I was excited to participate in the group differences forum because I knew that it would be helpful as a member of the urban/multicultural cohort. We talk about race, racism, poverty, and multiculturalism in my elementary education methods class, but we rarely get the chance to talk about religion, gender, and other differences. As a teacher, I believe that understanding and being able to interact with diverse groups is absolutely crucial, and I definitely learned some new information from the forum. I never realized that research shows that teachers pay more attention to male students than female students. I also never really thought about religion in schools as a group difference before the forum.
I know the the information from the forum is going to help me in my classroom because it helped me to think of group differences in new ways. I feel like I'm already fairly knowledgeable about multiculturalism, but I am always open and willing to learn more information. One thing that I think might have helped me learn more would be reading an article from each group. I know that this seems like a lot of extra work, but I would have been willing to do it over the course of the semester. I actually went in on my free time and read some of the articles because I was interested in learning more about certain groups.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
PLE #11: Barb Rentenbach Videos
I was unable to attend either of the Barb Rentenbach lectures, but I was able to watch Autism Teacher Please and Here We Are World. These videos allowed me to view people with autism from a different perspective. I have had the privilege of working with and having classes with a few people with autism, but I was interested in learning more from the Barb Rentenbach videos.
One thing that I heard mentioned in the video was that people with autism do not necessarily enjoy being in isolation. I thought that this was interesting because this was something that was mentioned in my Special Education class, as well. I will definitely keep this in mind if I am working with children with autism in my class. I plan on using this knowledge to implement a peer buddy system in my classroom for children with autism. This will promote full membership in the classroom and give my students with autism the comfort of having someone there.
I also enjoyed how the Here We Are World video discussed the use of facilitated communication. This is not something that we had discussed at great length in Special Education, so I was interested in learning something new that could help me interact with children with autism. I plan on using facilitated communication, such as keyboards or computer programs, to communicate with children with autism in my future classroom. I think that finding ways to communicate with all students is incredibly important, and I learned a lot from this video about different methods of communication.
I learned a good amount of new information from the videos, but a lot of it was familiar from my Special Education class. The videos went more in depth than what I had previously learned in class, so I feel like they were worthwhile. However, I feel like I might have gotten more out of the Barb Rentenbach lecture than the videos. It would have been interesting to see her use facilitated communication to speak to her audience.
One thing that I heard mentioned in the video was that people with autism do not necessarily enjoy being in isolation. I thought that this was interesting because this was something that was mentioned in my Special Education class, as well. I will definitely keep this in mind if I am working with children with autism in my class. I plan on using this knowledge to implement a peer buddy system in my classroom for children with autism. This will promote full membership in the classroom and give my students with autism the comfort of having someone there.
I also enjoyed how the Here We Are World video discussed the use of facilitated communication. This is not something that we had discussed at great length in Special Education, so I was interested in learning something new that could help me interact with children with autism. I plan on using facilitated communication, such as keyboards or computer programs, to communicate with children with autism in my future classroom. I think that finding ways to communicate with all students is incredibly important, and I learned a lot from this video about different methods of communication.
I learned a good amount of new information from the videos, but a lot of it was familiar from my Special Education class. The videos went more in depth than what I had previously learned in class, so I feel like they were worthwhile. However, I feel like I might have gotten more out of the Barb Rentenbach lecture than the videos. It would have been interesting to see her use facilitated communication to speak to her audience.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
PLE #10: Cognitive & Linguistic Development
Theories in educational psychology promote the idea that language plays a critical role in cognitive development. As a future educator of urban youth, I firmly believe in the importance of language, literacy, and linguistic development. The development of language is absolutely critical for all children, especially those in urban settings, because language is power. In "Teaching for Thinking", Amos Hatch explains how "our thoughts are interiorized language; we think in language." Children who struggle with language development will likely struggle with cognitive development because the two are so inextricably linked. Language is power because it gives us the ability to think, think about our thinking, and express our thoughts out loud. Without language, students will struggle to progress through the stages of cognitive development and learn to their full potential.
Age-Typical Characteristics (K-2)
-Knowledge of 8,000 to 14,000 words by age 6
-Difficulty understanding complex sentences (e.g., those with multiple clauses)
-Overdependence on word order and context (instead of syntax) when interpreting messages
-Superficial understanding of being a good listener (e.g., just sitting quietly)
-Literal interpretations of messages and requests (e.g., not realizing that "Goodness, this class is noisy" means "Be quiet")
-Increasing ability to tell a story
-Mastery of most sounds; some difficulty pronouncing r, th, dr, sl, and str
-Occasional use of regular word endings (-s, -ed, -er) with irregular words (sheeps, goed, gooder)
-Basic etiquette in conversations (e.g., taking turns, answering questions)
-Reluctance to initiate conversations with adults (for many students from Asian and Mexican American backgrounds)
One way that I plan to encourage cognitive development in my classroom is through the use of age-appropriate read alouds, especially storybooks. Read alouds can develop and enhance vocabulary, serve as model of good fluency, and just generally show students that reading is an enjoyable activity. Using think aloud strategies during read alouds is another great way to use cognitive modeling to get students to think about their thinking, encourage the use of language, and promote cognitive development. Another important strategy involves working on listening skills. If students aren't listening, they're not learning. I think it's important to explain this to them and give them the tools to become good listeners. One technique that I've seen used in multiple classrooms is called "give me five". When the teacher holds up his or her hand and says "give me five", the students know that they must have their eyes on the speaker, mouths quiet, be still, hands in laps, and ears open. I have personally seen how effective this quick strategy can be, and I definitely plan on implementing it in my classroom.
Age-Typical Characteristics (K-2)
-Knowledge of 8,000 to 14,000 words by age 6
-Difficulty understanding complex sentences (e.g., those with multiple clauses)
-Overdependence on word order and context (instead of syntax) when interpreting messages
-Superficial understanding of being a good listener (e.g., just sitting quietly)
-Literal interpretations of messages and requests (e.g., not realizing that "Goodness, this class is noisy" means "Be quiet")
-Increasing ability to tell a story
-Mastery of most sounds; some difficulty pronouncing r, th, dr, sl, and str
-Occasional use of regular word endings (-s, -ed, -er) with irregular words (sheeps, goed, gooder)
-Basic etiquette in conversations (e.g., taking turns, answering questions)
-Reluctance to initiate conversations with adults (for many students from Asian and Mexican American backgrounds)
One way that I plan to encourage cognitive development in my classroom is through the use of age-appropriate read alouds, especially storybooks. Read alouds can develop and enhance vocabulary, serve as model of good fluency, and just generally show students that reading is an enjoyable activity. Using think aloud strategies during read alouds is another great way to use cognitive modeling to get students to think about their thinking, encourage the use of language, and promote cognitive development. Another important strategy involves working on listening skills. If students aren't listening, they're not learning. I think it's important to explain this to them and give them the tools to become good listeners. One technique that I've seen used in multiple classrooms is called "give me five". When the teacher holds up his or her hand and says "give me five", the students know that they must have their eyes on the speaker, mouths quiet, be still, hands in laps, and ears open. I have personally seen how effective this quick strategy can be, and I definitely plan on implementing it in my classroom.
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