Double Journal Entry #15

• "Skepticism about the value of play is compounded by the widespread assumption that the earlier children begin to master the basic elements of reading, such as phonics and letter recognition, the more likely they are to succeed in school."
• "Young children work hard at play."  "Because their motivation comes from within, they learn the powerful lesson of pursuing their own ideas to a successful conclusion."
• "Research shows that children who engage in complex forms of socio-dramatic play have greater language skills than nonplayers, better social skills, more empathy, more imagination, and more of the subtle capacity to know what others mean. They are less aggressive and show more self-control and higher levels of thinking."

These three quotes really stood out to me in the reading.This is a very interesting and thought provoking topic. I completely agree with these statements and was surprised to read of the research showing that students who enage in play have better skills, are less aggressive, and sow more self-control. THese thougths are all very interesting and need to be considered.

"Miller, Edward. Almon, Joan.Crisis in the Kindergarten Why Children Need to Play in School."

Do Schools Kill Creativity

I really enjoyed this video. Sir Ken Robinson's ideas were very true and I was able toreally connect to the thoughts he was talking about.

3 Things I Agreed with:

• Creativity is just as important as literacy.
• Students are afraid to be wrong.
• Students "grow out of their creativity" or educated out of it. Creativity is not valued in schools.

2 Ideas that Surprised me:

• People who are not preparded to be wrong will never come up with anything origional.
• I thought the story of the cheoreogropher becoming a dancer was very interesting!

1 Thing that I Disagree with:

• Nothing!

Double Journal Entry #14

1. What was the most interesting idea you encountered as you read the chapter?

The idea that was most interesting to me stated that all language is dialogic in the sense that is designed to communicate with an "assumed other." It gave the example that a person wirting on a fan fiction site is assuming a particular type of reader such as a fellow fan. This to meis very true. When writing, you are going to use different style and words depending on who is going to read it!

2. What connections can you make between Gee's critique and Sir Ken Robinsons' critique of traditional schooling?

Gee and Sir Ken Robinson seem to have the same thoughts and opinions about traditional schooling. Both agree that students aren't able to show and apply their creativity. Students are instead programmed to learn a certain way and be a certain something in the world.

3. How did this book change or support your understanding of good teaching?

THis book definatly supports my theories of good teaching. It talks about students being seen as individuales and not just anoher student. I believe that this is very important. Teachers need to get to know their students and understand how they learn.

Double Jornal Entry #13

Chapter 6: Affinity Spaces

1. Give an example of a "community of practice" in which you are currently participating in.

 

I am currently an Elementary Education major at Fairmont State.

2.Why is the term "community" better defined in relation to spaces rather than groups of people?

It can be thought of as a close-nit group of people with similarities. The idea of community can sometimes make people think of "members".  When related community to spaces we can see to what extent the people are iinteracting within the space do or do not actually form a community.

3. What is a "generator"? What is it's counterpart in school?

A generator is content or what the space is about. It's counterpart in school could be a science book.

4. What is a "content organizer"? What is it's counterpart in school?

A content organizer is how the content is organized or designed. A teacher made lesson plan could be an example in school.

5. What is a "portal"? What is it's counterpart in school?

A portal is anything that gives access to the content and to the ways of interacting with that content by yourself or with others. In school, an example of this could be lab work in science.

6. What do people have an "affinity" for in an "affinity space"? How does this inform your understanding of good teaching?

People have an affinity for the things they are interested in. This relates to students being more willing to learn in school if they are interested.

7. How do "affinity spaces" support inclusive classrooms? Choose two characteristics below to make connections between "affinity spaces" and inclusive classrooms.

 

1. A Sense of Community - Children are encouraged to learn and achieve as much as possible and feel a sense of belonging to their class and have common interests with others. People are relating to each other.

9. Using a Common Language - You are establishing a common language without the use of intellectual and confusing terms, so that all participants can equally understand.

 

 

8. How are traditional classroom different from Affinity Spaces?

 

Traditional classrooms segregate students by things like skills level and grade. Also the core generators are rarely modified for students interests. Students are simply not labeled.

 

 

Double Journal Entry #12

1 What is the main argument the author is making in Chapter 5.

 

In Chapter 5, the author is arguing the comparison between ways of learning in school to learning to play a video game.

2. What constitutes a theory of learning?

 

Patterns ans principles constitute a theory of leaning.

3. Why did the author struggle to learn to play Warcraft III? What needs to proceed before good learning principles?

 

The author stated that when learning to play Warcraft III he failed to engage with it in a way that fully recruited ot solid design and learning principles. Motivation has to come before good learning principles.

4. How would have the authors struggle with learning to play Warcraft III been interpreted in school?

 

It would have been interpreted as a failure in the school setting.

 

5. What kind of learning experience might be better suited for at risk students?

 

Being in a world of their own through motivation.

6. Why does the school-based interpretation of "at risk" lead to bad learning?

 

THe schools interpretation of "at rosk"leads to bad learning becasue they are dumbing down the curriculum and not challenging the students.

 

 

7. What do schools need to do to function more like a good game?

 

Schools need to stress actiona dn identity instead of knowledge.

 

 

8. What is different about how good games and school assess learners?

 

Schools assess learnerds with tests and then depending on their grade decide what should happen. Games allow the learner to assess themselves and learn things about what they do and do not know.

9. What are the attributes of a  fish-tank tutorial that make it an effective learning tool? How is it different than school-based learning?

 

The fish-tank tutorial allows the learneer to assess themselves and understand what they do or do not need to work on and know a lot about themsleves as learners. This is different from school-based learning because the learner has no ideas of how they learn becasue they are assessed by teachers, who choose what they think is best for them.

