Task 1: (Essential Question A) Jigsaw Reading: This week we will look at a few disciplines (sorry not all are represented here) which our school systems recognize and regularly assess adolescents’ abilities. Each of the chapters listed below explores learning within a particular discipline from the perspectives of both a literacy expert, who understands the reading, and writing challenges that adolescents encounter, and a discipline expert, who understand the nature of the discipline and how literacy processes operate within it. Please choose one of the chapters below to read and become an expert on.
English Language Arts
Jetton, T. L., & Shanahan, C (2012). Adolescent literacy in the academic disciplines. Chapt. 5 pp. 120-153
Science
Jetton, T. L., & Shanahan, C (2012). Adolescent literacy in the academic disciplines. Chapt. 6 pp. 154-171
Mathematics
Jetton, T. L., & Shanahan, C (2012). Adolescent literacy in the academic disciplines. Chapt. 7 pp. 172-198
History
Jetton, T. L., & Shanahan, C (2012). Adolescent literacy in the academic disciplines. Chapt. 8 pp. 199-226
Art
Jetton, T. L., & Shanahan, C (2012). Adolescent literacy in the academic disciplines. Chapt. 9 pp. 227-266
What is Jigsaw?
Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy that enables each student to specialize in one aspect of a learning unit. Students meet with members to teach the material to their group members.
Just as in a jigsaw puzzle, each piece--each student's part--is essential for the completion and full understanding of the final product. If each student's part is essential, then each student is essential. That is what makes the Jigsaw instructional strategy so effective.
Description of Lesson: In a typical jigsaw activity, students are given a topic on which to become an expert, either individually or as part of a group. The student or group of students then teaches the material to the rest of the class. For our online meeting week you will read JUST ONE of the chapters above teach the other members of your group about your chapter.
(Essential Question A)
Pre-Posting – Read JUST ONE of the chapters above.
Posting – For a full discussion of the readings, in your assigned small group, you are to become the expert of your chapter and teach the material to the rest of your group. You need to not only summarize the chapter, but to help everyone in your group to develop a deeper depth of knowledge in relation to your chapter. To do this you will need to explain and clarify meanings with personal examples or applied examples for further clarification. This posting should indicate deep thinking and reflection on your part, along with supporting evidence that shows your own learning from reading and experience to this point.
Response Postings -- Everyone should respond at least 1-2 times to each group member with a question, clarification, or addition to the thoughts on their postings. You might consider other information, questions you still have as a future teacher, etc.
If no one has any objections, I will take the Math reading.
ReplyDeleteMathematical Literacy
ReplyDeleteThe point of this chapter is to “help literacy educators re-conceptualize literacy for mathematics classrooms and provide them with ideas for how to collaborate with math teachers to design instruction that strengthens adolescents’ mathematical understanding, practices, and literacies.” This reading tries to accomplish this goal by focusing on three areas: current perspectives and approaches, new approaches, and collaboration between literacy educators and math educators.
In the first section, this reading discusses the three “problems” with current perspectives. First is the argument that math teachers should use time to promote general literacies. They argue that if you instead focus on content literacy, the students will gain content knowledge as well as promoting general literacy. To tie this concept to real life, they mention a shoe sale that states “Buy two get the third pair ½ off.” They show that someone with general literacy may understand each word and its meaning without understanding the mathematical implications. However, if you focus on the content literacy and the concept of one pair being ½ off meaning that it is at best 1/6 off of the total price, you will not only gain content knowledge but will also understand the general meaning.
The second problem is the assumption that being knowledgeable in math is the same as being good at computations. They state that this misbelief comes from a general misunderstanding of what mathematical literacy is. In math, experts say there are three basic constructs: computational fluency, conceptual understanding, and mathematical processes. Each of these is necessary to become mathematically literate.
The third problem mentioned is the “belief that reading any print text or incorporating general literacy instructional strategy is appropriate for mathematics classrooms.” The issue here is that many of the problems given in textbooks are not authentic and provide limited relevance.
The “new conceptions” that the authors have come up with to address these problems are to redefine mathematical literacies and texts, and work together to take steps to introduce these texts in class. The new definition of text for the math classroom includes objects such as “pictures, symbols, hand gestures, written explanations, and verbal discussions.” These objects are much more prevalent and relevant in math classrooms than are traditional texts. By broadening this definition of text, the authors also redefine reading and writing to include how these objects are interpreted and how they are recreated or written, usually in the form of an equation.
To introduce these concepts to students, literacy educators and math educators should work together to identify the objects that students will need to understand and recreate, identify the literacies – the specific ways that the texts are to be “read” and/or “written” – and lastly develop an instructional plan that makes these objects and literacies known to the students in a way that they can use them in a mathematical process. By doing this, the content becomes more authentic and it helps the students in computational fluency, conceptual understanding, and mathematical processes all at the same time.
