Models of Teaching: Metacognition

Module 2 DB Post Question: Current research in reading stresses that comprehension occurs when a reader actively creates meaning from a text and that there are four conditions, the reader, the text, the task, and the context, that determine what meaning a reader will construct. • How will this definition of reading comprehension inform the types of literacy activities students will engage in while in your classroom? • Have you had any experiences with a comprehension breakdown due to one of the four conditions? What are some of the literacy skills students need to access the texts of your discipline? Use specific examples to illustrate your point. Preparations for this week’s discussion reminded me that there is a big difference between reading and comprehension. Students may be able to identify the words on the page, but may struggle to actually understand the meaning of the words they read. Comprehension tells us how the reader is making meanings from the written word. “Research reveals that proficient readers employ a host of comprehension processes as they read and learn. These comprehension processes provide the bedrock for learning in our classrooms, from the early grades through high school and college” (Buehl 4). The four conditions that determine what meaning a reader will construct from a text are: the reader, the text, the task, and the context. What the reader brings to the reading situation could mean both the reader’s ability to decipher the words on the page and his or her ability to apply the reading to their previous knowledge. As a teacher, I need to consider my students’ motivation and what knowledge and abilities they bring to the task so I can adjust my teaching accordingly. The text itself is also an important aspect to consider when thinking of how to best facilitate reading comprehension in the classroom. Qualitative factors like text structure are important to recognize as possible stumbling blocks for students. In a science book, pictures and diagrams are just as important to read as the actual words on the page, but students may not know that and may need to be taught this as a skill. Additionally, quantitative factors such as the Lexile score of the text can help me determine how challenging a specific piece of text may be for my students. For example, when we study organ systems, I may have everything from pop-up books to high school level texts for the students to read so that I can reach all of my students and meet them where they are in comprehending what we are learning from the text. The nature of the reading task plays a role in students’ comprehension during the activity. It is important to consider how the students will use the information from the reading activity so that they can better understand what to ‘do’ with the information gleaned from the text. Will they be tested on the material or is it just general knowledge? One reading task my students really seem to actually enjoy is current events. I frequently assign current events for the students to do whenever I must have a substitute. The students are can choose a recent science magazine from my desk and choose any article in the magazine that they’d like to write about. They have to write down how the topic affects them personally, our community, and our world. When I come back to school, the students are excited to ask me questions about the topics they read about when I was gone. They seem to enjoy the freedom of the task, and as a result also actually enjoy reading about science. Understanding the context in which the reading assignment occurs is also an important factor in determining how well students may comprehend the text. The context includes everything in the environment in which the students are doing the reading. This could include the temperature of the room, the time of day, and the openness of discussions around the text. In science, my students are always very concerned whether or not their interpretation of the text is “correct” and sometimes this causes them to refrain from giving any answer at all because they think they will be “wrong”. I’ve been working with them on this notion, and trying to help them understand that all scientists make mistakes or have different viewpoints – and when their ideas do need to be corrected I try to do it in the kindest way possible. Some literacy skills that students need in order to access texts in my science classes include making connections and visualizing. In life science, we study the characteristics of living things. To help them understand these characteristics thoroughly, I need to remind them of connections in the characteristics of living things to experiences in their own lives. In addition, I have them imagine different scenarios so that they can make better connections to the text. For example, I ask the students what they do when they touch something very hot – then we relate that to our understanding of response to stimuli. References Buehl, D. (2014) Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning (4th ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. McLaughlin, M. (2015). Content Area Reading Teaching and Learning for College and Career Readiness (2nd ed.). Pearson.

Module 1 Question How has your understanding of the term “literacy” grown or changed after reading the material in Module 1? How might you be rethinking literacy specific to your discipline? In Reading Next study, referred to in the McLaughlin text on pages 18-19, Biancarosa and Snow state that, "The idea is not that content-area teachers should become reading and writing teachers, but rather that they should emphasize the reading and writing practices that are specific to their subjects, so students are encouraged to read and write like historians, scientists, mathematicians, and other subject-area experts." How do you see the knowledge of your discipline working in tandem with the key elements of an adolescent literacy program in order to achieve the goals laid out by the Common Core Literacy Standards? Module 1 Post Before reading the materials for this week’s module, I had a simplified view of what literacy looks like in the Secondary Science classroom. In my mind, I thought that literacy in my classroom might look like memorizing scientific vocabulary words or writing short responses on lab activities. I was unaware of the multifaceted approach to literacy presented by the authors we read this week, specifically the increasing specialization of literacy development by Shanahan and Shanahan. Being a content area teacher, it had not occurred to me that I needed to teach reading strategies to my students so they could better understand and master the content I presented. I wrongfully assumed that the work of their ELA teachers would transfer over seamlessly into my classroom. There are three main ways I can see that I can easily reinforce content area literacy skills in my classroom: reading and writing about data, incorporating more inquiry, encouraging students to share and reflect on others’ work (Banks). In science labs, students are required to write down their results, but they need to know how to do this correctly, such as using scientific notation or what units to use. Students need to know what numbers are important and what order to write them in. Additionally, I can rewrite labs so that they have fewer or less-specific directions to promote the students’ inquiry. While it is important for students in science to know how to follow directions, it is equally as important for them to creatively find solutions on their own. Finally, students should have the experience of reviewing one another’s data and analyses to help them sharpen their observation and literacy skills. I checked my school’s online standards archive on Rubicon Atlas to find out what Common Core Literacy Standards I ought to be teaching in our current 8th grade unit. According to the standards, my students need to use the science content presented in this section to cite evidence, make visuals, write explanations, and select audio/visual resources. These are similar to the standards presented in McLaughlin, Chapter 3. I feel like I have given them the opportunity to do all of these things, but that I needed to explicitly teach the students how to do each task specific to the science content in order to get the best results from my students. References: Banks, S. (2016, November 17). Science Literacy and NGSS. Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2014/07/16/science-literacy-in-the-age-of-ngss/ McLaughlin, M. (2015). Content Area Reading Teaching and Learning for College and Career Readiness (2nd ed.). Pearson. Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching Disciplinary Literacy to Adolescents: Rethinking Content-Area Literacy. Harvard Educational Review, 78(1).

Literacy History Infographic

I'm going to use this blog to post assignments, ideas, and other interesting insights as I complete the course ED 620 - Literacy in the STEM Content Areas. I can't wait to see what resources I'll find so I can incorporate them into my classes.