TPA Guidelines - Response

I have been working with the TPA lesson plan format quite regularly for the past year, so this handout looked pretty familiar.  No matter how many times I see it, the TPA always looks overwhelming with its numerous questions.  Writing up a TPA lesson plan obviously isn't the most fun or exciting thing in the world, but I find this format very beneficial, and I understand why teacher candidates are required to create TPA lesson plans.  What is great about the TPA lesson plan is that it forces us to look at all the things a good teacher must keep in mind while planning and delivering a lesson.  There are certain things that a lesson just absolutely has to address, and the TPA lesson plan format holds us accountable for those things.  It helps us consider all aspects of a lesson that need to be considered.  We who are student teaching know that teachers don't spend hours filling out TPA lesson plans, which may make the TPA lesson plan seem like busy work for teacher candidates.  But in reality, teachers who have been teaching for a while have simply internalized all the things that are in the TPA lesson plan.  By filling out these lesson plans, we are drilling into our mind the importance of objectives, assessments, differentiation, standards, rationale, etc. for every lesson.  The TPA is a pain, but it will ultimately be worthwhile and make our teaching much smoother in the future.

I was very intrigued by one section of this handout- the section titled Research and Theory Evidence.  This section asks us "How is [our] lesson/instruction supported by research and theory?"  It would be difficult for one to have all of his or her lessons backed by solid research or theory.  Teaching is sometimes experimental, so I wonder if the TPA allows for experimental plans.  Can this section be fulfilled if your lesson is backed by your own research or theories?

The Content and Academic Language section was thorough and overwhelming.  It is interesting how it asks "What are students doing with language to express their developing understanding of the content you are teaching?"  It makes sense that all lessons should address this, but I don't believe I've ever consciously considered this when planning my own lessons.

Differentiated Instruction is one area of the TPA that is always a challenge for me.  It always seems to me that my lessons do provide equitable learning opportunities for all students, but it's hard for me to know for sure.  Also, after our class discussion on differentiated instruction and how we should attempt to design lessons that are differentiated from the get-go, I came to the conclusion that the TPA lesson plan should have the Differentiated Instruction section higher up on the lesson plan.  I think it is always the second to last thing, which I feel reinforces the notion of creating a lesson and then going back to it and trying to find ways to differentiate rather than making it differentiated from the beginning.

Differentiated Instruction Individual Exploration - Response

For my individual exploration on differentiated instruction, I found an article by Dr. Ruthanne Tobin titled "Differentiating in the Language Arts: Flexible Options to Support All Students."  This article is geared more towards elementary education, but I felt that this article has a lot of useful applications for secondary classrooms as well.

In this article, Tobin explains how classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse, making differentiated instruction essential.  She explained how all students need their intellect, language, culture, and imagination validated, and differentiated instruction can help teachers validate their students by promoting responsive teaching.  Tobin defined differentiated instruction by explaining that "differentiating instruction means establishing a learning environment in which students are more likely to get their individual learning needs met."  This differentiation requires teachers to modify their content, process, and products of student learning in response to the readiness, interests, and learning profile of their students.

One of the most interesting things I read in this article is the idea that we need to accommodate not just the needs of students but their preferences.  Tobin elaborates by explaining that giving students choices and accommodating their preferences plays a key role in motivation and engagement.  I think this is a very simple but important point to keep in mind.  It makes sense that students would be more motivated and engaged if they got to do activities in class that they preferred to do.  In spite of this, it seems that many students experience an education that does little to accommodate their preferences.  Tobin mentioned one way of differentiating instruction would be to give students an opportunity to choose their own book, which is also one way of giving students choices and accommodating their preferences.  Students could potentially pick out books that are too easy or too hard for them, but that is one way that they can learn about themselves and evaluate themselves.  I think that giving students the option to choose their own books occasionally would be an excellent way to differentiate instruction in an English Language Arts classroom

Another differentiation technique I read about was to give students multiple response options.  This means that students can respond to a text or an assignment in multiple ways.  For example, students could be given the option to demonstrate their understanding of a chapter from the book by writing a summary, acting out a scene, drawing a picture, creating a diorama, giving a presentation, etc.  The teacher gives students options, and students choose which assignment they would prefer to do.  Additionally, instruction can be differentiated further if the teacher tiers the activities so there are several different levels of difficulty.  I think this is another good way to differentiate instruction, but I think it is essential that the teacher makes sure that the options require a similar amount of effort or else students would most likely pick the task that requires the least amount of effort.

