Changes

Hey there all, so as you might have noticed, I haven't been writing too much in my blog. I've been writing a fairly large essay and working on projects for my classess. As promised in the previous post, I am posting my essay on this blog.

Have fun reading folks,

Changes
by Qian Zhang Oct 25 07
I never enjoyed the Language Arts in school. English was something foreign. English was a strange language in a strange land I found myself in. English was the rain that a parched man tried to catch with his mouth upturned. Eventually, I started to discover literature and I enjoyed my walks along the strange roads of fiction. But, I still did not enjoy the Language Arts. However, I have learned five general ideas from this ‘Language in Education’ class. These ideas I learned have changed the way I think; this change will alter the way I behave as a teacher and as a student.

The first general idea that I learned from this class is the use of reflections as a daily event. This idea has changed my thinking and thus my behaviour. Reflecting upon what I have learned, experienced and encountered has taught me much. This is evident from the changes to the organization of this essay, as originally commented in my book talk reflection. I will continue to use regular reflections as a mechanism of personal and professional evolution. As a demonstration of this commitment I will be maintaining my ‘EduLog’ in the foreseeable future.
The process of reflection has such utility that I will teach my students how to apply it to their own personal and educational goals. I will try and frame reflection as a systematic process of consolidating memories, behavioural analysis and goal setting. I suspect the easiest way for me to introduce reflection is by making it seem both fun and applicable. This can be accomplished with a variety of journaling techniques, such as personal and simulated journals. Once the idea becomes habit, the value of the daily reflections will quickly become evident to the students. It is my hope that they will then continue the process beyond my classroom.

The second general idea I learned from this class is the value of self expression through poetry. This idea has changed my thinking and thus, my behaviour. Poetry has never been my forte. I never would have imagined that poetry could be a conduit of self expression. However, through some supportive experimentation with poetry, I have learned to enjoy it tremendously. For example, I never thought that a bunch of thoughts written on glass slides could be so expressive nor so well received. This experience has led me to use a diamante as part of the introduction to this essay. This encouragement has led me to believe that poetry can be used both as a tool for meeting the diverse needs of my students, and as a tool for inclusion within the classroom.
I have learned that teaching poetry and classroom management go hand-in-hand. It is not simply that a teacher must teach poetic devices and styles such as free-form poems; a teacher must create an atmosphere of mutual respect and acceptance before students feel comfortable sharing themselves with their peers. In this way, I’ve found poetry to be an interestingly sideways concept. The idea of using poetry to inspire interest in science would never have occurred to me, and yet it is highly effective in its ability to generate self expression.

The third general idea I learned from this class is the irresistible gravity of a good book; this idea has changed my thinking and thus my behaviour. This newly acquired idea changed the way I perceive books. I have always known that books were a good source of knowledge and information; however, I’ve finally discovered the sheer aesthetic pleasure of reading. The amount of pleasure that I received from reading “Life of Pi”, was as vast as the ocean Pi crossed. This particular book taught me another lesson as well: I must not allow it to interfere with my other course work!
I would like to expose my students to the gravity of literature. For this to happen, I need to be mindful of the process of reading. My students should be introduced to the five stages of reading, the difference between efferent and aesthetic reading, and theories developed by everyone from Gough to Rumelhart, in an applicable fashion and provided with much feedback. In this way, I hope to observe my students enrich their everyday lives with literary elements.

