Synthesis Blog #3

Learning how to read, comprehend, and write text is not the sole responsibility of an English teacher. I was convinced very early into the semester that content-area reading was the way to go, even as a student with a math and science emphasis. This made so much sense to me that it blew my mind away! I do not wish to be an English and literature teacher but Subjects Matter has instilled in me the belief that content-area reading will benefit students in my subjects (all subjects) more than I had ever initially thought. That reading can be interesting and literally all forms of text are on some level beneficial for young readers in all subject areas.

Something that has stayed with me throughout the semester was our short class discussion about how research has shown that mathematics texts contain more concepts per sentence and paragraph than any other type of text. This was very interesting to me, seeing as mathematics seems to be the subject furthest away, being the most unlike English and literature. But math is “written in a very compact style; each sentence contains a lot of information, with little redundancy. The text can contain words as well as numeric and non-numeric symbols to decode.”

In the book Literary Strategies for Improving Mathematical Instruction, chapter two discusses reading in the mathematics classroom and they talk about the underlying issue: “Unless mathematics teachers are generalists and have been trained in reading instruction, they don't see literacy as part of their skill set. More important, they don't appreciate that reading a mathematics text or problem is really very different from other types of reading, requiring specific strategies unique to mathematics. In addition, most reading teachers do not teach the skills necessary to successfully read in mathematics class.” The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics from 1996 states that “mathematics is so often conveyed in symbols, [that] oral and written communication about mathematical ideas is not always recognized as an important part of mathematics education. Students do not necessarily talk about mathematics naturally; teachers need to help them to do so.”

I see my bookclub reading, Monster’s Proof, in my future classroom and I think implementing any type of reading can be beneficial and quite enjoyable in a math class. I’ve also fallen in love with “Mathematician Monday”! How interesting and fun it would be to have a mini history lessons on the minds behind the formula names. Prior to this class, I had never thought about implementing much text in my math classroom. Having begun this course, I question why content-area literacy didn’t really seem to exist in my past schooling… perhaps I simply did not notice.

Literary Strategies for Improving Mathematical Instruction recommends the Think Aloud strategy to help students begin to understand how to approach and interpret intimidating word problems. This text also includes before, during, and after reading strategies. It's pretty awesome stumbling upon a reading that talks about what we've already discussed in class. I fully see a place for content-area literacy in my classrooms. (510 words)

Shoutout to Mr. Robinson! Thank you for a semester full of great strategies, interesting discussions, and wonderful lessons. I appreciate all of your feedback on my work and I thank you for introducing us to Subjects Matter. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season!

Blog #10

I have always enjoyed reading though I must say, I have never felt quite up to par with the reading level of my classmates. After reading this chapter, I kept thinking about times I didn’t know where to begin solving a math problem or a scientific calculation. I might have known the formulas and I might have been able to identify what was given to me… but picturing the situation or making sense of it all was sometimes a struggle. I didn't know at the time but the teachers helping me understand were content area educators helping a struggling reader.

[Reading Pace Level Zootopia Sloth]

“There’s so much we need to do for our kids, and never enough time to do it all. And yet our close observation of their struggles tells us that to help students understand and learn from the tasks we assign them, we must work with their reading process.”

This to me is wonderful and the book goes on to remind us that no, we may not be a reading teacher but when we help a student mature as a reader in our content area classrooms, we are teaching them “one of the skills involved in learning.” Struggling readers are kinda being cheated from their opportunity to learn. What comes with this job is helping students understand the concepts and how to use the resources provided to them.

Think Alouds are a strategy that could really benefit struggling readers. Presenting live and active thoughts as one reads a passage, picture, or diagram can really model other beneficial reading strategies to readers that do not know what to think about when reading (ex. when the book describes students who have problems picturing an unfamiliar situation). I also agree that it is important to choose materials students can successfully read. If a student is already struggling to understand text, proving materials unmindfully can be rather discouraging for students repeatedly having issues with text beyond their reading level. [324 words]

Blog #9

There has been a lot of talk of “inquiry” in the past few weeks, specifically in the science emphasis student’s Hilsman class. We’ve been asked what we think inquiry-based learning is, how, and why we might use it in our classrooms. Many definitions have been thrown out there but to my understanding, inquiry-based learning and instruction promotes creativity and curiosity. It’s a way of pushing students to explore unknown or unfamiliar ideas and concepts by asking solution-probing questions. Presenting problems, scenarios, and questions leads students to ask their own questions, reflect on what they know is true by experience, research further information and/or compare data to then develop a solution or idea to their problem. 

Inquiry-based instruction does not have to be a strategy used only for special occasions. I’m sure you find it simple to remember interesting conversations you’ve had with your friends and classmates, right?  I view them much like a friendly class or small group discussion mixed with strategic problem solving. Learning material through these types of strategies helps alter a negative learning environment into discovery. In my opinion, discussion has far more potential for student engagement than textbook reading. Through inquiry-based learning, text is not eliminated. Questions and problems are introduced first to help give meaning to readings – reading to answer these questions and reading to better understand.

Using these types of projects also helps the teacher learn how their students view the world and how much they understand about your subject. Teaching by giving students fact after fact and asking them to run with it is far less impactful and enjoyable than leading them to ask their own questions and pushing them to discover ways to investigate and find answers or solutions. [287 words]