Since I do not have the books to read yet, I decided to make a post about one of the articles. The one that touched me the most was "Children's Success as Readers and Writers: It's the Teacher's Beliefs That Make the Difference" by Heidi Mills and Jean Ann Clyde.
Mills and Clyde wrote that a teacher's "practice is firmly rooted in her beliefs about learning, and reflects a personal theory of what she believes effective teaching is all about". Whether or not we are consciously aware of it, everything we do in the classroom and in our own personal lives, has a reason.
I enjoyed reading the case study about a child in kindergarten who transferred schools. The child's previous teacher found him to be immature and unable to cooperate. However, the new teacher at the CDC found the teacher to be quite smart and needed to be moved up to first grade. How can two teachers have completely different thoughts on a child? Is it the personality of the teacher clashing with the child? Is it the teacher's expectations? It is the method of instruction? It is the child or the classroom? The student really impressed his new teacher with his reading and writing skills. He blew them out of the water with his abilities and skill level. I think this type of situation could occur more often than we think it could. The child's previous teacher was providing busy work or worksheets to the children to teach them beginning literacy skills. Instead, we need to be active in the classroom. We need to teach language in it's natural way and allow for our students to make meaning of it themselves. Children need to learn about AND through language, not just about it. This is a good example of how not only the teacher's instructional style is important, but how the curriculum is also important.
Each day I strive to teach my students in their most natural way... Through active learning, through different materials & manipulatives, and through small and large group settings.
I also enjoyed reading this article. I love that the student who transferred was able to grow under his new teachers style of teaching and was recommended to promote on to 1st grade.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your reflection and it has inspired me to check out this article. It's truly fascinating how the different styles can make a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this article as well. It really did a good job highlighting something that I'm sure happens more often that we think it does. It may not be that the student is performing below grade level or that they are immature, but rather that they are not responding to our way of teaching. I agree with you when you say that students must learn about language and also through language. We as teachers, have to strive to teach students and allow them to learn in the most natural way.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this article as well. It really did a good job highlighting something that I'm sure happens more often that we think it does. It may not be that the student is performing below grade level or that they are immature, but rather that they are not responding to our way of teaching. I agree with you when you say that students must learn about language and also through language. We as teachers, have to strive to teach students and allow them to learn in the most natural way.
ReplyDeleteI love your sentence, "Children need to learn about AND through language, not just about it." Teachers' beliefs, expectations, and instructional styles influence how they "read" their students. That's why it's so important to be aware of who we are as educators and to engage with our peers in learning communities to best serve our students. Great thoughts!!
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