221+Agenda+-+10.2.14

Whadya think?
Post questions, comments, ideas to discuss based on your professional engagement research on Text-Based Instruction. (To post - 1) Sign in, 2) Click "edit", 3) Type your entry, 4) Sign your post (three tildes ~), 5) Click "save")

Helping students learn the Spanish language isn't just being able to speak but also being able to write as well as read Spanish. If a student wants to truly immerse themselves into a different language they can't be just bilingual but also bi-literate. This is a step that has to be done carefully so as to not scare off the students when a document is presented to them in a foreign language. One has to help the students as best as possible so that the are able to understand what their reading and a foreign language is a great way to have this. The teacher can have many ways to help the students best understand the reading, by presenting them in different ways. Most curriculum for Spanish come with a textbook that gives a good way to present most of the language in an adequate time that can help students snowball the language they are learning.This can be through multimodal texts and having it visually and linguistically. As the teacher I should make time to read these texts during class with the students at an appropriate time, when they know the meanings of most words, and help them grasp the meaning of what the text is saying. Most curriculums a good way to present most of the language in an adequate time that can help students snowball the language they are learning. Thus helping the teacher judge where a student is at. user:Galex07

Textbooks and historical documents are typically used in my content area of history. Being literate means being able to read and write. There are several characteristics of effective text-based instruction. First, a teacher cannot overwhelm his/her students with a lot of reading. A teacher should never "throw the book" at his/her students. It is the teacher's job to teach using the book. The book should never be the teacher. Second, after a reading is assigned, the class must come together and discuss the reading. This way, everyone is on the same page. A student can teach another student just as much as a teacher can teach a student. Third, the teacher must reinforce the reading from the previous night through the lesson, at least to some degree. The reading is the pre-activity. The lesson is based on the reading from the night before, making it the during-activity. The homework is also based on the reading, making it the post-activity. Helping a struggling reader would be very difficult when it comes to text-based instruction. I would help a struggling reader by making sure that the lesson in class appeals to his/her learning style. The proper role of textbooks is to guide the class.They help the teacher figure out what he/she has to teach next, and they provide information for the students. As we discussed in Foundations of American Education, 21st century literacies include being able to use a computer, Google, Microsoft Word, etc. user:channa5

Before exploring the articles and videos on test-based instruction, I didn't understand what a word cloud could be useful for besides looking cool. But, the "Pre-Reading in a Science Class" video was super informative. I love the teacher's idea about using the word cloud on a piece of text that you plan to have your students read and then having your students analyze the cloud by looking for the largest words or words they don't know. They can start to get an idea of what the might be about or what themes it might have, plus they can ask you any important that show up on the word cloud which they don't already know. Since I plan to become an English teacher, I found all of this information very informative and interesting because my students will most likely read quite a bit of text. I know reading isn't always fun, not even for me, so I definitely plan to use some of these techniques. I especially liked the idea of pre, during, and post activities because I think it's important for students to ask/answer questions or take notes as they read because I believe it's easier to comprehend and be able to analyze and discuss information when you're clear on what exactly is going on. I like how one of the articles said that when teachers ask if students have any questions, someones students don't have any questions because they don't even understand what they read. I know for a fact that there have been times when I have been that student. So, I was probably missing either the pre, during, or post steps. I also could see myself doing a debate/discussion like the Social Studies teacher's video where he basically let his students run their own discussion about the text, but he asked questions to facilitate and sort of direct their discussion towards certain topics. user:JennJoralemon

I didn't give a second thought to "text-based instruction" and was surprised at how much my opinion of textbooks changed once I had made it through all of the readings. At first, the title of the assignment indicated to me that we were to learn about teaching through reading (text books) as opposed to us just telling the students the information (direct instruction). During the assignment, I started to see the flaws of using traditional text-based materials in the 21st century. By the end of the assignment, it was honestly like my blindfold had been lifted. This showed me that textbooks are an integral part of our educational system but, with the rise of the technological age that happened while WE were in school, as future teachers we are facing new mediums that we have to teach with. Essentially, this post is going to be about what I learned about textbooks. The most prominent point I considered was when I connected all my trouble with middle school/high school readings to some of the articles. In one, a teacher was quoted with saying that "my students just don't read the material anymore!" which I was/still am guilty of to this day....and then the page of what 21st Century Literacy actually means explains that our literacy does not just come from books anymore. Of course! Why should students be expected to get all their info from one book when they interact with multiple mediums of information everyday! Of course our brains can't just read a textbook anymore! This revelation led to me to find the tools that teachers are using to promote literacy very interesting. I, too, liked the science teacher's use of the word cloud. I have had teachers frame a reading/text before but this is a great tool for younger students. I also liked the page on Multimodal teaching- it outlined some good ideas on how to present text or information in a different way. I had trouble connecting text-based teaching to music...but I really liked how this assignment opened to the door for me on how useful textbook actually are (or are not...). Did anyone else have similar feelings on textbooks? Or do you think they still have a solid place in our teaching system? I don't think they should be eradicated, but the different types of information sources, tools, and ideas presented in this assignment convinced me that pure textbook teaching should be lessened in the classroom. user:staciac

