Debiting From Our Students' "Funds of Knowledge" Accounts

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.

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...

The Gaining of Knowledge

When I think of the gaining of knowledge, I think of a holistic, student-focused, learning for the sake of learning model of instruction. My idea of what good instruction looks like is that the students take a role in the ownership of their own learning. However, what I have discovered, and what has been modeled to me in my field placements, is that the gaining of knowledge is more structured, more rigorous, and less organic. There are so many restrictions that are placed on teachers to meet state requirements and for students to pass standardized tests that I think sometimes learning through play and engaging the students’ imagination is put by the wayside and the instruction is more teacher-centered than student-centered. Where’s the joy of discovery?

Don’t get me wrong, the teaching has been sound. It’s just that I wonder if there is a different way to engage students’ interest and attention than filling out worksheets day after day or the teacher modeling everything and taking the moment of discovery away from the students .Does everything have to be modeled to them? Can’t they discover some things on their own? And, what about the students that still don’t comprehend the new information, even after it has been modeled to them several times? What’s next?

As I work with my students each day, I have been trying to learn as much about them as I can. From my observations and from listening to their stories, I have gained knowledge of who they truly are, how they see themselves and the world around them.Each child brings something to the table--their experiences, their beliefs, their culture. So, I try to tap into that intellectual capital. This has been extremely helpful as I try to relate the concepts that they need to learn in school with ones out in the real world--their world. I engage them with things they already know or things they have always wondered about. I want to prepare them for the world around them, but I have to do it in a way that makes sense to them, otherwise they won’t understand the importance of the gaining of knowledge.

Back to the Basics

"Differentiated instruction is the process of ensuring that what a student learns, how he/she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he/she has learned is a match for that student’s readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning.” ~ Carol Ann Tomlinson

Today I was faced with the fact that one of my focus students was not able to chart a line graph because she could not multiply or divide and was unable to mark the Y-axis numbers correctly. It broke my heart and I could see in her eyes that she was scared, frustrated and overwhelmed. On the first day of school, when we were reviewing math problems that the kids had already learned how to do the previous year, she announced that she did not know division and that she barely knew her multiplication tables. And, don't even get me started on fractions!

As we worked on the math assignment in class, I ended up having to scaffold her more so than the other students because of her inability to solve basic math problems. I felt bad for her and tried various methods to help her understand. At times, she seemed to understand what she needed to do and how to do it, and could even explain it to me in her own words. However, when she would try to apply it to an actual math problem on her worksheet, she was unable to, and then she played the guessing game. So, I would try a different route until she could do it on her own.  But, what I realized was that she was lacking basic math skills.  What is even more important is that she realized it too. It's amazing to think that all math relies on the ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide! If a person can't even do that, then he/she will have difficulty as the math becomes more challenging. The basic concepts need to be understood and the patterns need to be revealed. She is beginning to realize this. So, I hope that she will heed my master teacher and my advice to practice her multiplication tables at home. However, I know that it might be difficult to do that because she has a lot of responsibility at home and doesn't have a lot of time to even do her homework.

In the meantime, I know that differentiated instruction will be a necessity to get her up to speed with her classmates. Today, that took the form of sitting with her one-on-one and working through the problem together using addition, because that is something that she does know how to do. I felt frustrated--not with her, but with myself. I was frustrated because I felt like I wasn't getting through to her, although at times it seemed like I was. I could've just given up, but I wouldn't let myself. She is my student and I am her teacher. I needed to find a different way for her to understand. I didn't--and still don't--want her to slip through the cracks. I won't give up on her. I just need to find a different way to help her learn so that she can be successful in math.

Purposeful Teaching

Since September Experience, I have been reflecting on the necessity and the possibility for purposeful teaching. It consists of quality instruction that has a specific objective for being used...nothing has been unplanned because the teacher has a Plan B, C, D...even a Plan Z. She/he is flexible within the plan so that no matter what the situation calls for, she/he always has a back-up plan. However, each and everyone of these plans always meets state standards and has a reason for being taught. Sound too perfect? Not in the least. I have seen it done every single day and it is an amazing sight to behold!

