Multiliteracies is a concept that expands the traditional notion of literacy to include a broader range of skills required to effectively communicate in a complex, digital, and globalized world. It acknowledges that literacy is not just about reading and writing traditional texts but involves multiple modes of meaning-making across different media and contexts.

Ernest Morrell’s focus on youth participatory action research is such a great way to get students involved and build their critical thinking skills. I love the idea of encouraging students to tackle real-world issues—it makes learning so much more meaningful. For example, diving into medical conditions like Compartment Syndrome can really help students practice analyzing symptoms, understanding causes, and finding effective solutions.

this is so sad its making me tear up

geometry dash meltdown
this is scary when you go to the toilet without water

\\\\!

This paragraph insightfully highlights the deep connection between humans and their domesticated animals, particularly dogs and cats. The argument that our reliance on these furry companions has influenced human evolution is compelling, especially in terms of language development and tool use. Shipman’s comments effectively illustrate how having animals perform tasks, such as hunting or pest control, may have reduced the need for certain evolutionary traits in early humans. banana game

This sentence implies that one sees something that reflects the beauty of their own inner nature when they gaze upon a peaceful landscape, particularly the distant horizon. It suggests a relationship between a person’s inner beauty and the external beauty of the world. This concept is consistent with Transcendentalist concepts of the intrinsic beauty and goodness of both nature and people.

This statement implies that no one is ever fully aware of everything, so even the smartest person can never fully solve the mysteries of the natural world or the cosmos, and that curiosity will always exist. Transcendentalist ideals, which emphasize that there is always more to learn and discover about the world around us, are in accordance with this. Transcendentalists hold that some things are beyond human comprehension and that true wisdom arises from acknowledging the inherent mystery and beauty of nature.

I am imagining myself in situation like this my thinking would have been way different then his like when he said I had this to deal with. I would think let me satify my need by peeing and leaving the batroom as I found it

Clearly Satan was responsible for Job’s losses, as it is Satan who brings death and destruction and not God. Yet God takes the blame as we read in Chapter 2 verse 3: Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”

I think that we can learn here something about the character of God. He often takes the blame, just as he took the blame for my sins. God himself decided to leave heaven, to become fully human, to take my sins and to die on the cross for me. But Jesus did not only take my sins, he became my sin.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Properly defining “online teaching and learning” is a task I feel confident in completing, as I have an extensive professional history in this topic. However, I also acknowledge a personal bias in this topic skewing towards K-12 settings and admit to ignorance of post-secondary education and professional online teaching in learning, which I hope to remedy with more discussion and experience in these learning environments.
Having taught for three years at an asynchronous Pennsylvania cyber charter school and remotely during the COVID-19 school shutdown, I have a well-rounded idea of teaching and learning. I can go back even further by saying I had multiple online and distance learning classes as a student during my undergrad and graduate studies. Where I need help finding the correct words to define online teaching and learning concisely. While traditional definitions of learning were largely written assuming learning occurs in synchronous, brick-and-mortar classrooms, the behaviorist and cognitivist learning theories still fit within online learning settings with slight adjustments. My experience has shown the most substantial challenges to learning theory definitions; however, when applying Bandura’s social cognitive theory to asynchronous learning settings, specifically in how one can adequately account for the environmental variables, which are core to the theory’s definition of learning. The most challenging variable for online teachers to account for when creating and delivering synchronous and asynchronous lessons is the environment in which a learner receives and participates in said lessons. An online teacher cannot control the learning environment in online settings to be same degree one can control the learning environment in traditional classrooms. Thus, acknowledging this minimized control must be considered when determining a definition for online teaching and learning. So, If I were to distill my experience, thoughts, and opinions into a definition of online teaching and learning, it would probably read something like this: 
Online teaching and learning are no different than in-person teaching and learning. The goal is for teachers to deliver effective and efficient lessons and activities in which learners can display proficiency and mastery of delivered content. Online teaching and learning differ, however, in that teachers must count for the absence of direct social communication and environmental control of the learning setting, and thus must deliver lessons in content with clear, concise, and direct messaging and design in mind while still promoting social aspects of learning in as many ways as possible.

