Torvani mentions in her book that learning happens through asking questions, not answering them. Back in my subbing days I used to try "stump the sub", and had the kids work in groups to try to formulate a question from the content that I didn't know.
Don't know if asking questions is better than answering them, in regards to learning, but when I used to have this activity in class you'd really see the students dig into the textbook to try and stump the teacher.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Repetitive Writing
While reading Tovani's book, it occurred to me a lot of her strategies at becoming a better reader include taking notes. My only concern about that is if I am already a bad reader, doesn't that also mean that I am probably a bad writer?
In my experience, note taking has done me little to no good (unless of course tests that teachers gave me were open notes). I remember when I started college I was such a diligent note taker. I would fill spiral upon spiral of notes, but by the time I got to my senior year I hardly filled two pages. Part of the reason, was through my educational process I was better able to detect the information the instructor was trying to make stick, but mostly it was because I realized that most of the note taking I did rarely made a difference in my performance.
I realized that my digesting the information had little to do with writing it down. Either I found it interesting or not. If it was interesting it stuck, boring it didn't (even if I took notes on the content). Which brings me back to my students: I hope my students can read by the time they reach my class, and ideally they are able to understand learning through reading, but being a realist, and looking at my own hindrances towards reading, I believe the best way to educate my students in science is not through reading, but through doing and watching.
With one caveat: repetitive writing.
I learned that having students write hard scientific words repeatedly they were better able to recall the words.
Example:
Write Deoxyribonucleic Acid 25 times.
Write Photosynthesis 25 times
In my experience, note taking has done me little to no good (unless of course tests that teachers gave me were open notes). I remember when I started college I was such a diligent note taker. I would fill spiral upon spiral of notes, but by the time I got to my senior year I hardly filled two pages. Part of the reason, was through my educational process I was better able to detect the information the instructor was trying to make stick, but mostly it was because I realized that most of the note taking I did rarely made a difference in my performance.
I realized that my digesting the information had little to do with writing it down. Either I found it interesting or not. If it was interesting it stuck, boring it didn't (even if I took notes on the content). Which brings me back to my students: I hope my students can read by the time they reach my class, and ideally they are able to understand learning through reading, but being a realist, and looking at my own hindrances towards reading, I believe the best way to educate my students in science is not through reading, but through doing and watching.
With one caveat: repetitive writing.
I learned that having students write hard scientific words repeatedly they were better able to recall the words.
Example:
Write Deoxyribonucleic Acid 25 times.
Write Photosynthesis 25 times
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
My history of blogging:
Well this is a first for me. Never been much to write for the heck of it, let alone looking for an audience of said writings.
Now I've heard the words "blog" and "blogging"for years now, and I've always looked at bloggers pretty much how Hollywood depicts bloggers, and that is as people that took short cuts and never went to college but now think they are the authority of whatever niche they feel professed in such as fashion, tech, politics, etc.
My opinion hasn't changed.
Well this is a first for me. Never been much to write for the heck of it, let alone looking for an audience of said writings.
Now I've heard the words "blog" and "blogging"for years now, and I've always looked at bloggers pretty much how Hollywood depicts bloggers, and that is as people that took short cuts and never went to college but now think they are the authority of whatever niche they feel professed in such as fashion, tech, politics, etc.
My opinion hasn't changed.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Hopefully I will be able to really get into this book this week. Unfortunately I am not the fastest reader, and I have difficulty absorbing information through text.
However, a brief synopsis of the book is as follows:
“Do I really have to teach reading?” This is the question many teachers of adolescents are asking, wondering how they can possibly add a new element to an already overloaded curriculum. And most are finding that the answer is “yes.” If they want their students to learn complex new concepts in different disciplines, they often have to help their students become better readers.
Building on the experiences gained in her own language arts classroom as well as those of colleagues in different disciplines, Cris Tovani, author of I Read It, but I Don't Get It, takes on the challenge of helping students apply reading comprehension strategies in any subject. In Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?, Cris shows how teachers can expand on their content expertise to provide instruction students need to understand specific technical and narrative texts. The book includes:
examples of how teachers can model their reading process for students;
ideas for supplementing and enhancing the use of required textbooks;
detailed descriptions of specific strategies taught in context;
stories from different high school classrooms to show how reading instruction varies according to content;
samples of student work, including both struggling readers and college-bound seniors;
a variety of “comprehension constructors”: guides designed to help students recognize and capture their thinking in writing while reading;
guidance on assessing students;
tips for balancing content and reading instruction.
Cris's humor, honesty, and willingness to share her own struggles as a teacher make this a unique take on content reading instruction that will be valuable to reading teachers as well as content specialists.
However, a brief synopsis of the book is as follows:
“Do I really have to teach reading?” This is the question many teachers of adolescents are asking, wondering how they can possibly add a new element to an already overloaded curriculum. And most are finding that the answer is “yes.” If they want their students to learn complex new concepts in different disciplines, they often have to help their students become better readers.
Building on the experiences gained in her own language arts classroom as well as those of colleagues in different disciplines, Cris Tovani, author of I Read It, but I Don't Get It, takes on the challenge of helping students apply reading comprehension strategies in any subject. In Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?, Cris shows how teachers can expand on their content expertise to provide instruction students need to understand specific technical and narrative texts. The book includes:
examples of how teachers can model their reading process for students;
ideas for supplementing and enhancing the use of required textbooks;
detailed descriptions of specific strategies taught in context;
stories from different high school classrooms to show how reading instruction varies according to content;
samples of student work, including both struggling readers and college-bound seniors;
a variety of “comprehension constructors”: guides designed to help students recognize and capture their thinking in writing while reading;
guidance on assessing students;
tips for balancing content and reading instruction.
Cris's humor, honesty, and willingness to share her own struggles as a teacher make this a unique take on content reading instruction that will be valuable to reading teachers as well as content specialists.
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