One thing I noticed about all of the articles and videos was that none of them were related to math which was a little disappointing because I think math is unique to other subjects when it comes to text-based instruction. So it would have been nice to have some information in my content area but I still was interested in learning how text based instruction involves a lot more learning and thinking than simply reading out of a book, which is the only way I've ever had text integrated into my learning. One page I found interesting was in the additional research section and it was titled "The Digital Divide" which talks about the discrepancies between students' ideas vs. teachers' ideas when it comes to integrating technology into learning. The stat that stood out to me was that 75% of teachers say they regularly use technology in the classroom while only 40% of their students think technology is used regularly. The next statistic said that 94% of students use technology when doing their homework but only 46% of teachers say that they intend for technology to be a part of their assignments. The gap in these statistics is huge and shows a a lot of opportunity for teachers to involve technology more frequently in their coursework. The article also spoke about how students want to be able to connect the technological world they live in with their learning, so why not take the opportunity as educators to engage kids in a way that will peak their interest? Although it is challenging to keep up with the latest trends in technology, I think it is worth the extra research and planning time to incorporate technology as often as possible in the classroom because it make curriculum relevant to students. I agree with Stacia that this assignment definitely opened my eyes to how textbooks can be used positively by including pre, during, and post reading activities but I can also see the benefits of moving towards more modern day methods could be more beneficial. I also think it depends a lot on the content area because, for example, math textbooks are a lot different from other textbooks and I don't think lot of these strategies would work for text based instruction in a math classroom. user:Mgreen141 5

Before I read through the articles and watched the videos for this PET, I definitely thought it was going to be boring and wasn't planning on liking any of the content in it, because I thought it was going to be about what Stacia talked about, which is just having students read through a textbook and recommending that. I was pleasantly surprised and glad that it didn't end up like that! I also liked that, regardless of the subject, there were the same integral pieces to reading comprehension and 21st century literacy, like activating prior knowledge in the Pre-Reading stage, connecting what they're learning with other subjects/content areas while they're reading, and then asking questions and scaffolding their knowledge in the Post-Reading stage. I believe reading content is going to be necessary for learning if not forever then for a very long time, but I agree with the others above me when they say that textbooks are obsolete. The kinds of texts in my subject area, English, are going to be mainly actual books (like //To Kill a Mockingbird//, //Utopia//, etc.) and those obviously need to be read in a way that is similar to the way textbooks need to be read (closely and with a lot of practice). In the BYU article about reading strategies for difficult texts, it talked about how students need goals and help read carefully. It was helpful to have the Pre, During, and Post-Reading stages to think about in terms of breaking up the reading. I think using this instead of throwing a book at students and expecting it to be read before class the next day is a great way to engage students with a text in an in-depth way. I especially liked when it referenced asking questions of the author and the text, because that gets students thinking not only of what the book is saying but also the context in which it is speaking. This is at least as important if not as important in many cases as the assigned text, in my opinion. user:Mackenzie_D

Having english as a content area, texts are arguably the most essential part of the students' learning. Especially in secondary english classrooms, students read multiple texts throughout the year in order to develop new skills in reading and writing and therefore text-based instruction is necessary. Some of the things I really liked from my research were the word clouds and the 60 second recap website. I think both of these are really useful for before starting reading, during, and even afterwards. I could use the word cloud to introduce students to the words that will be in the text beforehand and have them look up the words they do not know before starting reading, and I can use it is a tool after reading the text to assess how much the students have retained this new vocabulary. The 60 second recap site is also super cool, because the students can look up the text on this site before reading to gain background knowledge of the text and after reading the text they can return to the site and recall what they read after the text before and analyze how much their ideas have changed since reading the text. I have not been a huge fan of text-based instruction because I feel it does not leave a lot of room for constructivist teaching, but after this research and finding new tools that make it interesting, I think text-based instruction can really be constructivist and even fun for students. user:cnye5

