1. Chapter one: In recounting her journey through many educational reforms, Diane Ravitch makes a number of provocative Statements. Choose two, quote them, and personally respond.
"It is doubt that shows we are still thinking, still willing to reexamine hardened beliefs when confronted with new facts and new evidence." (p. 2)
I really liked this quote. I had to reread it a couple of times because I wasn't sure whether or not I agreed with it. I was thinking to myself, "Don't people admire confidence? Certainty?" My first thought is not to admire and respect someone who is doubtful, however this sentence by Ravitch made me pause and give my stance a second thought. After thinking about it, I think it makes a lot of sense, and I agree with it. We can't always follow blindly when someone presents new 'factual' information, we need to investigate it ourselves and come to our own conclusions.
"I began...looking at schools and teachers and students from an altitude of 20,000 feet and seeing them as objects to be moved around by big ideas and plans." (p. 10)
I didn't like it when Ravitch explained this point of view in her book. I understand that sometimes people have to be removed from the situation in order to see it from a different perspective, but this made it seem like policy makers were just playing chess, planning their next 'strategic' move. Shuffling people around and providing incentives and sanctions won't necessarily fix the fact many students are performing below grade-level
2. Chapter two: On page 16, Ravitch gives a brief definition of a well educated person. How would you characterize a well educated person? What should any well educated person know in today's world?
To me, a well educated person is able to collaborate with others. A well educated person should also be able to work independently and respect others, especially when there are differing points of view.
3. What would you have liked to say [about Ravitch] that you did not get to say?
I find it interesting how often she changes her mind in the first couple chapters in the book. Will she change her mind again?
4. Choose one gap you listed from your subject area and identify three resources: a website, an article, and a book that can help you fill in the gap. List these and discuss what you learned from one of these.
A gap that I have for my inquiry question has to do with technology. I have never used an iPad in the classroom, and I am curious as to 1) how to make it kid friendly and 2) what programs are available for kids to use (and ideally, make 'books' on).
Website: http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/burley106
Article: How Use of an iPad Facilitated Reading Improvement by Barbara McClanahan, et. al.
Book: IPads in the 21st Century Classroom by Monica Sevilla
I'm really glad I happened upon this school website that I found off of Pinterest (a wonderful tool for educators)! This school tracks how staff and students are using the iPad in many grade levels. I clicked on the first grade list, and it brought me to an app that I have never heard of: ebook magic. This app enables students to make their own books, share them with others, and even print them. I have used Bookrix (a website) in the past, but I was looking for other options to try. I can't wait to explore the other apps this school uses.
5. Your annotations of resources are meant to be both scholarly and brief. In the blog, discuss in detail why/how any two of these articles were useful to your topic/questions. Consider such things as listing specific information you learned that you didn't know before; how this new learning leads to other questions or sources; why this writer was convincing; whether you would seek this weiter out for other articles he/she has written and anything else you'd like to state in a blog that others can learn from and read.
Article 1: How Use of an iPad Facilitated Reading Improvement
I have always known that iPads could be used a multitude of ways in the classroom, but I have not had a chance to experiment with these myself. My school just purchased iPads for the tech lab, and I am excited to try them out on my students. It makes a lot of sense to use CIA (computer aided instruction) with kids who have ADHD. Even though there is a little push back about how much screen time kids are exposed to, there is just something about an iPad that is engaging: it's colorful, tactile, kinesthetic, and more. Although an e-book is not the same as an iPad, the article references another study based solely on e-books that I plan to seek out and read.
Article 2: Using Technology to Support Expository Reading and Writing in Science Classes
This article, quite frankly, took me by surprise. Fourth graders still need this much help writing about science? This article had pages and pages of material that was scaffolded to the very basics (filling in sentences, matching words and definitions, etc).It had me worried for a little bit considering my inquiry question involves both reading and science (learning about animals). After my initial panic I realized that this was my opportunity to help improve the situation. This article not only gave me a bunch of ideas to use for my project (and in-class lessons), but it gave me a different perspective of a secondary teacher.
Blogs I responded to:
David Bowen
Whitney Campi
Hi HIlary,
ReplyDeleteGreat responses! I really liked your 'gap' when it comes to using iPads in the classroom. I think that is something that a lot of teachers are going to have to learn over the next few years, and there are good resources out there. In one of my MSTE classes last spring, we got a list of free iPad apps, I will pass that on to you!
Also, your articles for #5 are very interesting! I also like how you are using these articles to get ideas in your own classroom.
I feel like both of your quotes can be thought of in the realm of politics as well. Politicians are thought of as weak when they change their minds, yet Ravitch sees it as an area of growth regarding new information. You definitely took a different approach to analyzing the "viewing from 20,000 feet" quote, and I think I agree with your words as well. No one likes to be thought of as a pawn in a chess game...
ReplyDeleteHi HIlary, I emjoyed your response to your second quote in question one about doubt and uncertainty. I too, have always thought confidence was always a much better quality to boost about that doubting ones self, but Ravitch has a good point. As teachers we need to not be super heros to our students, but merely human. We need to be able to facilitate learning, and create citizens of society to become life long learners. Sometimes we don't get it right it's pok to question our own views, doubt something we have done before, learn from those experiences and move on. In its own way it is showing confidence, confidence that you thought you were right at the time, but now have the guts to say, "Hey I may have been wrong before, this is what I think now..."
ReplyDeleteI too have never gotten to really utilize technology in the classroom and I feel it is something I need to explore and experiement with. I know the students love to use things like ipads in the room. I may be old fashioned, but I have been hesitant to use technology in the classroom due to the fact that not every school is equipped with technology, it grows and changes so quickly, and it can be very isolating. For example having students do a group project via Prezi, the students don't need to actually work together socially to create the project as each student can log on idependently and update the slideshow.
Hi HIlary,
ReplyDeleteI liked your response to questions #3 and have been thinking the same question, will Ravitch change her mind yet again? It was interesting to hear her background and where she has come from, but I just wonder if she has yet another experience to discuss in later chapters. As for your technology project, I was working in a first grade classroom in the spring and found a great app that students can use with ease for creating 'books'. It is called StoryKit. I used it when having the students make a How To book explaining how they planted seeds in our class, but you could use it for so many different things. In the app, the students have the ability to add pictures, type, write themselves if they want to, add more pages, etc. It was also a free app! Check it out and let me know what you think.
-Natalie
I appreciate the honesty in your response to the first quote. You yourself were thinking, by the definition that Ravitch implies. The metacognitive questioning you did implies that you, yourself are not willing to accept information for face value, but you analyzed possible meanings of the quote and then came to a decision that you accepted her stance. This is what Ravitch would consider "learning." I also believe that it is true that in order to learn you do have to analyze critique, and sometimes disagree with popular theory. Great response
ReplyDeleteMegan M.
Hilary,
ReplyDeleteI really like the first quote you chose from Ravitch. People do value certainty and confidence – maybe too much so. It is honorable and shows your self-awareness when you are confident enough to questions yourself. This made me reflect on how to teacher this to my students. On one hand, you want them to be confident in what they do and not to listen to those who criticize what they believe in. Yet, on the other hand, you do want them to listen to constructive criticism and reflect on their own work and selves in order to widen their perspective and become a better person. I definitely want to teach them to question the “known”. A friend (who is a teacher) gave me the book “Lies You Learned at School” by Michael Powell when I left the school I worked at with her. It reminded me how we need to evaluate what is put in textbooks and remember to do our research before teaching things we personally do not actually know that much about, and to teach our students to do the same.