It is interesting to note the parallels between the journeys of the mother and the son, both having to adapt to survive a new reality in life. In the mother’s journey we see this when she is forced to leave her children to work outside, facing a face of the world that she did not know, in the son’s journey we notice this with the need to mature and learn to take care of the house and the brother. Both were led to face the world alone, in their own new realities created by the need that life brought.

I agree that the mother was trying to teach her son to defend himself, after all, he no longer had the protection of a father, and there may come a day when the mother is also no longer there, leaving him without anyone. She wanted him to learn how to deal with problems independently, although I don’t agree with the way she taught him.

As a mother, I could feel the pain of another mother who had to take on all the household and child-rearing responsibilities alone because the father decided to abandon his role and leave. It’s sad and despairing; the mother is clearly overwhelmed because all the responsibility has fallen on her shoulders, but she cannot afford to suffer. Her children feel the pain of hunger and the absence of their father, and she knows she must fulfill both needs. I often say that it’s very easy to abandon children when you know there’s always a mother to bear the responsibilities.

They have nothing to eat but continue praying and believing that everything will improve if they have faith and wait

I agree when you say that “hungry” is given humaly caracteristics, we can see that kind of personification also in the Bible, teh third of the four horsemen of the apocalypse is known as “famine” or, in other words, hunger as we can see in Revelation 6:5–6. This made me realise that, it doesn’t matter when, but hunger or “hungry” is personified as a intense fear since the old times when the Bible was written.

I totally agree with what you said about the need of growing up and having responsibilities as a child because of a missing father figure. But what made me curious was that, in the text, it wasn’t said in any moment that he was the older brother, we all assume that the older one have to go and try to get responsable for, in this case, getting groceries as the father would. It’s hard to see the way that the mother taught him to defend himself and once he actually get to defend himself from the other kids, he need to face their parents alone, because again, he doesn’t have a father to protect him from the word.

This is probably the most important point

When I hear “online teaching,” I think of something very vague and general. A person who has information that they would like to share with an online audience. My idea of “online learning,” has become very vague as well. A person using the internet to learn about a subject or answer questions they have. My definitions of these terms have become so general because of the pandemic. As soon as Americans learned that there would be a quarantine everyone began to look to online learning. The pandemic was a vulnerable time for many Americans. We were unsure what would become of our jobs and our lives. Courses offered a sense of direction for many. I saw many professionals whose jobs depended on interacting with the public begin to create and sell online courses. Social media influencers began creating and selling courses about becoming a social media influencer, people who did public speaking events made courses about how to master public speaking, dance teachers sold online dance lessons. My own hairdresser created and sold a course explaining how to install your own hair extensions to keep her business afloat while she was not able to take clients. I thought this was both amazing and concerning. While people who had lost their careers looked to create new ones by creating courses, others looked to create new ones by buying these courses. This insecurity was unfortunately preyed upon.

It was great that there were so many things that we could all learn from the comfort of our own homes. However, Instagram, Teachable, Kajabi, Patreon and other online course platforms did not require any credentials. It was up to us as consumers to vet these people and use our own discretion. Some of these courses were upwards of $1000. Some much more. In addition to the cost of the courses. Some incurred the costs of bad investments that these courses encouraged them to make.

I would consider most if not all of these courses to be emergency remote learning. To me that means that these courses were put together hastily and out of necessity. While they may or may not have been quality programs, the necessary time and planning that quality distance education required was not guaranteed. Even teachers were throwing courses together. Many teachers had just a few days to convert their classes from in person communities into online ones. Which is no easy feat. Much like the hairdresser, personal trainers, and other professionals that turned to online learning out of necessity, there was little training and little time for experimentation.

When I think of formal distance education, I think of instructional designers working with subject matter experts. Many online educators are not necessarily responsible for creating the infrastructure of their online communities. They can focus on a course’s content and have help when it comes to creating the websites and programs that will hold these courses. This is great because it allows teachers who have amazing and impactful lessons to share them on a larger scale without losing the quality of their programs because of their lack of tech skills.

I am certain that distance education will continue to grow. And, as time passes the quality of courses will increase. I also see safeguards being put into place for consumers. Hopefully, these open online education platforms will require their “teachers,” to show some kind of credentials before they are able to create and market their online courses.

I agree learners that came out of ERT class did not get the same knowledge as in-person learning but the online classes are now better prepared and the next time it will be a smoother transition from online to ERT than it was from in-person to ERT.

