Double Entry Journal #10

Chapter 3: Language and Identity At Home

1. What are the features of the forms of language that are spoken in a home environment that align with academic varieties of language?
There are a few different features of the forms of language that are spoken in a home environment that aligh with academic varieties of language. Jennie goes through these first six forms of language by telling her story.  The first form of language is introducing a a beginning and end to her story and giving a summary of what the story is going to be about.  Jennie adopts a frame that mimics story book reading as it is done by teachers; she is imitating adults language.  The third form of language is giving her story a title.  Syntactic structures are used such as: "'Once upon a time there was three boys 'n three girls.'"  The fifth type she uses is a lot of repetition and parallelism; giving examples of types of activities girls like to do and what boys like to do.  The last thing is that she uses "sympathetic fallacy".  "The fight between the girls and boys is immediately followed by the sky turning dark and lightning flashing." 

 

2. What are the features of Leona's specialized form of language?
Leon uses parallelism and repetition throughout telling her story to the class.  In many of the stanzas she ends the line with "cake".  She goes back and forth in some stanzas from what her mom is baking and to what her grandmother is baking.   She organizes her stories by breaking each part into different episodes that occurred.  She ends many of the words with "an", too which is a unique way to her story telling. Gee says, "She is interested in creating a pattern out of language, within and across her stanzas: a pattern which will generate meaning through the sets of relationships and contrasts which it sets up, like the multiple relationships and contrasts- the points of contact and stress(Gee,2004)."   

3. Why is Leona's specialized form of language not accepted in school?
Leona's specialized form of language was not accepted in school because the teacher thought she was rambling on with her story and that she was going to start telling more stories, when in fact she was getting to the end of her story.  The teacher would tell her to sit down and she would not be able to finish her story.  I thought this was so sad because the student wanted to share her story with the class like everybody else but was shut down and couldn't finish.  Teachers are looking for stories about narratives or reports; they are not looking for stories like Leona's. 

4. Explain the contradiction between the research conducted by Snow et al. (1998) and the recommendations made by Snow et al. (1998).

Gee quotes research conducted by Snow et al. and says, "As we have pointed out, in the United States poor readers are concentrated 'in certain ethnic groups and in poor, urban neighborhoods and rural towns'.  Later on in the text on page 36 Gee says, " However that may be, the test scores were going up at a time that integration was also increasing." 
 

5. What other factors besides early skills training will make or break good readers?

"Steele shows clearly that how people read when they are taking tests changes as their fear of falling victim to cultural stereotypes increases ( 37)."  In order to make or break a good reader, they need to have a variety of academic language and to belong to a certain social group. 
 

6. Why do some children fail to identify with, or find alienating, the "ways with words" taught in school?
"Children cannot feel they belong at school when their valuable home-based practices (like Leona's) are ignored, denigrated, and unused.  They cannot feel like they belong when the real game is acquiring academic varieties of language, and they are given no help with this, as they watch other children get high assessments at school for what they have learned not at school but at home (Gee, 2004)." 

Double Entry Journal #9

Ch.2 A Strange Fact About Not Learning to Read

1. What is the strange fact about not learning to read?
The strange fact about not learning to read is that it is usually the majority of poor children, or children from minority groups who are not learning to read in school.

2. Why is this fact so strange?

This fact is so strange because going to school is to create a level playing field for all children.  All children are supposed to be given the right to an education no matter what socioeconomic group they are from. 

3. What is it about school that manages to transform children who at good at learning things like Pokeman into children who are not good a learning?
School manages to transform children from not wanting to learn because of the activities that the teachers are doing.  Many teachers hand-out worksheets to students and expect them to learn and be interested in the content through completing a worksheet.  This is not the case, students need to experience hands-on activities and have a choice to act upon their interest, such as Pokemon. 

4. What is the differences between a traditionalists approach to learning to read and more progressive educators?
The traditionalists approach to learning to read is described as a sequential, skills-based approach.  Phonemic awareness is taught first, then phonics, practice with fluent oral reading, and then finally comprehension skills.  It is like an assembly line where if you complete the first step it will lead automatically lead you to the next.  The progressive educators believe in making your own meaning “meaning-making”.  They believe that learning to read is done best through picking up the skills when attempting to give meaning to written texts. 

