Kindergarten Approach to Learning

"In traditional kindergartens, children are constantly designing, creating, experimenting, and exploring. Two children might start playing with wooden blocks; over time, they build a collection of towers. A classmate sees the towers and starts pushing his toy car between them. But the towers are too close together, so the children start moving the towers further apart to make room for the cars. In the process, one of the towers falls down. After a brief argument over who was at fault, they start talking about how to build a taller and stronger tower. The teacher shows them pictures of real-world skyscrapers, and they notice that the bottoms of the buildings are wider than the tops. So they decide to rebuild their block tower with a wider base than before."

"In going through this process, kindergarten students develop and refine their abilities as creative thinkers. They learn to develop their own ideas, try them out, test the boundaries, experiment with alternatives, get input from others – and, perhaps most significantly, generate new ideas based on their experiences. In reality, the steps in the process are not as distinct or sequential as indicated in the diagram. Imagining, creating, playing, sharing, and reflecting are mixed together in many different ways. But the key elements are always there, in one form or another." 

"Unfortunately, most schools are out-of-step with today’s needs: they were not designed to help students develop as creative thinkers. Kindergartens (at least those that remain true to the kindergarten tradition) are an exception. The traditional kindergarten approach to learning is well- matched to the needs of the current society, and should be extended to learners of all ages." 

These quotes stood out to me because I believe that when students are engaged, it fosters better learning. Also, I believe that imagining and creating are real-world skills that students will benefit from practicing and acquiring. I think it's sad that schools have been "out-of-step" with the needs of 21st century learners, but I do think that there are some things we can do to change this. We can start by recognizing what we do that kills creativity in the first place.

Creativity Killers

Interviews of a High-Performing Student and a Struggling Student

High-Performing Student Interview and Artifact

Struggling Student Interview and Artifact

It meant a lot to me that not only did both students enjoy the island project and feel that there were things that I had done that were helpful to them, but most importantly that both students succeeded on the two-part summative assessment I created (which included both the island project and the written test).

ThinkQuest

The ThinkQuest that stood out the most to me was Exploring the Magical World of Harry Potter. As a huge fan of the books and movies, I would love to teach a lesson that incorporates the series. I think it would be an ideal lesson in an RLA or literature setting. It could be used to teach themes, characters, setting, plot, etc. It's also current and popular, so I think it's something that students could relate to as well.

More Than Just a Motto

http://elschools.org/best-practices/more-just-motto-nobody-eats-alone-harborside

The Harborside Academy motto, "Nobody eats alone at Harborside", has evolved over time and has taken on a whole new meaning--"Nobody should be left alone to solve any problem". This reflects culturally responsive teaching because it is all-inclusive, regardless of intelligence level or cultural background. It encourages students to get to know, listen to, and appreciate each other. It also does a great job of meshing who the students are becoming in both their personal and academic life.

WVPTS Wordle

WV PTS Standard 1- Group: Hannah Evans and Christina Richards

Culturally Responsive Teaching

In doing this project, I learned a great deal about culturally diverse students, and what it takes to teach them properly and effectively. A connection can easily be drawn between power, language, and literacy, and it's important for teachers to always have this knowledge in the back of their minds, and especially when teaching in an area such as Appalachia. A very good point is made in "...As soon as she opened her mouth!" The author writes, "First, socially and politically marginalized people are held in disdain by those in power. ...There is always a generalized belief that they cannot learn as well as those in power--the middle/upper classes. It is believed that they 'just don't have it' as far as intelligence and/or the will to learn, to achieve, to move out of their impoverished conditions go. This disdain, this general stance of diminished expectations exerts a powerful and insidious effect on the education offered to marginalized people" (Purcell-Gates, 2002). Sadly, it is often true that the people who are put into positions of power are those who display proficiency in language and literacy (especially of Standard American English), while people who aren't as proficient are viewed as less intelligent and therefore undeserving of a powerful position. This belief couldn't be more inaccurate. In fact, the way in which a person communicates has nothing to do with his or her intelligence or ability to learn.

There is a difference between dialects and accents; an accent is the way in which words are spoken, but a dialect is actually a variety of a language, with its own distinct rules, grammar, and vocabulary. A teacher must be aware of this before attempting to "fix" the way a student speaks and force him or her to learn "proper English" (otherwise known as cultural deficit perspective). This only adds to the problems with literacy. Instead, a good teacher will accept and embrace a student's natural language and means of communication, and design his or her instruction to build upon that (also called cultural difference perspective). As stated in Dialect Awareness Education: The Importance of Watching Our Words, "We must work backward from discrimination to discover the underlying causes, beginning with a basic understanding of attitudes toward English in the United States" (Rowland & Marrow, 2010).

