are teachers, students, and listening. In Rud and Garrison's attempt to bring reverence back to society and the culture of schools, I felt it important to assist this mission by focusing on the need for teachers to listen to their students as much (if not more) than they expect their students to listen to them.

The article continues to describe reverence listening as noticing the need of help by others for the good of the group. Reverence listening is practiced by teachers who are culturally responsive. In order to be a culturally responsive educator it is required that reverence listening is practiced because it helps to eliminate cultural deficit perspectives and enrich a cultural difference perspective. This is true because reverence listening causes teachers to address the needs of students in their classroom without forcing students into believing that there is one correct way of living life, which includes which language a person speaks and how that person speaks it.

The authors continue by saying, "Reverent listening is not to be confused with humiliation and domination by others who force us to listen, and even less so, with the kind of incompetence that wants to be told what to do." Unfortunately, I've experienced this type of practice in my own high school experience as a student. I remember when a history teacher of mine had forced students to participate in discussion topics, some of which I had little or no background knowledge and it was generally true for all the students in my class. Upon this forced participation students would often times reply with "I don't know" in effort to resist the humiliation of what seemed to be an incorrect answer. Whether an educated guess or an "I don't know" was given by intimidated students, the students were unable to avoid humiliating remarks. Some public remarks included students' grade points averages. Looking back on the situation now, I realize that the history teacher had failed in being a reverent listener. If the teacher had only listened to the fact that students weren't confident enough to participate in a discussion topics (religion at times), then students could have received thought out lesson instruction as well as gained confidence to participate in critical thinking discussions.

The authors of this article also state that character education assumes that a small set or "laundry list" of virtues as ethical Reverence combines virtues existing as cultural differences. For this reason, character education, which only recognizes a small list of virtues instead of acknowledging various virtues from cultural differences, is non-culturally responsive.

Many of the instructors I've had for more than one class of mine at FSU have displayed reverent listening ability by simply accepting who I am as a person. These teachers realized I wouldn't understand some topics as quickly as I would others simply due to my lack of experiences in the world. They provided me with the chance to learn from the people around me whether it be about their religion, cultural practices, or sexual orientation. Due to the acceptance of different perspectives and opinions, I felt as comfortable as a human could feel in a community of people. I definitely felt safe to be me.

I also observed in this article that poor leadership due to the lack of reverent listening can cause a toxic school culture. One provided example of this is that leaders who are searching for a specific goal, which generally is a morally good goal, often ignore the good intentions of other members of the community. Reverence is not displayed here as the importance of members and their purposes in the school's community were being overlooked in order to obtain a single person's goal. This is toxic because healthy schools accept differences among the interests of the people in the school and cultivate learning with their cultural capital and funds of knowledge rather than ignoring their interest and forcing a specific type of instruction. The example in the article pertaining to the superintendents' and principals' goal in achieving higher student scores for high stakes math tests is one that has potentially deviated from the path of a healthy school due to their method of providing math instruction.

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"Beyond all other considerations, reverent teaching understands the need to listen and respect students, parents, custodial staff, secretaries, and principals."

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I like how the article includes this statement and wish to use it to enhance my reverence. I recognize that I am a different person that everyone in the world. This quote helps me to remember that everyone has a special way of dealing with specific problems, way of living, and even way of communicating. In order for me to successfully teach what I think is important, then I also must accept and acknowledge the concerns and values of those who are a part of my life. It's the only way for both sides of the coin to have a beneficial experience and a balanced lifestyle.

The respect that I just described also is important for school members to take out of the school and into out of school settings. Teaching students that they can make a difference in the quality of life is essential to providing the world with peace and the ability to accept cultural differences. The following video displays a school's effort to teach students to respect the environment and the creatures inhabiting it. I feel that this is justifiably placed in this blog of reverence listening for teachers because it is a lesson that teachers can use to help students become more mindful of how their existence and behavior in the world can shape it.

References

Rud, A.G. & Garrison, J. (2010). Reverence and Listening in Teaching and Leading. Teacher College Record 112 (11) 2777-2792.

