Productive Teaching
Social Constructivism and the School Literacy Learning of Students of Diverse Backgrounds
The article by Kathryn H. Au examines the reasons for the existing gap between the school literacy achievement of students of diverse backgrounds and those of mainstream background from a 'Social Constructivism' perspective, and suggests a conceptual framework for improving the school literacy learning of students of diverse backgrounds. In addition, the author reviews various theories of Social Constructivism that relate to literacy research and identifies five major explanations for the achievement gap, namely linguistic and cultural differences, racial discrimination, inferior education, and rationales for schooling. The 'conceptual framework' developed by the author for reducing the achievement gap draws heavily on the work of Cummins (1986) and his theoretical framework but modifies it by emphasizing a shift from a 'mainstream orientation' to a 'diversity orientation' including a shift in the goal of instruction, role of home language, instructional material, classroom management, relationship with the community and assessment techniques. Finally, sources of tension in the current debate on literacy achievement such as the differing perspectives of the literacy theorists (critical theory vs. constructivism), political ideologues (liberalism vs. radicalism), and researchers (mainstream vs. minority group) have been commented upon.
The most significant point of the article is its comprehensive explanation of the factors responsible for the existing gap in the literacy achievement of the mainstream students and those of diverse background. Such a clear headed thesis recognizes the complexity of the issue and helps to put at rest simple-minded theories that attribute the under-achievement among the Black and Latino students to a single reason or theories with racist undertones. It also leads to logical solutions for the problem such as the conceptual framework suggested by the author. My only objection to the article is its categorization of types of literary research into 'social constructivism' etc. that gives rise to the kind of 'tension' in the debate on literacy that the author herself has drawn attention to at the end of the article.
Productive Teaching A Culturally-Based Cognitive Apprenticeship The article puts forth the idea that those who teach literature in schools are giving students too much of their own interpretations and stating them to be correct, rather than allowing the students to think for themselves and find other ways to interpret the literature. Since this attitude toward telling the students what is right instead of letting them learn seems to be very prevalent in
Teaching Journal Today being a productive teacher is more challenging than ever. Children are much more used to varied classroom approaches, with the Internet, computers and other electronic equipment becoming the norm. Gone are the days when students sit quietly in their seats while the teacher stands and does mathematics on the chalkboard and reads from a textbook. I believe I am well prepared to meet this educational challenge. I know it
Language Culturally-Based Cognitive Apprenticeship (Teaching African-American High School Students Skills in Literary Interpretation) by Carol D. Lee The author observes that there is a distinct need for implementation of special strategies pertaining to reading comprehension skills in schools populated by students of African-American or other ethnic minority groups. Cultural orientation plays a crucial role in understanding and interpreting literature alongside general reading and task specific strategies. This automatically implies that the differences in
subtle effects that cultural differences can have on instruction. The author began with a review of the literature, and then demonstrated how some cultural assumptions, such as the "quiet Native American," were based on the fact that Native American children respond differently to culturally different teachers than they do teachers from their own culture. He also cited intriguing research suggesting that coming from the same culture was more important
Teaching philosophy is a reflective statement of a teacher's core beliefs about classroom practices, pedagogical approaches, and the purpose of education. A considered and well-articulated teaching philosophy guides instructors in creating an environment conducive to learning and student engagement (Henderson & Gornik, 2007). It is a crucial component for both novice and experienced educators, as it underpins their choices in curriculum design, teaching methods, and assessment practices. Central to a strong
The ultimate goal is to increase student achievement by improving the hiring process by adding another layer of screening, namely teacher efficacy. The following aims will support the ability to achieve these goals. Aim 1: To evaluate the association between full and part time faculty regarding the characteristic of teacher efficacy. Hypothesis One: Part-time teachers sampled will report statistically lower teacher efficacy scores than will sampled full time faculty in business
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