CDLP

Ashley, Brittany, and I worked together to create a very intriguing news report highlighing the current economic decline that college students are currently facing. Although, all Americans not just college students are feeling the affects of the economy we decided to let everyone see just how it has personally affected us. Our video contains humor as well as some seriousness that I am sure any audience will be able to enjoy. Hope everyone likes it!

Toward New Media Texts

With the tremendous amount of technology being used within the classroom it is very important that teachers become familiar with how to use this to benefit all students. But how do teachers who have been raised on alphabetic literacy and who have not had much experience with new media texts of today. These teachers should be trained on how to use these tools by other professionals. It is important that teachers become familiar with their students' multiple literacies and in order to do this they must be able to access optional forms of texts including multimedia texts.

The lack of technology use may be due to the fear of new things. I know personally I fear what I do not understand, but I am not afraid to explore new things. The article includes some great ideas that can be incorporated in any classroom, but realistically teachers are often unable to do this due to the hype of high stakes testing and accountability. All of the ideas that the article highlights are amazing don't get me wrong, but to what extent is too much. I think that teachers should try to balance out media/technology with traditional practices to ensure that students are being exposed to a variety of learning experiences.

Writing Chapter 11

As stated on the very first page of Chapter 11, “writing is indeed a critical tool in any school subject.” Writing is a required skill that every student should possess. It allows thoughts and emotions of individuals to be expressed without using actual spoken words. I consider myself to be a much better writer than a speaker. I would rather write my thoughts and feelings out on paper rather than verbally communicating them with other. This is simply my personal opinion and experience with writing although I am sure there are plenty of other students who may feel the same way.

Writing styles have evolved throughout the years both inside and outside of the classroom. “Cyberspace writing” has played an influence on how writing has changed throughout the years. Page 306 has a nice little Research Brief chart that entitled How the Internet Is Changing Writing in Many Classrooms. It describes how students’ writings are affected by the internet. With the high demand of writing within school and the workplace it is important that all students learn to write clearly. When I say clearly I mean that students should be able to express his/her thoughts with no error making sure that their audience understands exactly what they mean. If students are not able to write clearly and or effectively then they may be unable to fill out applications for jobs or apply for much needed scholarships or financial aid in the future.

But how do teachers teach students how to write? There are many different strategies that teachers can use to help students to write well. The writing workshop that we recently completed in class is a great tool in helping students to write. It first gets them to think about writing and is a structured process that each can undergo in order to complete a final product or written piece. When students are required to write I believe that they should all be given time to brainstorm their ideas. Brainstorming helps me to narrow topics down and allows students to briefly jot down ideas that they may have to later write about. The book gives an example of brainstorming in Figure 11.2 on Page 316. Teachers should also remember that each student is different and may have problems with writing that requires differentiation. Page 315 lists qualities that support Special Needs Learners with their Writing. Writing should be included in any subject area in order for students to later become successful writers. In order to incorporate writing in the classroom teachers can use journals, learning logs, reports, etc. in order to help them to practice their writing.

Technology Experience

Each day that I come to class the professor uses the Smart board or the Promehtean board during his/her presentations for the day. I have had the pleasure of using both during presentations as well, and that's about it. I understand how to use them but I still need a little more practice to master them.

Conley Chapter 7

Activating Prior Knowledge and Increasing Motivation

Like what we have been talking about since Intermediate block, Chapter 7 highlights the importance of prior knowledge. With prior knowledge students are able to connect what they already know to what they are learning. Therefore making learning more authentic. Page 191 in the text describes the three phases that teachers should go through to activate prior knowledge and increase motivation.

During phase one the teacher should interview an adolescent about his or her prior knowledge and motivation. Phase Two involves observing and interviewing teachers. Last but not least phase three calls for the teacher to compare results of the student interviews with results from the teacher interviews. Everyone should check this out because in order to successfully engage our students in learning we have to activate their previous knowledge and understandings. I believe one of the best ways to activate the students prior knowledge is to have them to complete a KWL chart. This informal assessment is wonderful when you want to quickly take inventory on what the students already know.

Every teacher should be aware of their students’ strengths and weaknesses. As we have discussed in one of the previous chapters different students may have multiple literacies so it is important to be aware of each literacy and to motivate students to succeed through each literacy.

Lesson Plan

Curriculum Standard
Mississippi Social Studies Framework
1. Develop an understanding of community/local government in relationship to the expanding horizon theme. (C,H,G,E)
g. Recognize varieties of family life and cultures

Big Idea
Cultural practices or traditions change over time.

Preparation:
1. Review culture with students.
2. Discuss different cultural groups of the past and present as a whole group with students.
3. Guide discussion towards Native Americans.
4. Read excerpts from the text Pow-Wow.
5. Define Pow-Wow to students.
6. List the custom features that traditional Pow-Wows include onto the whiteboard.
7. Discuss features or characteristics of a Pow-Wow with the whole group.
8. Ask students about traditional ceremonies that they may practice and describe how they celebrate them.
9. Through class discussion have students compare and contrast similarities and differences between students traditional ceremonies vs. Pow-Wow with a T-Chart.
10. Have students to divide into cooperative groups

Guidance
1. Complete K-W-L chart with students
2. Have students complete Jigsaw in cooperative groups
Group 1- Brief History of Pow-Wow’s
Group 2- Men’s role
Group 3- Women’s role
Group 4- Children’s role
3. Monitor student progress as they complete assignments

Application
1. Students conduct a mini Pow-Wow in cooperative groups.

