Learning Letter

One aspect that I thought was really interesting with this course was the feedback that we received during the mini-lessons and getting to see other peoples’ approaches to teaching. It was a great way to see many of the approaches and methods that we had discussed in this class implemented. The three week unit plan was also an interesting aspect with this course, primarily because it showed how long it takes to plan out a unit. We put ours together essentially from scratch, and, on the first day we worked on it, we spent like seven and a half hours just sketching out questions, concepts, and some objectives that we wanted to address with each lesson. So that was just like pre-real project work, not even stuff that we were turning in, and it took what seemed like forever to do.

            In regards to concepts, I think that many of the items talked about in “I Read It, But I Don’t Get It” were useful in regards to increasing students’ comprehension of texts, such as with the various activities at the back of the book. They gave examples about how to really help students, especially ones who struggle with reading, so that text would be a good one for referring to in the future during actual instruction.

            I think that this class has helped me think about how I’ll structure things in the future. For example, I think that when I teach, I’ll have a template for setting up unit plans that (hopefully) makes it easier. Also, I think that in an actual classroom setting, I’ll try to have a set schedule or pattern for instructional techniques so as to save time. By this, I mean that if I intend to do whole class discussions once a week, I’ll have them always on the same day so that students know how to arrange desks and whatnot because, honestly, we had to adjust the tables in our classroom during the mini-lessons for every other teacher, and that took forever, especially when the class wasn’t fully sure about how the teacher wanted it set up.

Night

I think that Weisel does a great job illustrating the dehumanization that went on in the concentration camps. For example, on page 41 (well, of my book, at least), after a Pole gives instructions about the block where they will be living, Wiesel writes “Those were the first human words.” Instances such as this show how even a few lines about how not to despair (from someone that was more allied with their enemy than with them) were more validating to the prisoners as people than anything prior to this point. This separation demonstrates how the Nazis viewed their prisoners and how the prisoners saw themselves within the confines of the camp. Overall, Weisel’s descriptions and commentary paint a very dreary, depressing, and, ultimately, moving image of life as a Jew within German concentration camps.

I read Weisel’s introduction as well. Within his introduction, Weisel discusses how he chose to use fewer words to describe some things rather than go overboard with descriptions. Specifically, he said, “I was more afraid of having too much than too little” (x). In regards to literary aspects of Night, I think that Weisel’s decision to do this was a superb choice because, while his descriptions may be shorter, they are much more vivid within the reader’s imagination owing to their brevity. This also allows Weisel to contrast some things. For example, I think it was Auschwitz that he provided a brief description of the place (that made the depressive nature of it very clear) and then added like two sentences about how it was a warm, sunny day. Through writing mechanisms such as this, Weisel is able to show how the prisoners viewed the place and situation they were in, and then (because of the brief “happy” descriptions he provides afterwards) show how others, such as people not in concentration camps, would be viewing the day. In other words, Weisel does a spectacular job at showing the contrast between what it meant to be a prison and what it meant to not be one. 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

                I thought that the illustrations in the book were an interesting touch because they offered more explanations of what had happened in certain instances (such as when Junior throws the book at Mr. P) or they further demonstrated Junior’s points. In addition, these pictures help to show Junior’s comic expertise and help to further explain his character. Overall, they were a nice touch, especially in a story that is structured in the manner that this one is.

                Overall, I thought that this book was interesting, albeit definitely written in the persona of a fourteen year old boy (I think that is how old Junior was supposed to be). In other words, I can see where there would be some controversy with using this text in a high school classroom. I mean, Alexie references a variety issues and words that parents could find offensive for their children to read about, so I could definitely see where this could be perhaps not such a good choice for teaching material.

                I think that Alexie does a good job of showcasing the different people in Junior’s life. I mean, the book is pretty short, but Alexie offers enough information on everyone to allow readers to get a general idea of any one of the characters as well as have an implied notion of them as well. I’ll be honest, I’m not overly fond of Alexie’s works, but I will say that he does do a pretty decent job of establishing his characters and allowing readers to figure out their motivations and personalities, even if those traits aren’t explicitly stated. In other words, I think Alexie tends to offer less details in this novel in order to allow readers to have more of an abstract idea about characters rather than one that specifically states all the details of the characters. 

Things Fall Apart

Something that I thught was extremely fascinating with this novel was the inclusion of many of the local customs, laws, and traditions of the tribe. From a literary standpoint, I can see where discussing these helped to illustrate the difference of culture between Okonkwo’s people and the white men that came to his village. However, I also think that this was done, at least in part, to provide a better picture of life in Oronkwo’s village because it differs drastically in some areas from that of European cultures. Granted, European cultures had as many practices that seem foreign to people of today (such as the practice of leeching, for example, or having whipping boys for the higher social classes) as the people of Okonkwo’s village. Overall, I thought it was an interesting look into their everyday lives and social practices (and the reasons behind them).

