Challenge #1 - The Discourses of Me

Reflection 

By completing this challenge, I have learned a lot about my discourses and communities. I realized that a lot of my discourses involve other people. This confirms the ideas I had about myself that I am extremely extroverted and care a lot about others. People are what make me the most happy and give me the most purpose in my life. The people in my life are what give me fulfillment- which isn't bad, but it's also not great. One thing I'd like to work on is creating my own sense of identity that doesn't rely on others, as that's something I've struggled with.  One thing I noticed is that although my discourses were all different, a lot of them had similarities. For example, I used the word "love" in my family, girlfriend, and nanny discourses. Although I used the same word, the words meant different things. As a girlfriend the love I have for my boyfriend is different than the love I have for my family and the children I nanny. One of the words that sticks out to me is "trust," which I used in more than one of my collages. I realized how important trust is and how trust is something that should be valued and respected. The way we communicate with others and express ourselves to others can either make or break our trust with them. Trust is an essential factor in a relationship, weather it be with family, the kids I nanny, my boyfriend, or even as a student. Doing this assignment makes me remember that each person is unique and has their own discourses; middle school students are not an exception. I need to make sure that I acknowledge their discourses and allow them to bring their communities and passions into the classroom. Doing this assignment reminds me how important it is to get to know my students on a personal level and show them I care about them as more than just students- but as people. When I was working on the assignment in class, Ashley was showing me hers and I realized how different our projects were. This reminded me that every person is unique, and it's worth it to get to know about them and their lives. I think it's important to do activities with students that help them realize their discourses because it can help students discover their identity, which is something that middle school students are so desperately searching for. In my classroom I can make sure to allow students to express themselves and offer creativity in my classroom so that students can bring in their own experiences and prior knowledge to guide them in their learning. Language is extremely powerful, and it is clear that different communities/discourses have different language. For example, the language I use with my family is going to be different than the language I use with my family. We know that we are part of a community when we have specific language that separates us from others. 


Some connections I made from class was when someone was talking about discourse and said that we need to know our discourses so we can do our best to eliminate bias from our classrooms. Doing this activity made me think more about the discourses I belong to ( even those that are not pictured ), which in turn helped me recognize some biases I may have. In the reading "Leaning Towards Praxis" it states, "We share Geneva Gay's advocacy for "instructional reforms … that are grounded in positive beliefs about the cultural heritages and academic potentialities of these students." This relates to the Discourse challenge we did because it explains how important it is for students to recognize and share their discourses, so that they can be celebrated in the classroom. We need to take the time to get to know about our students and find out things about their lives/interests/cultures, so that we can form meaningful relationships with them. When I was reading "An Distinctly Unamerican Idea" it used the word "low-ability' students. In my opinion, this type of language is not beneficial to anyone. My discourses were all filled with positive words like love, trust, commitment, passionate, etc. We don't want students to label and see themselves as "low ability," because that is a very negative sounding word and can really effect how students see themselves. In cultivating genius, it talks about what identity is, and how important it is for YA. Many middle school students are searching for their identity, and trying to figure out where they fit in and who they want to me. Consequently, it is important that we give students the opportunity to explore their discourses, as it can aid them in their self discovery. 





Challenge 2 


Personal Notes

Challenge 3 Reflection


 Who are you as a reader? What is your attitude toward reading in general and toward specific types of reading? How do you use strategies as you read? What role does reading play in your understanding of the world and of the disciplines you plan to teach? (Identity)

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• What did you learn about the facets of reading when examining motivation and strategy-use in yourself and your reader? (Skills)

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• Based upon your understanding of motivation and strategy use, how do you see these impacting comprehension? How will this knowledge guide your instructional decisions? What connections can you make to teaching in your discipline? (Intellect)

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• Considering your new understandings of reading, how do traditional views on reading inhibit students' success in school? How can examining the literacy practices of someone working in this job/profession help you consider new ways to reach all your students? What role can the concept of wobble play in helping you develop a culturally sustaining teaching practice? (Criticality)
  