5. Is learning to read a natural process like learning to speak a language?
No, learning is not a natural process like learning to speak a language.  The child has to be exposed to the right environment in order for the languages to be a natural process.  The author says, “Learning to read is not a natural process like acquiring a first language or, for that matter, learning to walk.  Such natural processes simply happen when a child is exposed to the right sorts of input and environments”. 

6. What are the differences between natural, instructed and cultural processes and which process should reading be classified under?
 A natural process is where humans can learn the language they speak or how to walk with no effort; it comes naturally to them.  It is the biological clock in their bodies that tells them when it is time to learn to talk or walk.  The instructed process is where students acquire knowledge of subjects such as physics, social studies, and mathematics.  Some people succeed in one subject that others may not succeed in.  The cultural process is where students have a purpose for learning.  An example would be learning how to cook.  Most people know how to cook, even though some people may not be very good at it; they know the gist of it to not starve.  Cultural process is learning because you want to learn something such as playing video games or even reading.  Reading is a cultural process because most students want to learn how to read in order to succeed.    

  7. How do humans learn best? Through instructional processes or through cultural processes? How is reading taught in school?
Humans learn best through a cultural process.  This is because they have a purpose for learning and are not instructed to learn through worksheets.  Reading in school is taught through an instructed process by learning phonics and going through the steps as in the traditionalists approach to learning. 

8. According to the author, what is the reason for the "fourth grade slump."
The reason for the “fourth grade slump” is because of the “failure to bring prototypes of academic language to school”.  The author says, “Children who do not bring such prototypes to school can learn to read in the sense of decoding vernacular language that is written down. But they cannot later read the early versions of academic varieties of language they see in books and sometimes hear teachers speak around fourth grade. 

 9. What is a better predictor of reading success than phonemic awareness?

A better predictor of reading success other than phonemic awareness is semantic and syntactic skills.  The author says, “Measures of semantic and syntactic skills” means how well children deal with what language means and with its structure (“syntax”). 

 10. What is the difference between "vernacular" and "specialist" varieties of language? Give an example of two sentences, one written in the vernacular and one written in a "a specialized variety", about a topic in your content area.

Vernacular language is the type used for face-to-face conversation and for everyday purposes.  This is how a person talks to their family, friends, and other people in their community.  Specialist language or also known as “academic language” is connected to learning and using information for school-based content areas. 

 11. What is "early language ability" and how is it developed?

“Early language ability” is when students bring to school with them the academic language that they have learned by being in their home environment. 

12. According to the author why and how does the traditionalist approach to teaching children to read fail?
The traditionalist approach to teaching children to read fails because they are not teaching children how to read academic language; they are teaching them how to read by doing phonics and dealing with superficial literal meanings that are mostly in the vernacular language not in the specialist language. 

 13. Are parents of poor children to blame for their children's inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school?

I do not feel that parents of poor children are to blame for their children’s inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school.  Some parents do not know that there are two types of languages that students need to bring with them to school.  Most parents, including parents of higher status, do the best they can to create more experiences for their children. 

14. Did you struggle with reading this text? Why? Are you a poor reader or are you unfamiliar with this variety of specialized language?
For the most part I did not struggle while reading this text.  There were a few parts that I had trouble with because I was unfamiliar with the terms when it came to reading about Pokémon.  I have heard of Pokémon before, but did not know all of the names and terms that went along with the game.  This is one part that I struggled with while reading.      

Double Entry Journal #8

1.     What is the main challenge being addressed in the book?

The main challenge being addressed in this book is connecting the importance of language, literacy, and learning.  Language being used in the schools are becoming more difficult and challenging for students throughout each discipline, content area. 

2.     What does the author mean by the phrase "ways with words"?

“Ways with words” means that each content area has a different language that is being used in order for students to learn.  The students need to learn to adapt to different situations and use their “way with words” according to the situation they are in or the content they are learning. 

