LINKS

Research links:

http://iteslj.org/links/TESL/Associations/
http://asian-efl-journal.com
http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1
http://www.aussieeducator.org.au/education/other/educationjournals.html
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/344508.pdf
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3588683.pdf
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3588716.pdf
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/4626141.pdf
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/325589.pdf
http://www.aera.net/AboutAERA/MemberConstituents/Divisions/tabid/10178/Default.aspx
http://www.gse.au.edu/materials/Advanced_Communication/Firth%20Wagner.pdf

Field Project: Nailing down the question

Right now I'm a little frustrated, because I'm not quite sure what my question should ask. On the one hand, I am interested in getting students to be able to think about how knowledge is constructed (which, to me, is probably one of the most important things teachers should help students learn to do--critical literacy and where they stand: how they learn, why they learn, sources of information they can learn from...).

On the other hand, I also just want to know if implementing a class Wiki in a well-structured (and researched-based) manner will improve students form conceptual connections and approach knowledge in a more collaborative and open-ended manner (the understanding that no fact, no body of knowledge, no nugget is static or isolated from other ones). The sticking point is, can this be measured, and how so?

**pre-assessment and post-assessment can address the same central text, to ascertain what new connections (if any) students can delineate or form?

POSSIBLE COMPLICATING FACTOR: but when students have time to grapple with and research any specific text, doesn't it generally follow that connections between concepts and ideas will improve in quality and depth? (isn't to be expected from any extended exposure to most texts, for most learners?)

HERO UNIT: LESSON MAP

WEEK 1: (Lessons 1-5)

1. inductive intro to conceptualizing "hero"
• bridge connects categories/characteristics to student-generated examples
  
2. zeroing in on academic perspective (Frye)
• preliminary student-generated definitions (individual)
• begin discussing necessary conditions/elements surrounding existence/creation of hero?
  
3. preparing for reading of "Chivalry"
• research jigsaw to frontload basic stories: Arthurian legend, symbols: holy grail, apple of life (Hesperides), philosopher's stone, egg of the Phoenix
• discuss traditional role of the knight (who? quest? obstacles?)
• meaning of chivalry...? does it exist today? in what form?
  
4. 
   

dilemma 18, continued

3 men A (Rousseau), B (Kant), C (Aristotle) walking

• A points out a boy who has fallen into the lake and is swirling in the currents helplessly
• A reminds his friends that the waters are said to be very fast and deep; A doesn't dare to risk helping the boy
  
  
• B has already jumped into the water and has begun swimming towards the boy, to no avail because of the strong currents
• B gets in trouble because his clothes become heavy from being waterlogged and begins to sink; B waves to his friends for help and friends A & C debate what to do
  
  
• C, nodding philosophically, says to A, "Yes, little man, you are right. It looks as though our companion is finding out for himself why no one swims in that stretch of water!"
• having said that, C walks determinedly towards an old rotten tree, breaks of the largest branch, and throws it to friend B
  
• using the branch, B is now able to swim over to the boy and rescue him
  
  
• boy and B congratulate C for quick action and presence of mind
• C acknowledges flattery and in turn, "magnanimously" congratulates B for good intentions, but also chastises him for allowing irrational side to overrule good sense (jumping in without thinking)
• B says that C is right, that "good intentions are not enough"

So...Who's the hero?

Consider these thoughts:

• if A didn't inform his friends of the water conditions, and both B and C had jumped in, they probably would have all 3 died...does inaction (due to reasonable fear and hesitation) make one a coward?
  
  
• "good intentions are not enough"--can heroism exist only where one is aware of one's capacity (i.e. does failure negate the virtue of the deed?)
  
  
• if C had not saved B and the boy in time, what then? C did not take action right away and had been motivated by the same fear A had. circumstances proved fortunate for everyone. can C be a hero then?

dilemma 18 (the magnanimous man in heaven)

1. Kant
• "though all knowledge begins with experience it does not follow that it arises out of experience
• the world appears on the basis of our minds' perceptions and judgements
  
  
2. Aristotle
• virtue lies in a mean, between excess and deficiency (courage is the mean between excess of rashness and deficiency of cowardice; magnanimity (w/ re. to self-esteem) is the mean between excess of vanity and deficiency of pusillanimity)
  
  
• **consideration must include flexibility b/c one extreme may be more closely linked to the mean than the other...(e.g. friendliness is closer to excess of being ingratiating that the deficiency of being surly)
  
  
• moral eval. of an action must consider responsibility of human agent (was action undertaken voluntarily or involuntarily--i.e. produced by external force or out of ignorance?)
• **so when a good deed occurs, but only as an accidental event resulting from some unforseen force or circumstance, can it still be a virtuous act? hmmm.
  