Lastly, yet another potential differentiating technique I read involved fostering open discussions with a responsive teacher.  The key in this strategy is to validate student's unique contributions to the discussions, which will validates students' intellect, culture, and imagination.

I was able to gain a lot of insight regarding differentiated instruction from this article.  I have a much better idea of what differentiation actually looks like when put into practice, and I understand how differentiated instruction is beneficial not only because students may need it but because they prefer it.  Everyone likes having their preferences accommodated.

I Read It, But I Don't Get It, Chapters 6-end - Access Tool

Silent Reading Record

Read for 30 minute and then stop and complete the following:

1.       What did you read? (Include title and page numbers.)

I read pages 67-86 from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

2.       In four or more sentences summarize what you read.

This section begins with Montag attempting to read with his wife, Mildred.  Montag becomes frustrated when he is unable to glean any understanding from the books he saved.  He realizes he needs a teacher, and he soon recalls an old man he met in a park named Faber, who just so happened to be a retired English professor.  In a frenzied state, Montag goes to meet Faber with the hope that the old man can help him make sense of his world.  Faber explains that the problem isn’t that books are missing but that the things in books are missing.  Faber explains that three things are missing from the world: detail (quality of information), leisure to digest that information, and the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the first two.  Montag wishes to overthrow the system and bring books back, and he and Faber make a tentative plan to start printing books while they wait for the war to create an opening where they can reintroduce them.

3.       As you were reading, what were you thinking?  Write at least four sentences.  Did you make any connections?  What were you wondering?   What opinions do you have about what you read?

I made several connections with the things Faber said.  Faber says that he talks the meaning of things, and he knows he is alive.  This reminded me of my own experiences with meaningful texts, as I find certain texts humanizing.  When I read certain books, watch certain movies, or hear certain songs that I can connect to on a meaningful level, I feel alive in an indescribable way.

I thought it was funny how Montag, in a panic, was trying to quickly decide what book he would turn in to Beatty.  He debated whether or not he should return the Bible, Thoreau, or Jefferson.  This reminded me of literary criticism but on the much smaller scale of a few seconds instead of years.

I also wondered if Faber really could have been able to make a difference if he spoke out against the world when he had the chance.  Maybe he just wishes he made the attempt, or maybe he was a man of great authority or influence in the past.

I made another connection when Faber said that the things Montag is looking for are out in the world, but the only way any average person will see 99% of what is in the world is through books.  I connected this to my own experience with books; I have experienced and learned so many things through reading.  Without books, I too would know only a fraction about the world as I do now.

I really liked this section.  I like how Montag has awakened and has begun to see how meaningless his life truly is.  I also think Faber is a very interesting character, and I liked how rational his words were.  So far, he seems like the only voice of reason (Clarisse comes close, but her words aren’t nearly as direct). 

I Read It, But I Don't Get It, Chapters 1-5 - Response

So far, I've really enjoyed reading Chris Tovani's I Read It, But I Don't Get It.  It is a very practical book, and I like how it has anecdotes from real classrooms.  Tovani does a great job addressing the realities of reading in these first few chapters, and I think she presents a lot of useful strategies that can help students overcome comprehension difficulties.

I like how Tovani took the time to point out how common and easy fake-reading is.  I've witnessed a lot of fake-readers first hand in my own education.  In many classes, it is too easy to get by by just reading the Cliff Notes or SparkNotes for books, and I have had a lot of classmates who didn't take the time to read a text because they either didn't feel they had to or just weren't motivated to.  I agree with Tovani that reading has lost its purpose and pleasure for many people, which is why I really liked her activity where she shared her own favorite books and reading experiences.  This is something I would want to do in my own classroom.  Books have been a great influence on my life, and I remember specific points in time where I was reading a good book that challenged me to examine myself and my world.  I believe that it is very important for teachers to share their passion for reading.  We need to share what reading means to us so our students can discover what reading means to them.  We need to find a way to show our students that books are more than just words on pages and that reading is much more exciting and enjoyable than just simply decoding the words on those pages.

