To start off this post I will
say that this literacy course has given me tons of ideas and models that I can and
will use. For example, the technique to develop meta-cognitive skills. Initially,
I had thought about avoiding any kind of reading assignments that I could
because I hated them because they always seemed so long and I never got
anything out of it. But now that I know some before, during, and after
activities I feel like my students will see the purpose in the readings and
actually learn from it. I also found the tips on how to construct a vocabulary list
very informative. There are tons of words that I could through all together and
tell the students to learn them, but what purpose would that serve? Instead of
having them memorize a dictionary of technological jargon, I merely select the
few “need to know” words that are truly important. In order to support the
academically, linguistically, and culturally diverse students that will be in
my future classes, I think the biggest thing it to know them individually. If I
know what level there English language is at, I can plan to put them in a group
with another students that can help translate the goals of the activity, or
maybe put them in a group of only English speakers. Or when I am preparing a
lesson, I can look at innovations that were made outside the US and, if possible,
from the countries that my students may be from. One of the big take away ideas
from this course in regard to writing is that I need to have the students
practice all three levels of writing and not just give them a level three paper
to write at the end of the course.
I like your comments about ELLs and students that don't feel included. I remember the lesson plans we wrote for Fawns class and I really think It would be easy to incorporate diversity into technology. The whole world is contributing, and recognizing the diverse backgrounds of inventors and origins of new tech could really help students identify with the material we are trying to teach them. Tech reports on carefully selected technologies are a great way to incorporate reading, writing, and oral communication into a class that traditionally has little of those skills.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I taught middle school, my students' favorite text from the whole year was one we read about toilets in Japan. I know you may not have liked reading in technology, but actually technology is incredibly "cool" and I think reading could be another great way to hook students into your discipline and show them about all of the innovation that is out there. I like your idea of sharing ideas from different cultures too.
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