Research Article

I've been doing a lot of reading on differentiated literacy instruction for my field study. I am looking at differential learning through the use of literacy centers that accommodate the learning styles and interests of boys and girls. One article is titled Accommodating differences: variations in differentiated literacy instruction in Grade 2/3 classrooms by Ruthanne Tobin and Alison McInnes. The article addresses how to support student's literacy needs with differentiated instruction (DI) and the varied approaches to DI. Teachers provided more scaffolding for struggling literacy learners by offering a variety of tiered work products, tutoring, and additional supports. Two teachers were discussed, each one approaching DI in a different way. One teacher gives her students book bundles. She teaches a skill to all the students and the students have the same activity but a varying degrees of difficulty. The second teacher used literacy centers. The articles have changed my practice in that it made me reflect on the organization of my class and whether is promotes literacy for boys and girls. As well, I wondered how my teaching practice was accommodating the literacy needs of my students and in particular the struggling learners. I began to think of literacy centers that would engage grade three students.
The article links to 2 capacities. They are:
• engage in a critical cycle of action-reflection to understand and develop your practice
• draw on educational theories, research and philosophies to inform your use of technologies to support teaching and learning

Who Owns Information on the web?

Information on the web has become a free for all. People are posting information and people are taking information. Whether the information is accurate is something the user needs to determine and also be critical of. Information on the web often has pdf files to download which implies the author would like you to access it. Personally I feel comfortable using ideas from the internet but when I do several questions come to mind such as: What is the author's intent? Is the information valid? How much should I use before it becomes plagiarizing or cheating? Now, I know I will use information keeping in mind the author's purpose for posting the content and not take a part of it and use it out of context for my own personal gain. But there will be people who use the web information out of context, for commercial use, or for reasons other than the author's original intent. Now that I know more about Creative Commons, as a teacher I will make students aware what is out there that can be used and what is protected.