As someone who want to someday teach English, texts are absolutely essential to everything I want to do in my classroom. Given that I especially want to teach upper level English classes, my students will probably read dozens of texts over the course of a year. With that in mind and thinking back to a lot of what we've covered previously, one of the biggest take-aways I got from the readings/videos/etc was the importance of pre-reading activities. Whether these are for the purpose of building vocabulary, covering background information regarding the text, or simply making sure every student is on the same page(pun intended) when it comes to reading texts, pre-reading activities are a must. Specifically, covering background information is of great import as many texts often contain allusions or references to other works, historical events, or cultural experiences. For example, if I were to teach The Invisible Man to my students, I would definitely need to discuss the historical background behind the novel and the struggles of the African-American community with my students prior to reading the novel. Without the necessary information, so much is lost during a reading. With that in mind, the other big idea I got from this was how important it is to have a goal while reading texts. In hindsight, that seems a pretty basic idea, but it's really rather complex. A good goal should be focused more on what students can glean from the text rather than how far they can read in one night. I recall, even while at GU, simply being asked to read materials with no real idea why I had to read them. There was no clear goal; all I knew was that I had to read. For that reason, I think setting goals for understanding, comprehension, or discussion alongside a reading assignment is absolutely necessary. user:EmJones4

I really, really enjoyed how most of what we just read included a before-during-after list of activities and tips. Both the Big6 and the Content Area Literacy I thought had great ways to have the students interact with the whatever it is they are reading. I think it's incredibly important to have these steps built in to your lesson, especially for the kids who simply aren't interested in the topic they are reading about because it helps keep them involved and up to speed. I especially liked the pre-text tips. I can't stress how important it is to me to tell your students what they're about to read before they read it. This way they can be more focused on the significance of the reading rather than trying to figure out what it is they're looking at. Too often I was given a huge set of text only to be tested on it and then have it forgotten. It's provides such a richer reading experience to have pre-determined stops throughout the text, so that your students can become intentional readers. user:maryh13

At first, I thought, like a lot of my classmates, that this PET on "text-based instruction was going to be awful. I had the misconception that "text-based" meant huge, fat history text books, full of biased, racist, history stories, that teachers would throw at their students and expect them to learn it. I hadn't really considered the fact that real books (such as ones for english classes) would actually count as "text based". Obviously that sounds ridiculous as I type it, but I think I just had a very strong idea in my head that text based learning was something that was ALWAYS ineffective. After going through the material, I was pleasantly surprised. Most of the material centered around supporting the literature as a source of information for the class, but not the only source. The Idea of "pre-reading" and "working up" to the text was something I hadn't really considered before. It almost seems like what you do to build to the text and how you break it down after are more important than the text itself. Also, the "qualities of good readers" caught my attention. As someone who has always had an easy time with reading, I don't usually think about how difficult the language can be for others. You have to teach those skills, like being able to make inferences if you don't know a word, or determine the important information from the supportive information, while you simultaneously teach the content. The challenge of incorporating text WELL into a lesson is definitely multidimensional. But it seems much more possible (and potentially very successful) than I previously thought. user:HTye

Targets:

 * I can describe the purposes and features of pre-, during-, and post- text instruction.

9:25 - 9:50 - Welcome and Review (Morgan)
 * Notetaker: Jenn
 * Reviewer: Mackenzie
 * Unquiz
 * Announcements:
 * AVID Tutor training -- Saturday, October 4 from 10-2 at Garry MS
 * Faculty collaboration at Garry - Thursday, October 9th from 7:45 to 8:45 in the Garry library. Our topic will be Mindset and Learning Targets
 * Watch for an email about feedback on your D. I. activity guides.

9:50 - 10:20 - Teaching Demo and feedback (Emmett)

10:20 - 10:50 - Text-based instruction P.E.T. conversation

10:50 - 11:00 - Break

11:00 - 12:00 - Text-based instruction demos and activity guide explanation
 * [[file:text-based activityguide-revised.docx]]
 * Pre-during-post handout - [[file:Pre-during-post.docx]]
 * Model Lesson - http://gonzagateach.wikispaces.com/Model+-+Pre-During-Post
 * Video - The future of textbooks - []
 * Text - [|Suffrage] - []
 * Song - Math rap? - []


 * Housekeeping:**
 * Text-based activity guide due on Thursday - Upload to Blackboard. Link to a [|model.]
 * Teaching demos for Thursday:
 * Audrey
 * Chanel
 * Stacia