  I have a pretty good attitude towards reading in general. I like to read for enjoyment, but I also enjoy dissecting challenging academic texts. One of the biggest strategies I use when reading both text I choose and academic text is going back to summarize pages I don't understand. Sometimes when reading academic texts, I find myself decoding more than comprehending and analyzing. When I read a section that is confusing for me or didn't make much sense, I go back and read it again, this time slower. I would say that I am a very fluent reader and sometimes find myself reading too quickly to get through it faster, whereas when I'm reading for enjoyment I read slower and pay more attention to detail because the content of the story interests me. When I lack interest in what I'm reading I tend to focus on a more passive approach to reading. This can cause issues because reading academic texts requires the ability to draw from prior knowledge, make connections to other academic texts in the same field, and read for comprehension. Literacy is so so so important in ELA, and it's also important in social science. Consequently, I don't want to overload my students with only academic texts. When we do read academic texts, I will make sure to express the importance of analyzing, making connections, using your prior knowledge, and reading for comprehension. When students choose books to read for enjoyment, I will focus more on being able to follow the aspects of a story (rising action, falling action, climax, etc, rather than analyzing, making connections, and paying attention to detail. If you are reading for enjoyment and miss out of some specific details, students will likely still be able to pick out the theme and message of the text, which is more important in this type of reading. When I'm a teacher, I will make sure to allows students time for independent reading, with books that they choose on their own. During these types of readings, I won't force them to take notes and annotate nearly as much as I would if it was an academic text. Making students obsessively annotate and take notes while reading for enjoyment may deter them from reading purely a s a hobby or for enjoyment. 
  
  As a reader, I can use extremely different reading strategies depending on the content that I am reading. If I am reading a book for enjoyment, I don't do things like take notes or preview the text to see what I'm reading. When I'm just reading for fun, I'm more focused on following the story line/character development, while when I'm reading academic texts, I'm more focused on taking notes and understanding concepts/making connections to my previous knowledge. I am definitively more interested and invested in books when I'm reading as a hobby/ for pleasure; but when I read academic text it is more about analysis and picking out key concepts and details that I can analyze to help me fully understand the text. Additionally, academic reading is oftentimes more difficult to understand, so I find myself going back and re-reading a lot more than when I'm reading for enjoyment. 
  
  Motivation to read is often a a struggle for YA and even adults. When students don't have any element of choice in the classroom pertaining to what they read, they will have less motivation and be less inclined to use comprehension strategies. Academic texts are extremely important in not just ELA, but also social studies. We need to make sure that we offer students both academic texts and texts that they can read for enjoyment or interest. If we chose every book for our students to read, we will miss out on the aspect of catering to their interest. Reading only academic text can deter  students from wanting to read, and result in them having a negative connotation to reading. I think the same applies to writing. In my classroom, I will offer time for independent writing and reading, where students can choose any topic to write or read about. Hopefully, this will show them that reading and writing can be fun and informative, and hopefully increase their motivation to try reading a variety of different texts. When we had the guest come and talk to us about their jobs, they seemed extremely invested in what they were talking about. This is because they seemed to work in a field that they were passionate about, which made their explanations and comprehension much more in depth.  In the class I took with Bonner, I absolutely love how there was a huge array of books to choose from. In the books, a variety of different interests/perceptions were available for students to read. We will still able to complete projects that displayed our understanding of these texts. Personally, I realized that the text I was more interested in led to more effort in the assignment associated with the reading. When Aiden answered questions about reading motivation, he seemed to be more motivated to read texts of his choice; this is why it's so important to offer students the opportunity to choose what they read throughout the school year. 
  
  Traditional views on reading in schools  seem to be primarily focused on academic texts. I think this inhibits students success in school because they don't ever have the opportunity to read things that interest them. This could easily deter them for reading for enjoyment, which can have a lot of negative impacts in the future. The SAT and ACT are heavily based on reading and vocabulary, and both reading for enjoyment and academic readings strengthen these skills. Through analyzing my own reading strategies with those of the students I tested, I can see that each student is unique in the way they chose to process and digest texts. Although both Aiden and I scored high, the strategies we used differed. This just goes to show that students process and comprehend text differently, and that's okay. As teachers, it is our job to present them with a variety of different reading strategies, and let them experiment and  see what works best for them. Being able to see that YA reading strategies differ from my own confirmed the idea that everyone learns differently. I could have a student who excels in reading, but uses different strategies than I do. Through this activity, I have been able to  "wobble" in my opinion that there are "correct' and "incorrect ways of reading. What's important is that students are able to find theme/meaning in what they read, activate their prior knowledge, and be able to analyze texts efficiently. 
  
