Reflections...

"Thought flows in terms of stories -- stories about events, stories about people, and stories about intentions and achievements. The best teachers are the best storytellers. We learn in the form of stories." -- Frank Smith

Quote Taken From http://ripplemaker.hubpages.com/hub/50_Inspirational_Quotes_for_Teachers

Image Taken From

http://faculty.fordham.edu/siddiqi/fred/fred_7/fred7.html

Wow! I haven’t blogged in a while, I guess the middle of the semester has caught up with me, and I am so busy with everything, school, work, teaching and most of all my family obligations. I think we are all filled with stories, and my stories could keep you here forever! Needless to say I have been reading my chapters and I found them to be very informative. I have also been attentive to our illuminate sessions, which are very helpful, in the event if I have any questions. I am currently on task now preparing for my initial meeting with my case study tomorrow.

In Chapter 8 the role of the teacher in an effective program of assessment, arguing that high-quality information about students requires knowledgeable teacher/evaluators was described. Also described were a number of informal assessment strategies for evaluating specific components of reading competence. In Chapter 9- An Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) was described as individually administered informal reading test designed to place students in materials at the appropriate levels and to identify their strengths and weaknesses in the areas of word identification and comprehension. Traditionally, IRIs are used to identify students’ independent, instructional, and frustration reading levels. I especially liked how resource personnel must be particularly sensitive to the potential abuses of IRIs, given the limited amount of time that they are likely to come in contact with individual students. In particular, it may be difficult to predict a student’s performance in the classroom from a small sample derived from administering just one IRI. However, in the hands of a skilled specialist, IRIs can provide a great deal of valuable information about the reader within a relatively short time period. At the completion of this Master’s degree I am going to be just that, A SKILLED SPECIALIST!

In Chapter 10 where formal assessment were discussed I paid close attention, because I currently use some of these assessments. Formal assessment devices typically are published tests that provide standardized methods of administration, scoring, and interpretation and are often at the heart of the procedures used in traditional diagnoses of reading and writing problems. The first half of the chapter describes the aspects of standardized testing that are essential for evaluating formal tests, including issues of type and purpose, important statistical concepts, validity, reliability, the characteristics of norming populations, test fairness, and the interpretation of test scores. I have some familiarity with these assessments and to see it discussed in the text book had made it more “real” for my practice.

Chapter 11 focused on the point in assessment when informed decision making is required to determine how instructional planning will proceed. Specifically, this chapter dealt with understanding and implementing the steps in the assessment-instruction process that involve evaluating the match between learner and context (Step 4), reflection and generating hypotheses (Step 5), and diagnostic teaching (Step 6). In this chapter, I was better able to understand the implementations I utilize in my classroom. Seeing it mapped out on the assessment-instruction process made it more comprehensible and cohesive.

In Chapter 12 they provided information that will help teachers get started with instruction. First, we identified several key characteristics of an instructional program and discussed the issues related to establishing a literate environment, setting goals and objectives, establishing organizational patterns, and selecting materials. Next, we described a general instructional framework that is appropriate as a core program for all students but especially for low-achieving readers and writers that can be adapted to the needs of individuals or small groups. The components of this instructional framework are familiar with reading, guided reading, guided writing, word study, and sustained reading and writing.

In Chapter 13 the components of word recognition and spelling ability were reexamined and discussed were several issues related to teaching word-level instruction. In particular, they described the debate surrounding the appropriate way to help students acquire effective word analysis strategies, noting that views have tended to be polarized. Some educators argue that word identification strategies will not be acquired without direct instruction; others argue that they cannot be taught at all unless students are helped to learn them as they engage in extensive reading and writing in meaningful settings. I would imagine this is where the sound judgment of a reading specialist will come in, once the student’s background has been acknowledged.

Chapter 14 discussed the role of vocabulary and vocabulary instruction in reading and writing and presented a variety of strategies for teaching vocabulary. The well-documented relationship between vocabulary and comprehension makes vocabulary an important part of literacy instruction for all students, but especially English language learners.

Chapter 15 & 16 dealt with several issues related to literacy instruction. Specifically, we noted that research has provided persuasive evidence of the interraltionships between reading and writing and has also resulted in considerable knowledge about effective teaching and productive learning. In the first section of chapter 16 they described the various roles that literacy professionals are expected to perform. These range from direct instructional contact with students to consultative roles with teachers. We noted that these critical roles all share a common requirement for effective communication. We argued that literacy leaders must be able to interact with a wide array of people, sharing information and advocating for effective assessment and instructional practices.

Finishing the textbook, has been quite an accomplishment, on my part, and I definitely know that I am going to be referring back to this text very often, as it was very helpful in explaining the whole process a reading specialist will go through in order to determine/help the child improve.

Throughout the weeks of September I have been attending several of the presentations being offered here at the university, which were free and open to the public.

The first presentation I attended was H. Costenoble's Chamorro Dictionary – Sept. 14, 2011 Barbara Dewein, a research assistant at the University of Bremen, presented on H. costenoble’s Chamorro Dictionary on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 6:00pm - 7:00pm in the CLASS Lecture Hall. H. Costenoble is known as the author of Die Chamoro Sprache, a Chamorro grammar text published in 1940. The manuscript of Grundwörtersammlung der Chamoro Sprache, a Chamorro dictionary also conducted by Costenoble, has recently been found. The dictionary was meant as a complement to the grammar text but it was never published.

The second I attended with Dr. Rivera was the UOG Presidential Lecture Series LANGUAGE ENDANGERMENT A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE – Sept. 20, 2011 Dr. Robert A. Underwood hosted the 14th presentation in his Presidential Lecture series featuring Dr. Thomas H. Stolz, a professor at the University of Bremen in Germany, who presented “Language Endangerment - A Comparative Perspective”. Language death is a very common phenomenon in the modern age. Estimates range from 60% to 90% of today’s languages being at least moderately endangered such that their survival into the next century is at stake. The lecture was held on September 20, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. in the IT&E Lecture Hall Room 131, 1st Floor of the Jesus S. and Eugenia A. Leon Guerrero School of Business and Public Administration Building UOG Campus.

The third presentation I attended was Chaifi - A fairytale from the Marianas by Georg Fritz: A Commented Re-edition – Sept. 27, 2011 Steve Pagel, University of Bremen, presented Chaifi - A fairytale from the Marianas by Georg Fritz: A Commented Re-edition on Tuesday, September 27 from 6:00pm - 7:00pm in the CLASS Lecture Hall. In 1906, the German district captain on Saipan, Georg Fritz, made available to the German public the Marianas legend of Chaifi. It was published in two German language journals that year in two different languages: Chamorro and German.

I am a firm believer in Language and Culture, and these presentations perpetuated my beliefs.