EDU 4245

Current Issues

Why Does Reading Matter?

Agenda

• What are current educational issues about which I should be concerned?

• Why does reading matter?

• Textbooks – Why potentially problematic?

BIG Question

• How can I help all students learn course content?

• Think about creating a “thinking-rich learning environment”

Thinking-Rich Learning Environment

• Small, student expression, reciprocal relationship, attentive, a lot of exchange of information

• Fun, personal, inviting, efficient. Informational• Open, comfortable, high energy, rich ideas, teamwork, students enjoy• Inviting, free, open, challenging, always something new, think

independently• Interactive, colorful, stimulating, set up for discussion, genuine interest

in students’ thoughts and ideas from the teacher, comfortable and safe• Comfortable, participation, structured, flexible, student-centered –

focus on students coming up with own knowledge• Intensity, passion, effort, exciting, challenging• Organized, interactive, intellectually-stimulating, controlled behavior• Energy, positive attitude, attentive student, interaction• Group work, hands on, teacher walking around, clean, questions• Socratic method, comfortable, open, debate, variety of methods• Motivating, engaging, interactive, welcoming, challenging

Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll

• Ratings toward public schools– Schools in community

• All respondents – 47% A’s, B’s; • Parents – 61% A’s, B’s

– Ratings lower for schools nationally

Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll

• What is major issue facing public schools?– Funding 21%– Lack of discipline 10%– Overcrowded schools 10%– Use of drugs 7%– Violence 6%

Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll

• Ways to improve public schools? – 66% want to reform not offer alternative

• No Child Left Behind?– 68% knows little about it

Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll

• Support of standardized tests?– 40% right amount of emphasis– 32% too much emphasis– 22% too little emphasis

Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll

• Using high stakes tests for diploma?– 51% favor– 47% oppose

• Using high stakes test to determine teacher quality?– 49% favor– 46% oppose

Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll

• Allowing parents to choose private school at public school expense– 54% oppose– 42% favor

Current Issues• NCLB• Inclusion• Funding – Differences in suburban and urban areas• How students have changed over years. Amount of respect. Discipline. Students

don’t care. • Re-segregation of schools• Class size – Smaller vs. larger• Curriculum – creationism v evolution• Role of parents in classroom• Heterogeneous v homogeneous grouping• Tracking• School organization – K-8, middle school, high school?• Standardized testing• Emergency certification of teachers; Teach for America• Tracks for gifted students• Violence and safety• Special education• Higher prevalence drugs, alcohol, teen pregnancy

Analysis of Own Reading• Required – didn’t want to. More motivated to do interest.• Interest – context with noise. Required – no noise• Required – Looked at length. Interest-didn’t matter how long. Read

this faster.• Required-Ready to write. Body tense. Stress. Interest-body not

tense.• Required-sometimes don’t know what was read. Interest-if don’t

understand, don’t keep reading.• Required-try to get the big picture. Look at highlights. Re-read.

Read out loud.• Textbook-highlighted/bolded words draw attention away from other

text. • Pictures helpful. Pictures not helpful.• Required-makes tired

Analysis of Own Reading

• Differences between 2 texts?

Reading Quiz

• What do you need to remember about proper polarity with the speakers?

• How do you connect the Video disc player?

• Why should the connection cables for the TV and tuner be as far away as possible?

Textbooks

• What are some problems with way middle and high schools use textbooks?

• Why does reading decline starting 5th grade?

• “The teachers taught students, not programs. They worried about engaging students with reading and writing in the content areas.” (Allington)

• What are some general solutions?

Grade-Level vs. Struggling Readers

02468

101214

Grade in School

Rea

ding

Lev

el

At Grade Level

Struggling

copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2004

Key Terms

• A Nation at Risk• Assign and tell• Content literacy• Content reading• Instructional scaffolding• Levels of comprehension• Literacy• Metacognition

• Prior knowledge• Reader response• Reading process• Schema activation• Schema theory• Standards-based

instruction• Student interest

copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2004

Classroom Factors that Influence Content Literacy

• The learner’s prior knowledge of, attitude toward, and interest in the subject

• The learner’s purpose for engaging in reading, writing, and discussion

• The language and conceptual difficulty of the text material

copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2004

Classroom Factors Continued

• The assumptions that the text writers make about their audience of readers

• The text structures that writers use to organize ideas and information

• The teacher’s beliefs about the attitude toward the use of texts in learning situations

copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2004

Good readers are:

• Active

• Purposeful

• Evaluative

• Thoughtful

• Strategic

• Persistent

• Productive

Position

• Standards are necessary to increase student learning– Agree – move to front of room– Disagree – move to back of room

Questions

• How do standards affect what teachers do and what students learn?

• What do you know and what are you curious to learn about NCLB?

For Next Class

• What do “standards” mean in the field of education? Are they detrimental or beneficial?

• Divide for Nelson Chapter 5.

• Read V&V pp. 30-39.

• Read ESEA Primer

• Danielle case – Respond via email

• Current Issues topic and groups