Assignment 1:Reach 105 How People Learn

This chapter reminded me over and over again about the Understanding by Design book where it talks about the six facets of understanding. This chapter talks about how using new approaches in teaching can increase the possibility of of the majority gaining a moderate to deep understanding of material presented. One of the points stressed in this chapter was that the new science of learning emphasizes learning with understanding. I particularly became interested when in the chapter it discussed how memory has been favored over deep understanding, It gives the example of a typical multiple choice test question about arteries. This example is one that we see all to often just a series of m ultiple choice questions which are supposed to determine whether or not a student really has a deep understanding of a specific area. I am troubled by the emphasis on this types of tests as being the only true measure of understanding. I liked how the paragraph went on to talk about using learned material to solve other problems... in other words looking for evidence of trasfer. To me that is what we should really be after and not just a replay of certain facts but being able to target that trasferability in our students. I think back to my own education when I was younger and it would seem that those multiple choice tests were always favored. It was not until I went to college that I was able to hit what I knew and write papers, do projects, or create essays that I was able to apply what I knew to different situations.

Strategies that Work("Reading is Thinking" and "Reading is Strategic"

In these chapters, I started to think back again to when I was a beginning reader. I guess I was making those prior knowledge connections that the chapter talked about. I thought that this was a powerful reading because it made me think deeply about the process of reading which is so much more than decoding. Active readers interact with the text. I liked the example the author gave on page 13 when students were asked the essential question, What is reading? Answers like" figuring out words , spelling the words, knowing the letters" were all presented. Even though that is true, it was not until one student said, "when you read, you have to figure out the words and what they mean" that the real idea and purpose behind reading was given. The primary purpose for reading is understanding. I liked the part in the chapter where it talked about true comprehension being more than just literal understanding. Pushing students to interact with the text and go beyond just a literal understanding is the goal of any good teacher. I remember when I was in reading class all those years ago answering simple questions about what was in the story, but I do not remember ever being pushed at a young age to go beyond the literal meaning.

The reading selection goes on to describe the strategies that work to push for that deep comprehension into the text. First, activating background knowledge was described in the reading as being the foundation of our thinking. "We simply can't understand what we read without thinking about what we already know." p 17. Anytime I read a story to students or we prepare to read a selection, assessing their prior knowledge on the subject is always initiated first. Teachers should always guide students to make connections among their personal experiences, the world, and the text they are reading. The article makes the point that this connection of prior knowlede to new knowledge is the core of learning and understanding.

One piece of the reading that really stood out for me was the part that talked about the practice of schools not fostering questions by students. The reading suggested that the educational system requires or demands answers, the kind of answers that are straight forward for tests, and answers to math problems that involve no explanation. I know for my own personal experience teaching math, I am now requiring more and more explanation of their answers. For example a simple problem at the first grade level like 3+5=8 seems pretty straight forward, right? However, I ask them explain to me if you added or subtracted and tell me what tells you to add or subtract? I am referring to the math symbol +. I always am filled with questions even for the most basic problems because I want them to always be thinking about what it is they are doing and know how to explain it. I agree that questions are the heart of being able to move forward and the push they need to move their thinking forward. It made me remember the old saying, "There is never a dumb question."

Next, the reading went on to mention making inferences which I believe is very difficult for some children to do because an inference is not directly stated in the text. They have to dig deep and use their own information and the clues in the story to be able to do this. Visualization was mentioned in this selection as well. This involves a reader painting a picture in his or her mind. Personally this is one that I have always been pretty good at as a reader. I remembered reading Little House on the Prairie and making up my own pictures in the book in my own mind. I visualized the open praire andit was easy for me to do this because I grew up in southeastern Colorado which was flat and prairie. I visualized throughout the entire book, and that is a skill that has stayed with me throughout the years.

In addition, summarizing and sythesizing information were also provided in the reading. Summarizing being the skill to retell the information and sharing it in their own words. Students will have to sift through all of the information presented in the book and present those critical focal points and put them into their own thoughts and words.

As teachers we must be responsible and show our students what these strategies are and how to use them in their own reading. Constantly modeling those strategies for our students every step of the way. I am going to end this entry with a quote on page 21. " When we write we compose thoughts on paper. When we read, we compose meaning in our minds." Reading is so powerful because it opens the door to the world beyond.

Pre-assessment "How People Learn"

For this assignment the first thing that crossed my mind was several times in my life starting at 13, I was a disciplined runner. I can totally identify with the "Flow - the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter, the experience itself is so enjoyable tht people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it." I started long distance running when I was 13, and I had the most powerful mental, emotinal and physical experience while doing it. I can only describe it as being lost in a different world. I can remember getting the "runner's high." I can remember it being like I was lifted off of my feet and this current of electricity flowing through my body that made me want to continue. I would tell myself that I was almost done and ready for my cool down and something kept pushing me to go farther. It was like I could not get enough of it because it was so nourishing for my spirit. Running every day was something that I had to have and sometimes I would go twice a day once in the early morning and again in the evening. I experiences it again about a year after my daughter was born. I started to run again, and I became an addict. The same feelings and sensations would overwhelm my system, and I could never get enough. It was something that I looked forward to doing every single day. I can relate to what Victoria said at the retreat in August about having to run because I remember a time when I had to do it everyday or the daywas not right. When running as an adult, I was lost in my own world and all the problems of being a mother and a wife were gone. I carved out the time to do it, and I did not care if it caused an argument or made me have to rearrange some things in my schedule. Running was that important to me and that pleasurable. I felt powerful, strong, and very confident. It boosted my self-esteem, and brought out the best in me. I remember feeling focused and able to block out anything and everything during my journey as a runner. It tested my own limits and brought me to a place of peace and satisfaction. This was something that I did for myself and for myself only. It was not something I could share. It was all mine. Thinking about it now makes me happy and sad at the same time. I had not realized until now how much different my life has been without it.