The feeling that I get when I am in a classroom in which the teacher is purposefully instructing is one of relief, safety, calmness, and expectation. So, too, do the students seem to be calmer, more relaxed, and expectant of what will come next. To me, this brings a sense of safety to the classroom. There is order, structure, community.  Everything and everyone has a purpose for being there. It's refreshing!

However, I have also observed teachers who do not teach with a purpose, who come unprepared, and who tend to flit about like a hummingbird; whose students have no idea why they are even in the classroom and many times are bored. They see no purpose in being there and the assignments seem like "busy work" or something to "fill-in the gap" between lessons.

I want to teach with purpose. So, that has been one of my personal goals this quarter: to observe purposeful instruction and to learn what it takes to teach with purpose. I feel that both my September and Dyad experiences have afforded me the opportunity to observe both types of instruction and I have been able to differentiate between the two; and, therefore, I feel like I have a good head start on reaching my goal.

The Machine is Us/ing Us

People across the globe use computers and internet technology every single day. It is a machine--or is it? We teach the machine everyday and yet the machine is us--or at least, people identify themselves through the machine. We have the ability to express ourselves through the machine to others and the machine learns from us. However, we are a diverse population of people--co-owners of the machine--with diverging worldviews. With our words, we spread love, hate, fear, confusion, peace, knowledge, segregation and unity. And, yet, we all have different perspectives on what those concepts mean and who should know their definition and for what purpose.

Technology changes so quickly--how do we keep up and prepare our students for the ever-changing future of technology? Other questions also run rampant in my mind: If we are the machine and the machine is learning from us, what are we teaching it and what exactly is it learning from us? People believe what the machine tells them. Where is the authority? Where is the privacy? Who governs the machine and who governs ethics? Does the machine identify us? What are the limits to what the machine can do and how do we know if we have gone to far?

After watching this video, I felt a sense of fear and panic (and a little motion sickness from watching it at hyper speed!). However, it has not stopped me from continuing to use my computer, technology in general, or the internet. I think it is because I see that it makes things easier for me to do. I can also see the importance of engaging in the use of technology in order to belong to my society. Therefore, I suppose that means that the machine is using me--influencing my culture--in order for me to continue to belong. Scary.

Ideas Worth Spreading?

After watching the “TED ideas worth spreading” video, I had mixed feelings. Part of me was intrigued by what I had just seen--video recordings of groups of lower income children in a typically technologically inaccessible region of the world, working together to figure-out how to use a computer and the internet in the streets of Bombay. But another part of me cringed when I heard the researcher recount how the children were forced to lose their heavy accents in order for the “text-to-speech” software to work for them. He said that “they all started sounding like Jimmy Stewart”. In essence, the children had to change themselves in order to fit the machine. This brings up issues of diversity and dominant culture influence.

I can appreciate the fact that groups of four students were able to share one computer and learned how to use the technology from each other. That knowledge would be beneficial in school districts who lack funding to provide more than one computer for each classroom or technology training to their students--or even their teachers. However, I wonder how easily this could be integrated into a society that is all about independence and “me, me, me!” Would American students be willing to share? That remains to be seen.

The fact that students were left to their own devices to figure out the technology and could roam the internet at will--and unsupervised--also made me uneasy. Don’t get me wrong, I love to browse the internet, and I love figuring things out on my own, but I also know not to click on certain sites, pop-up ads, and whatever else that could be potentially dangerous out there in cyber space. Children do not always have that self-control or prior knowledge to guide them and they can be inadvertently directed to inappropriate websites with a click of a mouse. At this point, I would say that the role of the teacher would be to facilitate students’ internet literacy and etiquette.

I have also witnessed my students on countless occasions believing everything they read online, and hearing them say, “If there’s stuff on Google, why do we need to stuff it into our heads?” (just as the American students said in the video). Here, too, lessons on the validity of resources found on the internet would have to be integrated into a curriculum, as well as continually questioning and discussing what “deep learning” really is.