Assessment:
In order to assess the students learning I will use a checklist looking for three things each Pow-Wow should include. Example: Dance, Music, Traditional Clothing, Food. etc. During the Pow-Wow the students must include examples(paper) of these things and tell why they should be incorporated in a traditional Pow-Wow.

Understanding and Using Texts Chapter 5

The modern classroom officially no longer exists. Many different changes have occurred within the traditional classroom over the past few years that have redefined how students learn. The text highlights the vast changes that have been made in everyday with literature text as well as the different ways they can be used within the classroom.

There are many different texts that teachers can use when instructing their students. With the extended amount of text, choices there are also challenges that may accompany each text. One of these challenges includes selecting appropriate text to meet the learning needs or standards of the student. “Research says that good informational texts have clear purposes and a well-defined audience.” I agree that informational texts do have clear purposes, but they may strike the attention of many different people or audiences. I favor informational texts because they provide readers with organized, factual information and are very easy for them to follow. For older students narrative and digital texts may be a bit more complicated, but are still very beneficial tools that can be used to help improve literature skills for students.

When teaching every teacher should have a variety of texts readily available for all students. When selecting a text it is important to keep in mind the concepts that you want students to learn. Remember to select the text that best fits the students learning needs.

I think everyone should check out the following site ! http://ateachersthoughts.com/I chose this because it provides in depth details on how to connect both science and technology within the classroom.

Conley Chapter 4

The book states that ongoing assessment is a term that signals that assessment should be diverse and happening all the time. I find that indeed the statement is true but many teachers may not practice this effectively within the classroom. When teachers assess students they are checking that learning or knowledge has occurred for students. Everyday instruction should include differentiation in order to meet the needs of each student, which is identical to what the book describes as ongoing assessment. Ongoing assessments include classroom assessments that may include simple class discussions and observations of students. These types of assessments are easy and very informal but help to effectively measure student’s understanding and serve as a guide to help teachers plan for further instruction. Classroom assessments provide useful info about how students might perform on state tests.

With the increased focus on state and standardized tests, authentic assessments often go overlooked by teachers, which may be very harmful for students. I believe that teachers should keep in mind the content that students must learn for the test but also remember that students learn better when they can relate to the content. Teachers should use a variety of assessment tools in order to meet the needs of every student. Therefore assessment must be ongoing and authentic in order to effectively measure a student’s learning. Some examples of authentic assessments include portfolios and authentic classroom tests.

In order to successfully measure or evaluate a student’s learning the teacher must first develop the right combination of assessments to help monitor each student’s progress. Assessments should also be used by teachers in order to successfully understand a student’s personal identity. When teachers are able to pinpoint an individual’s learning needs then they are more capable of increasing a student’s content knowledge. Teachers must remember that although high stakes test and accountability are very important, they should also keep the individual learning needs of each student in mind as well by making sure learning has occurred for them.

I am posting a post because Dr. Bishop said so. So here it is everyone.

Conley Chapter 3 Response

With the increased state and national accountability methods or tactics being monitored in today’s schools, educators everywhere are feeling the pressure of making sure that every student learns. “No Child Left Behind mandates that teachers use proven effective teaching and learning practices, that are supported by scientifically based research.” Although, this is the goal of every teacher in America it is important to remember that there are many obstacles that may prevent such practices from being implemented within the classroom. It is up to the teacher to decide on how to deliver content to every student. Sometimes teachers do not make the best decisions on how to teach their students and those students often fall between the gaps and get left behind due to a lack of real authentic instruction. But still the final question to be asked and answered is how will instruction be delivered to the students.

Chapter 3 emphasizes Standards -based Big Ideas, and calls a need for teachers to develop them. One of the big debates discussed was textbook vs. standards-based. Though it is not recommended that teachers teach strictly with textbooks this is exactly what happens each and everyday in classrooms everywhere. Should teachers use textbooks as a resource tool or as a way to deliver content to students, yes. But, learning expectations must be set and assessments should be developed to measure those expectations. “Teachers who focus of textbooks while ignoring state standards and assessments gamble with their students’ performance in ways that matter for state funding for schools, students’ academic progress, and even graduation.” This is very true and teachers must keep in mind that each student learns differently and textbooks do not include accommodations for students. Textbooks alone often do not include enough information to help students prepare for required tests.

Standards-Based Big Ideas call for teachers to research standards and base instruction according to those standards. Teachers move away from the text and learn to provide authentic instruction to students that will help them to grasp content more effectively. Backwards mapping seems to be a great process that helps teachers to help prepare students for testing and to help provide them with the required content knowledge. As I said before, recently teachers have been pressured to use scientifically based research when teaching students. This idea is often easier said than done. The principles and practices listed on page 75-76 help to complement the principles of differentiated instruction while keeping the student’s interests and needs in mind. The key to accomplish success for all learners within the classroom is to find the perfect balance between text and content standards. Each teacher should also teach with student variance in mind and ensure that each student develops an understanding of the content delivered to them.