Culturally Responsive Teaching

In practicing inclusive practices and being a culturally responsive educator, it is important to recognize that appreciating various languages, dialects, and accents is the first step in being a culturally responsive teacher. This is especially true for anyone who plans to teach in the Appalachian region. The Appalachian Mountain range is home to some of the greatest diversity. People in this region are agricultural as they are also found working in business suits and ties. People in this region live in high elevations, while others live in deep valleys. Appalachian people, particularly West Virginians, live in diverse environments. Some regions survive amongst a wide, rushing river, while others live nestled in the side of a steep slope. All of these various aspects of ways to live in West Virginia bring rise to classrooms filled with children who live differently, work differently, and think different. Most important is that the students who enter a classroom filled with diverse life experience speak differently.

At this point, it is easy for a teacher who is not culturally responsive to view certain students with a cultural deficit. Teachers who view a student’s way of speaking, which in West Virginia’s case is primarily influenced by Social Economic Status (SES), as a deficit are those who cause students with low family incomes to miss out on the opportunity to become literate. This is a tragic mistake as literacy is the ability to understand meaning regardless of the mechanism to send or receive a message. A student who has less literacy skills is one who can be overpowered by factors that are generally uncontrollable. An example of this situation arises from Purcell- Gates in The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language, culture, and power. The example is of a young boy named Johnny who entered grade school without the knowledge that words contained meaning. The SES of Johnny’s family and their lack of experience with Standard English became what seemed to be a legitimate excuse to write off Johnny’s lack of literacy and inability to speak the language of Standard English. The truth here is that Johnny’s teacher was not culturally responsive, which caused for her to ignore the literacy progress that Johnny potentially could have received in her classroom.

                “This was the second key insight I came to as a result of my two-year ethnography of Donny’s family. While documenting the effect of growing up in a nonliterate family on Donny’s conceptual knowledge of written language and the problems this posed for this learning to read and write in school, I had to ask what the school was doing about this. How were they dealing with this experiential difference so that his learning could proceed? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not only were they failing to address Phil’s inexperience with cars- they were also seemingly unconcerned about this failure to learn.”(Purcell- Gates, 2002).

This example demonstrates the need for teachers to overcome the cultural deficit perspective of students. In order to do this, educators need to gain the recognition that all students can learn regardless of their background knowledge. They need to recognize that all previous knowledge acquired by their students can be valuable and useful in building new connections to new experiences in school. In Johnny’s case, his teacher would have used his knowledge to help him become a user of Standard English while accepting his dialect and appreciating the diversity he brought to the classroom. Another example of overcoming cultural deficit thinking is provided by Luis Moll in A look at Luis Moll’s Research into Hidden Family Resources. Moll uses an example of a teaching method by Hilda Anguilo that called on that cultural background of the community to strengthen the skills of her students reading ability even when the content was extremely out of her comfort zone. Lacking the cultural deficit perspective, Hilda’s students benefited in addition to language arts in the following way:

                “Various families with rural backgrounds knew a great deal about the cultivation of plants, animals, ranch management, mechanics, carpentry, masonry, electrical wiring, and medical folk remedies. They also had some entrepreneurial skills and were familiar with archeology, biology, and mathematics.”(Moll).

This example of the cultural difference perspective used the strengths of the students along with their interests to teach them more about a subject matter that was weak. Not only were the students motivated to learn content desired to be covered by the instructor, but they also grew in multiple areas that they may choose to encounter outside of the classroom. This approach was definitely successful in the purpose of education in America and on the opposite end of the spectrum as Johnny’s case. Johnny’s case, which demonstrates a teacher in the perspective of cultural deficit, contributed to poor literacy instruction because it “justified the belief that certain groups were intelligently inferior to others, particularly to the group in charge.” (Bolima).

