When and Where Did I Find It: Studying was a term defined in the article assigned in LTED 625 for this week.
Full citation David, S.J. (1990). Applying content study skills in co-listed reading classrooms. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 33(4), 277-281.
What it means: The author of the article "use Anderson and Armbruster's (1984) definition of studying as a special form of reading that is done in order to perform an identifiable cognitive task" (Davis, pp. 278-279). ... In addition, studying is also described "as preparing for criterion task" (p. 279). Finally, the author notes that studying is an "idiosyncratic process" (p. 280).
Level of Familiarity: I certainly knew what this word meant and have experienced the need to "read in order to perform an identifiable cognitive task" but I am not sure if in my reading experiences I would have used the term studying to identify my purpose for reading.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? I certainly think it is important to know this word well and to be able to distinguish this particular type of cognitive effort from other types of cognitive efforts involving reading. For example, the cognitive efforts I use when reading before bed to relax is certainly distinct from the effort I use when reading in order to perform.
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?
This is certainly a term that all teachers and students (and possibly parents and administrators) need to understand as studying is a natural part of schooling. It is interesting though, that even though there is a shared understanding across these groups that studying is a part of schooling, it is not a term we spend a great deal of time discussing across K-12.
Showing posts with label background knowledge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label background knowledge. Show all posts
Friday, November 11, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
10.1 Self-Efficacy
When and Where Did I Find It: I didn't really find this term, but it is one that came up in conversation recently and I wanted to remember where I found it. I went back to my files to locate an article I remembered a student from a LTED 625 (back in 2008) brought to class for his Reciprocal Teaching discussion.
Full citation
Walker, B.J. (2003). The cultivation of student self-efficacy in reading and writing. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 19, 173-187.
What It Means: "Self-efficacy refers to people's beliefs about their capabilities to carry out actions required to achieve a confident level of achievement (Bandura, 1993). Specifically, they are beliefs that individuals have that they can do something like read a book, write a poem, or dance. Self-efficacy beliefs refer to specific judgments rather than more global judgments like being a good reader, writer , or dancer. In fact, self-efficacy often refers to specific situations within a learning environment based on learn goals" (as cited in Walker, 2003, pp. 174).
Level of Familiarity: Even though I am familiar with this concept, I was glad to find the article so I could refresh my memory of the full meaning of the term.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? Yes. As Walker states, "Understanding the situational nature of self-efficacy can help teachers design classroom procedures that reinforce positive attributions for specific tasks" (p. 174).
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY? I definitely think this is an important concept for teachers to understand. Again, to quote Walker directly: "...students who are efficacious are more likely to work hard, to persist, and seek help so they can complete a task. These same students use cognitive and metacognitive strategies to increase their understanding. ... Self-efficacy is also linked to motivational beliefs like interest, value, and utility, as well s positive affective reactions. Collectively these characteristics of self-efficacy demonstrate a relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance." (Walker, p. 174)
Full citation
Walker, B.J. (2003). The cultivation of student self-efficacy in reading and writing. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 19, 173-187.
What It Means: "Self-efficacy refers to people's beliefs about their capabilities to carry out actions required to achieve a confident level of achievement (Bandura, 1993). Specifically, they are beliefs that individuals have that they can do something like read a book, write a poem, or dance. Self-efficacy beliefs refer to specific judgments rather than more global judgments like being a good reader, writer , or dancer. In fact, self-efficacy often refers to specific situations within a learning environment based on learn goals" (as cited in Walker, 2003, pp. 174).
Level of Familiarity: Even though I am familiar with this concept, I was glad to find the article so I could refresh my memory of the full meaning of the term.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? Yes. As Walker states, "Understanding the situational nature of self-efficacy can help teachers design classroom procedures that reinforce positive attributions for specific tasks" (p. 174).
