Assistance in Learning

Assistance in Learning

                When we think about assistance in education, we generally think about a teacher or tutor helping a student to complete a homework assignment or study for a test. The PAR framework uses assistance to mean the teacher assisting the student in gaining deep, meaningful comprehension from a reading.  Research has shown that when information is simply read, only a small percentage of it is comprehended. When a teacher requires the student to take an active part in their learning, they will naturally learn more, remember more, and understand concepts more fully. This is the purpose of constructivism.  It is a student-centered approach to learning which allows, “readers to feel comfortable with learning because they are so fully integrated in putting it all together (Richardson, Morgan, Fleener, 2012, p. 85).” With a constructivist approach, students are required to use higher-order thinking skills and go beyond knowledge checks that require simply scanning through the book or hitting CTRL+F on the keyboard. While students are learning more than they would be by simply listening to a lecture or book reading, it may not feel as taxing because the approach puts the students’ learning in the students’ hands. The teacher is more of a facilitator .

                Several different approaches and strategies were given that could be used in the assistance phase.  This has been my favorite part of this text book thus far. It gives concrete, tangible examples of strategies that can be used in the classroom, and describes when the best time to use those examples. While WIKA seems to be a commonly accepted strategy, it is new to me. I have not seen this strategy used , but it seems to be exceptional.  It will help the teacher assess prior knowledge. It will help the student to put into words the reason why they are doing the reading and what they have learned from the reading, which ensures a more complete comprehension. And finally, it helps the teacher to see where learning gaps have occurred. I also really like the mystery clue game. I can see this being something students would really enjoy doing and it could be adapted to many different situations. When students can have fun like this, they don’t resist learning. Questions and questioning strategies are also addressed. They QAR strategy stresses teaching students to generate their own questions. By generating their own questions, students’ comprehension is increased.  I wonder at what age this strategy becomes appropriate. I plan to teach elementary school and it seems like it might be a bit much to be able to ask 10 year olds to generate their own questions. Am I not giving them enough credit? At what point have students developed the cognitive ability to be able to do things like formulating questions from the reading or discerning the difference between a question that should be answered from the reading and an answer they should be able to answer by looking inside themselves?

Preparation and Strategies for Content Area Instruction

            Prior knowledge is something we frequently take for granted, especially as we get older and move into college and graduate classrooms. As I read about it, I look back on my teachers in the past and recognize some of that probing that occurred to determine what we already knew. At the beginning of my junior year of high school, my Algebra II teacher started out by asking the class if we knew what a function was. Nobody did. She had clearly not planned to spend much time on this basic definition, but because she recognized its importance, she reworked her plan for the day to ensure we understood what a function is and is not, before we moved on.

            In “Reading to Learn in the Content Areas,” we are presented with several different ways to approach prior knowledge, rather than simply asking the question as my Algebra II teacher did. Its importance is stressed in order to ensure students have the appropriate base from which to build their schema. Several different reasons for assessing prior knowledge are addressed, such as students with limited prior knowledge or incorrect prior knowledge. We are also given several ways to approach preparation for the lesson and accessing this prior knowledge. Discussions include the KWL activity, the What I Know activity, and rewriting text so that it is more readable for the targeted students. The scenario that is not addressed, however, is one where all students are on different pages at the outset. How does the teacher make the decision of how to prepare his or her class when a about 1/3 of the students are largely familiar with the content the lesson was designed for, about 1/3 need some introduction, and about 1/3 are blank slates on the topic. Does the teacher teach to the lowest common denominator and risk losing the interest of the rest of the room. Or does she teach to the middle and take a chance on the ability of those with the least prior knowledge to catch up? Time in the classroom is limited. How does the teacher determine where to focus effort when a choice has to be made?

            Once we have gotten past the preparation and prior knowledge, we can begin to look at strategies for content. Ming (2012) makes some excellent suggestions for using content-area literacy in non-traditional subjects (Math, art, music, P.E.). What struck me was not her suggestion of using content area literacy for these subjects, but that she considered some strategies that I would not have considered when discussing content area literacy. She includes using graphic organizers, visual representations, and teaching visualization. When a teacher incorporates these things, the students are able to better build their schema and also verbalize their thoughts because they have a more concrete understanding. The effect of content literacy instruction on students’ language arts abilities and progress seems obvious, but I would be interested to see how it holds up with teaching the non-language arts content. Do students actually perform mathematical equations better when they have read the text or after they have written poetry about the math? Are students better musicians after they have kept a journal regarding their responses to hearing music? Is an art student more artistic after discussing reactions to a the paintings viewed on a museum field trip? 

Content Literacy and Affective Learning

                How important is the affective domain really in education? Do students genuinely need to be excited in class? Does it really matter, academically, if they believe in themselves? Or is it enough to simply be told what needs to be done and how to get there? The focus of national standards and every educational reform focuses on the cognitive domain, although research has shown that the affective variables are critical in students’ learning.  

                                Richardson, Morgan, and Fleener (2012, p. 30) reference a study by Van Halkenburg and Holden to demonstrate exactly how important the affective domain is.  This student indicates that it is a 1 to 1 relationship and that, “every cognitive approach is concerned as much with affection as cognition (p. 30).” Attitude, motivation, and conation are the three most important affective factors in student learning. The students first must want to learn. He or she needs to feel like the classroom is welcoming and accepting, while offering learning opportunities that are enjoyable and rewarding. Finally, the student needs to have a sense of determination to learn. This is more than simply wanting to learn, but putting forth the effort and not giving up until a goal has been achieved. All of these things can be addressed and fostered by the teacher. Study guides, reading selection, and homework assignments can all be designed with these factors in mind.

                The affective domain plays directly into content literacy instruction. A focus on content literacy, while important for student learning, is also a way to motivate students. With this type of instruction, students are building skills in reading, writing, and communication without realizing it, because they are doing it within the context of other subjects. Students get frustrated when they are reading or writing for the sake of reading or writing. Vocabulary, comprehension, study strategies and writing are all referred to by Misilus (2009) as tools for developing literacy skills. Teacher can develop instruction around these tools in order to mold students into independent learners. Content literacy drives students toward critical thinking and a more thorough understanding of content.

                My concern is for the underachieving student. How do you motivate the consistent low performers to do well? Content literacy is important because of the way our neural pathways work. Content literacy helps to build literacy skills in all different subjects. If, however, the student does not have the basic literacy skills to even maintain average grades in English, they will be held back across all content areas. How do you foster a positive attitude in a child who is struggling in language arts and, as a result, struggles through every subject because reading and writing has become a focus in all content areas.