Online Teaching and learning is a boon considering the accessibility and flexibility it can provide. But online learning in an emergency situation such as the COVID- 19 pandemic has its downfalls. With the resources available and the emergency training given to teachers, instructors and students , it was admirable on all fronts how education persevered online on such a short notice. From my experience with high school students and teachers that had to go into Emergency Remote Learning , It was a struggle for the teachers to go through the material and keep the students engaged when they weren’t physically in the same room. It was a very stressful time for K-12 teachers and classroom management. Meanwhile some of the students were struggling with paying attention online and grasping all the concepts. Nevertheless , this was born out of necessity during the pandemic and I hope such a scenario does not happen any time soon ! As the article mentions , I agree that in the case of emergency remote learning, there must be a shift in evaluation. “ From the faculty point of view, student learning outcomes would be of primary interest. Did learners achieve the intended knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes that were the focus of the instructional experience? Attitudinal outcomes are also possibly of interest, for students and for faculty. For students, issues such as interest, motivation, and engagement are directly connected to learner success and so would be possible evaluation foci. For faculty, attitudes toward online instruction and all that it entails can affect the perception of success.”

The most significant difference between online learning and ERT is the structure in the creation of the classes. An online class is well-structured, well-planned, and well-created. When you start getting into ERT, it is based on the necessity to fill a void. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for effective online learning and instruction. If done right, it can be beneficial for gaining a broader spectrum of students regardless of location. It allows for flexible learning while adjusting for accessible options for learners and instructors. The pandemic showed that the classes can be set online if done correctly.

My experience was very different. The pandemic abruptly forced the need for distance-led remote instruction. Our training class was hastily assembled after getting authorization from the government to proceed. We needed a functional LMS; we dealt with technology issues and limited resources for laptops, internet hotspots, and some adult learners who still used flip phones. We were tasked with the role of creating testing, learning activities, and accessibility to an unsuspecting group of mixed-age learners. The task was completed, but only with huge drawbacks.

The students who came out of the ERT class were less knowledgeable than those who took the in-person instructor-led courses. The instructors who taught the ERT class were lacking, but it did bring a positive change to my organization: the creation of an IDD team, the procurement of an LMS, restructured classes, and a better learning environment for all upcoming classes.

Emergency Remote Teaching refers to the temporary transition of instructional delivery to an online format due to an immediate crisis or emergency. The primary aim is to ensure educational continuity, allowing teaching and learning to continue despite disruptions. This method is characterized by its swift implementation, often using existing technology and digital tools to mimic traditional classroom experiences. It is typically executed with minimal planning and preparation time, utilizing available resources and materials hastily adapted for online use. Consequently, it may lack the structured design of fully online courses, with adjustments made on the fly.
In contrast, Online Learning is a deliberate and planned mode of education specifically designed for digital platforms. It encompasses a variety of instructional methods and tools crafted to create an engaging, interactive, and effective learning environment. Online learning programs are meticulously developed, often by teams of educators, instructional designers, and technologists, to harness the unique advantages of digital education.
The educational landscape has undergone significant transformation in response to COVID-19. Two terms that have gained prominence are “Emergency Remote Teaching” and “Online Learning.” While they may appear synonymous at first glance, they represent distinct approaches to education. Understanding the differences between them is crucial for educators, students, and institutions striving to optimize learning experiences.

I am not a teacher in the academic space, nor do I have kids in the educational system so I’m forming my opinion on this subject, based on friends or family who are teachers, or had kids in school during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

My teacher friends had a love/hate relationship with ERT. Most of them enjoyed being able to teach from their homes, though did struggle with managing their students. The behavioral issues they would deal with in the classroom didn’t go away, but changed, and in some ways were harder to deal with. They struggled with attendance, with feeling like their kids weren’t learning enough, or were theyteaching well enough. Overall it was great emotional struggle. So much so, a few of them sought alternate careers after that first year!

My friends who were parents of kids in school pretty much hated every minute of it!

It made managing work/life balance tough. With everyone at home working or going to school it affected bandwidth on the home networks, resulting in countless technology issues, not to mention privacy to work or study with all the added distractions.

ERT was not something teachers or parents were prepared for. Whereas online Learning is typically well thought out and planned.