I thought that Achebe did a great job of detailing how European culture infiltrated and dominated African culture at the time this book is about. By detailing the customs of Okonkwo’s people, Achebe was able to show how life initially was for them. As the story progressed, he showed how customs differed even between neighboring villages, and this worked well to outline how radical the European take over was because, even though village customs differed, the European customs, laws, and religion were altogether alien and not based in any village or tribal customs of Okonkwo’s people. In other words, this novel truly demonstrated how the Europeans oftentimes did not care what other people believed, but, instead, sought to force their own opinions and viewpoints upon them. 

TPA Lesson Template

I will say that the TPA lesson plan layout is pretty thorough, even if completing it becomes rather dull after a few times.  I mean, the TPA format really makes sure that the planner goes through all the steps necessary to create a lesson that is tied to an objective and has achievable, measurable assessment. Don’t get me wrong; I couldn’t imagine sitting down and making up a TPA lesson plan for every single lesson I’d ever teach. However, the TPA lesson plan format does have some good characteristics that would make it useful to reference occasionally. For example, it makes planners think about how to engage as many students as possible by making them address different learning styles and whatnot. I would say that the largest negative aspect of the TPA lesson plan is that it takes a significantly longer time to write than what most teachers take to plan their lessons. On the opposite side, I’d say that the most positive aspect of the TPA lesson plan is that it requires planners to think about how their lesson fits into the larger scheme of things (such as whether it’s tied to an objective, how the lesson relates to previous lessons, and so on and so forth). I will say that I think the TPA lesson plan should have some sort of place to note anything else that’s worthwhile. I mean, it has the “management and safety issues” area, but that’s the only place that really seems to be suitable to list anything that seems noteworthy but that isn’t specifically listed in the rest of the plan. For example, if a class generally gets done with their tasks pretty early, it would seem pertinent to mention somewhere that this is so and maybe have a backup plan. 

Differentiated Instruction

For my research, I chose to look at the study “Efficacy Beliefs, Background Variables, and Differentiated Instruction of Israeli Prospective Teachers” by Cheruta Wertheim and Yona Leyser. This article discussed the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and how well they perceived the effectiveness of differentiated instruction and individualized instruction to be. I found this article to be interesting because it demonstrated the connection between teachers’ attitudes towards learning and their instructional techniques and conceptions. Essentially, this article found that the greater degree of self-efficacy that teachers had, the more those teachers were willing to offer differentiated instruction and personalize lessons to help individual students who need it. I thought this was a great reminded that a teacher’s attitude really affects the learning done in a class – teachers who have a more positive outlook about how much they can influence students will probably have larger impacts upon their students.

Providing instruction that allows a greater amount of students to learn is a wonderful way to ensure that you are helping students to the best of your abilities. Whether this instruction encompasses using simply a variety of different types of lessons (discussions, things to help different learning styles, etc) or tailoring lessons so that individual students in the class can relate well (which would require knowing one’s class and adapting one’s lesson plan content accordingly), differentiated instruction allows teachers to reach out to as large of percentage of their class as is possible. Also, I think it is necessary to remember that pretty much all students can benefit from differentiated instruction; students who need more help with a concept may benefit from a different type of instruction, and students who oftentimes exceed expectations can benefit from having more challenging tasks. Therefore, I believe it is necessary for teachers to maintain attitudes that remind them that all students are different, so types of instruction should be as varied as their students are. 

I Read It, But I Don't Get It

     While reading these chapters, I was reminded that it is very important for teachers of all grades to reinforce quality reading; that is, teachers should continually seek to improve students’ ability to read rather than just assume students have adequate skills. I also think it is important for teachers to gauge where the class is and provide a variety of different options. By this, I mean that when I was in school, I remember having to do the “divide the paper in half and write quotes on one side and notes on the other” technique. At the time, I was already a pretty great reader, so I found such activities tedious and boring (not to mention a waste of half a sheet of paper); however, an activity that was better suited to my ability might have allowed me to develop my skills further (such as one focused more on making claims rather than just adding commentary). Therefore, I think it is necessary for teachers to not just use the one-size-fits-all technique in things such as this, but rather to offer several methods to students.

                I will say that Tovani has some pretty decent ideas about getting students more motivated to read. I found her discussion about inner voices particularly engaging because it seems to me that a great deal of wasted reading could be attributed to the “distracting voice,” as she calls it. I know that when I am reading a particularly uninteresting piece of material, my mind tends to wander off, and I know that’s when I tend to lose the gist of what I’ve read. I also know that if I absolutely have to get through the material, I have to focus more instead of thinking of other things, so I am able to see where Tovani has a valid point in saying that students need to eliminate that “distracting voice” when they read in order to be good readers.