The last section focused on how collaborations should take place, suggesting that literary experts should “enter into collaborations with math educators with a desire to learn.” It also says that the collaboration should occur with “experienced, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic math teachers” in order to get the best understanding of mathematical literacies. Lastly, in order for the collaboration to be sustained, both parties should have a shared purpose, work from their personal strengths, and evaluate the work together.
Overall, I think this reading made a lot of good points. I have always done well in math, but I was never too enthusiastic about it as a student. I think a lot of this had to do with the way the concepts (texts) were presented, usually from a textbook. By broadening the definition of “text” as the authors do, I think we could give students a much better understanding (and mathematical literacy) by showing them concepts through objects. One example that comes to mind is a meme I just saw online that teaches fractions by using lego bricks. I think in a lot of ways it makes more sense to teach math visual, because as the authors state it will be more authentic and relevant to many mathematical/problem-solving opportunities that will be presented in real life situations. I also agree that by focusing on content-specific literacy we can actually help students to increase their general literacy (think of the shoe sale example above). As far as collaboration, I think that the authors offer suggestions we discussed earlier in the semester regarding co-teaching that are helpful in any situation where we are working with another educator. The last bit of advice I liked here was regarding the three basic constructs of mathematical literacy and understanding that it is more than just computations. This is something to keep in mind in all content areas and is something we have discussed in class as well: just because the student can do something well or correctly does not mean they understand how or why it is correct. If nothing else, this chapter helped to reiterate the importance of this in the overall discussion of literacy.
DeleteI find all of this to be very interesting and exciting. I was horrible at math (I'm pretty sure the only reason I passed any of my classes was because the teachers didn't want to have to teach me again - I wish I was kidding). The only math class I did good in was geometry. I always figured because it was so visual and everything you did could be graphed on a chart, but now I realize that the teacher that taught it included so much discussion around everything! Just recently I went through a bunch of tutorials on Khan Academy (to prepare me for the math proportion of the MTLE). I was amazed at how easily I learned/relearned some of material I never really understood before, and I know it has to do with the way it was taught. Khan used tons of explanations and breakdowns on everything - the focus on verbal literacy helped me understand math in a way I never understood it before. I think so many students are going to benefit from this change to math curriculum!
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ReplyDeleteI am planning to take English Language Arts if no one objects. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteLearning with Text in English Language Arts
ReplyDeleteThere has been a shift in ELA over the last thirty years. The competing nature of ELA teacher’s challenge to teach comprehension as well as to create written, oral and visual texts causes this discipline to be particularly intense and overwhelming. The chapter discusses the shift towards empowering students to become agents in their own literacy, deriving meaning and bringing their life experience to the text they are reading.
We are in the process of redefining what it means to be literate. Literacy is the ways in which we participate in communicative acts. There are four types of literary ideologies: functional, cultural, progressive, and critical. Functional literacy has to do with students developing the kind of skills necessary to be a productive citizen and member of the workforce. Cultural literacy is the teaching of morals and values with an emphasis on knowledge about the people, events and concepts that form the basis of Western thinking. Progressive literacy is built on the ideals of Dewy and others and has to do with the needs of students in terms of their developmental stages, making sure that the learning their are engaged in is timely and useful. Critical literacy enable readers to understand why and how texts are constructed. In this context, critical means, “an informed and multifaceted stance.” This approach encourages students to actively critique, question and challenge texts. Moving towards a critical literacy approach in the classroom is the direction the authors believe we are and need to be heading. We are in the process of developing frameworks that will support and ignite this process and lead students into a more "driver's seat" role in their own literacy.
As I read this chapter, what comes to mind is the training I've received from The Bridges program through The Children's Theatre Company. Bridges exists to use theatrical devices to bring critical literacy into the public school settings. They work with stories familiar to most youth in our culture, such as fables or fairy tales. They tell the stories orally to students and then go through a series of re-enacting, acting, questioning, re-telling. The process gets students thinking about what's behind the story - why was the story told this way? How could I tell it differently? If I tell the story, how would I change the choices the characters make? How would it end in my version? It's a fascinating and thrilling process. Witnessing students take charge of the stories and realize that they have a voice and an ability to retell it in their own words. They collaborate in small groups and renegotiate the plot. They choose the characters they identify with and want to act out. By the end of the our time together, I see students who have become more aware of their ability to make choices in narratives that are not very far from their own lives. I was thrilled to read this chapter and have the critical literacy approach so clearly defined and explained. I believe this is an exciting trend that will go in a very good direction for the betterment of our general populations literacy. Good news.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see this as a trend and even in business ed I try to get my students to define terms in their own words or by relating concepts to their own experiences in order to derive more meaning. As long as they have the right idea or make a correct connection, I think that counts as literacy. In your first paragraph I found the four ideologies interesting. Did it mention whether one was more important than another or if students need to master one before they can achieve another? What are your own thoughts on that?
DeleteI love the example you give from Bridges. What a great way to build students' self esteem and teach them deeper cognitive thinking strategies! I would have loved to do an exercise like this as a students! Do you know if this has been proven to increase students' overall "text literacy" - I'm guessing it does.
