There are spaces that are mixtures of the real and the virtual, such as a meeting in which some people are physically together in a room and others are interacting with the group via the Internet or over a video conferencing system.
I like that Gee points out that there are many different ways for people to interact in our world today.
let me collect together here in a list some of the learning principles that are built into RoN and reflected in my interaction with the game.
This appears to be a complicated way to view the process.
Children play games early in life to prepare themselves for real life.
This is true, but once exposed to the academic environment, this is often forgotten.
arning to read in a way that allows people more than a literal understanding, that does not fuel the fourth-grade slump and create poor readers, requires that people “play” in a domain in such a way that they can give situation-specific meanings to the styles of language associated with that domain.
Readers need to make meaning of what their reading by doing and playing an active role.
Research has long shown that people with poor vocabularies are poor readers.
Which is why vocabulary instruction is essential!
they learn through action and talk with others, not by memorizing words outside their contexts of application
Action coupled with learning is key!
Technologies are tools that allow us to do certain things.
These can be low tech too, sometimes technology is solely about access, especially for those with disabilities. Technology has been a game changer for many students.
instruction is a much less efficient process (in all sorts of ways) than learning to play video games via a cultural process (i.e. via becoming a member of the games culture).
I think both internal motivation (strong desires to learn particular skill) as well as the act of doing heavily influence how learning is acquired.
Most children learn to read, regardless of what instructional approach a school adopts
This speaks to the "one size fits all" approach to reading is not the best one.
Figure 3.3. A Tool for Evaluating Your Fostering and Teaching of Reading Comprehension
I like the idea of this quick reference checklist to help assure all elements of reading comprehension are included in instruction.
Results showed that students in classrooms in which teachers administered the assessment showed greater growth as measured by the comprehension assessment as well as by an assessment of informational writing; this transfer effect is important because it sug-gests that what students learned was not driven by narrowly teaching to the test.
While this is limited research, it supports what most teachers know about instruction and assessment, but lack the time to practice it.
Vocabulary impacts comprehension.• It is learned incidentally while reading and listening to books.• Repeated exposure, especially in different contexts, is the key to learning word meanings.• Prereading instruction of keywords can be helpful.• Computerized programs seem to increase vocabulary knowledge
Great teaching points to keep in mind!
When phonics rules or strategies become their own goals, the system runs amok.
When assessment is conducted based on spontaneous, independent use of strategies to solve problems and answer questions, it provides a better indicator as to where a student stands with their comprehension.
if taught, they improve reading comprehension
Specific reading comprehension strategies should be taught so readers have a "tool box" to draw upon when reading.
Think of interest as a compensatory factor, one that can get the job done when the text is extra challenging or the stu-dent’s skill level is not quite up to the task
This sounds like a great way to challenge readers...whether they're aware or not! Also, a great way to boost confidence.
When stu-dents read on the topic of reported interest to them, whether working animals or robotics, they employed a greater number and range of com-prehension processes. This tells us that if our goal is to stretch students’ comprehension muscles, we should provide them with texts of interest.
I know this is true for me as well. If I'm interested in the topic, my comprehension is much better compared to something I don't find quite as interesting. This doesn't mean that text that isn't as interesting isn't required reading or shouldn't be read, but I do think the more experience readers have with text of interest (thus using comprehension strategies), the larger the bank to draw upon when reading text that isn't as interesting.
Reading motivation is fostered by complex interactions of text topics and text characteristics, classroom social norms, and instruc-tional practices (
Based on my experiences, this seems like the hardest component to "teach" to students who lack motivation and interest when it comes to reading...or any topic for that matter. I often wonder is it possible to teach motivation?
the model must correspond with their relevant prior knowledge of how the world works. In short, read-ers must integrate information from the text base (i.e., words, sentences, paragraphs) with available and relevant prior knowledge retrieved from long-term memory and fold it all into an emerging situation model of the meaning of the text at that point in the process.
This speaks to why prior knowledge is so important. Early and diverse exposure in the world assist students in comprehension as readers.
We must understand how skilled comprehenders con-struct meaning, so we can help students learn to construct meaning in the same way.
It is important to replicate what works instead of just hunting and pecking or guessing.
then teachers are the tour guides, ensuring that students stay on course, pausing to make sure they appreciate the landscape of understanding, and encouraging the occasional diversion down an inviting and interesting cul-de-sac or byway.
I think this is a great way to describe a teacher's role to students....that they are their tour guides. A visual could even be created to explain both student and teacher roles as well as the expectations for all. This approach could be used at all grades levels and might possible act as a "hook" to engage students as we've been discussing.
challenge #2: Learning content like math and science at any age must always include language learning. We must more proactively integrate approaches to teaching content, language, and literacy in the early grades
I think currently more curriculum is designed to be cross-curricular. I think it's important to incorporate content specific vocabulary into all subject areas
Even our best students can no longer compete.
Why didn't America keep up with changing education along with other countries?
Because digital media easily, perhaps uniquely, can combine action in relationship with environment, this technology can generate situated meaning — vocabulary used in actual situations, which makes meanings clear and easier to remember — in myriads of settings. Thus digital media, whether in a format custom-designed to be educational or, in some cases, in off-the-shelf products, have the potential to increase the “book” vocabulary, and the concepts attached to such words, for children whose families are unable to do so
I hadn't thought of digital media in this way...that it provides both rote skill and actual learning situations. This was a new way to look at digital media and teaching for me.
Word study is active, and by makingjudgments about words and sorting words according to similar features, students con-struct their own rules for how the features work.
This seems like a sound approach to reading and spelling instruction since it allows student participation.
It is not the case that students abandon sound once theymove to the more efficient use of patterns, or abandon patterns once they move to themore efficient use of morphology.
Excellent support as to why phonemic awareness instruction is so important when students are learning to read and spell.
One of the easiest ways to know what students need to learn is to look at the waythey spell words.
Word and pattern analysis is very important to take the time to do.
when they read good stories, write purposefully, and are guided by knowl-edgeable teachers in word study.
This connects to prior reading on early exposure to language and literacy. Those who are given a rich variety of exposure may have an easier time with written expression in addition to learning to read.
so students have littleopportunity to manipulate word concepts
Word and sound mainuplation are key!
By using students’ invented spellings as a guide, teacherscan differentiate efficient, effective instruction in phonics, spelling, and vocabulary.
I think this is such a great way to analyze and select teaching methods for each student.
phonemic awareness instruc-tion should be intentional, not incidental (evenaccidental), in classrooms.
Teacher's must be deliberate in their planning of phonemic awareness activities.
Finally, the research activities of this period demonstrated that students’knowledge could be significantly modified through direct intervention, training,or explicit instruction (Paris & Winograd, 1990; Pressley, Goodchild, Fleet,Zajchowski, & Evans, 1989; Weinstein, Goetz, & Alexander, 1988).
I connected to this section particularly as a special education teacher working with students who greatly benefit from direct intervention and explicit instruction.