Adolescent Literacy in the Era of the Common Core

As someone who wants to teach a science class, I found this reading really interesting. I definitely think there is value in more cross-class collaboration (I did come to a Liberal Arts school after all). I found myself thinking of ways I could implement the six shifts in a biology class. Oftentimes, especially in high school, biology tests and quizzes are multiple choice, which makes sense when there's either a right or wrong answer and there is no work to show. However, there are a lot of opportunities for short-answer or essay questions. Many of the things and process taught in high school level biology can be complex and in depth. I can imagine ways to incorporate more writing and specifically the six shifts this chapter talks about in my future class- and I can't wait!

Adolescent Literacy in the Era of the Common Core

Like Ileana, I did not know much about the Common Core before reading this article. I find it interesting that part of the standard is to integrate literacy and writing into all classes, not just ELA classes. This is something I noticed a teacher doing at the Winston School last semester while I was observing. She taught math classes and before every test, the students were to turn in a biography about a famous mathematician. Some of the students did not enjoy the assignment, but it is a great way to integrate writing into a subject that is typically comprised completely of numbers, variables, and graphs. Even today in my observation, my mentor teacher was integrating writing into the curriculum. As part of the Pre-AP Algebra II students exam this week, they will be asked to write a one-page essay about what they've been learning in the class. The assignment is technically for extra credit, but I think it's a great way to get students to want to write about math.

As far as vocabulary goes, I think that is something that is fairly easy to integrate into all subject areas. It is so important to know the vocabulary when learning a new subject so that you can effectively discuss it in class. This brings me to the next thing-- discussion. I love learning through discussion. If there is ever any material that I'm unsure about, I make sure to try and have a discussion with someone about it. That may be a specific type of learning, but I think it's helpful to all students if they can discuss the subjects they are learning in class.

One of my favorite points of this article was the point about Digital Literacy. When I was in high school, we had one computer class. and we learned the basics about Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but it would have been nice to have more integration of technology in our classes. I still don't really know how to work and SmartBoard and those are in almost every classroom now. Students are so tech-savvy these days that it doesn't make sense to not assign readings online or to have them watch video clips on the Internet. It seems as if they'd be more likely to pay attention to these things than to pay attention to text.

Overall, I'm very excited to continue learning about the Common Core and all of the changes it is making to all subject areas. I like the integration of several subjects, especially. This reminds me of the last chapter we read where students had long blocks of a class, but the classes integrated several subject areas.

Adolescents Literacy in the Era of the Common Core

This reading is a good insight into the changes being made in the curriculum. Me being a product of the factory styled classroom it is exciting to hear changes being made to the curriculum. I liked hearing about discussions being an important part of the classroom. This is something important in the Trinity curriculum, and I really enjoy having class discussions. I wish discussions were a bigger part in my high school because they enrich the material and help develop students social skills. The reading gave a more general look of how things are changing in the classroom. As someone that wants to be a math teacher, I'd like to learn more about the specific changes that are occurring in math classes.  

Adolescent Literacy in the Era of the Common Core

I really enjoyed reading this article--I thought it really illuminated some of the effects that the implementation of the common core is having in schools around the nation, and in suffice to say, I am a fan.

I read this through two specific lenses, one as a college student who has heard for years about the value of a solid foundation in written expression, the second as a language learner myself.

Throughout my four years at Trinity, I've heard a multitude of times how important it is to be able to express yourself through writing. There's a kind of joke that floats around campus that I'm sure others have heard; professors who teach common curric classes can always tell a science from a humanities major based off of their paper writing abilities. Likewise, my father always insists that I include writing as a skill on resumés, because "that's what the rest of your generation lacks!", etc. He's dramatic about it, but I definitely feel that writing well and putting together coherent thought is something that is lacking in public curriculum--something that I think the common core is trying to combat. By implementing a curriculum that stresses the building of extensive, content-specific vocabularies alongside ensuring a solid foundation in academic expression, I think students will enter both college and "real-world" environments with a better chance of success.

I was also really about to identify with this article as a language learner. I know through my own experiences that it is nearly impossible to have a conversation about anything unless you have specifically studied how to discuss that particular topic. If you don't have the vocabulary, you can't do it. When I studied abroad, I found myself floundering to do the simplest of tasks out in the real world,  like trying to put minutes on a cellphone, or asking directions, but then found myself having fluent conversation about gender inequality or voting policies in class-because that was what I had studied. I was labeled advanced, but couldn't survive at a 10-year-olds level in the world. Knowing the advanced words doesn't mean that you're more capable, it just means that you can throw together an essay. If teachers want to prepare their students for success, they need to ensure that they are providing a well-rounded experience for them. Teachers can no longer assume the knowledge of standard words and phrases. Students talk a lot about the relevancy of what they're learning (the eternal, "but am I ever going to useeee this trig as an adult?!?") so I think it's great that the common core is finally seeking to address the problem of interdisciplinary literacy in school. As the article says, the achievement of adolescents is not the task of  a single teacher, but the task of teams, departments, and schools.