I also agree that many people overlook the complexity of reading and take certain things for granted.  Reading involves a sophisticated mental interaction with the text that many either overlook or fail to see.  After reading these chapters, I do feel that there isn't enough reading comprehension instruction in secondary grades.  I never really thought about it before, but it does seem like students are expected to be able to comprehend texts by the time they reach middle school, and they are given increasingly complex texts as they progress throughout their education without any additional instruction in comprehension.  I feel that comprehension skills must be continually worked on at all ages; I still feel like I'm improving as a reader even though I've considered myself skilled for quite some time.  Students need to be given opportunities to become better readers by practicing their comprehension skills and by utilizing strategies like the ones Tovani suggests.  I really like how Tovani has addressed reading difficulties in her book so far, and I am looking forward to reading through these next several chapters..

A Response-Based Approach to Reading Literature - Response

I thought this was a really great article that captures many of the problems regarding how schools approach the teaching of literature.  I think it is essential to have a student-focused approach where students are able to develop their own understandings and interpretations of texts, which will allow students to take ownership over their learning and make more meaningful connections.  I really liked the notion of reading literature as "exploring a horizon of possibilities" (2).  I've always seen literary texts as reflections of the human experience that are subject to individual interpretation.  Every student or individual has their own unique worldview and life experiences that will influence their reading of a text.  Our understanding of the world will influence our reading of a text, and as teachers, we must be willing to validate the variety of interpretations our students will come up with.

I agree that there has been a certain fact-based approach to reading literary works in schools.  It does seem like many schools have a predetermined "correct" reading of a text that teachers and schools want their students to come to understand.  I even experienced this firsthand in my own education at certain points; occasionally, it felt as though there was a hidden, "right" answer in a text that I had to discern.  Additionally, I know that many students feel that the teacher holds this "correct" interpretation and it is the job of the student to try and discover what the teacher's interpretation is so they can agree with it.  However, leading students to believe that there is only one correct interpretation of a text is not conducive to critical thinking or good learning.  Students need to realize that their own interpretations are valid, and if we keep leading them to believe that we the teachers hold this fabled "right" answer, then our students will be taught to always seek out and accept the thinking of authority rather than develop and accept their own thinking.  It is essential that we teach our students to think for themselves and find their own meaning or else they will be subjected to an oppressive existence where they always look to others for understanding and knowledge.

Social Justice Individual Exploration - Response

For my individual exploration reading on social justice, I found an article titled Understanding Education for Social Justice by Kathy Hytten and Silvia C. Bettez.  The article explained how a growing number of teacher education programs are fundamentally oriented on a vision of social justice, but "it is often unclear in any practical terms what we mean when we invoke a vision of social justice or how this influences such issues as program development, curricula, practicum opportunities, educational philosophy, social vision, and activist work" (8).  The goal of this article was to examine social justice literature in education to gain a better understanding of what it is and why it's important.

This article cited explanations of social justice as "'both a process and a goal' with the ultimate aim being 'full and equal participation of all groups in a society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs'" and as an educational system that "'encourages students to take an active role in their own education and supports teachers in creating empowering, democratic, and critical educational environments'" (8).  Based on these explanations, I would define social justice as an extension of fairness, equal opportunity, and moral rightness towards all social classes without any discrimination or oppression.  Social justice seems to encompass a mindset wherein everyone is empowered and given chances to participate and succeed.  It acknowledges, validates, and respects the diversity between the social classes and empowers individuals by treating them how they ought to be treated.  At it's core, social justice appears to simply be justice within society; the problem is that "justice" is an ambiguous term, and what is just for one person may not be just for another.

Social justice would be important for our classrooms because an educational system or policy without social justice will tend to be oppressive.  An education that is not socially just will not accommodate the needs of all students.  According to my article, a socially just school would promote inclusion, hold high expectations for everyone, and develop reciprocal community relationships; everyone's needs are taking into consideration without excluding anyone in a socially just system.  The way I see it, social justice is important for education because it gives everyone a fair shot at success through a policy of equality.  However, equality doesn't mean that all students receive the exact same educational experiences; rather, I see social justice functioning in education by equally addressing the diverse needs of all types of students.

It is very interesting that so many schools advocate for social justice, but there doesn't appear to be a coherent, agreed upon definition of what the term means, or how it can be applied.  I think the problem is that we all agree that justice should be extended to everyone, but we are not sure how to do that, or even what that means.

Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom - Response

I really liked this article, and I thought it made a lot of excellent points about culture in the classroom.  I particularly liked the statement by Duncan-Andrade and Morrell that said "Our purposes as educators are not to replace one dominant ideology with another."  Instead, we should strive to make "students more critical consumers of all information that they encounter in their daily lives."  This statement is important because it emphasizes how everything we teach needs to have a real-world application.  Once our students graduate and leave our classrooms, they will become citizens and may not encounter "literary" texts in their adult life, such as Moby Dick or Shakespeare, but they will encounter those "hegemonic texts like local, state, and national legislation ... labor-management agreements, professional contracts, [and] mortgage offers."  We need to empower our students with the skills they need to be critical of the world that they are a part of.  Knowledge becomes wisdom when it is put into practice, and as educators, it is our job to help students learn how to apply mental processes to handle real-life situations.

Because it is important that we prepare our students for the "real world," I really liked how this article commented on the overt prestige of certain texts that are deemed "literary" (i.e. the classics) and explained how "popular culture" is seen to be "base, common, and unsophisticated" by comparison.  However, popular culture is our students reality, so it should not be overlooked.  I agree that there is much "pedagogical potential [in] tapping into young people's everyday experiences."  By making connections between "literary" texts and popular culture, both will become more meaningful and impactful for our students, and an understanding of one will help foster understanding for the other.  Additionally, implementing popular culture into pedagogy will increase the level of student interest and engagement.

I also really liked the pedagogical practices employed by Duncan-Andrade and Morrell.  I like how they "foregrounded social critique and social praxis [into their] curriculum and pedagogy" because it made the learning so much more personal and realistic.  By being given opportunities to critique and examine society, these students were able to get a better understanding of the world they live in.  And when students understand their world, or their reality, they will have a better idea of how to deal with it.

Critical Pedagogy: A Look at the Major Concepts - Response

Peter McLaren's "Critical Pedagogy: A Look at the Major Concepts" raised several societal and cultural issues that I think are very interesting.  I particularly liked when McLaren explained how critical educators argue that knowledge should be analyzed on the basis of whether it is oppressive or exploitative, and not on the basis of whether it is "true."  He continues by asking, "what kind of knowledge do we construct about women and minority groups in school texts?  Do the texts we use in class promote stereotypical views that reinforce racist, sexist, and patriarchal attitudes?"  My belief is that schools inevitably exude a certain air of authority simply because they are established institutions.  What is taught in schools is usually just assumed to be "right."  But I think that it is important that we do question and challenge what we teach in schools, and we must constantly analyze what the effects of our curriculum are.  I would argue that our schools do tend to reinforce dominant societal norms, which are difficult to avoid.  Dominant societal norms are dominant for a reason; they have been established through years of tradition and maintained by conservative perspectives.  It seems difficult for schools to separate themselves from these prevailing norms, but I do think it is possible.  The key is for schools to adopt a more cosmopolitan outlook that recognizes the "sub-cultures" within our society and validates them as significant.

McLaren's article encouraged me to reflect upon my own educational experience and determine if I have been subjected to any knowledge or curriculum that encouraged or reinforced dominant societal norms.  What came to mind was how Christopher Columbus was essentially glorified in school, but his treatment towards Native Americans was overlooked, at least in the lower grades.  It wasn't until at least 8th grade that I began to learn more about European/American treatment towards Native Americans.  The only other potentially oppressive/exploitative aspect of my schooling was that I feel that famous women weren't given as much attention as men in my science and history classes.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed Chapter 2 - Response

Chapter 2 from Pedagogy of the Oppressed takes the ideas established in Chapter 1 and applies it to the educational system.  I think this chapter makes many excellent points, and it proposes a model of teaching that all educators must strive for.

I think it is very important that educators separate themselves from the "banking" concept of education.  We need to see students as something more than "containers" or "receptacles" that must be filled.  An essential flaw with this notion of education is that it unjustly assumes that students know nothing, making it the job of the teacher to "narrate" their knowledge to students who must accept their teachers' statements at face value.  This concept of education is misguided, as the chapter explains, because true knowledge is attained through creativity, transformation, and a continual invention and re-invention of understanding.  The "banking" concept of education forces teachers to assume an oppressive role, as they control the thoughts and actions of their students and inhibit their creative potential.  To me, it seems clear that this "banking" concept of education is dehumanizing.  In order to be effective, learning must go beyond rote memorization and routine.  Students need opportunities for discovery, creation, and inquiry.  I think an essential point this chapter made is that many teachers may not even realize that they are operating within this "banking" concept of education, and are thus oppressing and dehumanizing their students.  Self-awareness is an essential aspect of being an educator, and it is important that teachers examine their own methods and determine what the true effect of their pedagogy is.

