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justin olmanson
I. Learner
Centered Professional Development
Literacy to me is the ability to negotiate meaning
through oral, textual, and or pictorial devices. Literacy is a vehicle of action
and empowerment, preserving history and preparing us for tomorrow’s demands
and challenges. Literacy is communication of intent and sentiment.
I am an auto-didactic writer and reader, I read in spurts
and use the last book I read to lead me to many other books. My self-efficacy is
very high, I read for the same reasons I travel: to understand myself more
fully. Writing is not a choice for me, I get feelings of urgency to write poems,
short stories, bilingual plays, some of which have been published. I wrote for a
newspaper for 2 years as well. Writing is not an easy process for me. Slow,
edit, write, erase. N. Goldberg’s book Wild Mind has been of great help
in freeing myself and seeing myself as a writer in a world pressing obligations.
I speak English, Spanish, Norwegian, and am learning French much in the manner
of Lomb Kato (Krashen 99). Currently I am reading: Barbie et le secret du
pharaon by Geneviére Schurer, Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, Angela’s
Ashes by Frank Mcourt, and Golf is not a Game of Perfect by Rotella.
1. As a
literate person I become empowered to sell insurance, teach, publish poetry,
think and write critically. Literacy opens doors for me, helps me rise from the
Minnesota factory floor to a chance at a master’s degree and the opportunity
to see myself (frames 1 & 4 Mallow and Patterson) as approaching adequate
levels of understanding about the educational / literate world (frame 2 Mallow
and Patterson) to contribute my own beliefs and observations.
As a learner I assess myself as eclectic and highly
capable. I learn things quickly and in short periods of time. I learn best when
I read first, map it out, and finally talk about it with someone else. My
weakness is that I often allow other obligations and joys get between
traditional learning and myself. I also handicap my chances at success when I
believe an educational task requires more time than effort. I put it off for
more stimulating work and inquiry. This leads to eventual crisis management and
occasional failure.
As a teacher, last year being my first year, I am finally
feeling slightly capable to perform up to the standards I have set for myself. I
fight to keep expectations high, the pace quick, the environment print rich
–as well as diverse-; we as a class strive for community and family,
acceptance and encouragement. Individuality is celebrated and Free Voluntary
Reading (FVR Krashen
93) is a cornerstone.
2. The
strengths I bring to teaching include: my ability to speak 3 plus languages, my
impoverished but positive upbringing, my travels to Mexico, Ecuador, Panama,
Morocco, Greece, Italy, Germany, France, England, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark,
Norway, Spain, and Canada, my enthusiasm for reading, all my past failures in
life and teaching, and genetic dispositions towards education and letters.
3-4. I strive
to grow professionally so that I may better see and anticipate the needs of my
student, to understand early in their time with me how they learn best, to mesh
research based methods to my personality. This would be best accomplished
through peer and mentor observation, peer and student dialogue, and
self-reflection. Yes college courses are important to me; yes, professional
development training is vital and valued. I just want to stress other avenues,
which also contribute greatly to my success.
II.
Learner Centered Knowledge
1. Literacy to
me is the ability to negotiate meaning through oral, textual, and or pictorial
devices to accomplish some social or individual end. In other words literacy is
the ability to participate in a national culture and economy (Baron 1992).
Literacy is a vehicle of action and empowerment, preserving history and
preparing us for tomorrow’s demands and challenges. Literacy is communication
of intent and sentiment.
Literacy is a school’s vehicle of necessity by which the
lion share of academic principles; axioms, theories and suppositions are
conveyed to their students. Those whose literacy lags behind the norm succeed
less often, there-by damaging to some degree their ability to accomplish
academic and financial goals. The highly literate populous in schools can be
found in the honors classes, on the debate and academic decathlon teams.
Literacy is a simultaneous separator and equalizer (though more often a
separator) (Krashen
1993).
Literacy outside of schools usually doesn’t get the
recognition it deserves. People don’t realize that when they glance at the
newspaper headlines while walking by the newsstand they use their literacy to
read the headline, strategies to predict the rest of the story (frame 3) and
world knowledge to make sense of it in context with the rest of the world. Most
writing consists of notes and lists (though we don’t yet have such a TAAS
writing requirement); most reading is made up of street signs and headlines with
some light reading on the side (Parrish 1983).
2. Literacy
creates boundaries when access to literacy itself is denied or not available,
book to student ratios (Elley
1984), economic variables, and linguistic barriers
among others contribute to literacy disparity between upper and lower classes,
domestic and immigrant populations. Those in power also maintain boundaries in
that literacy is a means of maintaining that power and dominance.
Literacy acts as an equalizer when it allows economically,
culturally, politically and linguistically stratified groups equal access to
information. The new knowledge can lead to empowerment through world knowledge
(frame 2), goal accomplishment (frame 5) and heightened self-efficacy (frame 1).
