Writing to Learn About Teen Decision Making

Hello Students
Today our lesson focuses on writing about a very important topic.

You are going to develop your writing skills using the RAFT prompt methods developed by Santa and Havens (1995).

RAFT means

R - Role (who is the writer? what is the role of the writer?)
A - Audience (to whom are you writing?).
F - Format (What format should the writing be e.g. is it persuasive writing, a letter, poem.
e-mail, diary entry, report, post card, brochure, newspaper article or invitation?)
T - Topic (what are you going to write about?)

1. The Topic we are going to write about is "Decision Making"

2. Look at the video below and think carefully about what you will See and Hear.

3. Use the design of the writing prompt above and create, write and post your work in the comment box.



Your Teacher
Mrs. Victoria Cunningham

Reading Diagnosis - Conclusion

After the diagnostic process, the teacher has to make qualitative decisions on how to best address the reading needs of each child. the child's frustration, instructional and capacity reading levels would have been identified. Note how the teacher uses his data to make appropriate decisions.

Victoria Cunningham

Reading Diagnosis - Part 3

Observe carefully how the teacher ascertain the child's level of comprehension. Aren't videos a wonderful and quick way to help teachers achieve their objectives? Think of how much time has been saved by simply viewing the video on how this process works.

Victoria Cunningham

Reading Diagnosis - Part 2

Observe carefully how the process of using an Informal Reading Inventory continues as the teacher interacts with the student to diagnose his reading levels.

Victoria Cunningham

Reading Diagnosis - Part 1

It is important that teachers put students at ease before they begin to diagnose them. This would involve getting to know about what interest them the most. If they are comfortable and begin to trust you, the results of your diagnosis is likely to be reliable. Note how the teacher gets to know the child he about to perform a reading diagnostic test. Also note the value of using videos as a teaching tool for Reaidng Specialists.

Victoria Cunningham

Diagnosing Struggling Form 1 Readers for the New School Year - An Introduction

Many teachers are concerned about the low assessment scores of students entering form one in September 2010. They fear and anticipate problems since many content area teachers are not equipped to teach students with reading difficulties.

For schools who are privileged to have Reading Specialists in training, it may be best to perform a diagnostic test in reading to ascertain each student level of reading so necessary remediation can begin as soon as possible. A group of teachers can be trained to conduct the test.

An ideal assessment tool which can be used is an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI). Note however, there are several of these assessment tools available. To help other members of staff see how it can be done I have located an interesting ICT tool - a series of Videos that can assist with the process.

Victoria Cunningham

Vitamin E-Books in Schools

You Reading Specialist out there, what do you think about E-books in schools? With all the fascinating features it offers to both teachers and students, maybe the Ministry of Education can contemplate replacing traditional texts books with electronic ones.

These are some of the benefits I can think of that I would like to share on this blog.

1. Less cost to tax payers, because buying all the texts books for student to use from infants to standard 5 is a lot. Furthermore the cost for secondary books from form 1 to form 6 is even more.
2. Electronic copies of all the texts students require can fit on a single e-book. Which means the heavy book bags on our children's backs can be eliminated.
3. E-books can also store dictionaries and thesaurus.
4. Students can store fiction and non-fiction books and select any book they require at any time.
5. Many students can read the same book at the same time. No need to wait until the book is returned to the library.
6. Students always have their libraries for reference when they need it.

I can go on and on and I am also sure additional benefits may be added. Therefore I am of the view that serious consideration ought to be given to this venture . However, it should not be done haphazardly and in isolation but rather within a theoretical framework and contextual needs of cost efficiency and proper planning. Using e-books is not beyond our students, but is a motivating tool that can be used to foster and encourage reading the way traditional texts are unable to. Hence, our students can be trained very early to use and care for the e-books to get the most benefits from them.

The Professional Role of a Reading Specialist

Thinking about what lies ahead for Reading Specialists in Trinidad and Tobago, it is clear that strategic plans must be put in place to help parents, teachers and the community meet the needs of struggling adolescent readers especially in the initial stages. However, ultimately our main objective will be focused on preventing reading failure from as earlier as in the lower primary school. This would no doubt require a cadre of skills for designing intervention and enhancement programmes for schools.

Such a mandate will require the Reading Specialists to be professionally competent to provide expert services in the areas of instruction, assessment and leadership (IRA Standards, 2000).

What are the implications for providing efficient instruction, assessment and leadership? It means that preparation must be planned in advanced, comfortably stored and readily available and retrievable for professional use. Here is where the use of ICT tools can raise the level of our efficiency as we endeavour to instruct, assess and lead our nation to successful reading.

Victoria Cunningham

The ABC's of Professionalism - Attitude

The title of this post is the title of a journal article written by Pamela A. Kramer (2003). She says that if teachers are to be considered professionals they must exhibit the characteristics of a professional namely A-Attitude, B-Behaviour and C-Communication. Hurst and Reding (2000 as cited in Kramer, 2003) identified a positive attitude as an essential component of professionalism.

A positive attitude is demonstrated when teachers do not allow their personal lives to interfere with their professional attitude; when having a bad day they do not project their bad mood onto students or their colleagues; they push aside outside concerns and focus on what's before them and not on the negatives; they do not whine when their perspectives are overlooked; they are assertive yet respectful; they demonstrate an attitude of self-confidence since a lack of it leads to social errors and unprofessional behaviours (Hurst & Reding , 2000).

