Reflection #4

Why Textbooks Are Not Enough

1. What was the chapter about?
In Chapter 3, Daniels and Zemelman review the many reasons why textbooks are simply not enough in the classroom.  They discuss the central role of textbooks, the trouble with textbooks and concludes the chapter by offering suggestions for teachers of whom do and do not use textbooks in the classroom.  The main focus of the chapter was definitely about the disturbances textbooks cause in the classroom, for both students and teachers.  Daniels and Zemelman believe they are extremely overused, which I can agree with to some degree, because some teachers may feel that textbooks are their only resource and don't try to push themselves to find more in depth information.  "Textbooks are superficial, exceedingly hard to read, badly designed, authoritarian, are often inaccurate, not written for students and sometimes cost too much."  Daniels and Zemelman suggest that teachers buy only classroom copies of books, rather than one per student, which would bring down the cost. They also noted that teachers and administrators should be very selective towards the books they decide to purchase because a lot actually come with extra material (CDs full of handouts, videos and posters) and teachers should take advantage of that.

2. What does this chapter tell you about teaching students?
This chapter tells me a lot about teaching students because I now understand how much of an impact textbooks can make on a student's education.  Choosing "the right textbook" can make or brake whether or not a student ends up really understanding the material or not.  I believe the biggest idea is that textbooks are simply not written for students.  Some children may actually know the content material but can't understand what the book is trying to say and convey to the readers.  As teachers, it is our responsibility to make sure we choose books that are student friendly and establish any vocabulary barriers because the lesson begins.  This way, our students won't be as anxious about the textbook and can concentrate more on the actual material.

3. Can this chapter be applied in your content area?
Yes, this chapter can definitely be applied in my content area.  Mathematical textbooks are constantly being published, which allows school systems to trade out old ones for new ones, which is something we as teachers really need to watch out for.  Although textbooks are an excellent resource in the math classroom, there are definitely some textbooks that are better than others.  For example, at the school I am teaching at right now all of the teachers love a certain precalculus textbook and even though different levels of this course require different textbooks, every teacher goes back to that one textbook because of how well written it is.  Although all of the precalculus books are filled with examples, the way this one is laid out and written makes it so much easier to understand the material.  As a math teacher, I will definitely want to use a textbook because it is an excellent resource, for myself and the students, and usually flows in an appropriate manor, but I will certainly keep in mind that some textbooks are better than others and try to find the one that suits mine and my students' needs the best!

Reflection #3

Rationale for Adolescent Literacy

1. What was the chapter about?

Overall, this chapter provided a rationale for specific content-area reading strategies.  Many teachers have noticed a decrease in the comprehension reading levels of most American students and tried to figure out why this is.  Bean, Baldwin and Readence believe, "Diverse and complex issues such as social equity, bilingual education, and formulas for funding public schools combine to make universal literacy one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century."  Our world has gone through so many advances, some of which help students learn but others making this process of reading to learn more difficult.  "Learning to read is the main focus of primary school education; reading to learn is its logical extension and must be the responsibility of middle and secondary school teachers."  This chapter primarily focuses on the difference between these two abilities and offers secondary teachers many suggestions on how to successfully teach their students how to read to learn!

2. What does this chapter tell you about teaching students?

I believe the most important thing this chapter reminded me about teaching students was that, "It is not true that students will automatically modify elementary reading reading skills to suit subject-matter reading demands."  Learning to read and reading to learn are most definitely different concepts and even though students gain the ability to learn in elementary schools, teachers have to remember that their students have not been taught how to read to learn and may not truly understand how to read to interpret a textbook.  "Good teachers know how to tailor the message, activate prior knowledge, focus students' attention and monitor comprehension by checking to see if students understand important parts of a text presentation."  It is our job as secondary teachers to teach our students the skills of reading to learn and if we use these four, crucial suggestions in the classroom, our students will gain this ability and many more!

3. Can this chapter be applied in your content area?

Although this chapter didn't focus specifically on strategies for teachers to use in a mathematics classroom, I believe the suggestions the authors gave for good teachers to have are definitely relevant in my content area.  As I am teaching I have to tailor my message by adapting the presentation of my lesson to the needs of all of my students.  I was immediately able to claim which of my students were going to need more help and whom learned better visually than verbally, allowing me to adapt the way I presented the material.  I definitely also try to activate my students' prior knowledge to remind them that what we learned yesterday can help us gain mastery of what we will learn today, which also helps them focus their attention towards the material.  Most importantly  it is so crucial to make sure all of my students are on the same page as I am and really understand the material.  I never want to move on to the next topic until I know everyone has mastered the current topic, which is why I always ask for their feedback and walk around the room to get a glance at their notes and work to look for any mistakes that should be clarified!  All of these techniques will help students read to learn any day!

