Wow! This first set of assigned text and PowerPoints/videos for EDN 340 really opened my eyes to see what reading is all about. My blog partner Ashleigh Copeland and I enjoyed discussing the topics and learning what each other thought about them. For me, the “Making Sense of Reading” video brought me back to my own experiences with reading during elementary school. The opening picture of the teacher pointing to words as children sat close by was an all too familiar sight from grade school. I specifically remember my Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers taking on this method of “shared reading” to help students learn. As I learned in this video, I never considered this to be a form of risk-taking on behalf of the students. It does make sense, though—having the teacher point to the word before saying it and allowing children to say the word on their own. This helped me see that with anything else we do and learn in life, we have to take risks so why not help students learn that at such a young age? I agreed with the video when it was said that in order to learn to read, you must have something to gain your attention as well as a helpful mentor or guide to aid you in the process. I could not agree more with what the video had to say about learning to read should not be any more difficult than learning other tasks. I thought about how much I wanted this to be the case for my future students. I want to help make reading fun for them! The video revealed to me something that I often lose sight of: that there is a difference between teaching to read and making it possible to learn to read. I took the first option to indicate that the teacher is in charge of a child’s reading, that there is one way to learn how to read. I know this is not the case and that ultimately, children are in charge of their own learning. I learned to have a new mindset that I will be able to make it possible for students to learn to read. The video reminded me that in order to read, things must make sense and children are used to having words and language makes sense to them. The mini-experiment conducted in this “Making Sense of Reading” was a great tool to help me see that the more meaning behind a word or group of letters—the easier it is to read. It was harder to remember the line of words “WLTHE QOLBNS GHPCXI” than it was to remember “ANGRY HOUSE RAIN MANE.” I asked myself: “why is that? It’s because the first set of words make no sense—they have no meaning where the second set consists of letters that form actual words. This simple test led me to wonder if this is how children view all words when beginning the reading process. It’s easy for an adult to assume that children will learn to read better if they are first given smaller words such as “it” and “and.” It now makes sense that exposing them to the bigger and different sounding words is more effective. As the video mentioned, kids will less likely forget words like “elephant” (as long as they are used in context). As an aspiring teacher, I want to try my best to make reading easy for my future students and at all costs, avoid “tunnel vision.” The rest of this video made me think about my future teaching and how I will constantly be examining myself to see whether or not I am making the process of learning more difficult or easy for my students. I was also challenged to interpret my understanding of the reading process. My partner and I spent some time discussing the process of reading and what we think really happens with the eyes, brain, etc. when we read. The illustration below depicts how we believe reading works.
While on this topic of the process of reading, I am reminded of the assigned reading from Peterson and Eed’s book: “Grand Conversations.” I found it interesting how they described the difference between a child’s interpretation of text and the meaning he/she gets out of it (page 22). They stress the fact that developing these ideas will take time. I liked their suggestion of giving children opportunities to read just to read. No book reports, no test questions, just time to read alone (page 11). I like the use of reading newspapers as a “just read” moment (page 12). Usually, people choose to read newspapers with no goal in mind other than to gain information about things that interests them. I think this was a great example and helped me see that children do not always need to be questioned about what they read. Such great insight!
With all this talk about reading and how we process words, I wondered about teachers and just how they go about teaching such a subject. Furthermore, I thought about what tools they are able to use in the classroom to make reading more fun and effective for their students. Living in such a technologically advanced society, I realize that an elementary school classroom looks a lot different than a classroom when I was in elementary school. The videos included in the “21st Century Learners” PowerPoint validated this realization. I can remember back to my grade school classrooms. We didn’t have a ton of computers in the room or laptops for teachers to work on. We had an overhead projector (one that required the use of transparent paper and dry-erase markers) not the fancy ones they have now. With the many changes in technology rapidly occurring, it makes sense that we need to change the way we teach as a student’s world changes. I found the video by Greg Whitby called “21st Century Pedagogy” featured on slide 3 of the PowerPoint to be very interesting. I liked what he had to say about teachers changing their DNA as means of looking at the world in new ways. With this “new DNA,” teachers would be able to pass on their knowledge and way of living with technology on down to the next generation. I believe this helped me see that things are different and that we are unable to use the same methods in teaching today as we did 20 years ago to achieve the ultimate educational experience. I found the information about the “21st Century Partnership” on slide 7 to be very insightful. It is great that there is a program out there devoted to helping students acquire skills in communication, literacy, and technology. It makes sense that if our children are going to grow up in a high-tech environment, then they ought to be taught how to do so. I find this to be extremely important when it comes to reading. Almost all kids today receive information through the use of technology—mobile phones, computers (internet), satellite radio, and much more. As a future teacher, this helps me see that it is important to introduce the concept of reading through these types of methods! I liked how this PowerPoint drew attention to the fact that new ways of learning and thinking leads to a lot of “doings” (slides 10-11). Students will have a desire to work with others, but also develop positive characteristics such as leadership and accountability. I think that would be a teacher’s dream! While on this note of 21st Century Learning, I found the daily schedule provided on slide 17 to be very interesting. I think it is great that so many schools are having students start off the day with some form of content learning and Inquiry learning. I was truly excited to hear the Inquiry teaching method being mentioned in this presentation since my EDN 301 course last semester focused on the technique. We watched a few videos of teachers using the method and discussed its benefits. This is one of my favorite methods because it lets the students themselves be in charge of their own learning. In such a case, I ultimately see the teacher being a coach or facilitator in a class discussion. In my opinion, I can see this form of teaching being used to help fulfill the mission of the 21st Century Partnership Learning Framework (referring back to slide 7). While looking at the “Day in a 21st Century Classroom” slide (17), I am reminded of how chapter one of Serafini’s text opened up by introducing his audience to a day in the life of his classrooms. I love how he gave a detailed, step-by-step account of how he incorporates reading into a typical school day, especially during the morning routine. I liked how he read the story and allowed the students to comment (page 2). I feel a sense of individuality, yet community among the students in Serafini’s class as they share stories and complete assignments together. I made note of Peterson and Eeds comment on this idea—they feel that it does encourage community because they are IN the story together (page 15).