10. What is a sand-box tutorial? Why is effective? How is it different that school-based learning?

 

In the sand-box tutorial students are more free to explore, try things, and make discoveries. It is effective casue students are able to discover what is best for them and use it. It is different from school-based learning because students don't have this freedom.

11. What is a genre? Why is it important for good learning?

 

Genre means what type of thing something is. It is important for good learning becasue learners need to understand what "type" of something they are learning.

12. According to the author, what to learning and play having in common?

 

Real learning is a form of pleasure and so a form of play. You are learning when having fun.

 

13. How are the skills test in good games different from skills tests in school?

 

Skills test in good games are developmental for the learner and not evaluative.

14. How does RoN support collaborative learning?

 

Players are aloud to work in groups call affinity groups.

 

15. Match at least one learning principle of good games (on page 74) with each the following learning theorists you have studied in 3352:

Dewey #17

Vygotsky #12

Piaget #5

Gardner # 14

Bandura #6

Skinner #15

High Quality Assessment

1. What is formative assessment?

It is the feedback students receive from teachers and other adults, peers, or self-assessment in a timely, specific, and task-focused manner.


2. What is the CENTRAL purpose of formative assessment?

Formative assessment always puts student learning at the center and it allows students to closely evaluate their own work.


3. Connect a best practice in formative assessment to one research-based strategy.

The researched-based strategy of providing feedback directly connects to formative assessment because you are essentially providing students with specific detailed feedback that will allow them to better themselves and what they are doing.



4. Give an example of how a specific assessment can be used formatively and summatively.

The article mentioned a rubric being formative and summative by telling students what is expected and then using it to assign a grade.



5. Give an example from your field placement related to formative assessment and timing.

In my clinical, the students are frequently asked to complete journal writings. Depending on how much time is available they might be assigned 2 a week, but they work on these throughout a span of a few days, giving them time to revisit their thoughts and edit their work before it is actually assessed. Throughout the process the students receive formative feedback when we check their journals for progress and help them elaborate on the ideas they have.


6. What are some strategies to help formative assessment be more effective when providing students with feedback?

Formative assessment focuses to the task rather than the student themselves. This helps them understand exactly what is expected of them in the project they are completing.



7. Name two advantages to high quality formative assessment.

Formative assessment causes increased feelings of confidence and control in students and also helps teacher identify students who may be struggling in a certain area or students who are misconceived.


8. What are some challenges to implementing high quality formative assessment?

It is hard to distinguish between high-quality formative assessment and assessment that is not fully developed. Another challenge is getting support for teachers using this type of assessment.

Double Journal Entry #11

1. What does the author mean when he says, "Learning doesn't work well when learners are forced to check their bodies at the school room door like guns in the old West." 

I think the author is eferring to the students just coming into school as another person not as a special individual with different experience. All students don't come into school with the same experiences and they don't all learn the same.

2. According to the author, what is the best way to acquire a large vocabulary?
The best way to acquire a large vocabulary is for stucdents to actually experience the "worlds" to which these words refer.

3. What gives a word a specific meaning? 

Words have different specific meanings in different situations where they are used and in different specialist domains that recruit them.

4. What does the term "off the hook" mean in each of these sentences?
a. My sister broke up with her fiance, so I'm off the hook for buying her a wedding        present. 

In this sentence it means you now don't have to dosomething that you were going to have to do.

b. Them shoes are off the hook dog.

In this sentence "off the hook" means  awesome or cool.
   
c. Man that cat was fighting 6 people and he beat them all. Yo, it was "off the hook", you should have seen it!!

In this sentence, I would say the phrase means crazy.


4. According to the author what is the"work" of childhood? Do you agree?

The work of childhood is play. I don't complelty agreee with this statment. I believe that there a lot more important things children work to learn during childhood,but I dounderstand that they come about learning these things through the process of play and that "play" is their main work soto speak.


5.Why is NOT reading the instruction for how to play a game before playing a game a wise decision?

The texts that provide the directions for ganes are very difficult to read unless one has experienced the game which will give the language in the directions specific meaning.


6. Does knowing the general or literal meaning of a word lead to strong reading skills?

Knowing the general or literal meaning of a owrd does not lead to strong reading skills and understanding.


7. What does the author mean by the terms "identity" and "game". Give an example of 3 "identities" or "games" you play?

Children are esentially playing a "game" when they are taking the moves or certain actions or interactions that define them as they take on a role or "identity." I play the game of being a techer by playing out my role or identiy when teaching lessons in my clinical. I also take on the role of a daycare worker when I am going through the "moves" at my job. In the third game I play, as I plan my wedding, I take on the roles of an event planner.

8. According to the author what is good learning?

Good learning depends on the experiences given to young students.


9. How does understanding that being able to build a mental model and simulations of a real-word experience is closely tied  to comprehending written and oral language support of change the way you think children should learn in school?

Model simulations help us make sense of things.  They are not simply facts, but representations of experiences we have had. So meanings of words are not about general definitions. They are building specific game like models for specific contexts. Supplying children in school with many experiences with which they can build useful simulations for understanding diffferent subjects.


10. Why is peer to peer interaction so important for the language development of young children? How does knowing this support or change the way you think children should learn in school?

Young children use interaction with their peer to compare and contrast their perspectives on different things. They learn to reason. In peer interaction children are more likely to seek some way of rationalizing differetnt viewpoints and change their own for reasons they understand. This, to me, completly supports the idea that children are going to learn more working with each other and that educational and posititve talking and discussion should be encouraged between students.