  A lot of the course readings thus far has helped me understand that there are many different types of reading strategies, and that not every one is as simple as "right or wrong." From this article, I was also able to learn that different strategies are needed across different content areas. Before reading this article, I hadn't really given much thought about how important literacy is in other content areas, not just social studies and ELA. In the text, it states, " Chances are, texts that were used in algebra likely contained many symbols, figures, and examples but few photographs. Texts that were used in history probably contained many photographs, along with sections featuring timelines and excerpts of historical documents. Texts that were used in biology were probably structured according to biological systems such as circulatory, endocrine, and respiratory. Texts that were used in art may have consisted mostly of photographs, paintings, drawings, or sculpture, depending on the art class you took." This really made me understand that there are so may different types of literacy/text, and that depending on what you're reading or analyzing, strategies may differ. I also was able to see some interdisciplinary connections between my two content areas, ELA and social science. While analyzing historical first and secondary sources is important in social studies, it is also equally important in ELA. Historical writing is a huge part of social studies. In my clinicals,  the students just wrote a CER in social studies using primary and secondary sources as evidence in their writing. This directly relates to ELA student as well, as they need to use sources to find evidence to support their claim. The text also made a connections between sociocultural learning and culturally responsive teaching methods. This made me realize how important it is to give students the chance to read about cultures that may not be familiar to them. This is so important because it makes it easier for students to be empathetic and form meaningful relationships with peers who may be different than them. This is not only an important skill in school, but in life.  

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Challenge 4 Reflection 

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TCH 306_Fall 2022_Week 9_10/19/2022 - Google Slides

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After exploring visual literacy, I recognize how important it is in the classroom, especially ELA and social studies. In  the TED talk about visual literacy, he said, "We see millions of things a day, but unless we connect cognition and memory, we don't remember what we see." Just looking at pictures in the classroom will not be beneficial; instead we need to learn how to analyze images so that we are able to derive meaning from them. In our group, we analyzed many different aspects of the picture including background, color, facial expressions, etc. We used these features to find meaning behind the pictures. For example, we could tell by the facial expression that the boys didn't look happy, and they looked tired and drained, which led us to infer that the boys are unhappy. We noticed the black and white color, which told us that the photo was taken a long time ago. We also talked in depth about how black and white photos, and how they can crate a sad or seldom vibe, but that's not the only case. Although black and white photos look somber tp use now, back when they were taken that was the only option. That's why it's so important to use context when looking at pictures. Had we not used context clues to determine that this photo was taken a while ago, we may have had a different idea.

 

Being able to analyze pictures in important in social studies and ELA because they are oftentimes used as great primary sources. However, being able to comprehend visual literacy is a skill that is not just important in the classroom. In the reading "Expanding Perspectives for Comprehending Visual Images in Multi-Modal Text" states that, "Adolescents are increasingly exposed to texts that contain elaborate visual images, unusual narrative structures, complex design elements and unique formats (Goldstone, 2004; Kress, 2003). In addition, video games, websites, expository texts, magazines, textbooks, advertisements, picture books, and graphic novels require students to simultaneously process written text, visual images, and elements of design to construct meaning (Gee, 2007; Jewitt & Kress, 2003). Multimodal texts often dominate what middle and high school students read outside of school." Learning how to comprehend this type of literacy is important in not only school, but in their daily lives. 

 

In my future classroom, I will make sure to explain the importance of visual literacy inside and outside the classroom before practicing it. I will tell them that when you analyze a visual image, you examine it from different angles and decide how each element functions to reach an audience for a particular purpose. Some of the elements you should consider in your analysis are the following: organization and placement style, content, and source. Organization refers to how the image is composed, and placement refers to how it relates to other elements within a text. Looking at how the image is composed can help us learn a lot about the photo, such as who's involved, where they are, what the main focus of the picture is, who is important in the photo, etc.  Organization is not only about how the photo is organized, but where the photo falls within the rest of the content. Is there an article before it? A video? Looking at where the picture falls in comparison to other texts or forms of media that are presented. This is important because the photo may not make sense unless you analyze the context that comes before it. You can think about style from the perspective of either the viewer or the creator. From the viewer’s perspective, you might ask what emotions or thoughts the image evokes. Does it appeal more to a sense of logic or to emotions? The color and font of words in the image can help the viewer determine the style. Usually photos that are happier are brighter, while pictures with a more sad tone are darker. Content refers to what message the image conveys. Different images may portray different things. For example, a graph or chart may be trying to provide data, while a picture of a new shoe is trying to convince people to buy their product. Numbers, words, and symbols can all be clues when trying to convey the content of a photo. Finally, it is important to look at the source of the photo to know where it came from and if it's reliable or not. 