Hopefully we don’t have to use ERT again, but now that schools, teachers and parents better understand it, if the need arises again, hopefully we are better prepared to make it more positive experience for all.

I was thinking about the hybrid course I took for one of my GIS classes. We had a synchronous in-class lecture and then the associated labs and projects were to be completed asynchronously during the week. I remember grumbling that I did not like the fact that there was an in class lecture for something that could have been done purely online.

It is one of those moments where looking back: were all of the instruction options dutifully considered before the course hit the banweb?!

The United States decision to transition from a traditional in-class curriculum to online learning caused interminable confusion about how online learning, online teaching and online education genuinely function. As mentioned in last week’s blog post, I really enjoy words. And as much as words are incredible, they can be used in ways that are detrimental to their meaning. That is the exact thing that happened between the years of 2020 until the middle of 2022. Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) may be the official term but through a massive game of telephone, ERT lost its meaning and use in the conversation. Within that conversation, it seemed as though people were conflating ERT as a 1:1 comparison with online learning and teaching. The link between the two appears strong, these are both means of relaying education, despite the underlying mechanisms shouting, “NO, DO NOT MAKE THIS ASSUMPTION!” Having a handful of teachers as friends, the number of stories that were told where distrust of technology and its ability to help teach was reason enough to highlight that the United States’ ability to transition its schools to any level of online learning and teaching was a trial in futility. Thus, within any emergency, lacking that amount of preparation, you’re hoping to survive. It’s truly incredible that despite the spate of teachers resigning, education as an institution still stands. This is also a great reminder and highlight of human ingenuity, human persistence and human evolution: there are still aspects of this life we as human beings can solve through iterative mastery.

What constitutes the difference between emergency remote teaching and traditional online learning and teaching is decidedly in the manner the learning environment is created, planned and supported. With those three tenets in hand, traditional online learning and teaching also has history, data and institutional confidence in how it is utilized in practice. What makes a good learning experience is when the instructor can build a rapport with their students, maintain a consistent lecture-esque style of class, provide multiple forms of media content (i.e. not just the book for the class, but article links, TEDxTalks, etc.) and provide time during the class for the learners to engage with the materials amongst themselves. The way in which this class and CLDT 1300 were proctored are the way I would like to work in an online learning and teaching environment. What I really truly enjoy about the way these have been proctored is that there is a major asynchronous component that requires the learner to actually use the internet. I know and understand that there are a handful of people from previous generations that would do anything else than use the internet. Accounting for this subset of people, there is an even larger subset of people who genuinely live on the internet. It is an opportunity for two different perspectives to mesh because they must engage in forum discussions because the discussions are where the rapport is built, and learning can be monitored.

A reason for why many of these online classes function, require and demand this level of participation is because there is not a “common room” (i.e. literal classroom space). Professor Richard Schwier of the University of Saskatchewan intimated that a challenge for him with online education and learning is that the “experiential factor of a classroom, walking through the door, finding their seat and managing [the] space” is lost. Those moments of preparation before class are actions that need to be physically done to truly understood how important they are to the thought of “being in a class setting.” While I understand the merit of his challenge, what I am unsure he realizes is that there is an even greater appreciation for these actions when an online learner is preparing for class: situating oneself in a space they won’t be deserved; letting the people around them know they have class and do not want to be disturbed; checking internet connection and that their computer is working properly; and most of all, being as closed to relaxed and unbothered prior to class because instead of commuting to campus, learners are commuting to their couch, office, kitchen table, etc. Allowing students to access high quality educational instruction and content in their homes on their schedule allows for potentially better outcomes because there is one less stressor removed. When the world and the internet are your classroom, when the learning management system is the repository for all the knowledge shared instructor-to-learner and learner-to-learner, online teaching and education turns the chaotic world (wide web) into a well-oiled machine.

I started with my university in August 2019 and still was adjusting to my role when Emergency Remote Learning was instituted. I helped my department transition our learning and build out our blackboards for the courses as quickly as possible while supporting students in my role at the time as Academic Advisor. My own university online learning experiences were two courses that were conducted as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) so this style of distance learning was not only a new concept for my students but for myself as well. Coordinating synchronous, online learning presented many challenges but when I think of online teaching/learning it is the format my brain goes to.