3. If literacy
is about stimulus, and learning is about changing and manipulating point of view
for understanding, then literacy learning requires the learner to be open to the
possibility of idea changing input and ideas. It requires the student be ready
to discover that previously held notions were wrong. This takes risk taking.
Other components that also require risk taking include: the chance one will not
understand the input on a semantic or generative-syntactic level, lack of
previous knowledge, or lack of perceived relevancy.
4. Initially
all literacy stemmed from an oral source, “Language is a completely
arbitrary symbol of thought.” (Pei 1965). Past history and tales,
practices and caveats passed from generation to generation via vocalizations and
repeated listening. Since then the thought of being literate is really the idea
of possessing specific knowledge. Is someone educated in all the classics,
trilingual, and of great speaking skills any less literate if he or she
accomplished all this without the ability to read?
Oral language, reading and writing share in the conveyance of knowledge;
they are the servants of intent and power. Neither functions as well without the
others as compliment and balance. All are symbols of thought.
5. Prior
knowledge is the cornerstone upon which present and future knowledge adheres, it
is the buttress of new ideas and the anchor of even the most radical
suppositions. Activating prior knowledge allows for meaningful “meaning
making” and engaged, interested students (Cummins 1996). Prior knowledge is
the bottomless well of writing ideas and the warp drive of reading
comprehension.
6. Writers and
readers use an array of cueing systems as they make meaning. The first may be
graphic cues, pictures which correspond with the text or simply the uniqueness
of the word itself in graphical terms, use of grapho-phonemic information,
understanding trends in letters and sounds. Syntactical or structural cues,
semantic, typological, and morphological round out the cueing systems of which I
am presently aware.
7. Strategies
involved in reading and writing vary but some strategies seem to remain paramount. The prediction cycle begins with schemas
somewhere between sparse and elaborated. To these, input is added and growth and
or knowledge occur. This is followed by questioning author, text and self, which
leads to a deeper understanding of text, situation, and self. A sense of
accomplishment and heightened self-efficacy result.
- What
do I know
- What
do I want to learn
- What
did I learn
- What
do I still want to learn
8. Literacy
learners need to know the conventional sound / symbol correspondences of their
language –not every detailed exception…- but the phonological generalities.
Learners also need to be lead to a morphological understanding that groups of
letters stand for groups of sounds which represent thoughts, wants and desires.
At the sentence level learners should be aware that there are syntactical and
grammatical conventions in language, conventions they have been using since they
began to speak and hearing since birth. The most rudimentary or troublesome of
which could be at least demonstrated and modeled correctly if not briefly
dissected. At the message or comprehension level learners should be lead to the
understanding that behind all writing and text, behind all speech lies intent.
The importance is to seek that message or intent out and see how it pertains to
one so that one might take action if necessary.
Principles Guiding Literacy
Teaching
- Encouraging
readers and writers to take risks is important in that, successful readers
and writers must take risks to develop. It becomes a beneficial cycle; more
risks = more growth, more growth = heightened self-efficacy = an increased
willingness to take risks (Mallow,
Patterson 1998). Students need to be
confronted with success; in turn they will seek out new challenges or risks
previously out of their zone of independent achievement.
- Eliciting
a life-long interest in reading and self-expression should be carried out by
giving the learner access to a wide range of literary stimulus as well as
cultivating the idea that the book, poem, play or speech is for them to read
and reflect, not just because they need to get a grade. Comprehension
questions should originate from their own questions and musings. When this
is accomplished reading and writing take on the form of inquiry and
self-expression, which should in turn encourage auto-didactic reading and
expression.
- Prior
knowledge or schema is the foundation of present interest and future growth
and understanding. Activating prior knowledge must be a priority in order
for meaningful “meaning making” to occur.
- Modeling
and teacher / peer self talk demonstration are vital in passing successful
reading and writing strategies on to developing readers and writers.
- General
language structure: phonology, morphology, conventional grammar, syntax and
semantics should be modeled and demonstrated through speech, text, and
language negotiation self-talk. Unmitigated grammar instruction through
drill and practice in most cases produces little results (Greaney 1970).
- Knowledge
transfer occurs most readily when class requirements most closely resemble
life tasks. Therefore reading and writing for purpose beyond grades and
stickers allows for transmission of skills to the world outside the practice
or academic arena.
- Technology
should be used cautiously as a vehicle to extract and or compile specific
knowledge. Technology may also be an effective tool in encouraging reluctant
readers and writers to begin or continue their literary development.
III. Learner Centered
Instruction
Assessment strategies to identify strengths and
needs in…(teacher observation / reflection and to some extent portfolio
development and conferencing apply to all of these areas).
- Attitude towards literacy. Metalinguistic
Awareness Inventory, Environmental Print Awareness,
- Interests.