I believe that this chapter encapsulates the essence of a desirable and effective pedagogy when it states that "Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferals of information."  Cognition, "the mental process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses" (Google definition), is the heart of an effective education. Thought, experiences, and senses cannot be readily transferred from individual to individual.  In order to learn something, students must go through the mental processes that lead to understanding for themselves.  Rather than dictate knowledge to the student, it is then the job of the teacher to create opportunities for students to create their own knowledge through questioning, discussion, creation, and practice.

There is one last point that I would like to reiterate from this chapter.  The chapter states that this liberating form of education, or "problem-posing education," "affirms men and women as beings in the process of becoming ... as unfinished, uncompleted beings in and with a likewise unfinished reality ... In this incompletion and this awareness lie the very roots of education as a human manifestation."  I think it is important that we realize that we are always a work-in-progress.  Education brings us nearer to completion, but I do not think that we can ever reach a state of total self-actualization.  And I do not think this is a bad thing.  There will always be more knowledge to be gained, more creations to be made, and more experiences to be had in life, and this is what makes education such an exciting and rewarding venture.  Many of the joys in life are found in the pursuit and realization of goals or desires, but once these aspirations are attained, new ones emerge, the cycle repeats, and we move closer to completion, becoming increasingly humanized in the process.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed Chapter 1 - Response

The first chapter of Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a challenging read, but I was able to derive some meaning from it.  The way I see it, children (or the students we will be teaching) are inherently oppressed because they are not yet adults.  They live under the rule of others.  And because they lack power, they may fear what freedom entails.  As teachers, it is our job to help students develop as individuals (i.e. strive for humanization) so they can escape the oppression life puts upon them and remain fearless when the enter the adult world and the freedom that brings.

Since students are inherently oppressed, they may have tendencies towards self-depreciation.  As teachers, we need to help our students separate themselves from fatalistic attitudes.  Until students overcome their dependence, they will be like the peasant who says "'What can I do?  I'm only a peasant.'"  But instead, it will be "What can I do?  I am only a student."  We need to help students overcome the apparent power and invulnerability of their oppressors (society, perceived limitations, etc.), so they can survive and thrive in the adult world.  We teachers need to instill a sense of self-efficacy so students can realize that they have significance as a unique individual.

Lastly, I think it is important that teachers and students are both subjects in the "task of unveiling ... [and] recreating ... knowledge," as the chapter mentions.  The achievement of individuality, humanization, and freedom from oppression is dependent on the efforts of both the teacher and the student.  Students must be willing to reflect upon their situation and experiences in order to re-create themselves, and teachers must create opportunities for the development of their students and practice responsive teaching so they can meet the needs of their students as they take steps towards independence.

Common Core State Standards - Response

After reviewing the Common Core State Standards for reading, several thoughts came to mind.  I think that the standards are comprehensive, and they address all the essential skills students need to learn in school to be successful after they graduate.  If a student reaches all of these standards, then he or she would certainly be a very proficient reader.  I also liked how the standards have separate reading sections for literature and for informational texts.  There is obviously a lot of overlap between the two, but I think that it's important to recognize that there are different purposes for reading, and students may not have to read books, poems, and plays after they graduate, but they will certainly encounter informational texts and need to be able to understand them.  Reading is inescapable in our world, and I feel that the standards do an excellent job addressing this.

Another thought I had while I was reading the standards was the question of how students are going to be tested on these standards.  I would assume the standards would incorporate multiple choice responses, but I feel that this takes away from the subjective nature of literature.  These standards could be assessed through written responses, but that inherently ties students' reading abilities to their ability to write.  I realize that writing is another major part of the standards, but I wonder how these reading standards will be directly assessed (or if they will be directly assessed at all).  Furthermore, unless the standards mandate that certain novels and longer texts are read during certain years, there doesn't seem to be any way for us to assess students' abilities to comprehend novels or extended texts.  I understand that short stories and poems contain the same literary elements, but analyzing "the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements," and analyzing the development of themes "over the course of the text" both present a unique set of challenges for novels and longer works, and these challenges will most likely be overlooked.  I would agree that students who can understand short stories can most likely understand novels as well, but that may not always be the case.

Lastly, I also thought about how the standards don't appear to mandate what specifically needs to be read (for the most part).  A student's ability to learn and demonstrate these standards would obviously heavily depend on the text they are using to do so.  I think it's very good that the standards don't specifically mandate certain texts, but I think that it's important to be aware that the texts that teachers/districts use to teach these standards will greatly influence their students' abilities to learn them.