Key Idea #1: At the core of effective teaching is a teacher who reflects on her instruction, rethinking her instructional adjustments.
Reflection #1: I learned during student teaching that personal reflection is a critical part of being an effective teacher. It is hard to think about what you are doing and what you could do differently and better while you are teaching. I've found it very helpful to keep a journal and take a few minutes at the end of each day (each class would be ideal, but there is not always time) to write down some positive and negative things about my lessons for the day. I also like to jot down any eye-opening experiences or conversations that arose throughout the day. At the end of each week, it is helpful to read through all of my journal entries for the week. I like to see if I have made the same types of mistakes repeatedly; or if I have learned from my mistakes and made changes throughout the week. I also think writing in a journal helps you unwind at the end of the day and think about the events of the day.
Key Idea #2: She (the diagnostic teacher) is sensitive to multiple cultures in her classroom and how that enhances the literate community.
Reflection #2: I think that being aware and respectful of multiple cultures within a classroom is very important, especially since the student population is so diverse these days. Each student brings different background knowledge, personal experiences, and perspectives to the classroom. Teachers should embrace these differences and allow students to share their knowledge, perspectives, and experiences with one another to enhance learning and elaborate on topic being discussed. One topic, word, or story may have one meaning in one student's culture, but take on an entirely different meaning in another student's culture. Allowing students to discuss these differences gives students opportunities to actively participate and learn from one another. Each student has something to contribute and teach his/her classmates. The students and teacher are also gaining valuable knowledge about the text or topic being discussed.
Key Idea #3: She (the diagnostic teacher) uses humor and laughter to develop a relaxed atmosphere where students learn to cope with their mistakes and produce well-thought-out ideas.
Reflection #3: I was once told that an important part of being an effective teacher is having a sense of humor without faking it. Learning is always increased and enhanced when class is fun and enjoyable. I think it is important to be able to laugh at your mistakes and learn from them, rather than taking them too seriously and dwelling on them. Mistakes are part of the learning process for everyone. The most important part of making mistakes is learning from them and discussing better ways to approach a similar text, reading event, or situation. Encouraging students to talk about their mistakes and discuss their reasoning behind their mistakes often allows them to catch and correct their own mistakes. It also leads students to discover alternative strategies and coping skills.
Key Idea #4: Other studies found that in Title I and special education programs, the amount of contextual reading was reduced rather than increased when students were placed in these special programs.
Reflection #4: I find this to be very ironic and confusing. One would think that the readers who need the most help would need and receive more practice and motivation. According to these studies, however, the exact opposite is happening. Struggling readers and students with disabilities would benefit greatly from increased practice with authentic and contextual reading. As discussed in the chapter, contextual reading increases motivation for struggling readers. Most students in special education need increased motivation to push on and make educational progress, especially in reading.
In my classroom, we have to use contextual and authentic texts and stories so my students can relate to them. These stories often have to do with activities of daily living or current events. We read the newspaper, magazines, and other real stories that apply to the students' daily lives. For my students, increased practice is necessary for all tasks and activities-grooming, academics, social skills, gym, music, art, etc. The repetition increases the number of opportunities for my students to practice the skills addressed and discussed in the stories/text.
Key Idea # 5: Not only does the diagnostic teacher increase her wait time, but she must also deal effectively with inappropriate responses.
Reflection #5: Increasing wait time is something that a lot of teachers need to work on. Many teachers, including myself, ask a question and provide little or no time to think before they expect a response. Students, however, need time to think, organize their ideas, and come up with a response. During this thought process, students are often silent; and I think that silence creates an uncomfortable feeling for the teacher. The teacher then prompts students for an immediate response or gives the students the answer. If teachers just waited an additional minute or two before asking for a response, students would have more time to think through their answers and come up with more well-thought-out responses.
Dealing effectively with inappropriate responses is also a challenging tasks for many teachers. I think many teachers just shrug off or disregard inappropriate responses rather than taking something from them. I believe that inappropriate responses have something important to offer. Often times, students can be guided to a more appropriate response through effective questioning techniques. This is a much more effective way of dealing with an inappropriate response.
Key Idea #6: To support students, the diagnostic teacher helps them develop independence by sharing how she thinks while she is reading.