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY? I definitely think this is an important concept for teachers to understand. Again, to quote Walker directly: "...students who are efficacious are more likely to work hard, to persist, and seek help so they can complete a task. These same students use cognitive and metacognitive strategies to increase their understanding. ... Self-efficacy is also linked to motivational beliefs like interest, value, and utility, as well s positive affective reactions. Collectively these characteristics of self-efficacy demonstrate a relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance." (Walker, p. 174)
Sunday, October 23, 2011
8.2 Digital Story
When and Where Did I Find It: I found this term in an article I recently reread for research project I am working on. "A digital story is a multimedia text consisting of still images complemented by a narrated soundtrack to tell a story or present a documentary; sometimes video clips are embedded between images" (Sylvester & Greenidge, 2009, p. 284).
Full citation:
Sylvester, R. & Greenidge, W. (2009). Digital storytelling: Extending the potential for struggling writers. The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 284-295. doi: 10.1598/RT.63.4.3.
What It Means: The term digital story is used to describe a specific type of digital or multimedia text which includes the following or a "combination of these seven elements:
1. Point of View
2. Dramatic question
3. Emotional content
4. Economy
5. Pacing
6. The gift of voice
7. Sountrack. (Sylvester & Greenidge, p. 287)
I found a very interesting web-based presentation on the concept of Digital Storytelling online: http://pwoessner.wikispaces.com/Digital+Storytelling
Level of Familiarity: I had heard this term prior to reading the article, but honestly, it wasn't until I read this piece for the first time that if finally "clicked" for me how this particular type of story was very different from traditional stories or narrative texts.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? I think this is such an important term to fully understand. At first glance, one would assume this term implies we are talking about digital narratives (like a film); however, these digital narratives or digital stories that are most frequently created and published are NOT full narratives. Instead, they are a mix of elements of biography and narrative. It is important to be able to distinguish between this particular type of "story" and what a reader would expect to find given most people's traditional understanding of story/narrative.
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY? I think all teachers of writing should understand what is meant by this particular term. Too often the term "story" is used when creating writing assignments, without much thought to what is expected. If teachers were more careful and purposeful in how they talked about the genre of narrative, then perhaps students (K-12 and beyond) would develop a deeper and more principled understanding of the various types of works that can be produced under the very large umbrella term of "story."
Full citation:
1. Point of View
2. Dramatic question
3. Emotional content
4. Economy
5. Pacing
6. The gift of voice
7. Sountrack. (Sylvester & Greenidge, p. 287)
I found a very interesting web-based presentation on the concept of Digital Storytelling online: http://pwoessner.wikispaces.com/Digital+Storytelling
Level of Familiarity: I had heard this term prior to reading the article, but honestly, it wasn't until I read this piece for the first time that if finally "clicked" for me how this particular type of story was very different from traditional stories or narrative texts.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? I think this is such an important term to fully understand. At first glance, one would assume this term implies we are talking about digital narratives (like a film); however, these digital narratives or digital stories that are most frequently created and published are NOT full narratives. Instead, they are a mix of elements of biography and narrative. It is important to be able to distinguish between this particular type of "story" and what a reader would expect to find given most people's traditional understanding of story/narrative.
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY? I think all teachers of writing should understand what is meant by this particular term. Too often the term "story" is used when creating writing assignments, without much thought to what is expected. If teachers were more careful and purposeful in how they talked about the genre of narrative, then perhaps students (K-12 and beyond) would develop a deeper and more principled understanding of the various types of works that can be produced under the very large umbrella term of "story."
Sunday, October 16, 2011
7.2 Content Literacy Inventory
When and Where Did I Find It: I found this term on page 45 in the section of McKenna and Robinson's (2002) book which was shared with the class.
Full citation: McKenna, M.C., & Robinson,R.D. (2002). Teaching through text: Reading and writing in the content areas (2nd ed.), p. 45. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
What it means: McKenna and Robinson (2002) state, "the content literacy inventory, at its core is a series of questions posed over a small section of the textbook. The student's success at answering these questions after reading the section is used to predict probable performance on the text as a whole" (McKenna & Robinson, p. 45, emphasis added).
Level of Familiarity: I have a well-developed understanding of this type of classroom based assessment tool. Another example of this type of assessment tool would be the Strategic Content Literacy Assessment (SCLA) tool which is also used to predict probable performance on the text.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? Yes, I do believe it is important to for me to understand the ways reading guides can be developed and utilized as assessment tools rather than instructional tools. The key is the design. What types of questions are included on the tool/guide and for what purpose.