This is ironic to me because I currently teach a hybrid course and it is not the format we use to facilitate the course’s learning. Half the modules are in-person synchronous, and half the lessons are asynchronous, online. I do not feel this format works for the course and we are evaluating/updating this course as a whole and it will run with enhanced curriculum and a different format in academic year 2025-2026.I believe it does not work in it’s current “online format” as the students lose momentum switching between the two instructional styles. Attendance falls off after we had had back-to-back weeks of asynchronous work and as the semester progresses, it is like pulling teeth to get them to engage in our in-person curriculum.

Online learning to me is ideally synchronous courses conducted via distance. I believe it allows for flexibility while still engaging the learners in interactive situations and providing accessible of instruction and to the instructors. It also provides structure that some students may not be able to adhere to in asynchronous online learning environments.

“What we know from research is that effective online learning results from careful instructional design and planning, using a systematic model for design and development. The design process and the careful consideration of different design decisions have an impact on the quality of the instruction. And it is this careful design process that will be absent in most cases in these emergency shifts.”

At the time of the pandemic, I was a 5th grade teacher and I also have kids who experienced emergency remote teaching during this time. From both the online teaching and online learning perspectives, the above quote is the most relevant to why there were so many misses and fails with emergency remote teaching/learning. The success of these experience varied due to expertise, available resources, and level of support for both teachers and learners. Compounded with the global crisis of people dying and families handling the myriad of changes to our everyday lives (remember grocery shopping during that time?!?!), it is easy to understand how for many, this period of learning for student and teachers was set up for failure.

There just wasn’t enough time, expertise, and resources to do it right. I have memories of my 5 year old being on live Zooms the MOST and my children in high school expected to navigate posting things online, juggling multiple google classroom pages, and having to interact with their teachers in very different ways. I have to believe that teachers were doing their absolute best to make do with the situation, but the reality is that many online learning experiences were not fully developed or based on pedagogically appropriate decisions.

While I applaud the problem-solving and creativity of both teachers, students, and families during this time, I also recognize how unfair it was for many people who were going through incredibly challenging times. Issues of accessibility, equitable learning experiences, and building strong methods of communication with students and families were the most problematic from the teaching and learning perspective.

When I hear “Online Teaching and Learning” I tend to think less of timed classroom-like experiences, and more of self-directed knowledge bases. Most of my online learning has happened using sites like Khan Academy, Wikipedia, LinkedIn Learning, or YouTube. These sites don’t have “classes” or “Semesters” and the expectations of teachers are quite different. Teachers in these paradigms just design the content one time, then post it. It’s much more “Sage on the Stage” than examples like this class.

In my past, I’ve found tasks like written reflections unnecessary, but these courses at Villanova have shown me the value in them. The best way to learn is by teaching, and working together with the class fills that role somewhat. More than Duolingo or something similar anyway.

I find the text History and State of Distance Education encouraging when the authors say things like “Our results indicate that distance education, when properly planned, designed, and supported by the appropriate mix of technology and pedagogy, is equivalent to, or in certain scenarios more effective than, traditional face-to-face classroom instruction.” Hopefully education as a whole will continue to improve, distance education in particular.

Certainly! Let’s turn some of these theoretical insights into practical classroom activities for your 2nd grade classroom.

1. Chapter 1: Leveraging Students’ Preconceptions

Quote:
> “If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom” (pp. 14-15).

Practical Activity:
Concept Mapping
- Materials Needed:
– Large sheets of paper or poster board
– Markers or crayons
– Sticky notes

- Activity:
Start a new unit by asking students to draw what they already know about the topic. For example, if you’re beginning a unit on plants, ask children to draw a plant and label its parts. Have them use sticky notes to add their thoughts on what plants need to grow. As the unit progresses, update the map with new knowledge, showing how original ideas evolved.

- Why Implement It?
This engages their pre-existing knowledge and visually shows the progression of their learning. This process helps students anchor new information to what they already know.

1. Chapter 2: Developing Expertise

Quote:
> “Experts notice features and meaningful patterns of information that novices do not notice” (p. 36).

Practical Activity:
Pattern Recognition Games
- Materials Needed:
– Sets of cards or objects with different shapes, colors, and patterns

- Activity:
Create a ‘Pattern Detective’ game where students have to find and describe patterns. For instance, cards with different sequences of shapes or colors can be used, and students have to group them based on identified patterns. This could be a fun and interactive way for them to start noticing and talking about patterns.

