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.

How Do We Help Our Students Gather Information Using Digital Resources?

I think before students are given the opportunity to use digital media to gather information for reports etc. A lot of time should be spent front loading the activity with the skills students will need. Nobody owns the information on the web, it is public domain and most authors are no even mentioned. Therefre skills such as the ability to discern what sites would be appropriate and reliable is very important as well, vocabulary students might come across needs to be taught, and how to pick out main ideas or key words from the passages needs to be taught. Once students have a strong foundation, the next step should be for the teacher to decide what is it she/he wants the students to learn and what digital resources would effectively support the outcome and just as importantly, what digital resources are available to the teacher to use. The older the student the lesson ownership the teacher needs to take for laying out sites to visit and types of information to gather. However, regardless, the teacher will need to have clearly laid out expectations and information for students to access. Things to plan for are: predetermined sites to be used, paragraphs tagged, graphic organizers, adaptations in place for struggling students and what is going to be the final project for assessment.

Should We Use Popular Culture In Our Classroom?

I think using popular culture in the classroom can be an interesting way of capturing students' attention and engaging them in the lesson. However, like any media, whether on the internet, radio, or TV, it needs to be critically assessed by the teacher. What is the purpose of the site and it's usefulness to the lesson? Can the message be misinterpreted? Who is the intended audience of the message? Since the meaning presented in the media can be taken differently by different viewers, the teacher has a difficult job in not only justifying the use of the media to support her curriculum and lesson but ensuring that it is appropriate for her students. As well, students need to be educated to critically view media so as not to be misdirected or misinformed. It comes down to what is media literacy and how are schools going to address it? I think the Ministry of Education needs to look at developing curriculum as part of the technology outcomes, on media literacy. What do we want students to know that is appropriate for their age group? Where can teachers access resources to teach media literacy? Filtering and critically reflecting depends largely on the viewer's developmental stage. For example, preschoolers typically have media controlled by their parents while teenagers are given more freedom and are more able to grasp critically thinking skills and ideas with more understanding. It is not solely the responsibility of the teacher to develop media literacy but also of parents and the producers of the media. It is impossible to take every example and teach the embedded purpose of created media in each one. The main goal is the teach the skills for students to be able to apply them the situations on their own.

What literacies are you addressing in your field study?

My field study is looking at bridging the gap between how girls and boys engage and value reading. I am taking into account the different learning styles in my classroom and what activities are more "boy friendly". After having done some research, I am developing literacy centers. Centers will allow for students to choose activities that encourage differentiated learning. It will also provide me with the time I need to pull small groups aside for guided reading. I am looking at the layout of my classroom that will allow for movement between the centers as well as areas for group work, buddy work, and independent work. A variety of reading materials ( magazines, fiction, non fiction books) have been organized into bins. I have planned for the use of game boards, computer, ipods, lego, plastercine, and drawing paper to be used to develop writing and word study skills. I hope to evaluate the centers them in a few weeks and make any adjustments.

We've been doing a lot of talking and reading about literacy and learning. The talking has centered around what we define as learning and what we want our students to learn. As part of our reading, we looked at an article titled 21st Century Literacy and Myths. The article outlines 3 myths.
#1: 21st century literacy is about technology only. An easily disputed myth, in fact, I am wondering how it even can be thought of as a logical assumption. Technology is developing at a rapid pace but there are still people who don't rely on technology to do their work or live their lives. Even in today's job market, employers are looking for employees with a good knowledge of reading, writing, and oral communication.
#2: The digital divide is closed. Socio-economic level has such an affect on who is able to purchase and use technology. Variables such as money, importance and priority in one's live, interest and comfort level, all impact access to technology and digital media.
#3: Teachers who use technology in their personal lives will use it in their classes. Now this one I would have thought to be true but then I reflected on my own experience. Personally I have developed my knowledge and use of technology at home and in the classroom. I think I use technology in the classroom more, however, I don't believe I use technology significantly more in my practice than before. I just don’t feel like its a part of my teaching style yet. I have to work hard at incorporating technology in my practice. It does not come second nature to me, as it may to some of my colleagues who grew up with computers.

Reflection

Today is the last day of our summer course. It's been a good learning experience. I have learned so much about what is available to me on the web to support my teaching, collaborated through PLN's, read interesting articles, and blogged! All of what we have done has led each one of us toward a inquiry. I enjoyed hearing my colleagues tell about their field study proposals. As always I am inspired, amazed, and proud of the hard work and passion teachers put into improving their practice and the compassion they feel for their students.
For my fall study I have decided to concentrate on developing a "boy friendly" classroom by incorporating activities that lend to the
potential differences in learning styles and thereby providing more equitable learning opportunities for both boys and girls. I am going to look at the research for how boys learn best and incorporate ideas into learning centers and into my reading activities.
My hope is to keep all my students engaged and motivated but more importantly to develop a love for learning and a feeling that they all can achieve.