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?: I certainly think my LTED 625 students (as well as all teachers) should understand the assessment goals which can be served by creating a tool which is very similar in design to an instructional reading guide.
7.1 Point of View Reading Guide
When and Where Did I Find It: I found this term in the Wood (1988) article that was an optional reading for our LTED 625 class readings.
Full citation: Wood, K. D. (1988). Guiding students through informational texts. The Reading Teacher, 41(9), 912-920.
What it means: This is a specific type of reading guide, designed and assigned by the teacher to aid students reading comprehension both during reading and after reading. As Wood (1988) describes,
The point of view reading guide uses questions in an interview format to allow students to experience events from alternative perspectives. Instead of just reading about a particular character, students actually become that individual...The interview questions elicit both text based and reader based contributions from the reader. Because readers must essentially assume the schemata or more simply "get inside the head" of the character, their comprehension and subsequent recall are positively affected. (Wood, p. 913)
Level of Familiarity: I have a fairly well-developed understanding of this instructional strategy, although I rarely use it myself.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? Yes. I guess what I want is to remember this type of guide. I often consider creating anticipation guides, interactive guides, or QtA guides when designing instructional activities for my students, but I often forget about this particular type of guide Wood suggests.
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?: I think this is certainly another type of instructional strategy I want my LTED 625 students to know exists, but whether or not they need to know it well is highly dependent upon what their specific content literacy instructional goals are as well as who their students are. They might find it a useful type of instructional strategy to include as a part of their Multigenre Project?
Saturday, October 1, 2011
5.1 Acclimated Learners
When and Where Did I Find It: This is a term I introduced to my LTED 625 students on the first night of class through the Content Interest Inventory. The term is found in their Handbook of Reading Research (vol. 3.) in Chapter 19, which I asked them to survey, scan and note this week as part of their reading. (I include the actual sentence where I found the word in the next section of this post.)
Full citation Alexander, P.A. & Jetton, T.L. (2000). Learning from text: A multidimensional and developmental perspective. In M.L.Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R.Barr, (Eds.) Handbook of Reading Research (vol.3, pp. 285-310). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
What it means: The term was defined by "Alexander (1997b) [who] chose the label acclimated for the first stage in students' academic development to emphasize the orientation and adaptation characteristic of this period....Because background knowledge is an essential variable in what and how readers learn, acclimated learners are disadvantaged in their initial attempts to make sense of domain-related texts. ...Further because acclimated students have little principled knowledge, they are unlikely to have any deep-seated interest in the content of the text (Garner et al, 1991). (as cited in Alexander & Jetton, 2000, p. 299).
Level of Familiarity: I am very familiar with this "Developmental View" of learners (specifically how to describer those who are learning from texts) and with the terms, acclimated, competent and proficient/expertise.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? Yes, I do think this descriptor (along with the other two developmental levels) are helpful to know because it allows me to plan instruction in more appropriate ways. For example, the types of instructional activities I plan for 625 class are designed for COMPETENT LEARNERS at times -- when exploring literacy concepts in general and at other times for ACCLIMATED LEARNERS -- when introducing more content area literacy specific concepts.
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?: I think these terms are useful for my students to know -- both as learners and as teachers. Knowing these different levels gives them more careful and critical descriptions to self-analyze their own background knowledge and level of preparedness. At the same time, they can better describe their own students' progress.
Full citation Alexander, P.A. & Jetton, T.L. (2000). Learning from text: A multidimensional and developmental perspective. In M.L.Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R.Barr, (Eds.) Handbook of Reading Research (vol.3, pp. 285-310). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
What it means: The term was defined by "Alexander (1997b) [who] chose the label acclimated for the first stage in students' academic development to emphasize the orientation and adaptation characteristic of this period....Because background knowledge is an essential variable in what and how readers learn, acclimated learners are disadvantaged in their initial attempts to make sense of domain-related texts. ...Further because acclimated students have little principled knowledge, they are unlikely to have any deep-seated interest in the content of the text (Garner et al, 1991). (as cited in Alexander & Jetton, 2000, p. 299).