Web Resource Review #1

Online Math = FUN - ixl.com is an excellent resource for students and teachers to use at home or within the classroom!  "Practice makes perfect, and IXL makes math and language arts practice fun!  IXL motivates students through interactive games and exercises while keeping teachers and parents informed and involved.  With more than 2,500 skills spanning pre-school through high school, IXL offers a dynamic and enjoyable environment suitable for any learning style.  Students who use IXL are succeeding like never before."  After exploring the website for a while I was beyond pleased with what I found.  Every grade and/or mathematical subject has links that bring the students to an array of  questions, even word problems, that are algorithmically generated, which means that I student will never come across the same problem, no matter how long they visit the website to practice.

What's the advantage for teachers?  This website generates a reports and data analysis tools for teachers to use to gain insight into their students' performance on the website.  This student-friendly website also allows children to work on problems at home, even with the help of their families.  Parents have the opportunity to get on IXL with them and explore the mathematical topics that their children are currently studying.  I absolutely love that IXL offers help to students in Pre-K all the way through Algebra II because the more help our students can get in mathematics the better!  It's extremely convenient that teachers can also allow their students to actually use the website in school so they can monitor and quickly identify how their students are doing on certain topics.  IXL is extremely user-friendly and even though they do have an option for parents and teachers to become members, the website still offers over thousands of practice problems for students to solve for free.  Everyone should check it out!

Reflection #2

Teaching Text Structure to Improve Reading Comprehension

1. What was the reading about?

In this article Bakken and Whedon discuss the idea that children are used to reading texts in narrative prose and when they enter school they are introduced to expository prose.  These two types of readings are extremely different and teachers need to be aware of how to help guide their students to become excellent, expository readers.  "Expository prose presents facts, theories, and dates, and the information is largely unfamiliar to the reader (Cook, 1983).  The organization and structure of the text is inconsistent and unpredictable, and for the first time, children are required to 'read to learn.'"  I thought this was a great breakdown of expository prose because it clearly suggests that almost all textbooks teachers are using are set in this prose.  Bakken and Whedon discuss the five different text structures found in this type of writing and propose strategies that teachers should teach their students to improve their overall comprehension in all content areas.

2. What does this reading tell you about teaching students?

This reading reminded me that, even though students are learning outside of the classroom among their family and friends, they may not be using the same tools and strategies that are used within the classroom.  Yes, students have been reading for years and years but that does not mean they understand how to interpret textbooks within the classroom.  This is why it is so important for teachers to demonstrate to their students how to read a textbook before they try to teach them the material it contains.

3. Can this reading be applied in your content area?

Although the strategies discussed in this article seem to be more suitable for a content are in which reading is highly implemented, I do believe these suggestions can be used in the math classroom.  It would allow students to recognize the main idea (factoring equations) and then recognize details about factoring, characteristics about factoring, the differences between the steps of factoring, similarities and differences among factoring, and finally the different types of factoring.  These unique techniques for note-taking could really help break down the general idea for students within all different content areas. Overall, I really enjoyed this article and the suggestions and strategies Bakken and Whedon gave teachers to implement in their classrooms!

Reflection #1

Daniels & Zemelman Ch 7:
Building a Community of Learners

1. What was the chapter about?
This chapter focuses on the idea that teachers need to actively shape their classroom so that students feel safe, comfortable and welcome everyday.  Teachers need to make sure that their students are actively engaged and encouraging one another to thoroughly engage in the learning experience.  The authors do note that these strategies presented for the teachers can not be implemented during every single lesson but still stress the importance of implementing this strategies daily.

• Make the classroom a place where students trust the teacher and believe it's safe to take risks.
• Provide students with choices and opportunities to take responsibility in the classroom.
• Connect learning with students' lives and the larger issues around them.
• Organize learning so that students work together and help one another.
• Read aloud from engaging and powerful writing in their fields.

2. What does this chapter tell you about teaching students?
This chapter tells me that one of the most important things about teaching students is to really get to know them and make them feel welcome in your classroom. Recognize their interests and conduct your teaching instruction in a way that sparks meaning and engages your students.  Allowing them the opportunity to conduct their own learning is also crucial when teaching students because this responsibility gives meaning to the learning process and engages them at a higher level. 

3. Can this chapter be applied in your content area?
Yes, this chapter can be applied in my content area of mathematics.  For example, the Best Practice High School Geometry teacher regularly combined textbook reading, questioning, and conferencing organically.  She let her students explore the material first, then work on practice problems with group, followed by having the students put their work on the board, which generated lots of classroom discussion and questioning.  I love how she let her students conduct their own learning, but also gave them that sense of comfort if they needed it.  I think this is a great way to implement of the importance of reading in a math classroom.