As I read this article, I wondered how a Reading Specialist can benefit from these perspectives. Well the very nature of the job will involve quite a bit of interaction with persons at various levels, from students to principals to policy makers. If what we present (pedagogy) is not nested in professionalism, the valuable fruits of our labour will likely fall by the way side to be plucked by the birds or plundered by the scorching heat of quiet resistance and apathy. May all Reading Specialists take cognizance of the role that is demanded of us and should we feel professionally deficient, we can ingest a couple professional supplements along with our multivitamins. May we act wisely and allow the accumulation of knowledge to affect our hearts and our behaviour which would allow us to touch the hearts of others.

Victoria Cunningham

Kramer, P. (2003) ABC's of professionalism. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 22-25.

Blogging - Meeting the Needs of Diverse Students

Blogging can be compared to yet another vitamin. Vitamin D also called the sunshine vitamin is supplied by many different sources (such as tuna, sardines, milk, mushrooms and beef) and has several functions (related to bone, teeth and neuromuscular functions). Like Vitamin D, blogging posts can be supplied by different students and can serve a variety of functions as well.

One noteworthy function is its ability to satisfy the diverse needs of students with different learning preferences or styles. A blogs web site allows postings that contain texts. Audio and video postings can also accompany the texts providing an easy and ready interactive forum for students to grasp reading and writing skills and concepts that might otherwise be difficult to grasp in a more traditional paper and pencil setting.

This also draws attention to the issue of time and timing. While less time may be spent achieving lesson objectives students have the opportunity to access high quality instruction at a time that suits them and as often as they wish. The potential challenge will for students is if they do not have access to the internet at home. Nonetheless, blogging remains a multifunctional and valuable instructional ICT tool.

Victoria Cunningham

Blogs, the Vitamin B for Extending Class Time

My experience with blogging has been so intriguing thus far, that I cannot help but search for ways this ICT tool can be used to minimize some of the issues that face teachers. One issue is the little time teachers have to engage students in academic work.

But how is the allocated subject time divided daily. Well after the routine classroom management and administrative teacher obligations are completed, time left for instruction is reduced. While we acknowledge that routine activities such as when the teacher calls the roll, return assignments, reads and files excuses, responds concerns, inquire of missing students and their well-being and stops for announcements on the public address system are indeed important, time left for instruction is reduced.

After the teacher's instructional time, the time left for students' engagement in activities is reduced even further. At which time, we are not sure if any academic learning had taken place. The findings of researchers Aronson, Zimmerman and Carlos (1998)which show a high correlation between "academic learning time" and "student achievement", implies that teachers need to find innovative ways to extend the time for student engagement or academic learning.

Hence, blogging, a vitamin B can serve to extend that time to allow both teachers and students to communicate with each other. The teacher can post lessons and links that contain audio files (podcasts -play on demand) and video files (vodcasts - video on demand) for students to access on their own time before their next class.

For students who are having difficulty with reading, the teacher can use PowerPoint visuals and narration to review points from earlier lessons, save these as vodcast and post unto the class blog for students to access.

Victoria Cunningham

Reference
Aronson, J., Zimmerman, J. & Carlos, L. (1998). Improving student achievement by extending schools: Is it just a matter of time? West Ed, 1-9.

Professional Development

In light of our responsibility to take children from one point on their education continuum to a higher level, it is apparent that teachers not only recognize their need to do so but also recognize the need to engage in the process of professional development in the use of technology. Several studies though, have confirmed that teacher's beliefs, preference, perception, attitudes and self-efficacy towards technology use is important for its acceptance in the class. Hence, it is imperative that teachers engage in and view professional development as a means of addressing their needs to help them become more effective practitioners.

Victoria Cunningham

Capitualizing on the Motivation Provided by ICT Tools

It is clear and without a doubt children are fascinated by sitting before the computer screen. This is an indication that their motivation levels and their state of readiness are indeed high. The challenge and responsibility therefore is to have well thought out and planned lessons of instruction that will not only engage their thinking faculties but also to help them achieve lesson objectives along the learning continuum.
The question I asked is this "How often do teachers in T & T use a planned lesson of instruction to teach their class?" I suspect strongly the truth is up there in the clouds.
The implication is that if teachers are to successfully use ICT tools to enhance learning, they MUST engage in meaningful planning of lessons to be ready for a feat that is still beyond many of us - teaching using ICT's. As reading specialist we'll need to work smart to make sure our impact on the education system is not piecemeal but academically explosive.

Victoria Cunningham

Goofy, Teachers are People, too

You teachers out there, doesn't the job feel like a real jungle sometimes with the children looking as if they want to eat you or chew you to pieces? I feel that way sometimes, and it's not when it's close to lunch time! It's usually when you have to correct one of their misdeeds.
On a daily basis there are so much issues to deal with, we needs lots of vitamins - natural or otherwise.
One issue I have to address in all my classes is the issue of illiteracy. How can I deal with that, since I am a Food and Nutrition teacher? I know how to read, but I can't teach others to read. Should I ignore it? I can't because the problem is consistently there so I decided to take 10 courses of vitamins. I know you think that's a lot! But to deal with the problem of illiteracy at high school, I signed up to do a Master's of Education Programme in Reading at the University of the West-Indies.
You know what; this 10 course multi-vitamin programme will strengthen my skills. As a Reading Specialist I'll be in a better position to survive in my local school jungle. Hey! Don't be misguided; I love my children and my jungle!

Victoria Cunningham