- Why Implement It?
Encouraging students to recognize and articulate patterns helps them begin to think like ‘experts’ in their own way, enhancing their observational and critical thinking skills.

1. Chapter 3: Effective Transfer

Quote:
> “Initial learning is essential for transfer” (p. 53).

Practical Activity:
Real-World Connections and Reflections
- Materials Needed:
– Storybooks or short articles
– Reflection Journals

- Activity:
After teaching a concept (like the life cycle of a butterfly), read a related storybook. Ask students to relate the events in the story to what they learned in class. They can draw or write in their reflection journals about how the story connects to the real-world learning.

- Why Implement It?
By connecting classroom learning to real-world situations, students are more likely to transfer their understanding across different contexts. It also integrates literacy skills with content knowledge.

1. Inviting Reflection:

As you dive back into the text, how might you further adapt these ideas to account for the unique cultural and social perspectives of your students? Are there any particular preconceptions your students bring that could serve as a foundation for deeper learning?

Feel free to share your thoughts or adaptations!

Hey Colleen! Drawing from the text “How People Learn,” there’s immense potential for enriching your Culinary Arts classes. Let’s stay focused on your key questions: “Using students’ preconceptions is a good way to start my lessons. How can I assess whether students retain and use new learning? When students retain preconceived notions, how can I reteach effectively?”

Assessing Retention and Use of New Learning:

From the Text:
“A metacognitive approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them” (p. 18).

Application:
In your classroom, after introducing a new skill like “Knife Techniques,” have students set personal learning goals and periodically self-assess their progress. They could use a reflective journal or a digital portfolio to document their journey, noting any improvements or persistent challenges. This aligns with the recommendation to help students “organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application” (p. 16).

You could also employ practical assessments where students demonstrate the skill they’ve learned in various contexts. For example, evaluating their knife skills not just in a controlled environment but during the preparation of a complex dish. Observing their consistency and comfort with the technique would indicate whether the learning has been retained and internalized.

When Students Retain Preconceived Notions:

From the Text:
“If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught” (pp. 14-15).

Reteaching Strategy:
When you notice students reverting to their initial misconceptions, consider deeper, contextualized re-engagement. For example, during the “Sanitation and Food Safety” unit, if students still believe that washing hands with water alone is sufficient, set up a demonstration comparing bacteria counts before and after washing with just water versus soapy water.

Another approach is to use peer instruction. Pair students who have mastered new concepts with those who haven’t. This strategy leverages the concept that “experts and novices solve problems differently” and can aid in knowledge transfer through peer teaching.

Practical Reteaching Tactics:
- Immediate Feedback: During cooking labs, give immediate, constructive feedback when mistakes linked to preconceived notions occur. This helps to correct them on the spot, reinforcing correct practices.
- Conceptual Discussions: Following practical assessments, hold group discussions reflecting on what went wrong in tasks linked to retained misconceptions. Encouraging students to voice their thought process and correcting it in a supportive environment can help reshape their understanding.

Connecting More Dots:
To further link the text’s recommendations to your pedagogy, consider the emphasis on “learner-centered” environments (p. 23). You could adapt this by tailoring lessons to the specific social and cultural backgrounds of your students. For instance, integrating family recipes can make learning more relatable and engaging, fostering deeper personal connections to the content.

Next Steps:
Try re-reading Chapter 1, especially the segments on engaging preconceptions and developing a conceptual framework (pp. 14-20). See if you can identify additional specific preconceptions in various culinary topics you teach and strategize on how to systematically address them.

Reflection:
How do you currently measure the retention and application of new learning in your class? Could blending these evidence-based recommendations with your existing practices amplify students’ understanding and skill retention?

Your culinary arts class operates in a dynamic, hands-on domain that naturally aligns with many of these educational psychology principles. Let’s build on this synergy to create an even more engaging and effective learning environment!

These reflections on how to use metacognitive skills to teach the writing process—and your particular focus on editing and revising—can be very beneficial for your 9th grade students, especially considering they are reading and writing below grade level. By integrating metacognitive strategies into your teaching, you can help students not only become more conscious of their writing processes but also develop crucial academic skills. Let’s apply the principles from your provided text to this goal.