The literacy instruction at Johnny’s school could have improved if his teacher would have done a simple task. All that his teacher needed to do was to honor Johnny’s dialect. By accepting the use of his dialect, Johnny’s teacher would have provided Johnny with the confidence to enhance his usage and understanding of the widely accepted Standard English. By viewing the fact that Johnny had the ability to speak words, the teacher may have instilled Johnny with cultural capital to use in his future reading classes. Instead, the option of ignoring Johnny’s funds of knowledge prevented Johnny from conveying meaning through spoken and written words throughout his entire public school experience. In fact, a teacher by the name Liz Phillips combated this teaching style with the Wheeler and Swords’ approach, which is explained by Epstein and Herring-Harris as acknowledging students’ informal speech in the classroom. Phillips views her students as having a cultural difference which is evidenced by her stating, "I know my kids as individuals, and this is who they are. It's my responsibility to teach the learning standards, but not to change them or take away their dialect."

Phillips was successful at being a culturally responsive teacher just as the Where I Am From project developed by Denise Lindstrom at Fairmont State University in West Viriginia.  The project asked students to create a brief autobiography by making a Digital Story with PhotoStory. The project used a variety of strategies that are connected to different learning styles by having the students write a poem about their life experiences and ending the project with a video presentation of the items in their poem. As students were able to exercise their ability to operate technology in order to communicate, they also were encouraged to get to know and listen to each other by reviewing the digital story and collaborating for twenty minutes in a group setting prior to writing a reflection on the project. The teacher candidates started acquiring the cultural difference perspective as they witnessed their own diversity in the classroom as expressed with the class’s videos.

Acquiring the cultural difference perspective in Denise’s classroom, I also thought of how to implement a culturally responsive teaching practice in my future classrooms. One activity called “Train Wreck” is a fun way for students to find similarities among each other as they get the opportunity to get to know and listen to their classmates. In addition to practicing the Wheeler and Swords’ approach, I plan to encourage students to express chemistry with the words they see fit to describe occurrences of physical situations of everyday life. By acknowledging my students’ informal language in required laboratory notebooks, which will be used as a learning tool during laboratory activities, and providing an optional Formal Lab Report for extra credit and comments, I can begin to provide students with instruction on the best ways to use Standard English when communicating to an audience of scientists. The full effect of the hands- on laboratory procedures performed by the West Virginia students comes from the wise selection of meaningful activities in which students can use their interests and life experiences to relate to the material. All of this is effort on my part to provide students in West Virginia with the ability to convey meaning to scientists while also improving the understanding of events that occur every day in their life such as the formation of clouds.

               

References

Bolima, D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding:educational learning theories. Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu/saki/strategies/101/new_page_5.htm 

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

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

Portfolio in Progress

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Summary of Comments- Where I Am From

Blaine Richards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOBHnrWYHvs&feature=youtu.be

One thing I learned about you is that you enjoy nature such as rivers, streams, and agriculture.

Your family is different than mine because we don't venture into nature for recreation.

The best thing about your digital story is the ability for me to see your life struggles and how you've overcome them regardless of the degree of adversity you faced.

One thing you could change is make it more clear if you ever lived in a log cabin. I'm not sure if the pictures are of you or ancestors. Maybe do this by showing a picture on the same slide that compares who you are now with what you looked like at an early age.

Very Cool Blaine!

Josh Chiado

http://youtu.be/aMam3RD3EnE

One thing I learned about you is you are a very relaxed person who can also be very professional.

Your family is similar than mine because we tend to let our "crazy sides" shine.

The best thing about your digital story is definitely the music selection and transitions. It certainly helped me understand your personality and it showed you’re interested in music.

One thing you could change is show more pictures of family dinners instead of using an image of a very yummy dinner. I felt it would have emphasizes the importance of large family meals. Something you might want to do if you have the time to make this small change.

Thank you for sharing!

Calla Rieger

http://youtu.be/d7eRBfaTdok

One thing I learned about you are very creative in expressing yourself with words, designs, and music. I assumed that you liked to do scrap- booking.

Your family is similar to mine because we are also a family who lived in the country side in a West Virginia hollow.

The best thing about your digital story is the amount of pictures and music variation with those pictures. The music helped to organize the pictures into a story. Great!

One thing you might change is to add a few individual pictures in places in order to make the story longer. When the story ended I was sad that it had ended so soon. There is a lot of life experiences that I didn't get to experience through your project. It was wonderful!