DeleteI'll do History and let Laura have a crack at Art if there are no objections.
ReplyDeleteLearning with Text in History
ReplyDeleteIn the reading, the scenario of a classroom teacher provided the students with 4 text. 1 of the text were substation text book description of the event, another was a personal account of the event, and the other two were brief commentary about the event on the side liens. Two students were chosen to reflect on the accounts provided in the text.
One student wanted to dismiss the personal account and the commentary about the event and just focus in on the text book example. The other student wanted to use the information provided in the personal accounts to develop the world in which the text was talking about. Although the students are not expert historians and are not professional readers, they were still able to come up with 2 different historical meanings of the event.
I drew from the reading that reading history needs a Sherlock Holmes approach. In order to successfully read the meaning behind historical events or text, we must always be answering our questions from other questions, and never to assume. Our assessment is created by multiple overlapping layers including, author positionality, investigator positionality, context in which the text was created, and subtext. Text cannot be taken out of context. In order to develop a meaning, we must determine the reliability, as well as fill in the gaps that surround the text. So initially, history texts will have gaps, and we must approach those gaps by creating a justified, defensible judgment seeded in a rich background of unbiased research.
Here are couple tips and suggestions summed up from the chapter:
-It is important to recognize the text come in all different shapes sizes (and languages!) It is important to review all text before making an assumption.
-Textual meaning can be “Slippery and Elusive (quoted from the book). Historical accounts of the same event can have two completely different outlooks. Because of this, no text should be considered an “anchored” account relevant to history.
-We can deepen our understanding of the past by asking questions and investigating or even interrogating available texts. The more text available the merrier!
-Although text in a text book may sound convincing, it is important the all historical accounts are considered. Text that sounds convincing cannot be trusted because of it’s biased approach.
I like that you call it a Sherlock Holmes approach because that makes a lot of sense, especially when talking about pulling literary meaning from history. I'm a little surprised that the student in the example didn't want to discuss the personal account. In an undergrad class of mine we actually kept a journal as if we were one of the historical figures we were talking about and I learned more about that person than anything in any other history class I've ever taken. It does seem important to have different options, though, so that students can do what works for them.
DeleteI always thought being a History/Social Studies teacher could be so fun - I never understood how so many of my history classes ended up being so boring!! I had the great opportunity of going to school with students from all over the world (Africa, Japan, India, Mexico, etc) in junior high and part of high school and learned so much about different perspectives - especially when it came to political, historical and social issues throughout the world. Whenever we covered different events in history class I couldn't help but wonder what perspective someone from Nigeria, or Japan, or India had on this specific event. I still wonder about different perspectives on everything I am taught.
DeleteWhether intentional or not I greatly appreciate being able to cover the Arts Chapter - so thank you!!
ReplyDeleteThis chapter takes into discussion the role of producing projects that reshape student’s understanding of text and literacy – as the book states “ Literacy was framed as “how” we intend our students to interact with text, for example how they might go about creating, interpreting, and making sense of it.” In otherwords, and inclusion and recognition of “print text” and “non-print text”. An example given of this are of music students creating video of students collaborating, listening to, memorizing, and reading music notes and singing written words in order to develop music literacy. Another example is visual arts students defining literacy as an understanding of the elements and principles of art to understand, demonstrate, and critique their “artifacts” – here images, artist materials, and artistic process are considered an important part of non-text literacy.
This chapter points out the importance of first, recognized that each discipline has idiosyncratic ways of knowing and learning their subject matter. Secondly, every discipline uses examples of print and non-print text in their teaching and learning in various ways. Third, All educators can speak to text and literacy in their areas of discipline.
I was impressed and relieved to see this chapter bring into conversation that literacy is socially constructed and is constantly changing. It also points out that arts are forms of communication literacy and extend our thinking about literacy and learning as social endeavors.
Some specific emphasis is placed on the specific areas of art and the core standards placed on them. If I am to walk away with one solid conclusion after reading this chapter it is that there is much other curriculum areas could learn from the examples of the learning processes that naturally take place in areas of art education. Text literacy simply does not exist without an understanding of what that text “means” outside of itself. In order to develop this understanding conversation, collaboration, production and/or performing (whatever that may mean inside a specific content area), and critique/reflection (again, a concept that can be altered to fit the needs of a specific content area) need to take place. The more effectively these steps are explored the more developed one’s text literacy becomes – I believe this to be true for all learning types and abilities.
For those of you teaching in the arts I suggest reading this chapter because it speaks to specific areas such as “sight reading”, “body movement”, and many other areas often overlooked in education literature.
I didn't know a whole lot about the learning processes before, so thanks for that. Just as you said I think that these processes can be effectively applied in almost any content area. It was also nice to see that these authors/editors basically agree with the concepts of non-text literacy that we brought up in class a few different times already. I like the idea of using "non-text" objects to describe concepts and I agree that this is a part of overall literacy, so it helps to see examples of this in other areas.
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