The author says, “These new ways are the ways with words (and their concominant ways of thinking) connected to contemporary digital technologies and the myriad of popular culture and specialist practices to which they have given rise”. 

3.     What is the core argument being made by the author of this book?

The author says, “But, then, the core argument of this book will be that people learn new ways with words, in or out of school, only when they find the worlds to which these words apply compelling”.  Therefore, the core argument of this book is that people will adapt to the situate they are in by using the different language associated with that situation.    

4.     Give an example of a specialized variety of a language or "way with words" you have learned outside of school?

Outside of school I played girls softball for many years.  While playing softball I had to learn the different rules and words associated with the game.  So I had to learn the “ways with words” for softball.  I had to learn what a “ball” and “strike” were considered and also had to learn how to “slide”.  I also had to learn the different positions of the outfield and infield. By playing softball I am now able to understand the game if someone is talking about it or if I am playing it myself.

5.     According to the author, how do people learn a specialized variety of a language or "way with words" best?

The author states, “People learn (academic and non-academic) specialist languages and their con-comitant ways of thinking best when they can tie the words and structures of those languages to experiences they have had- experiences with which they can build simulations to prepare themselves for action in the domains in which the specialist language is used (e.g. biology or video games)”.

6.     If people are to be successful in the 21st century, what must they become?

The author says that if people are to be successful in the 21^st century, then they must become “shape-shifting portfolio people”.  These people are ones who gain many diverse experiences and can adapt themselves for different circumstances that may occur in their lives. 

7.     The author states that learning academic language is NOT sufficient for success in modern society? Do you agree? Why or Why not?

In a way I kind of agree with the author, but on the other hand I do not agree with the author.  I agree with the author because I think it is important for everyone to learn academic language in order to be successful throughout their educational career.  I do not agree with the author on this statement because some people are not going to be using academic language for their job and will still be successful.  I think it just depends on the situation and job that you will partake in when you are older.  I think that some people can be successful even if they do not understand the academic language. 

8.     What do you think about this author's "way with words"?

I   thought the first paragraph was way over my head; I was thinking “Oh no, this book is going to be so hard to read and I am going to be bored”.  After the first paragraph, I thought the book was beginning to get interesting.  I like how he is actually talking to the reader through his writing.  I also like how he numbered the points that were going to be discussed throughout the book.  It has been pretty easy to read so far and I haven’t hit the “black hole” yet.

Source:
Gee, James Paul. Situated language and learning: a critique of traditional schooling. New York: Routledge, 2004. Print.

Student Interviews

Observation
Observation of struggling student has been conducted from September 26 to October 8. This struggling student never wants to answer any questions when you ask him. He doesn't do his work in class; instead he just looks around the room or talks to students at his table.  His grades are low in every subject and he doesn’t try to do his best in class.  Recently, he has been answering questions and doing his work in class.  I can see a big difference in him over the past few weeks.  The host teacher told me that his parents were getting a divorce and that neither of his parents would watch him.  She had seen him at the playground with his brother after school hours.  He told me that he stayed up late and didn’t have time to do his homework or study for his spelling test.  I think this is part of the reason why he is struggling in school. 
Observation of a high achieving student has been conducted from September 26 to October 8.  This high achieving student is always raising his hand to answer questions in class, and always gives his best in every subject or project that he does.  He is also in the “gifted” program and is taken out of class every Thursday to participate in different activities that will challenge him.  He is always one of the first people done with the assignments and helps other students if they need help.  I have also noticed that he is always receiving 100 on all of his assignments, or at least an A on all of his homework.  He is very smart and talented; I could tell from the beginning that he was a high achieving student. 

Interviews
Interviews conducted on October 10, 2012 with one struggling student and one high achieving student.

