Response-Centered Talks in Class - Christine Chern

Response-Centered Talks in Class

Christine Chern

I see some “being out and stepping in” and “being in and moving through” in my first grade placement. Because not very many literature and discussions occur in the classroom, the students do not have much opportunity to talk and make sense of the materials. When my MT teaches the whole class vocabulary words in Chinese, one the one hand, she makes the students think by asking questions that they have to recall on their personal experiences as well as previously learned materials. For instance, when teaching about clothing, she would ask students the number and color of coats that they see in a picture. In this way, she is building on the students’ prior knowledge of numbers and color, and simultaneously forming full sentences. On the other hand, not every student gets the chance to talk, so the instructor would not have an idea of whether or not the other students are learning. 

One scaffolding technique that the teacher uses in McGee’s article is having pure discussions of the text that has no right or wrong answers. The discussions is solely based on students’ individual interpretations, which allows them to take a step further by looking at other inferences in the text or illustration. However, the teacher described in the article does not seem to engage all of the students in response-centered classroom talk. 

The less confident and shy students are less likely to participate in class, but it does not mean they cannot engage in discussions. The instructor could ask a question, and then have students agree or disagree by showing their thumbs up or down. Then, the instructor can call on students to share their ideas, and have other students respond to each other.  Yet, it is important that the instructor states that there are no right or wrong answers, so there will be a variety of responses due to different interpretations that the students may agree or disagree on.  Because I am in a first grade classroom, the teacher’s role is still critical in discussions. Students at such young age can respond, but may not initiate and/or maintain a conversation, so the instructor’s help in stimulating the discussion will be needed. 

Questions

Do the students in your placement have the opportunity to have different types of talks? If so, how do your MTs relate them to the topic being taught? How do your MTs conduct classroom discussions? How are the scaffolding techniques  used effective or ineffective?

Alyssa: How to incorporate literature into other subject areas

       In my placement classroom literature is one of the main topics that the kids study. I mainly see them reading, writing, or doing math, but literature is a main part of their day. Even though it is a Montessori school, and there is no real lecturing going on, Mrs. Karen does try to involve different kinds of books into the classroom. Although it may not be in the traditional way, she does incorporate it into other subjects. For example, the kids are learning about different parts of the world and what animals live there; she reads part of a book to them every day to show them what these areas are like and what animals live there. Another time literature is incorporated into their day is in the morning. When the kids come in the classroom they eat breakfast and then find a seat on the carpet and look at a book.  Mrs. Karen and I then go around and read the books to them. This is a good way to introduce more literature to the kids. It is good to introduce different genres but you may need to read them to the class because it might be difficult for them to read on their own. 

        In what ways do you see literacy incorporated into your classroom? Because there is no instruction in Montessori schools do you think these kids miss out on literacy instruction (for example reading with the whole class or reading something for social studies)?

         In the past teachers used “experience text relationships” where they use a certain text that the students can relate to and therefor better understand. I find this to be something that would get me to read. If I can relate text to my own life I am more likely to read it and understand it. It is extremely difficult for struggling reader to attempt to visualize what the writer is saying if they cannot relate it to their life in some way. For example when I was young I never read any of the “Harry Potter” books because I could not visualize what the writer was saying. Many of the thing described in that book are fictional and I could not visualize them therefor I could not understand the book.  Later in this article it talks about book discussions which may have helped me with my problem. I believe that if I had someone who was reading the book with me and who I could discuss the book with I might have been able to understand it better. If they could tell me what they pictured when they read it might have allowed me to visualize.

        Do you think it’s a good idea to have these group discussions? Or will students become dependent on other students ability to visualize the text? How would you prevent it?

          Do you think there are any subject areas that literature cannot be incorporated? Is it possible to incorporate too much literature? What tactics do you think should be used in order to get a struggling reader to understand what they are reading? Are there any others the readings didn’t mention

Teaching Literacy

Goals for the course:

• Learn new strategies on how to integrate literacy in all domains of a classroom.
• Use of effective technology that will help improve instruction.
• Become more comfortable with resources used during instruction such as books and other curriculum materials. 