Interest Inventory
- Extent
and use of world knowledge. Interest
Inventory, Environmental Print Awareness,
- Speaking and listening
strategies. Spelling Analysis, Retellings
- Reading
comprehension (the product). Retellings, Informal
Reading Inventory, cautious standardized
testing
- Use
of reading strategies (the process). Metalinguistic
Awareness Inventory, Miscue Analysis
- Writing
Effectiveness (the product). Rubric for Writing
Assessment, Retellings
- Use
of writing strategies (the process). Metalinguistic
Awareness Inventory, Assessment of Writing
and Spelling Development, Rubric for Writing
Assessment
- Metalinguistic awareness. Metalinguistic
Awareness Inventory, Student
Reflection, Book Handling Knowledge Task
- Language structure knowledge. Phonemic
Awareness, Assessment of Emergent Reading
of Storybooks, Assessment of Sound / Symbol
Use, Names Test, Miscue Analysis
Instructional Strategies to help students target growth
in …
- Lifelong
literacy attitudes. Free Voluntary Reading /
Silent Sustained Reading, Writing Text for
Wordless Picture books, Assisted Reading,
K-W-L, Response
Logs, Book Clubs, Reader’s
Theatre
- Speaking
and listening. Shared Book Experience,
Guided Reading, Retelling,
Book Clubs
- Phonemic
awareness. Free Voluntary Reading / Silent
Sustained Reading, Language Experience
Approach, Writing Text for Wordless
Picture books, Shared Book Experience, Assisted
Reading
- Reading
and range of text for variety of purpose. Free
Voluntary Reading / Silent Sustained Reading, Shared
Book Experience, K-W-L,
DR-TA, Q/A Relationships,
Request
- Writing for a variety of
purposes. Free Voluntary Reading / Silent
Sustained Reading, Writing Text for
Wordless Picture books, Response Logs,
Mind Mapping,
- Knowledge about reading and
writing strategies. Free Voluntary
Reading / Silent Sustained Reading, Language
Experience Approach, Guided Reading, Cloze,
K-W-L, DR-TA,
Retelling,
Mind Mapping, Think Aloud, Q/A Relationships, Request,
SQ3R
- Knowledge
about language structure. Free Voluntary Reading
/ Silent Sustained Reading, Shared Book
Experience, Cloze
IV. Equity in Excellence for
all Teachers
Teacher responds appropriately to diverse
groups of learners.
- When
an individual or group of learners receive discourse in a language other
than their first language it is vital that a few things occur.
- Allow
for responses written or given in their first language. Second language
learners need / benefit from a silent period of 2-5 months. Affording them
the opportunity to negotiate meaning through their first language
initially allows them a smoother more natural transition.
- Keep
the input comprehensible (Krashen 1999). Contextualized input, pictures,
TPR, hand motions, expressions, music and movies increase the chance of
activation of background knowledge thus improving the chances for
development and learning.
- Encourage
first language improvement. This augments second language growth and
placates feelings of linguistic solidarity.
- When
dealing with a range of socio-economic backgrounds it is important that
students are not judged on the basis of what they have. The teacher should
work diligently to form a community in which all feel a part. The instructor
should model or reveal a few areas in which he / she was judged different or
not good enough, talking about the hurt and pain it inflicted. Thus building
a community of respect and togetherness, using each other’s strengths, not
pointing out or poking fun at their weaknesses.
- Culture
should be celebrated and explored. Very important is the teaching of the
ability to suspend judgment when entering / studying a new culture. This
pertains to inter-personal / inter-cultural interactions within the
classroom. Asking for clarification before jumping to conclusions. “What
did you mean by…” “When you said …it really hurt me, I felt like you
were telling me… did you really mean that?” Modeling other culture
perspectives or case studies is also helpful.
V. Learner Centered
Communication
Professional interpersonal communication skills
Strategies to encourage dialogue…
- The
most important lesson is the one that is not said nor introduced nor written
on the class rules wall. The most powerful lessons are the teacher’s
actions with students, other teachers, and administrators. Refusing to shout
or say hurtful things in the heat of a disagreement will serve as a model
for students and sets the tone for in-class relationships. Show a
willingness to accept compromise from other teachers or administrators and
students will begin to understand that not getting their way is neither the
end of the world nor the death of their individualism. Giving all sides
equal but brief time to voice their desires and perspective allows for a
feeling of at least being part of the process.
- Assign
journal work that involves family ideals and history. This gives children
and parents a point of sharing and discovery. Families in which
communication is rare will be encouraged to open a dialogue and give a face
saving excuse for its initiation. Families in which dialogue is commonplace
will find such tasks welcome opportunities for continued growth and
understanding. Planning collaborative projects that take advantage of the
parent’s expertise are another way in which students and parents can
increase both dialogue and respect.
- Offer
help to those who look like they might need it, ask questions of those who
know more than you and share ideas with those in similar situations as
yourself. Observe a different class one planning time per week, and use
someone else’s idea with your kids each week as well. Be prepared when you
speak to administration, understand how your request or question relates
to the school… More than
anything, be humble and be patient with first year teachers.
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