Level of Familiarity: I am very familiar with this "Developmental View" of learners (specifically how to describer those who are learning from texts) and with the terms, acclimated, competent and proficient/expertise.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? Yes, I do think this descriptor (along with the other two developmental levels) are helpful to know because it allows me to plan instruction in more appropriate ways. For example, the types of instructional activities I plan for 625 class are designed for COMPETENT LEARNERS at times -- when exploring literacy concepts in general and at other times for ACCLIMATED LEARNERS -- when introducing more content area literacy specific concepts.
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?: I think these terms are useful for my students to know -- both as learners and as teachers. Knowing these different levels gives them more careful and critical descriptions to self-analyze their own background knowledge and level of preparedness. At the same time, they can better describe their own students' progress.
4.2 Conditionalized
When and Where Did I Find It: This is one of the key terms I asked LTED 625 students to revisit as a part of the Jigsaw Activity during Session 4. The word is found in the Fisher and Frey (2009) chapter I had students read. The authors introduce this term as part of a quote from "the National Research Council's (2000, p. 11) report How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School" (Fisher & Frey, 2009, p. 3). They quote the following passage:
"The new science of learning does not deny that facts are important for thinking and problem solving....However , the research also shows clearly that "usable knowledge" is not the same as a mere list of facts. Experts' knowledge is connected and organized around important concepts (e.g., Newton's second law of motion); it is "conditionalized" to specify the context in which it is applicable; it supports understanding and transfer (to other contexts) rather than only the ability to remember. (National Research Council, 2000, p. 11 as cited in Fisher & Frey, p. 3).
Full citation Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2009). Background knowledge: The missing piece of the comprehension puzzle. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
What it means: The term is partially defined in the sentence cited above. "conditionalize refers to the state of being able to specify the context in which something is applicable." To further detail this discussion the authors state: "background knowledge must be conditionalized -- that is, the learner must know where and when to apply it." In addition, it is important to note that if a person is motivated, he is more likely to apply what he knows almost automatically." (Fisher & Frey, p. 5).
Level of Familiarity: Honestly, even though I have spent a great deal of time over the course of my academic/professional career studying schema theory; I cannot say that this term "conditionalized" is one that I am very familiar with. As I read this chapter I had to spend a great deal of time thinking about how this feature of background knowledge is different from the features of being organized and transferable.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?
Yes, I do think this term (along with the others) are useful to have a working understanding of. It gives me a more fuller way to conceptualize Background Knowledge
as well as a more targeted description which I can use it with my students.
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?: I certainly think my LTED 625 students (as well as all teachers) should have a deep and principled understanding of what Background Knowledge is -- and how the three factors, including CONDITIONALIZED -- interplay as well as operate in unique ways.
"The new science of learning does not deny that facts are important for thinking and problem solving....However , the research also shows clearly that "usable knowledge" is not the same as a mere list of facts. Experts' knowledge is connected and organized around important concepts (e.g., Newton's second law of motion); it is "conditionalized" to specify the context in which it is applicable; it supports understanding and transfer (to other contexts) rather than only the ability to remember. (National Research Council, 2000, p. 11 as cited in Fisher & Frey, p. 3).
Full citation Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2009). Background knowledge: The missing piece of the comprehension puzzle. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
What it means: The term is partially defined in the sentence cited above. "conditionalize refers to the state of being able to specify the context in which something is applicable." To further detail this discussion the authors state: "background knowledge must be conditionalized -- that is, the learner must know where and when to apply it." In addition, it is important to note that if a person is motivated, he is more likely to apply what he knows almost automatically." (Fisher & Frey, p. 5).
Level of Familiarity: Honestly, even though I have spent a great deal of time over the course of my academic/professional career studying schema theory; I cannot say that this term "conditionalized" is one that I am very familiar with. As I read this chapter I had to spend a great deal of time thinking about how this feature of background knowledge is different from the features of being organized and transferable.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?
Yes, I do think this term (along with the others) are useful to have a working understanding of. It gives me a more fuller way to conceptualize Background Knowledge
as well as a more targeted description which I can use it with my students.
Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?: I certainly think my LTED 625 students (as well as all teachers) should have a deep and principled understanding of what Background Knowledge is -- and how the three factors, including CONDITIONALIZED -- interplay as well as operate in unique ways.
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