Finally, one other thing that I think is really important from this reading is the discussion of spoken expression. Last semester I had an interesting conversation with a teacher who had taught ELA at the high school level for many years, and she shared with me the importance of developing an environment in which students were allowed to practice their speaking and debating ability, as such an environment allows them to develop their own views and identities. This article touched on that towards the end, mentioning how important it is to structure opportunities for the students to have directed conversation that forces them to use their minds, and uncover unclear answers. It is through those conversations that students stop being passive learners, and take an active role in their own education.

"Adolescent Literacy in the Era of the Common Core" Response

Before this class, I knew very little about Common Core, and before reading this article I knew even less. I was surprised that the literacy standards applied to all subject areas. Of course, literacy is a part of all aspects of life, much less all subject areas. I'm sure as an English major and a prospective English teacher I believe that more than most. But after reviewing the TEKS I was surprised at the cohesion across subject area. These standards will allow students to practice their reading, writing, and presentation skills in a variety of contexts, which is quite similar to the demands of the life after high school. In order for our students to succeed in whatever field they choose they must become literate in a variety of ways, including digital literacy. The most effective ways to accomplish this is to provide, as the article mentions, explicit and student-centered reading/writing/presentation practice. The process should be challenging yet individualized, and enrich the content of the course.

Although I think these literacy standards are a great foundation for each course in secondary education to build from, the article makes a good observation that for some courses these standards are more challenging than others. This is where the advice of the previous articles we've read could come in handy. For those teachers less prepared to teach literacy they can collaborate with ELA teachers for ideas and practice.

Ch. 7 Doing What Matters Most: Developing Competent Teaching

I really enjoyed "Doing What Matters Most: Developing Competent Teaching" because it seemed to break down what teachers can do to be effective and to go beyond simply having good intent. The authors captured this idea in the phrase "...so that good teaching is no longer a magical occurrence." We all can name some of our favorite teachers and maybe identify activities that they led or positive qualities they had, but this chapter seeks to explore specifically what goes into producing successful teachers. A theme that I saw repeated was that teachers, like students, work best when learn from one another through collaboration, have models/scaffolding, constantly reflect on their work, and seek to always improve. In almost every technique, I thought, "that sounds like a good practice for students as well," which makes sense since teachers are life-long learners themselves. Another idea that caught my attention was that goals have to be aligned in an entire system for there to be far-reaching results. A whole school or district must desire for students to focus on learning rather than just high test scores for that goal to be achieved. One teacher with good pedagogical strategies cannot fight a system that doesn't support her. A lot of this information sounded like tidbits I've heard about the MAT (continuing to learn teaching strategies while getting to practice and refine them in classes with mentor teachers), so that makes me excited to think about what lies ahead! Lastly, I was tickled to see the Trinity shout out in the professional development school section. Hollaa :)

Flat World Chapter 7: Doing What Matters Most: Developing Competent Teaching

This chapter of Flat World was one of the most sensible things I've read concerning education in awhile. The chapter tries to answer how we can try to fix the issues in our education system. It supplies what seems like an obvious answer: provide teachers with better training, supports, and more time to take advantage of these supports. Our education system needs to provide more rigorous training and preparation for teachers.  I think Trinity's MAT program is a prime example of the kind of teacher training and education that all future teachers should have access to. I was proud to see Trinity mentioned in this chapter alongside other great programs, especially ones that foster "teacher schools." Studies mentioned in the article suggest that teachers coming out of such programs "feel better prepared to teach and are more highly rated by employers, supervisors, and researchers than other new teachers" (Darling-Hammond 216). Even though I'm only in the undergrad program, I agree with these studies. I already feel better prepared than many beginning teachers, especially those that gained their certificate through a crash course program. But as the article asserts, further training is difficult and expensive for those going into a profession that pays little, especially for those teachers entering into low-income schools. I think in this aspect of education, and in others, we have a lot to learn from educational systems abroad. In many other countries, teachers receive more standardized and comprehensive education at very little or no cost.

I think we also should learn from these schools abroad, which demand less time performing instruction. This allows teachers to use this time to further develop their skills and collaborate with each other. In most high-performing nations teachers are allowed 40%-60% of their time to work with their peers, prepare, and further their learning. Here, we don't even get half that. During the day, in most public schools, teachers have no time to work and collaborate with fellow teachers and only receive 3-5 hours weekly to plan alone. Continued education, evaluation, and preparation are as important later in a teacher's career as early on. So although programs like Trinity's MAT is a great start, we still have work to do to better our educational infrastructure.