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]

Monster's Proof Podcast

Welcome to CMJ Radio!

Today, we'll be discussing Richard Lewis's book Monster's Proof.