Reflection #6: I think that proper modeling of efficient thinking while reading is extremely helpful for all students. Students are not born with an innate ability to read and think through various texts. Students need to be taught and shown how to do so. I think this concept can be especially helpful in the different content area classes. Students would benefit greatly from their social studies teacher modeling how to read and think through their social studies textbook. The same holds true for math, science, and ELA . If teachers took a day or two at the beginning of each quarter, semester, or school year to teach students proper reading and study skills, I think teachers and students would see greater success in their classrooms.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Chapters 1 and 2
Key Concept #1: Rather than looking for causes of reading disabilities, the diagnostic teacher focuses on what students can do, then coordinates their strengths with suitable reading experiences. (p. 5)
Reflection #1: I think this is an important thing to keep in mind when helping and teaching students with reading difficulties and disabilities. I have seen many teachers (reading, ELA, and special education) that try so hard to figure out why students struggle when reading, rather than focusing on what the students can do. I believe that this mind set takes away valuable time and energy that could be put to better use working with the students to improve upon their reading strengths; and decrease or eliminate their reading weaknesses and difficulties. I have learned that you may not always know or understand why things/people are the way they are.
Key Concept #2: The goal of diagnostic teaching is to establish exceptional and appropriate learning opportunities for struggling readers. (p. 10)
Reflection #2: I think this should be the goal for all students in all content areas. All students deserve appropriate and exceptional opportunities; regardless of their strengths and weaknesses. Struggling readers may need some modifications or additional instruction and guidance, but the quality of reading instruction and education should be high and no less than that of non-struggling readers.
I think that appropriate education and learning opportunities are often lacking in special education; especially for those students with more significant disabilities. Many students are given reading material that is far below their reading ability; and inappropriate for their needs. Many of these students are never given exceptional learning opportunities because teachers are not properly trained or prepared to accommodate their intense needs.
Key Concept #3: Diagnostic teaching means that assessment is continuous as the student is learning. The diagnostic teacher adjusts instruction as she teaches, not after she has gathered the facts. (p. 12)
Reflection #3: I think it is important for teachers to monitor student progress during a lesson. Effective discussion and questioning can be helpful in determining if and what students understand from the lesson. Teachers need to be able to adjust accordingly to meet the needs of the students. Sometimes teachers will need to reteach some or all of the material; or they may need to find a different way to explain the material. I think it is important to anticipate and be well prepared to answer students' questions. I also think it is important to be able to explain things in multiple ways. One method of instruction will not work for all students. There are times when I ask questions and get few or no responses. I know at that point that I have not clearly communicated the information; and need to do something else to reach my students.
Key Concept #4: Authentic tasks have been found to provide opportunities for students to discuss ideas both before and after reading. (p. 17)
Reflection #4: I believe that real-life situations and authentic tasks are more effective for motivating and engaging students. I also feel that real-life experiences make reading more interesting and easier to understand. When students are presented with a real-life situation while reading, they relate and interact more naturally with the text. This helps encourage and enhance richer class discussions because students have more to talk about and share. Real-life experiences also make the lesson applicable outside the walls of the classroom. These types of experiences let students see how the concept or material relates to their lives. Numerous students ask the questions "Why do I need to know or do this?" or "When will I ever use this in real-life?" Authentic tasks will help answer those questions.
Key Concept #5: Consequently, the readers respond to the teachers' expectations. (p. 41)
Reflection #5: Children and students feed off of and react to teachers' expectations. If teachers don't expect much from students, they will not get much. On the other hand, if they expect a great deal, students are more likely to strive to meet those higher expectations. I think it is important that teachers maintain high, positive expectations for all students. Regardless of a student's disabilities, each student has great abilities. I have learned this first hand working with students with autism. Each of my students has things they excel at, but they also have those that they struggle with. I hold high expectations for them, even when others do not. I do believe they can achieve more than they are, but they will only try to do more if I encourage them to and truly believe they can.
Just a side note: I consider myself to be a pretty strong reader, but I found this book a bit challenging with the errors I kept coming across, especially in chapter 2. For example, on page 25, the author writes, "In other words, the diagnostic teacher examines the text to evaluate these features which that affect student reading performance." Then on page 23 in the last paragraph, the author starts by referring to a lamp and a cat, then it switches to a dog and a chair, then back to the cat and lamp. I don't know if that was an error or the author's intention, but the references didn't flow or connect to one another. At the top of page 22, the "s" is left out of the word diagnostic. There are more if you look for them, or maybe you noticed them as you were reading. They are all minor things, but were distracting when I was trying to read. I guess I just expected better quality and greater attention to detail considering that it is centered on effective literacy instruction and proper writing is part of that. For $63.00, I would hope a book was proofread and edited before being published and put on the shelves.