 Struggling student (SS) and High achieving student (HAS) responses are below.
Question: Do you enjoy school?
(SS): Yes, because I get to see my friends.
Question: What kind of student are you?
(SS takes a long time to respond and didn’t really answer the question; he shrugged his shoulders): Math is my favorite subject and I think I am kind of smart.
Question: What do you do for fun outside of school?
(SS): I like to play football when someone is outside and play X-Box.
Question: How would your classmates describe you?
(SS takes a long time to answer this question): Fun
Question: Who are you friends with? What do you and your friends do together?
(SS): Tanner, William, Taylor, Christian F., Austin, and Ton (football name).  We play football together.
Question: Tell me a good memory you have about school.
(SS again takes a long time to answer this question): Whenever we did a science activity in this class about bird beaks. 
Question: Tell me a bad memory you have about school.
(SS): Whenever I got tracked down by girls because they were mad at me for not wanting to date their friend.
Question: Describe a “good” teacher or tell me about a favorite teacher you had in the past.
(SS): My favorite teacher was Mrs. Reckart (2^nd grade teacher) because we did fun stuff with her. (Then he went on to describe a bad teacher he had for kindergarten) I didn’t like my kindergarten teacher because she told us all that we were going to fail. 
Question: What is one thing you wish your teacher knew about you?
(SS): When I grow up, I want to be a dirt-bike driver.
 
Question: Do you enjoy school?
(HAS):  Yes, it is fun and you never know what you are going to learn each day.
Question: What kind of student are you?
(HAS): I like math and reading.  I think I am pretty smart; my parents think I am smart, too.
Question: What do you do for fun outside of school?
(HAS): Hiking and fishing
Question: How would your classmates describe you?
(HAS): Funny, smart
Question: Who are you friends with? What do you and your friends do together?
(HAS):  Jacob, Ally, Kristian, Jonathan, Alexis. We go into the woods and explore.
Question: Tell me a good memory you have about school.
(HAS): Last year in second grade when we made a perfect pet house by using scaling.
Question: Tell me a bad memory you have about school.
(HAS): I cannot think of a bad memory that I have about school.   
Question: Describe a “good” teacher or tell me about a favorite teacher you had in the past.
(HAS): Mrs. Hagedorn was my favorite teacher because she was fun and didn’t take things too seriously, except when she needed too. 
Question: What is one thing you wish your teacher knew about you?
(HAS): I always take things seriously, when it comes to my schoolwork.

 Conclusion
The struggling student didn’t really want to partake in the interview and had difficulty answering questions about school.  I can tell that he has a low academic self-concept because he doesn’t think he is good at any subject.  He does like math, but he doesn’t think he is very good at it.  This interview took a long time to complete because he couldn’t think of any answers for a few questions.   
The high achieving student has a high self-esteem and academic self-concept.  I can tell that he really enjoys school by his answers and that he wants to succeed.  He takes all of his school work seriously and wants to get good grades.  Also, he likes lessons that are engaging and memorable.  He likes coming to school because he likes to learn.   

 

Double Entry Journal #7

What are some challenges to inquiry approaches to learning?

 

There are a few challenges to inquiry approaches to learning that occur.  One challenge is that teachers do not have the skills and knowledge to complete a lesson using the inquiry approach.  Teachers are used to being the person who is directing the lesson and giving all of the information.  In inquiry-based learning, students are constructing their own knowledge through designing a model of solving a problem.  Teachers may think that the approach is “unstructured” and may result in the lesson failing because the teacher is not using the proper assessment, redirection or scaffolding.  Another challenge that occurs during inquiry approach learning is that students find it hard to work together in a group and to manage their time.  Students are not given enough information or the proper tools to complete a certain task, or they may not have the background information or prerequisite to complete the inquiry task.  Through research, they found out that teachers have a hard time deciding if the students are getting the information they are supposed to out of the project because they can only hear one small group discussion at a time.  A whole group discussion did not take place and therefore the teacher did not know if the information was learned.  Another thing they found out through research was that students need more specific prompts to justifying their decision when completing a certain task or solving a problem.  Inquiry-based learning takes a lot of pre-planning before class and then puts the emphasis on the students instead of the teacher.  It takes a lot of careful planning and many strategies such as collaboration, classroom interaction, and assessment is developed. 

Source:
 Barron, Darling-Hammond, B. ,. (2008).       
       Teaching for meaningful learning. (pp. 1-8).        
       Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/ e
       dutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf