Group Differences Forum Reflection

I really wish we'd had this forum for more than two class periods. These articles all sounded incredibly interesting, and I would have liked the opportunity to discuss them more indepth. They brought up a lot of issues I don't feel I'd previously given much thought to. For example, the article I read "Killing Santa" illustrated the ongoing oppression presented by an institution still largely based in Christian practice. It discussed how limiting that is for children of different religions. I also thought the articles on gender and race outlined an interesting point about ignoring gender roles and being "color-blind". I'd be interested to hear more about people's experiences with these issues.

Like I said, I really wish we'd spent more time on this in class. I found these discussions very helpful as far as identifying issues I'd like to know more about and giving suggestions on how to address them. Specifically, I'd like to hear more about gender in the class room, as well as multicultural issues. I also thought the suggestion that all teachers be required to take at least one class in ELL was great. Ist's something I hadn't considered, but with the increasing diversity of language in our classrooms, I'm not sure why we DON'T take these classes. The only article I found confusing to hear about was the article on learning disabilities. The graphs sound hard to translate. Other than that, the only suggestion I have is that you give your next class a lot more time to cover these topics. I personally would have been happy to spend two weeks on these topics, and just do outside reading for the other material we covered in class.

This was an extememly intersting and informative class, thanks for your time and enthusiasm!

Language

I just finished reading an EXTREMELY interesting book by Elaine Garan (link to book)on politics, education reform, and reading. 
A lot of reading programs used in schools now have a heavy emphasis on phonics, i.e. breaking each word down into individual phonemes.  
One of the sections spent a lot of time looking at phonics instruction. She mentions a study on how we read that found our eyes track large chunks of text, we don't read letter by letter (as suggested by a lot of previous research). That being said, while phonics instruction is an important skill for reading, the heavy emphasis on drilling students on words letter by letter separates the vocabulary we are teaching from any context and meaning.

Another interesting point presented by Garan, one we've actually discussed in my reading education class, is that a lot of the spelling rules we go over with children have not one, but multiple exceptions (One two vowels go walking, the first does the talking.....except when you're using read (pronounced reed or red?) or tears (as in crying or rips?) There are a lot of confusing words for many of the rules we're asking students to remember. 

With those points in mind, a useful approach to developing students (k-5) vocabulary is to present them with a word wall. You start off giving your students a set of letters, and present them with a starter letter. Students work with the teacher to build as many words as they can with their letters. The teacher then asks students to help her organize the words into categories, based on spelling, tense, definition etc. The teacher can then focus on the spelling "rule" she wants to examine and hosts an open discussion with her students. This method is engaging (we practiced it in my reading education class, I thought it was fun) and gives students a lot of opportunities to adjust and explore their understanding of written language. It also actively shows them how words are built and written, an important skill for many younger students. 

Self Regulation

How might self-efficacy and self-regulation contribute to the intervention plans you use in your case study?

Lisa regularly acts as a class disturbance. She gets angry with others if she does not get the job she wants and refuses to do her part in contributing to the group’s learning. She constantly interrupts others in her group. She does not pay attention when her group prepares for class presentations. 

In Lisa's case, it seems to me that she is not necessarily experiencing low self-efficacy in relation to the art activities. Lisa is not showing effect self regulation while working with her peers. I'd address her behavior by pulling Lisa aside, as I discussed in an earlier post, and discussing her behavior with her. 

In my previous post I discussed the Restitution Model for classroom management. This involves setting "baseline rules" which have set consequences. If students violate these absolute rules, they are taken aside and explained to why these consequences are in place (again) and how their behavior affects the classroom. I got some wonderful feedback on this model suggesting I set more specific rules for Lisa. With that in mind, I think I would set the initial "baseline rules" with the entire class at the beginning of the year. As soon as I noticed Lisa's misbehavior I would make it a point to pull her aside and discuss with her the implications of her outbursts. I would discuss how working cohesively in a group can benefit not only her group members, but Lisa as well. I would outline my expectations for her behavior in very clear terms. 

If Lisa continued to act out, I would sit down with her again and work on a contingency plan with her. We'd discuss specific self regulating techniques Lisa might use when she becomes upset. For example, if Lisa doesn't feel she can control her outburst in a group, she might remove herself from the situation to the Distraction Free Zone and cool down as she works on her part of the project. Or she might ask the teacher for an individual assignment, accepting that working alone will most likely be a more difficult, less exciting endeavor. I would be sure to boost her self efficacy in relation to her ability to self regulate, as I imagine Lisa attributes her outbursts to external factors. I would be sure to reinforce the idea that Lisa is responsible for her own actions, and that she is wholly capable of working with her group in the role she's assigned. If Lisa proved able to exhibit self regulating tendencies, I would reward her for following her plan with extrinsic motivators to the whole group the first couple of times she showed self control. I'd gradually decrease the extrinsic rewards as she began working cohesively in her group, making sure to point out the benefits inherent in her self regulating strategies.   
 

Teacher as a facilitator video.

Self regulation in the classroom video.

Barb Rentenbach

Barb Rentenbach's presentation was certainly a very unique experience. It's something I think most people would benefit from, truth be told. Personally, I found it very eye opening. I've worked with peers and children who experience mild autistic tendencies, but I haven't really had any interactions with non-verbal individuals. I feel that I rely very heavily on communication in my own interpersonal relationships, I cannot imagine how frustrating and disheartening it must be to be unable to communicate. 

I generally think of myself as a fairly open-minded person, and I try to void stereotyping individuals who experience any form of disabilities, but this experience served as an indicator that I still have MANY misconceptions about severely disabled people. That is not to say I don’t, or didn’t feel that they deserve every opportunity individuals without disabilities encounter, nor have I operated under the assumption that they are less intelligent. I acknowledge that there are many intelligences. However, I did find myself surprised that Barb had such a beautiful handle on written language and could synthesize it so well. It’s hard to separate our conceptions about a person’s actions relate to their intelligence. Which is unfortunate, I think that colors many relationships between individuals with autism, or any disability, and their peers who don’t experience such struggles.

I find it disappointing that so many people are so skeptical of facilitated communication. We don’t look at a legless man and say, “You have no legs, you must not know how to walk, and you must not want to.” Why would we look at someone who cannot speak and assume they are incapable of forming conversation? It’s cruel, and bigoted of us. But I think most people, myself included, have some propensity toward that very tendency. I hope that as facilitated communication devices are more made more readily available, and as more people like Barb step forward as say, “We have a voice, we have thoughts, we can contribute!” that our prejudices will begin to dissolve and we’ll move toward a more inclusive society. It may be a ways off, but as educators, we can begin that trend.

Within the classroom, I think it is essential to give EVERYONE a voice, be they English language learners, an individual with autism, a child with an inhibiting physical disability, or a middleclass student. As I’ve discussed in my previous posts and essay responses, I am a fan of the constructivist community of learners. Engaging in an environment that gives everyone a voice and everyone equal respect can produce individuals who are ready to cooperate in the work force and social context outside school. We’ve discussed in my other classes how you can adapt your instructions to include children with autism in the art class. I feel that in many cases giving them the extra time and support they may require is really the most essential aspect of differentiation. However, in a case like Barbs, where the student needed assistance with initiation, I feel it would be good for a helper to be present. That is not to say I would want their helper to have any part in the creation of their art piece unless it was to help mix colors or cut paper with the individual’s direction. In some cases I’d probably prepare the materials or give the individual different materials to work with that they might find more appealing to work with. As far as class discussions, I might give the prompt to the child ahead of time so they could formulate a response to bring to class, or establish with the class that we needed to give them extra time to participate in the discussion. This would help develop patience and understanding in my other students, a worthwhile activity. Including that individual in the discussion would also probably help dismiss students’ misconceptions about their peers with autism. 

Behaviorism Vs. Constructivism

My case study Involves Lisa, a little girl who has problem working cooperatively in groups and becomes irate when she is not assigned the job she desires.
 
My primary behaviorist goal for Lisa would be to observe her working cooperatively with her peers in a cooperative learning group. My secondary goal would be to observe Lisa accepting and actively engaging in the job she was assigned, whether or not it was the one she desired.