1. The Power of Metacognition in Editing and Revising

The essence of your question is how to boost your students’ ability to effectively edit and revise their writing using metacognitive skills. The text you provided highlights the burgeoning scientific understanding of the mind and its processes:

> “…understanding the mind—and the thinking and learning that the mind makes possible—has remained an elusive quest…”

To translate this into practical classroom strategies, focus on helping students understand their own mental processes while they write. Here’s a step-by-step strategy you might find useful:

1. Strategy: Metacognitive Editing and Revising Logs

1. Step 1: Introduce Metacognitive Concepts
   Begin by explaining metacognition to your students in simple terms—thinking about their thinking. For writing, this means being aware of how they choose words, structure sentences, and organize their thoughts.

1. Step 2: Model the Process
   Choose a piece of writing and demonstrate the editing and revising process live. Think aloud as you make changes, explaining why you’re doing something. For example, “I’m changing this sentence because it doesn’t clearly express the main idea,” or “This paragraph lacks a topic sentence, so I need to add one.”

1. Step 3: Student Practice with Guided Support
   Provide students with a piece of their own writing or a sample text. Ask them to keep a Metacognitive Editing and Revising Log where they will note:

- The changes they make (what they are editing/revising).
- The reasons for these changes (why they are making these edits/revisions).
- How they feel about the changes (reflect on the effectiveness).

For instance, a student might write:
- Change: “I added a topic sentence to my second paragraph.”
- Reason: “The paragraph was unclear and didn’t have a main idea.”
- Reflection: “Now, the paragraph is easier to understand.”

1. Step 4: Reflect and Share
   Create opportunities for students to share their logs with peers, either in small groups or as a class discussion. Encourage them to explain their thought process and receive feedback. This step helps reinforce their learning and builds a community of practice.

1. Why This Works

1. Building Metacognitive Awareness
   Encouraging students to think about why they are making specific changes helps them become more conscious writers. They start understanding the purpose behind the writing rules and structures, rather than seeing them as arbitrary guidelines.

1. Enhancing Engagement and Motivation
   When students see their peers actively engaging in similar struggles and triumphs, it fosters a sense of camaraderie. They become more motivated to participate and take risks in their writing.

1. Developing Competence
   Over time, these strategies help students develop competence. They gain confidence in their ability to self-edit and revise, which is crucial for academic writing.

1. Final Thoughts and Next Steps

Reflecting on your original question about how to “use metacognitive skills to teach the writing process,” specifically focusing on editing and revising, these steps can be tailored to your classroom. Try incorporating the Metacognitive Editing and Revising Log into your lessons and observe how it impacts your students’ engagement and literacy skills.

To further the discussion and refine your approach, consider revisiting the text you provided. Reading it again, you might find additional connections between the scientific understanding of learning processes and practical classroom strategies. Are there other areas within the text that discuss the development of competence or effective learning techniques that you could adapt for your students? The deeper your understanding, the more you can tailor these strategies to your unique classroom needs.

1. Consider This

- What other metacognitive strategies have you tried, and how effective were they in engaging your students?
- Are there ways to integrate technology or multimedia to further enhance these metacognitive activities?
- How can you involve students in reflecting on the effectiveness of these strategies, possibly using their feedback for continuous improvement?

By continuously refining your approach and incorporating student feedback, you can create a dynamic and supportive learning environment that encourages growth and engagement for all your students.

Let’s focus on the idea from Chapter 1, where the text says, “teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that their students bring with them.” This is essential for learning because if students’ initial understanding isn’t engaged, they might not fully grasp new concepts.

1. Practical Application for First Grade:

Activity: “K-W-L Chart” (Know, Want to know, Learned)

1. Know: Start by asking your students what they already know about a topic. For instance, if you’re beginning a lesson on animals, ask them to share what animals they know and what they know about those animals.
2. Want to Know: Next, encourage them to ask questions about what they want to learn regarding the topic. This step helps engage their curiosity and sets learning goals.
3. Learned: After the lesson, go back to the chart and discuss what they’ve learned. This reflection helps solidify new knowledge and connects it to their initial thoughts and questions.

Why It’s Important:
- This practice acknowledges students’ prior knowledge and builds upon it, making new information more relevant and easier to understand.
- It helps teachers to identify misconceptions early and address them directly.
- This method encourages active participation and keeps students engaged.

