Synthesis:
Hinchman: This section talked about Eduardo and negotiating his success in science class. As an ELL, he struggled initially with science and lacked motivation to do work or participate in class, and he was a frequent distractor. His science teacher Will focused on academic literacy through Talking to the Text and double-entry I Saw/I thought notes and on metacognative discussions. Will continued to expect more and more out of Eduardo's contributions in discussions, and Eduardo gained enough trust in his abilities as well as his teacher to attempt more participation. Once Eduardo experienced small successes, he began attempting more and more, and as the year progressed he became a leader in the classroom.
The premise of "negotiating success" is ongoing "literacy learning opportunities, explicit strategies instructions, collaborative learning structures, and metacognative inquiry into reading and learning" (321-323). Holding students to high standards promotes more willingness to participate and the chance to succeed.
Jetton: This section spoke of the challenges of reading science text, specifically with vocabulary (basic meanings in addition to layered meanings), comprehension (ability to put concepts in different formats together), fluency (knowing where to get information & when to use it), and writing (being able to communicate formulas as well as more intricate lab reports and other data formats). In order to best learn the text, students should focus on the various meanings of vocabulary, actively engage with the vocabulary and text, and write arguments to support findings.
Connections:
Text-to-self: I struggle trying to get students to attempt work they believe is too difficult for them. It can be a big struggle to get them to trust me enough to attempt it, but it's worth the effort when they realize they can do it.
Text-to-text: I think the strategies in this chapter mirror strategies for other disciplinary texts: having to understand academic vocabulary, having to actively work with the text, and writing to reinforce concepts.
Text-to-world: It is important for students to understand how to approach various texts and the different types of thinking that each discipline requires. I think if they can be more aware of the approach to take in each discipline, they will have more success without having to depend solely on the teacher to guide them.
Questions:
1. What strategies are most effective for you when attempting to engage unmotivated students?
2. What do discussions look like in your classroom? How are they arranged/monitored?
I really loved the Hincheman chapter. I think the authors nailed it on the head when they mentioned how it is our duty, as educators to hold our students to high standards. I think expecting them to perform well can be so empowering for students. I loved watching Eduardo's literate identity change throughout this chapter.
ReplyDeleteI also struggle with helping my struggling students to believe that they are capable! Finding ways to reach them and strategies that can help them to become confident can do a lot of their self esteem.
i have found that finding something that interest my students can help with motivation and then I try to relate it to the topic of the lesson. I also try to allow a little bit more choice with my unmotivated students.
For my classroom discussions, we often start out with me leading the discussion, then i have the students discuss with an elbow partner and then we come back together as a whole group to discuss as a class. I encourage the students to share their thoughts and ideas. I try to guide the discussion and pull thoughts out of students and if necessary, reword their thoughts. I think this arrangement works well for my third graders, but I am open to other ideas as well.