Reflection #1: I think this is an important thing to keep in mind when helping and teaching students with reading difficulties and disabilities. I have seen many teachers (reading, ELA, and special education) that try so hard to figure out why students struggle when reading, rather than focusing on what the students can do. I believe that this mind set takes away valuable time and energy that could be put to better use working with the students to improve upon their reading strengths; and decrease or eliminate their reading weaknesses and difficulties. I have learned that you may not always know or understand why things/people are the way they are.
Key Concept #2: The goal of diagnostic teaching is to establish exceptional and appropriate learning opportunities for struggling readers. (p. 10)
Reflection #2: I think this should be the goal for all students in all content areas. All students deserve appropriate and exceptional opportunities; regardless of their strengths and weaknesses. Struggling readers may need some modifications or additional instruction and guidance, but the quality of reading instruction and education should be high and no less than that of non-struggling readers.
I think that appropriate education and learning opportunities are often lacking in special education; especially for those students with more significant disabilities. Many students are given reading material that is far below their reading ability; and inappropriate for their needs. Many of these students are never given exceptional learning opportunities because teachers are not properly trained or prepared to accommodate their intense needs.
Key Concept #3: Diagnostic teaching means that assessment is continuous as the student is learning. The diagnostic teacher adjusts instruction as she teaches, not after she has gathered the facts. (p. 12)
Reflection #3: I think it is important for teachers to monitor student progress during a lesson. Effective discussion and questioning can be helpful in determining if and what students understand from the lesson. Teachers need to be able to adjust accordingly to meet the needs of the students. Sometimes teachers will need to reteach some or all of the material; or they may need to find a different way to explain the material. I think it is important to anticipate and be well prepared to answer students' questions. I also think it is important to be able to explain things in multiple ways. One method of instruction will not work for all students. There are times when I ask questions and get few or no responses. I know at that point that I have not clearly communicated the information; and need to do something else to reach my students.
Key Concept #4: Authentic tasks have been found to provide opportunities for students to discuss ideas both before and after reading. (p. 17)
Reflection #4: I believe that real-life situations and authentic tasks are more effective for motivating and engaging students. I also feel that real-life experiences make reading more interesting and easier to understand. When students are presented with a real-life situation while reading, they relate and interact more naturally with the text. This helps encourage and enhance richer class discussions because students have more to talk about and share. Real-life experiences also make the lesson applicable outside the walls of the classroom. These types of experiences let students see how the concept or material relates to their lives. Numerous students ask the questions "Why do I need to know or do this?" or "When will I ever use this in real-life?" Authentic tasks will help answer those questions.
Key Concept #5: Consequently, the readers respond to the teachers' expectations. (p. 41)
Reflection #5: Children and students feed off of and react to teachers' expectations. If teachers don't expect much from students, they will not get much. On the other hand, if they expect a great deal, students are more likely to strive to meet those higher expectations. I think it is important that teachers maintain high, positive expectations for all students. Regardless of a student's disabilities, each student has great abilities. I have learned this first hand working with students with autism. Each of my students has things they excel at, but they also have those that they struggle with. I hold high expectations for them, even when others do not. I do believe they can achieve more than they are, but they will only try to do more if I encourage them to and truly believe they can.
Just a side note: I consider myself to be a pretty strong reader, but I found this book a bit challenging with the errors I kept coming across, especially in chapter 2. For example, on page 25, the author writes, "In other words, the diagnostic teacher examines the text to evaluate these features which that affect student reading performance." Then on page 23 in the last paragraph, the author starts by referring to a lamp and a cat, then it switches to a dog and a chair, then back to the cat and lamp. I don't know if that was an error or the author's intention, but the references didn't flow or connect to one another. At the top of page 22, the "s" is left out of the word diagnostic. There are more if you look for them, or maybe you noticed them as you were reading. They are all minor things, but were distracting when I was trying to read. I guess I just expected better quality and greater attention to detail considering that it is centered on effective literacy instruction and proper writing is part of that. For $63.00, I would hope a book was proofread and edited before being published and put on the shelves.
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