Reader E (1)
What are some things that can help promote participation in inclusive environments according to the article "Developing Adaptations to Promote Participation in Inclusive Environments"?
-extensive information about your student that can be transformed into a positive student profile, knowing the learning styles that the student works well with
-environments that can help the student succeed and reach their highest level of achievement
-steps and expectations of the specific task are broken down and modifications are included to help determine how the student will be assessed
-determine the possible interventions that could occur to help the student
-all needs and goals are considered
(Udvari-Solner, Causton-Theoharis, & York-Barr, 2004).
When students are using a textbook to research, what are some bigger questions that you should be asking them? (Bigelow & Peterson, 2007).
Why do you think this textbook leaves out important information?
Why do you think some school districts use textbooks that present such an incomplete story?
Why is it important when textbooks fail to tell students about individuals and movements in history that opposed government policies?
(Bigelow & Peterson, 2007).
What is interest based instruction?
(Tomlinson, 2017).
Interest based instruction: Students have a voice in and choice of topics and the work that they do is personally meaningful. They have a feeling of ownership of the task at hand, while they tap into strengths and build a sense of competence in the learner
(Tomlinson, 2017).
What is the inquiry process and what are the steps of the teaching sequence?
(Zarillo, 2012).
Inquiry is used to achieve the goal of developing problem solving skills. It starts out with students or teachers identifying a problem, followed by the students being given time to think about the problem, create a solution, form a hypothesis, and using information gathered to predict the accuracy of their hypothesis.
The teaching sequence of inquiry is to define the problem, speculate possible answers, gather information, analyze data, and reach a conclusion.
(Zarillo, 2012).
What are some important things to think about when creating purposeful instruction?
(Causton, 2015).
Students- who are your learners and what do they need help with, different ability levels, what they are strong in and what they are weak in, likes and dislikes
Content- making sure it follows NYS standards, appropriate content for the grade you're teaching, what you want the children to take away from the lesson
Divergent thinking- how to engage students, different strategies to use, multiple intelligences
Learning plan- class objectives, all students are being reached, incorporating goals, etc
Assessments- what do students need to know, what do they know already
Debriefing- what did they learn from the lesson
(Causton, 2015).
When we think about inquiry, what is the main goal of the tactic?
(Seely, 1995).
The emphasis of inquiry is to focus on the ideas of meaning making, problem solving and discovery.
(Seely, 1995).
According to the article "Students As Textbook Investigators", what does it mean to teach crucial literacy?
The ability to offer students resources to question the assumptions of the material they are reading and be able to "talk back" to it.
(Bigelow & Peterson, 2007).
What are the goals of interest based instruction?
(Tomlinson, 2017).
Goals: Help students realize school and their desire to learn is connected, demonstrate the interconnectedness of all learning, using skills / ideas familiar to students as a bridge to ideas or skills less familiar to them, help students develop competency and autonomy as learners, and enhance student success.
(Tomlinson, 2017).
What are the steps for inquiry to be used in a cooperative learning setting?
(Zarillo, 2012).
Identify Question and Organize Group
Plan the Investigation
Carry out the Investigation
Prepare the Final Report
Present the Final Report
Evaluate- what worked in your group, what didnt, etc.
(Zarillo, 2012).
What is "Differentiation" defined as? What are some ways Causton mentioned them in this chapter?
(Causton, 2015).
Instruction that is tailored to each student while following a whole group curriculum. The lesson as a whole is the same for the class but slight adjustments are made to support the needs of students who need it.
Some strategies mentioned: Product grid, multiple intelligences tic tac toe (one of the project options of different multiple intelligences to create a straight line of 3 in a row), independent learning contracts (students describe what they want to learn in their topic and how they will do so, then meet with the teacher to make sure the plan is appropriate with everyone)
(Causton, 2015).
What is the meaning of the term "Integrated Curriculum"?
(Seely, 1995).
An approach that focuses on revolutionizing how students construct meaning about the world around them. As students participate, their own experiences and knowledge about the world are incorporated into the classroom activities.
(Seely, 1995).
In the article "I is for Indian", it explains that sometimes there are certain stereotypes to look for when picking a piece of children's literature. What are some things to look for?
Are children shown “playing Indian”?
Are silly names given to the American Indian characters in the stories?
Are the Indians portrayed as primitive?
Are their communities or societies depicted as generic?
(Finchum, 2006).
What are some strategies that help support interest differentiation?
(Tomlinson, 2017).
Orbitals: encourages students to ask and answer raise questions that interest them to share with their peers
Design-a-day: students decide what they want to work on and follow their agenda on their goals and timelines then they assess themselves
WebQuests: Gives students and small group learners the opportunity to use research, problem solving, draw conclusions and develop a topic or question
Jigsaw: Expert groups are made and students go around to find information and then return to home base groups and share what they learned
Literature circles: students read topics of interest and then share what they learned with classmates
Discussion roles: allows students to socialize while having roles they must fill in the group
Negotiated criteria: teacher creates some whole-class requirements and students contribute ideas of their own.