There are many ways in which a teacher can overcome a cultural deficit perspective. For example, in A Look at Funds of Knowledge, teachers are urged to "...abandon the standard, drill-based approach so often used with working-class and poor students", "...help students find meaning rather than learn isolated facts and rules", and "...use activities that 'involve students as thoughtful learners in socially meaningful tasks'" (Gonzales, Greenberg, and Velex, 1994). 

It's also a great idea for a teacher to implement new lessons that involve members of the community that the student is familiar with. This cultural capital helps to make learning more relevant for the student. Instead of misconstruing someone who speaks non-standard English as "lazy" or "ignorant" (Epstien & Herring-Harris, 2011), teachers should use the funds of knowledge within the community to help, not hinder, their students.

The Where I Am From project was a fantastic example of culturally responsive teaching. First of all, the digital stories gave us all a chance to get to know a little more about each other, and raised some questions we wouldn't have thought to ask otherwise. I learned that I have quite a few things in common with my classmates. Also, it gave us an inside view into the values, beliefs, and heritages we each hold near and dear to our hearts. Instead of focusing on whether or not something was the right or wrong answer, as is the case in traditional assignments, we were able to bring life to our own stories, where there is no right or wrong.

I believe that speakers of non-standard English learn best when given the opportunity to build upon the foundation of language they already possess. I plan to use this strategy when teaching in my future classroom.

Resources




Epstein, P. &  Herring-Harris, L (2011).Honoring Dialect and increasing Student Performance in Standard English. Retrieved October 12, 2012: http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655



Gonzalez, N.,  Greenberg, J. & Velez, C. Thanks Funds of Knowledge: A Look at Luis Moll's Research Into Hidden Family Resources. CITYSCHOOLS, 1 (1), 19-21, 1994.

National Council of Teachers of English (2008). National Council of Beliefs About Writing. Retrieved October 12, 2012:http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/writingbeliefs



Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). “...As soon as she opened her mouth!” In L. Delpit & J.K. Dowdy (Eds.), The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language, culture and power.


Rowland, J. & Marrow, D. (2010).  Dialect Awareness Education: The importance of Watching Our Words. USC Undergraduate Research Journal vol 3.

Where I Am From Poem

Where I Am From

I am from Thomas, West Virginia.

Fifth generation, born and raised in the mountains of Tucker County.

First born child of Brian and Christina.

Older sister to Bethany and Zachary.

I am from a tiny blip on the map…

Where I know a country road will always lead me home.

I am from a house built with rough, calloused hands.

From a county with only one stop light.

Where you can find happiness at the end of a fishing line.

I am from canyons and waterfalls.

From corn roasts and campfires.

From green thumbs and great cooks.

From four-wheeler rides and fresh-picked berries.

I am from cheering for the Mountaineers on Saturday,

And giving thanks to God on Sunday.

I am from tall trees,

And short tempers.

I am from hard work,

And soft hearts.

I share my mom's long dark hair and favorite color.

I share my dad's grin, and love of dogs and forensic science.

I am from lifelong friendships…

From four seasons…

From Mountain Lion Pride… 

From awe-inspiring natural beauty.

I am from a family that always sticks together.

From shucking corn and pulling the strings from green beans.

I am from a Charlie Brown movie and homemade sugar cookies for every holiday.

Where you'll always find an orange at the bottom of your Christmas stocking. 

Where you wave to every person that drives up or down the road,

And know all of your neighbors on a first-name basis.

I am from saying words and phrases no one outside the family would understand.

I am from summer nights on the trampoline,

And riding bikes until it got too dark to see.

I am from summer nights lit by lightning bugs, bright full moons and thousands of stars

Instead of street lights.

I am from spitting watermelon seeds,

And swimming in creeks and lakes.

I am from Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.

I am from endless hours spent in the Monkey Woods,

And playing with the cows on the farm.

I am from learning to drive in the Tacoma at Fairfax Stone.

I am from rescuing two homeless puppies,

Who have absolutely stolen my heart.

I am from a promise of forever with my best friend.

I am from knowing that everything happens for a reason,

And that, when I put my faith in God, I can get through anything. 

Where, from loss, I learned to truly celebrate life.

Where I was able to grow up fearless, independent, strong-willed, and adventurous,

All the while knowing if I stumbled, 

My family would be there to catch me.

I know where I come from,

And I know that no matter how far I may go,

There's nowhere else on this vast planet that will ever be 

Home.