Now, back to the PowerPoint, I enjoyed the reading linked from the PowerPoint: (slide 23) pages 5-11 of the Executive Summary of Tough Choices or Tough Times. To me, this has probably by far, has been the most interesting readings in this module! It revealed so much about the status of our technology and educational system as a country, and how behind we are globally. Although I knew that other countries have been and are ahead of the United States in terms of technology, I always seemed to blow it off and say things such as: “so what? Why does it matter? We seem to be doing okay with what we have.” This article helped me see that being behind the times can lead our country into great danger of losing what we currently have. Pages 7 and 8 of this document reveals that if we continue on the same route, then companies and investors will be uninterested in doing with business with people in the U.S. and take their work elsewhere. This would be detrimental to our own country so I now see the grave importance of being “ahead of the game.” So where does this start? How does this happen? How do we inspire and motivate workers to achieve the best work possible? This article helped me see that it starts in the classroom! With a good education—it begins with “good” teaching by “good” teachers! With these important thoughts in mind, the question asked on slide 23 in this PowerPoint: “Are you prepared to be a 21st Century Teacher?” is probably one of the hardest questions I’ve had to answer throughout my educational journey thus far. To be completely honest, I don’t think I am. I still have about two years to go until I finish school and am still learning the many things necessary to become a teacher. If someone were to ask me the same question in a couple of years, then I may have a different answer. I can tell that becoming a teacher requires a lot of responsibility and knowledge, something that I know will take a lot of time to acquire.
Although I may currently be in a state of apprehension about excelling in the many tasks to teach students 21st Century Learners, I know that I will be expected to act and present myself as a 21st Century Teacher. The discussion about teachers and their boundaries with social media, dress, and overall appearance is pretty much common sense to me. I agree that it is a safe thing for teachers not to send or accept friend requests from students or parents. Doing so could set the stage for a lot of unwanted attention if a parent or child sees something on a teacher’s page that they may not agree with. I do not have a Facebook page of my own now but if I were a teacher, I would make sure to be careful of how I use it and what I display/post. Just as the article about teachers and online professionalism, I feel that regardless of what profession you are in, you should always keep in mind that what you post is available for the whole world to see (referring to the stedi.com article). Post wisely! As for a teacher’s attire, I am aware that many school districts such as the Litchfield Elementary School District as well as the Peoria Unified School District in Arizona have implemented strict guidelines regarding what teachers can and cannot wear on the job (referring to the takepart.com article). In my opinion, I have always thought that comfort should be a top priority when teaching. Educators are on their feet all day and have to make multiple trips around the whole school, so comfortable, yet appropriate shoes would be important to have. As for wearing blue jeans, I don’t see that as being unprofessional just as long as the jeans have no holes in them and are no tattered on the ends. Many school administrators may disagree with having their teachers dressing too casual. In my opinion, I think it would be okay every once and a while. The author of a separate online article entitled “Are Tattoos on Teachers Appropriate?” (Referring to the babycenter.com article), goes into detail about her opinion on teachers and showing their tattoos and piercings. I was glad to hear that she opts not to judge teachers who have tattoos and does not dismiss their abilities based on what ink they might show. It was no surprise to read that some commenters on the site have some reservations about the issue, while some flat out reject the idea of teachers having visible tattoos. So what’s my opinion? Well, personally, I think that tattoos should not be as big as an issue as some people make it out to be, as long as it is an appropriate image/picture. Many people like to express themselves through tattoos and such—and some of these people just so happen to be teachers. I wouldn’t see it as a big problem however, other adults, parents, and guardians of students may think otherwise. So to avoid any possibility of issues with tattoos, I’d have to say use good judgment and keep it covered.
Wow. So I am glad you took the time out of your day to read my thoughts, opinions, and ideas about the readings for this week. I know it was long but I had a lot to say! Feel free to comment on anything—the more, the merrier! Thanks again!
See you next week,
Kelsey Golden
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