By implementing a K-W-L chart, you not only validate students’ preconceptions but also guide them through a metacognitive process of setting learning goals and reflecting on their learning, which is crucial for deep understanding.

1. Questions for Reflection:
   - After rereading the text, how might you adapt these other theoretical ideas for first-grade class activities?
   - Can you think of additional ways to make students’ preexisting knowledge visible in your classroom?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these questions!

Absolutely, teaching in a fourth-grade classroom in a low-income setting provides unique opportunities to apply these foundational principles. Let’s take a closer look at a key point from the text:

> “Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom” (pp. 14-15).

This highlights the importance of addressing and connecting with students’ existing knowledge. A practical classroom application might involve starting a new topic by having a “What We Think We Know” session. For example, before starting a science unit on ecosystems, you could ask students to share their ideas about what plants and animals need to survive. This can be done through a KWL chart (Know, Want to know, Learned).

1. Practical Application:

Activity:
KWL Chart Creation

1. Know (K): Ask students to write or draw what they know about ecosystems, animals, and plants. Gather these preconceptions.
2. Want to Know (W): Have students express what they want to learn about ecosystems. This can encourage curiosity and engagement.
3. Learned (L): After completing the unit, review the chart and fill in what they have learned, directly addressing any misconceptions shown in the “Know” section.

1. Why This Works:
   Engaging with students’ preconceptions helps in tailoring lessons that build on what they know and correct misunderstandings, leading to deeper learning and retention. It also makes their learning more relevant and meaningful, fostering a sense of connection and investment in their education.

1. Importance:
   This method aligns with educational research which shows that learning is more effective when new information is connected to existing knowledge. It underscores the necessity of creating a learner-centered classroom that values students’ backgrounds and leverages them as assets.

Considering these thoughts, how could you incorporate students’ cultural and social backgrounds into your lesson plans to make the learning experience richer and more personalized for them?

Certainly! Let’s turn some of these theoretical insights into practical classroom activities for your 2nd grade classroom.

1. Chapter 1: Leveraging Students’ Preconceptions

Quote:
> “If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom” (pp. 14-15).

Practical Activity:
Concept Mapping
- Materials Needed:
– Large sheets of paper or poster board
– Markers or crayons
– Sticky notes

- Activity:
Start a new unit by asking students to draw what they already know about the topic. For example, if you’re beginning a unit on plants, ask children to draw a plant and label its parts. Have them use sticky notes to add their thoughts on what plants need to grow. As the unit progresses, update the map with new knowledge, showing how original ideas evolved.

- Why Implement It?
This engages their pre-existing knowledge and visually shows the progression of their learning. This process helps students anchor new information to what they already know.

1. Chapter 2: Developing Expertise

Quote:
> “Experts notice features and meaningful patterns of information that novices do not notice” (p. 36).

Practical Activity:
Pattern Recognition Games
- Materials Needed:
– Sets of cards or objects with different shapes, colors, and patterns

- Activity:
Create a ‘Pattern Detective’ game where students have to find and describe patterns. For instance, cards with different sequences of shapes or colors can be used, and students have to group them based on identified patterns. This could be a fun and interactive way for them to start noticing and talking about patterns.

- Why Implement It?
Encouraging students to recognize and articulate patterns helps them begin to think like ‘experts’ in their own way, enhancing their observational and critical thinking skills.

1. Chapter 3: Effective Transfer

Quote:
> “Initial learning is essential for transfer” (p. 53).

Practical Activity:
Real-World Connections and Reflections
- Materials Needed:
– Storybooks or short articles
– Reflection Journals

- Activity:
After teaching a concept (like the life cycle of a butterfly), read a related storybook. Ask students to relate the events in the story to what they learned in class. They can draw or write in their reflection journals about how the story connects to the real-world learning.

- Why Implement It?
By connecting classroom learning to real-world situations, students are more likely to transfer their understanding across different contexts. It also integrates literacy skills with content knowledge.

1. Inviting Reflection:

As you dive back into the text, how might you further adapt these ideas to account for the unique cultural and social perspectives of your students? Are there any particular preconceptions your students bring that could serve as a foundation for deeper learning?

Feel free to share your thoughts or adaptations!