Some Behaviorist techniques I might apply to change/condition Lisa's behaviors are as follows:



First approach: Positive reinforcement- every time I observe Lisa acting appropriately and cooperating in her group, reward her by presenting her with a reward or Negatively reinforce her behavior by taking away a regular assignment she finds unpleasant (ex. reward everyone in her group for working so well together by taking away their journal entry for the night.I'd be sure to notify Lisa that I appreciated her behavior, positively reinforce her specifically with a sticker or positive comment.)

Second approach: If reinforcing good behavior does not prove useful I would introduce removal punishment (I don't think presentation punishment would be, or ever is, appropriate of a useful tool for decreasing behavior). I would need to identify an external stimuli that served little to no educational purpose that Lisa was fond of and use its removal as an incentive to decrease her negative behaviors.

 

 I'm not very attracted to the Behaviorist viewpoint at all, in fact I find myself leaning toward a Constructivist teaching philosophy. I found this web page with some good suggestions about a constructivist approach to classroom management.

The model discussed by David Wees is the Restitution model of classroom management. In this model the teacher acts as a monitor of student behavior. The teacher establishes shared goals with the students, and serves as a source of feedback to help students build understandings of way certain behaviors are inappropriate. 

For this model, it is important to establish "base-line" rules, i.e. rules that are unacceptable for the student to break, which you must always respond to and apply appropriate consequences. This model allows students to make construct meaning from mistakes. 

To apply this to Lisa's in class behavior, I might sit down with Lisa at the beginning of the class to establish her "base-line" behavioral rules. I would continue to reinforce her good behavior, but when she broke one of the "base-line" rules, I would take her aside, discuss the situation with her. I think its important to try to identify what stimuli had influenced her actions and go over those factors with her. I would then try to help her understand why her behavior was unacceptable and negatively influenced both the classroom and Lisa herself. 

Reading Rainbow: Using Art to Help Metacognitive Reading Strategies

Consider a lesson plan you might use.  Which metacognitive skills/abilities are involved as students gain facility/knowledge in this domain?

I just completed an enlarged book designed to facilitate a read aloud in the classroom (this was for reading education, not art education.) However, the process of making this book gave me some ideas to facilitate art processes, as well as reading comprehension in the classroom. A large part of reading comprehension is using visual cues to help you figure out what it is you're reading about. 

The lesson I am proposing would follow this sequence: First grade students would participate in several read-alouds during class time. The teacher would walk them through the book step-by-step, asking them to look at the pictures and describe whats going on, and to relate it to the text. The students would then be placed in groups of three. Each group would be asked to collaborate on a story. As students were working on their story, the teacher would work with each group individually asking them to explain how their stories work. Students would need to relate the mechanics of their piece to the piece we'd read in class. Does it have a beginning? Is there a pattern the text follows? Is there a middle? An end? Is it a fantasy or adventure? Why? Who are your characters? How do we know what their personalities are like?

After students had completed their stories, the teacher would ask them to take a moment and visualize the events in their story. Students would then need to plan the illustrations. When the time came to draw the actual illustrations for each page, the teacher would ask them to think about the steps they took to make each rough draft. Students would then present their pieces to the class. They would be asked to explain how the text and vocabulary on a page related to the illustrations.  They would also need to explain what prior knowledge of story mechanics they drew on to make their books.

Using metacognition reading strategies.

The second section of this article I found particularly useful.

Art and Music of WWI: A Constructivist Approach

Hannah Hoch, Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany, 1919

The lesson involves a collaboration on the parts of the music and art teacher. It is designed to cover the art and music of WWI and tie these in with social studies discussions. 

For this lesson, the teacher will lead students in a discussion of WWI events, show students examples of DaDa art, play recordings from WWI, and lead a discussion on how the war influenced and affected art and music during the time. Teachers might also need to scaffold students in terms of creating a collage, and interpreting a musical piece.

Students will be expected to achieve the following based on teacher presentations and prior knowledge from the social studies classroom:

Using information presented by the teacher, and their prior knowledge and experience from social studies, art, and music classes:

- Describe a musical piece after listening to a recording
- research and discuss how the war and propaganda were related to the DaDa movement
- Create their own DaDa collage, relate it to contemporary social events.
- Discuss pieces of music and art from WWI and relate them to the war and other social contexts of the period being discussed.

This is a good website with many links to articles on connecting art to other disciplines.