The fourth general idea I learned from this class is that language and the Language Arts serve as the vehicle for the delivery of information to other subjects and their curricula. This idea has changed my thinking and thus my behaviour. This idea has changed the way I perceive the Language Arts as a curriculum subject.
This new comprehension has induced a new understanding in the recognition and usage of rhetoric devices. The awareness of such devices as dirimens copulatio will allow understandings of issues to be rounded. The use of such devices as scesis onomaton will allow powerful and effective phrases to take on their full potential.
As a curriculum in itself however, a full awareness of the language arts cannot be realized until language learning strategies are well established. As an example, as a student-teacher, I should be aware of the cognitive structures of language acquisition. Awareness of these structures will allow me to teach the four cueing systems to a group of emergent literates. Once the mastery of the language arts as a subject curriculum has been gained, the role of language now plays the integral role in the delivery of ideas for all other curricula. Take the most famous of all mathematical phrases for example, ‘e=mc2’. This cannot be understood without language. It is the scientifically steeped words of ‘energy’, ‘mass’ and ‘speed of light’ that give the meaning to this phrase; it is the comprehension of those words that impart the idea of ‘e=mc2’.
The effective use of language in other curricula requires my awareness of psychological theories behind language acquisition. The theories as developed by Vygotsky, Gardener and Piaget will play essential roles in a deeper comprehension of language.

The fifth general idea I learned in this class is of literacy benchmarks. This idea has changed my thinking and thus my behaviour. I knew literacy consisted of the abilities to read, to write, to listen and speak. The introduction of critical viewing and visual representation into literacy is an incredibly novel concept - I always assumed these two skills belonged more in the fine and visual arts. But by learning and understanding what viewing and visual representation embodies, I now have changed my perspective on literacy. Using this new perspective, I realize that my trip to China last year was a great language learning experience. The memories of language learning experiences in China with the amalgamation of ideas presented in the plenary address at the literacy fair have made me realize that immersion, in combination with metacognitive engagement, is one of the best ways for learning and improving language. The promotion of language skills in this fashion is without a doubt, very effective.
The Alberta Education English Language Arts program of studies can be used as a guide for the planning, preparation and evaluation of language education. If a teacher was to introduce language as a means of communicating feelings to a group of grade one students, page six of the ELA program of studies includes a visual organizer for the development of a broad unit and further information on page eight would provide depth to the unit.
The requirements, as laid out by the program of studies, allow the teacher to understand the benchmarks and assessment practices they should aim for. By virtue of knowing the target, the path to the target becomes clearer. The guidance that this program of studies provides is valuable; but day-to-day assessment practices such as observation checklists and language techniques such as reader’s/writer’s workshops are the steps that a good teacher should follow to ensure success.

The final idea I learned in this class is an awareness of new media. This idea has changed my thinking and thus my behaviour. The lecture on new media awareness has imparted upon me a new view of the world of advertising. I now realize that there exists an unwritten agreement between the consumers and producers of an advertisement. This agreement generally states that there is a mutualistic exchange of ideas and valued commodities. An awareness of new media allows students to realize that such push advertising techniques as employed before the start of movies are in violation of this unwritten contract. This will allow them to be more critical consumers.
Teaching an awareness of new media can be accomplished in two ways: by extending understandings in language, and by incorporating Information and Communication Technologies into learning. Whether they are aware of it or not, every person uses advertising techniques in all persuasive activities they engage in. The advantage of persuasion is given to those who are cognizant of the various appeal techniques and propaganda devices.
Even beyond the awareness of devices and techniques, a teacher should expose students to authentic and engaging experiences with information and technology devices. A teacher who uses ICT in an integrated fashion will produce students that integrate ICT in kind. As an example, the entire format of this presentation is a demonstration of this exposure.

It might seem as though I have gleaned only five ideas from this course, but these five points have changed the way I think. These changes will alter the way I behave as a teacher and as a student. The evidence of this learning, these changes in the way I think and how they will affect my actions, has been supported by textbook references and anecdotal evidence from both established and novel sources. The various internal and external links used demonstrates a willingness to take risks and the implementation of ideas and techniques I have learned in this class.
I have presented many changes in this paper but, the most important change I take away from this class is a commitment to continuing self-improvement. This will serve to provide my students with a better experience when learning language and the Language Arts. This will change their thinking and thus, their behaviour.


References:
Tompkins, G., Bright, R., Pollard, M., & Winsor, P. (2007). Language arts: Content and teaching strategies (4th Canadian edition). Scarborough, ON: Pearson Education.

Alberta Learning, (2000). English Language Arts (K-9). Retrieved October 23, 2007, from http://www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/curriculum/bysubject/english/elaK-9.pdf

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