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Challenge 5

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Challenge 6:

Week 12 Challenge Graphic Organizer 

I think the crash course video was well done, and I liked that a black person was the one to make the video, as it made it feel more real and authentic. I really liked how he stuck mostly to the facts instead of just giving his opinion. He did still give some of his opinion, but he focused mostly on the facts of the matter. I think this is important, especially when it comes to social studies. Sticking to the facts makes people more inclined to be on your side and believe the things you are seeing. I wasn’t really able to make any connections to myself from the text, as I do not and never will know what it feels like to be a person of color in the United States. However, it did resonate with me when he said “none of us are free until all of us are free.” The reason I put this in all the boxes was because being black (or another minority race), being a woman, having a disability, and being in the lower class can all limit the extent of “freedom” that we experience. Looking at my own experiences, having a mental illness  that is considered severe comes with limitations itself. Although I have no interest in owning a gun, I would be denied because of my diagnosis. I don’t even necessarily disagree with this, but it is still a limitation of freedom. Being a women also comes with its struggles, as men are paid more and women are often the victim of most sex crimes.

 

 There was only one speaker in the video, but he incorporated quotes from other people. I like how he quoted his grandparents since it gave us a perspective of how similar the Black Lives Matter Movement is more similar to the Civil Rights Movement than we thought. Crash Course is a big youtube channel with 14.2 million subscribers. I am assuming that the person who made the video had certain criteria they needed to follow from the leaders of the channel. They probably had a say in a lot of the things that were included in the video. The video could not be constructed without a lot of research and statistics. As I mentioned earlier, the fact that he provided so many facts and statistics made the argument more valid. In the reading “What is Critical Literacy in Education,” it defines critical literacy as,  “learning to read and write as part of the process of becoming conscious of one’s experience as historically constructed within specific power relations.” This text seems to fall under critical literacy since it directly trachea about black people’s experience as historically constructed within specific power relations. The text also states that, “ Because of this inequality, certain “truths” were restricted to an elite class over other groups within society as a whole. Employing a critical literacy framework, “truth” is defined as the ideas or perspectives that were determined and propagated by the group that held power.” I love this quote because it is so true- those in power are the ones who determine what “truth” is. They are the ones who control all the media outlets, the news, and the wealth, giving them the power to decide what is “true''.” This is such a problem because that top 1% that has so much of the wealth and power does not represent the majority of Americans. That’s why videos like this that challenge the deep rooted systemic power struggle for minorities are so important. 

 

This text is constructed in the form of a video, and all the content was delivered by one person. The language in this video played a role in conveying its importance. He says things that really stick with us, such as “none of us are free until all of us are free and “more people- not all but more- now understand that race is not just an intrapersonal phenomenon.” This type of powerful language sticks with viewers and really causes them to challenge their privilege or previous notion about racial discrimination in the United States. This text could be understood by different audiences because some people may come in with a closed mind according to their political views. Although it shouldn’t be, Black Lives Matter became political. Consequently, people who are conservative may take the video as an “attack on white people,” or accuse the creator of “blaming all white people for their ancestors' mistakes.” The text expresses a need for reconstruction of our power structures and how we view race in the US. It holds true to the idea that “none of us are free until all of us are free,” and uses a wide variety of statistics and facts to back up opinions. One thing I think it is missing is diversity in speakers. He quoted a lot of people, but I think it would have been more meaningful for him to insert videos of them talking instead of just repeating what they said. This would help his case by bringing in the voices of others who support his ideas. This text was created to inform people about the issue of racial discrimination in the US and how The Black Lives Matter Movement is working to reform these corrupt power structures. This text is beneficial for people who are a minority in any aspect- whether that be race, gender, or social class. 

 

This video informed my understanding of critical media literacy by helping me understand the ways in which power is unfairly distributed and works against those who are a minority. We need to bring things like this to light so that we can try to work against it.  This understanding will help me shape instruction for my students because it reminds me how important it is to share the voices of people who are historically (and currently) marginalized. One thing I can connect this too is Christopher Columbus's interaction with indigenous people. Their voices were completely ignored, while Columbus had all the fame and power. In social studies, providing an array of voices, especially those who are marginalized, because we need students to understand that there are a variety of different perspectives. Providing multiple perspectives is a huge aspect of social studies, and social studies teachers need to make sure they are sharing the thoughts and opinions of a variety of different people. This text directly disrupts power structures by calling out how racist and unfair they are. The whole video is centered around talking about systemic racism and power structures. 

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