• I hope to teach in a public school located in an urban distract. 
• I want to teach in a district that values community involvement, diversity, and learning through varies means. Where ever that may end up I leave it up to chance. 
• I want to be the best teacher in a failing district or where ever I'm needed. My goal is to be the teacher that believes and pushes my students to do and be better learners. 

There are many things that I want to learn about literacy instruction. Such as the strategies that work best with the students, how to balance written and verbal work and most of all getting through to my students why learning about literacy is important; reading and writing. The skills children learn in school will build the foundation for all of their education and will be used their whole life. I want to learn how certain learners retain information especially referring to literacy. 

I read the Jigsaw article about literacy in an urban setting and it made me want to teach in an urban setting even more. My personal goals as a teacher are to push myself, go outside my comfort zone and provide the best possible education to my students. I'm not the biggest fan of English which is why I need to learn even more about that subject. What concepts are the most important and the strategies the students respond to best. I want to understand each part of my students lives, their cultural differences, what type of learner they are, and make them feel comfortable to share their personal experiences and interests at school. Show my students that they can express what matters to them through writing, essays or poems. 

Always Learning

Goals

-         - I would like to learn how to appropriately integrate technology into the classroom. Is it possible to have too much? If so, what is the limit?

-         - I want to learn more strategies and techniques to teach literacy to ESL and special needs students

-         - I want to further my knowledge when it comes to making lesson plans

-        -  I don’t really have a preference to where I teach. While I’m young and single I’d like to work in an urban setting then eventually start teaching in the suburbs as I get older.

-          -Where I went to school, we really didn’t have much diversity; but I would love to take a job where the students are from all walks of life. Diversity in the classroom enhances learning

-        -  I really want to learn more about how to teach ESL students. If I take a job in the southwest I am likely to come across more ESL students and I want to be able to teach them to the best of my ability

-          -The jigsaw articles were very helpful. They also made me realize that this is an area where I need more development. I need to learn more about what are the best ways to teach these students

-          In Risko & Walker-Dalhouse’s article it talked about cultural modeling and how you can bring in literature from a student’s background/community to assist in their reading

o   Cultural modeling is a great way to introduce ELS students to literacy. They are able to read/write about things that they are familiar with and also learning about the English language at the same time

-          In the Hettinger & Knapp article it talked about struggling readers and I enjoy reading this piece because I can relate to it

o   I think that having students (who are struggling with fluency) read their own work aloud is a great idea. I also think reading pomes/ doing a play would be great for this type of student. They are able to really look at what they are reading and understand how it is supposed to be said

o   I also really like the idea of students bringing in unfamiliar words and telling the teacher/class about how they figured out what the word was.  This brings in new vocabulary and teaches kids how to identify unfamiliar words

The Kind of Teacher I Wish to Be - Christine Chern

The Kind of Teacher I Wish to Be

Christine Chern

- I hope to learn to become a teacher who can use technology to teach effectively, but simultaneously, prevent students from getting too dependent on technology
- I hope to learn to incorporate different kinds of cultures (ethnicity, nationality, gender and sexuality, religion and beliefs, etc.) in teaching instructions, so that students will learn to be more open-minded and accepting

- I hope to teach in a school or environment of a diverse body
- Learning about strategies,techniques, technologies, and most importantly, being aware of the various diversity, including different learning styles, will help reach my goals

- as an ELL myself, I can picture and recall the experiences I have had in the past years in reading Lenski's article

• the importance of being aware of what the student can and cannot do, but be aware that language barrier and lack of formal schooling sometimes may be a critical reason for their struggle
• many assessments still require students knowing English, so it is essential to adopt nontraditional informal assessments

-  In Risko and Walker-Dalhouse's reading:

• Language arts can be taught by focusing on one or more students' background (ethnicity and language dialect), so that they can make personal connections and feel important in the learning process
• reading plays an important role in relating culture and context to be learned