  
3. Rousseau
• liberalism V. communitarianism: following the general will does allow for individual diversity and freedom, but because the general will does aim for well-being of the "whole", following general will can cause conflicts with specific interests of individuals
  
  
• SOCIAL CONTRACT: by ignoring the interests of all groups or factions (collection of individual wills) in favor of the general will, only then would decisions be made to benefit society as a whole (in accordance with general will)

• what is the "general will" anyway?
  
  
• **can the goals of the general will truly meet all individual needs...i.e. is it possible for the "benefit of the whole" to gravely infringe on the rights of some individuals? (assuming that the decisions made have not been made to benefit only particular groups in society...)
  
  
• e.g. what about gay marriage:
• fallacious arguments could be made for the general will that procreation and perpetuation of the human species depend on heterosexual unions, thereby opposing gay marriage.
• this decision would be an infringement on the basic freedom and potential happiness of a fraction of individual wills. what then?
• it could not be for the benefit of all, because not all unions would be gay, and therefore supporting gay marriage would not infringe upon the benefits of the whole of society
• in which case, what is the role of the Sovereign and how should intervention occur in order to support benefit of the "general will"?
  

birth of heroes

Plato--based on the idea of "the one" (spiritual realm), without the "ideal" of the object (or such), the physical version of the object, considered only a shadow/replica (representation, imitation, reflection)--they physical version could not exist.

The ideal inoles "naming" or conceptualizing the thing--if we did not hae a name for a tree--would it case to be?

p.17 (interp) The hero was a creation of Greek culture--as a result of the ordering/categorization of things through poetry and the poetic imagination (e.g. in epics such as the Illiad/Odyssey, characters were observed performing good deeds--through these stories, the Greeks formulated their theories of goodness and other standards (Greek myths?) until Plato (and subsequent others?) questioned these ideals and touted logic over the unquestioning acceptance of such ideas.

literary criticism

Bressler, C.E. (2002). Literary criticism: An introduction to theory and practice. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

• does a text have only one correct meaning?
• is a text always didactic; i.e., must a reader learn something from every text?
• does a text affect each reader in the same way?
• how is a text influenced by the culture of it author and the culture in which it is written?
• can a text become a catalyst for change in a given culture?

1. theoretical criticism: formulates theories, principles, and tenets of the nature and value of art (by citing general aesthetic and moral principles of art, provides framework for practical criticism)
2. practical criticism (applied criticism): (based on theories and principles of theoretical criticism) defines the standards of taste and explains, evaluates, or justifies a particular piece of literature
3. absolutist critic: posits there is only one theory or set of principles that may used when evaluating a literary work
4. relativist critic: uses various and even contradictory theories in critiquing a text
   

specific strategies

• DOUBLE-ENTRY DIARIES: (direct quote & page #) + one of the following:
  

• "this reminds me of..."
• "i wonder..."
• "i visualize..."
• "i'm confused because..."
• interesting details + summary of learning
• what's important or interesting to me + author's message (trying to say...)

• COMPREHENSION CONSTRUCTORS
  

• what's your thinking
• what are you wondering?
• what do you think might be a possible answer to your question?
• what connections can you make?

• tips for reading a poem (reading guide)
1. read through twice
2. think about background knowledge that will help you to connect to the people, animals, or objects in the poem.
3. try to make a picture in your head of what's happening in the poem.
4. what do you think the poem's about?
5. brief double entry: textual evidence + background knowledge

• drawing inferences (reading guide)
  
• record question from reading you're most curious about
• go back to text, record textual evidence that might help you answer your question
• combine clues in text with background knowledge to try to answer question you asked in #1

• text-to-self connections
• text quote + "This reminds me of..."

• silent reading record (types of guides):
  
• summary + brief reflection/connections write-up
  
• questions-response to text writeup-classify questions
• "i'm stuck" (record where in text) + hypothesis why stuck + propose how to get unstuck + suggestion of what is understood thus far

• questioning and identifying confusions

• inner-voice sheet
  
• going through given text, identify inner voice during reading and decide if it helps or distract from reading. record specific places in text.

• CODING SHEETS
  

making inferences

(from tovani)

1. use picture books: e.g. Rose Blanche (Roberto Innocenti); Grandfather Twilight (Barbara Berger); The Wretched Innocenti (Chris Van Allsburg)...other examples in Strategies That Work

2. active reading strategy: double-entry diary (textual evidence + background knowledge & experiences)

3. Teaching students to infer:

• Ask yourself a question (Wonder something about the text).
• Consider textual evidence left by author that may represent important clues.
• Think about what your background knowledge tells you about these clues.
• using clues in the text and background knowledge about the topic, try to answer the original question.
  

"Not just boring stories": Reconsidering the gender gap for boys

Taylor, D.L. (2004). "Not just boring stories": Reconsidering the gender gap for boys. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, v.48 (no.4), p. 290-8.

retrieved at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.48.4.2