Our students bring with them a wealth of knowledge before they even step foot into our classrooms. They've been learning since Day 1 how to communicate with others, how to get their needs and desires met, how to resolve conflict, how to reason, how cause and effect works, how the natural world operates on a day-to-day basis, how to learn from what others model for them, and how they must survive all the events and interactions with various types of people in between getting up and going to bed each day. In addition to this, they have learned (or are continuing to learn) the rites, the customs, the idiosyncracies of the language, the mores of their family and of their culture, neighborhood, and communities. All of these are learned experiences which helps them to identify themselves, but it's more than that. It's what Norma Gonzalez, Ellen McIntyre, and Ann Rosebery call "Funds of Knowledge" (2001). These are the base knowledge from which children derive their learning. Everything that they attempt to learn in school is compared to what they already know within the "Funds of Knowledge" from outside of the classroom. Once teachers comprehend that their students all have savings within their own unique "Funds of Knowledge" account, then the real, relatable teaching can begin, because "children learn best when abstract principles are conveyed to them in terms that reflect their own knowledge base" (McIntyre, et al, 2001). We have to stop underestimating what our students are capable of knowing and learning, and break away from the one-size-fits-all instructional routine of yester-years gone by, and start debiting from the expansive wealth that they have already accumulated outside of school to relate what we are teaching them inside the classroom.
It all starts with getting to know each student and the communities from which s/he interacts in, and it also requires the teacher to take a hard look at his/her own "Funds of Knowledge" account, and that of the school's prescribed curriculum to manage those "account balances". Are they in the red and the students' accounts in the black? Then proceed to debit from the students' accounts--those experiences and the knowledge that they have already acquired out in the field of life. Make the subjects that must be taught relatable to them. This is how you debit from their "Funds of Knowledge" accounts, and it will make for a much richer learning experience for both teacher and students alike.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Written Conversations...It's More Than Passing Notes in Class
Written Conversation is a variation of journaling a dialog, from which chatting and texting are also derived. Whereas the latter are useful for (and much quicker than) penning a friend thousands of miles away in "real" or "delayed" time, Written Conversation is a technique achieved with a partner or a whole group of students who are contributing to the same conversation at the same time, in the same place. Basically, one person writes a word, statement, or question on a piece of paper and then passes the paper to their dialoging partner, who then writes something in response and passes back the paper. Hence, there is only one rule: "Just write!" This exercise can go on for several minutes to several hours, depending on the purpose and/or interest of the conversationalists. In effect, it's like a sanctioned session of "passing notes in class".
I tried this technique with my Literacy buddy last Thursday during our initial session. He told me straight out at the beginning of our time together that he did not like to write. However, what I found intriguing was that every time I passed the paper back to him, his wide grin was the tell-tale sign that he seemed excited and curious to see what I had written to him. Strangely enough, he, too, seemed to get a lot of delight out of crafting words together to write a message back to me. In his last sentence to me, he said, "This is fun!" Was it the change in writing technique? The secrecy of not knowing what his writing partner was going to say to him? Or, perhaps, was it the first time he had received "mail"? Whatever the reason, it got him talking...and writing. Each sentence sparked another idea and soon he forgot to write down his thoughts and began to engage in an oral conversation with me. This is a great technique to use to get shy kids to talk, but it can be a little more difficult if you have a talker who does not like to write. Once I praised him for his ideas and nudged him to write them all down so that I could read them too, he was able to re-focus and write what he had just told me verbally. And so it went on for about 7-10 minutes. When I saw that he was getting antsy, I knew it was time to move onto something else.
However, this exercise got me thinking. Written Conversation could be used to scaffold students who struggle with writing or with finding their voice by starting a dialogue between a teacher and student or between a small group of students to get juices flowing. What I envision for struggling writers, is to use Written Conversation as an opportunity for them to tell their own stories in a way that is meaningful and unique to them. These are "quick writes", which can help students to build upon what they are currently capable of doing and knowing and eventually progressing to longer documents in which their voices speak out to the world about who they are and what they think about.
Additionally, Written Conversations can be applied to fiction and non-fiction texts, and can also involve the whole class in writing a story or discussing a Read-Aloud book simultaneously. By using such technology as Google Documents, each student can contribute something either anonymously or by login ID (depending upon how the instructor sets up the document). Unlike class discussions, in which only one person can speak at a time, Written Conversation is an ongoing, silent discussion which involves all participants contributing their ideas and to be a part of the dialoging process. Obviously, expectations for this type of writing approach must be made ahead of time, in order for a large group of students to have a respectful discussion. However, this, too, could be a topic of discussion for a Written Conversation.
I found it to be a fascinating way to get a student writing, not worrying about conventions, formatting or spelling. It was just to get pen to paper, and ideas into written words in a conversational style. Written Conversation has limitless possibilities of allowing students' voices to be heard in "real" time, and in a safe and edifying environment. I'm excited to explore its possibilities...
I tried this technique with my Literacy buddy last Thursday during our initial session. He told me straight out at the beginning of our time together that he did not like to write. However, what I found intriguing was that every time I passed the paper back to him, his wide grin was the tell-tale sign that he seemed excited and curious to see what I had written to him. Strangely enough, he, too, seemed to get a lot of delight out of crafting words together to write a message back to me. In his last sentence to me, he said, "This is fun!" Was it the change in writing technique? The secrecy of not knowing what his writing partner was going to say to him? Or, perhaps, was it the first time he had received "mail"? Whatever the reason, it got him talking...and writing. Each sentence sparked another idea and soon he forgot to write down his thoughts and began to engage in an oral conversation with me. This is a great technique to use to get shy kids to talk, but it can be a little more difficult if you have a talker who does not like to write. Once I praised him for his ideas and nudged him to write them all down so that I could read them too, he was able to re-focus and write what he had just told me verbally. And so it went on for about 7-10 minutes. When I saw that he was getting antsy, I knew it was time to move onto something else.
However, this exercise got me thinking. Written Conversation could be used to scaffold students who struggle with writing or with finding their voice by starting a dialogue between a teacher and student or between a small group of students to get juices flowing. What I envision for struggling writers, is to use Written Conversation as an opportunity for them to tell their own stories in a way that is meaningful and unique to them. These are "quick writes", which can help students to build upon what they are currently capable of doing and knowing and eventually progressing to longer documents in which their voices speak out to the world about who they are and what they think about.
Additionally, Written Conversations can be applied to fiction and non-fiction texts, and can also involve the whole class in writing a story or discussing a Read-Aloud book simultaneously. By using such technology as Google Documents, each student can contribute something either anonymously or by login ID (depending upon how the instructor sets up the document). Unlike class discussions, in which only one person can speak at a time, Written Conversation is an ongoing, silent discussion which involves all participants contributing their ideas and to be a part of the dialoging process. Obviously, expectations for this type of writing approach must be made ahead of time, in order for a large group of students to have a respectful discussion. However, this, too, could be a topic of discussion for a Written Conversation.
I found it to be a fascinating way to get a student writing, not worrying about conventions, formatting or spelling. It was just to get pen to paper, and ideas into written words in a conversational style. Written Conversation has limitless possibilities of allowing students' voices to be heard in "real" time, and in a safe and edifying environment. I'm excited to explore its possibilities...
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