Interest-based math problems: offer math problems associated with student interests
(Tomlinson, 2017).
How can inquiry be used in a differentiated classroom?
(Zarillo, 2012).
-Use step by step guidance
-Present info through charts, graphics, etc
-Allow students to work together
-Use primary language for ELL
-Comprehensible input is key
(Zarillo, 2012).
What are modifications and what are some examples as seen in the text?
(Causton, 2015).
Modifications are changes in what the student is expected to learn and how they will learn material. They are used to make sure that students are actually understanding the content and ensure that they are proactively learning.
Examples- an outline in place of an essay, alternative books or materials on the same theme or topic, questions reworded or with simplified language, word bank of choices for test questions, etc
(Causton, 2015).
Why would the use of integrated curriculum be beneficial to use in the classroom?
It allows students to contribute their background and prior knowledge to activities, allowing students to collaborate and hear ideas from others who have different beliefs than them. Since there is a lot more diversity in the US than there used to be, it is important to make sure that all parties feel heard and respected.
What are some events in history that are brought up in the article "I is for Indian" that are being falsely taught about regarding the Native Americans?
Thanksgiving- students are taught that the Pilgrims and Native Americans came together for a happy feast, when in reality they settled peace for the day after the Pilgrims slaughtered many Natives. The Native Americans consider Thanksgiving as a day of mourning and fasting rather than celebration
Columbus finding America- Many people credit Columbus as being the person who discovered America when in reality the Native Americans were settled there many thousands of years before and he captured many Indians, torturing them and turning them into slaves.
(Finchum, 2006).
What are the three different mechanisms that students can use to help demonstrate what they're learning?
(Tomlinson, 2017).
1) Sense- making activities- Asking students to make, do or write something that gives evidence of what they learned
2) Performance tasks - Asks students to demonstrate what they know more in depth than a sense making activity. This is often at the midpoint of a marking period/ end of chapters or units to see what students have learned over all
3) Products- Completed at the end of significant spans of learning as well to sum up and demonstrate what students learned from the lesson, usually more open ended and gives the opportunity to do work that feels significant and important
(Tomlinson, 2017).
What are some different models that help shape the inquiry process as talked about in the chapter?
(Zarillo, 2012).
Suchmann’s Inquiry Model:Teacher presents puzzling situation, students use yes/no questions to verify data, students ask yes/no questions to formulate hypothesis, students state and discuss hypothesis, students analyze inquiry process
Newmann on Critical Thinking: Sustained examination of less topics are better than more, lessons present the content in continuous and coherent manner, students should be given appropriate time to think about answers, teachers should ask questions and present tasks that can be seen as challenging, teachers model thoughtfulness, students should be able to explain and show reasoning for their conclusions
Taba’s Strategies for Concept Formation: enumeration and listing of ideas, group items on list together, label and categorize items on list.
Eggen and Kauchak Model for Teaching Reasoning with Content: Students describe and compare data presented by teacher, students explain why data may look that way, students hypothesize why data may look that way, students generalize and summarize the data
(Zarillo, 2012).
When making modifications, what are some important things to consider?
(Causton, 2015).
Keep expectations high, keep them appropriate for the subject, focus on the students strengths instead of weaknesses, get their input in what they think will work best for them, be able to provide support, be comfortable with making instructional and environmental adjustments
(Causton, 2015).
Who created the idea of inquiry and when was the idea created?
(Seely, 1995).
John Dewey created the idea of inquiry in 1933
(Seely, 1995).
What is the big takeaway from the two readings in this column?
The main ideas of "Students As Textbook Investigators" and "I is for Indian" are that a lot of inaccurate history and stereotypes that students are learning about come from curriculum passed down from older times and it is our job to teach curriculum that is accurate and not stereotypical. We can do this by incorporating different literature, having children do their own research, and give them only truthful information on what went on during history.
How can you differentiate products for struggling and advanced learners?
(Tomlinson, 2017).
Struggling learners: Integrate skills from their IEP, use products that allow them to express themselves, incorporate audio or video instructions, review the big picture with them, provide templates of expectations for them to have at all times, and set a time with the students to discuss their ideas and progress
Advanced learners: Stretch their learning continuums, include advanced research, let students begin earlier if you are giving them a harder task or work with a mentor who knows the topic well as well as their peers
(Tomlinson, 2017).
What is critical thinking and what should you be able to do once you are considered to be a "high level critical thinker"?
(Zarillo, 2012).
Critical thinking is the process of raising questions to students about statements of fact and opinion and them being able to explain if they are valid or not.
When you are a high level critical thinker you are able to classify, interpret, analyze, summarize, synthesize, and evaluate information
(Zarillo, 2012).
What is the main takeaway from the Causton chapter?
As an educator, it is up to you to make sure all of your students are learning in a comfortable and proactive environment. It is imperative to be able to be flexible to make accommodations and modifications for a student that needs it, but that doesn't mean you have to completely change your whole curriculum for just one student, rather just consider their needs when planning. Differentiation is very possible to achieve but only if you are able to collaborate with the student and figure out what will work the best.