Dawn Riestenberg

http://youtu.be/r5MqP0oHNnI

One thing I learned about you is that you are from North Carolina.

Your family is similar to mine because my mother also married at a young age.

The best thing about your digital story is the story itself. I'm so glad to see your appreciation in your life through the story. I also loved the smiles I received through the music. The music was great and humorous at times, which I expected from you.

One thing you could change is by adding some more detail about your kids if you ever go back to this video in the future. Your kids I'm sure have qualities that would fit wonderfully into your story.

Robin Michaelson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqoE8rXKU1I&feature=player_embedded#t=1s

One thing I learned about you is you are a talented musician.
Your family is similar to mine because my mother's multiple friends have also had an impact on my life.
The best thing about your digital story is that you successfully established your identity and embraced your individuality! I LOVE THAT! Also, you did an awesome job demonstrating to the world that you’re very balanced.
One thing you could change is to keep making additions as your life continues. Revisit the digital story and edit it in the future.
I watched your video twice because I enjoyed it.
Keep up the great work! I'm glad to know that there are great teachers in the future lives of children.

Lindsey Rome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2vNKQhE7l0&feature=player_embedded#t=0s

A couple things I learned about you is that we went to the same Elementary school and that, in my opinion, you are a wonderful role model

Your family is similar to mine because everyone in my family depends on one another.

The best thing about your digital story is the amount of time you allowed for the pictures to be displayed. I had the perfect amount of time to read and see the details of the pictures.

I would only check to see if the song’s file you selected for your video has an issue with it. Toward the end of the project the music abruptly ended before the pictures ended.

Dalton Rowan

http://historynolongerhastobeamystery.blogspot.com/

Yeah!!! This was awesome!

One thing I learned about you is you are very in touch with your Appalachian culture! Dude I love it! I felt like I was experiencing West Virginia in a different way that others shouldn't hesitate to take the chance to experience.

Your family is similar to mine because they also have an interest in making cars/trucks out do their expected capabilities. My mom and her parents would always go watch Mud Bogs. Now we're racing Modifieds at Elkins Raceway when the spending money comes around.

The best thing about your digital story is how you displayed your pride in who you are.

Good Job.

Matt Sandor

http://mattsandor.blogspot.com/

One thing I learned about you is that you have a deep appreciation and love for nature and living within nature. I also didn't know your passion for baseball until I watched this video.
Your family is similar to mine because they also worked hard to give me the opportunities and the future that they weren't able to achieve.
The best thing about your digital story is how well you described how wonderful West Virginia is to live. If I had the opportunity to be famous or to travel to Las Vegas, then I would still be West Virginia proud.
Thank you for working so hard on this project and sharing it with me. I did have a question about something you mentioned in your project... was the younger guy hanging around with you an adopted brother or just a brother to you? Either way you are a fantastic role model and definitely a teacher that I'd like to have in this world.

Kasey Sapp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRugx1Si6P0&feature=player_embedded#t=0s

Kasey... I was looking forward to watching this video. Unfortunately, it is set to private and I cannot view it. I did learn that you are from New Martinsville, WV. I like it there. I've visited a few friends there last year. The Ohio River is interesting.

Savanna Shuck

http://youtu.be/rPuhPxTH9AY

This is my favorite one of the 10 I've watched. I envy your creativity at times. The music and images accurately depict the person I encounter in person. You are creative, open minded, and fun. I enjoy that you find reasons to smile. I'm so sorry to learn that someone so close to you has left you because I'm sure that person has something to do with your rich personality. Keep it up and see you soon!

Elana Slaubaugh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV7cN0bHkUg&feature=player_embedded#t=0s

The best thing about your digital story is the way that the text moves. It emphasizes the meaning behind the words. The puppy, Preston, was cute. I'm assuming that was him pictured in the story. The only thing I might do in order to make this better is to provide a link to watch the video on YouTube. Some of the project was hidden because of your Blog Theme/Layout. The video was just barely hidden behind the column that stretches down on the right side.

Very good music. Nice job.

Where I Am From

Double Entry Journal 4

❝One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.❞

‒Frank Smith

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This quote by Frank Smith strongly illustrates the three things I've learned about teaching and  literacy development.  First, it is important to recognize that many students enter compulsory school settings with the ability to communicate with one language. Some students, such as those who speak African American Vernacular or a unique Appalachian dialect, are limited in the classroom due to their language. Limitations occur primarily because individuals, including teachers, do not have the knowledge or understanding of various languages or dialects in order to effectively communicate with one another. Although in the United States the form of language that is accepted and taught in school is Standard English, various languages and dialects should be appreciated and explored in the classroom to enhance a student's ability to learn Standard English. I've learned that languages are only limitations because people limit themselves from understanding or learning more than a single language. Because of the ability to speak multiple languages, some people empower themselves to be able to communicate meaning more effectively. K-12 school teachers throughout the country should embrace the challenges of language in their classroom and use the diverse speaking styles as an opportunity to allow students to appreciate more than just one specific language. As Standard English learners fortify their skills with the Standard English, they gain the ability to code switch. Code switching is an important ability because it allows for an effective transfer of information. I believe that this ability is also important for students to hone in order to be strong in math and science.

In the article Honoring Dialect and Increasing Student Performance in Standard English, the authors share the method of contrastive analysis, which is found to lead to the ability to code switch. The Director of Appalachian Writing Project, Amy Clark, insinuates that contrastive analysis causes students to confidently use their informal languages in the classroom because it it acknowledged. In turn, students write more. While acknowledging their informal languages, teachers now have the ability to improve the students' Standard English skills through the students' writings. By practicing this culturally responsive teaching behavior, teachers acknowledge the legitimacy of the cultural heritage as worthy content to be taught in the formal curriculum while building bridges of meaningfulness between home and school experiences.

During an Inclusive Teaching Practices class at Fairmont State University, I became aware of Ebonics and the language of African American Vernacular. As the lecture proceeded, I became aware of systematic uses of English words that had a meaning other than one that I originally recognized through my own language and dialect. Because the African American Vernacular seems wrong when compared to Standard English, I would have typically dismissed the use of this language. By including the instruction of this language in my class I was able to appreciate this language rather then condemn it as I would have done to my future students. This entire moment helped me realize that becoming a culturally responsive teacher would allow me to be a better person and teacher. Just like with the lecture including Ebonics, I too can teach content along with incorporating multicultural information, resources, and materials.

In my opinion, this also leads to the need to acknowledge text jargon used during Instant Messaging or Text Messaging or Twitter as an important culturally responsive teaching behavior. At the NASA IV&V Educational Resource Center, teams are using social media sites more and more to communicate with teachers and schools. I feel like teachers should be using these platforms in their classes and also providing students with the ability to code switch. For example, as a chemistry teacher I would be interested in promoting the use of Standard English when writing a Formal Lab Report while using text jargon and Edmodo to explain what the symbol "rxn" stands for in a college level chemistry textbook. Students would also benefit from locating chemical demonstrations or chemistry articles shared by users on Twitter. The following video demonstrates the increase in motivation and success for schools practice these techniques.

References

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

Where I Am From

I am from the perfectly created peanut butter jelly sandwich, from Heinz tomato ketchup, and barbeque and grass stained t-shirts.

I am from the quiet, country, gravel roads of Bice’s Run.

From the tricks taught by Bub and the fact that the Earth is actually round.

I am from the teachings of respect and courteousness. Knowing anything but wouldn't make Mom proud.

I am from the muddy route traveled only by drivers in their race cars, the roar of revving engines heard among the solace of a Saturday night.

I am from decades of local dirt track races and greasy hands found in the garage, 

from Pap, Unk, and, of course, Dad.

I am from the laughter at dinner time and the jokes cracked while playing cards and dice.

From the lesson of love that overcame the neglectful hand of cards dealt to my younger brother and the days of his newest life experiences.

I am from the rooms of the Revels’ residence, the rocking, reclining chair cushioned only with Grandma’s legs, and the Christmas time memories found there.