John Popham - EDRD619: Disciplinary Literacy

  The digital jumpstart (DJ) method of preparing students for challenging material offers great flexibility and available software tools make creation of DJs reasonably simple and swift.   Using easily accessible primary and secondary sources available via the web, the teacher’s main task is creating a script that addresses the three key features of a successful DJ:   “Providing background information, developing schema, and previewing vocabulary” (Rance-Rooney, 2010).   Going through the process of actually building a DJ forced me to try to put myself in the shoes of a student not very familiar with either the material or the historical context.   It made me think of the most vital terms and ideas that such a student might most benefit from understanding better before, or after, the class during which that material was covered.   My DJ was about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War 2 .   While a bit rough, it would provide students ...

Module 3:  Disciplinary Literacy Strategy Application   This week’s assignment involved applying features from Teaching Comprehension of Complex Texts (Buehl) and Going Beyond the Fab Five (Fang) to articles from two different disciplines.  My texts included:          (1) Modeling with Geometry:  Any Way You Slice It (mathematics)         (2) Communicating with Maps (social sciences)   The selected Modeling with Geometry section included at least two features described by Buehl, such as mathematics terminology (e.g., cross section) and multiple modes (cross section being described in the text and then later demonstrated with a three-dimensional drawing.  The same section included multiple examples of the conceptual vocabulary feature described by Fang (vertex, edge, focus, cross section).   The selected Communicating with Maps section included multiple examples of the Buehl feature of conceptual vocabul...

  Module 2, Step 7: Word Knowledge Chart Strategy I chose the  Word Knowledge Chart  strategy because the  chosen article  includes vocabulary that may not be well understood by all students, particularly those who are still mastering reading in English.  The subject of the article is the tension between free speech on college campuses—particularly by event speakers versus those invited to deliver commencement addresses—and the right of students to not appear to tolerate or endorse provocative ideas.  The free speech-centered discussion in the article is full of complex and abstract concepts not easily assessed even by most English-fluent readers at the high school level. Comprehension of freedom of expression requires a clear understanding of certain words and terms.  Use of the word knowledge chart requires students to consider the key words and terms before, during, and after reading the article.  Highlighting these key words, and focusing...

  Module 1, Step 5: Anticipation Guide Strategy For Module 1, Step 5, I opted to use the Anticipation Guide strategy.  While the alternate strategy suggested—Questioning the Author (QtA)—also offers a clear path to engaging students with written material, in this case the subject matter, an exposition of the facts involved, seemed more relevant to student learning than the perspective of the author.  As a piece of journalism, this article avoids values judgments and focuses on:  What happened at Pine Ridge?  What was the background?  What can it tell us about the history of and current conditions in this unique part of our country?  Alternatively, the QtA strategy might be more effective for the examination of a lengthy essay about the history of Native Americans’ experience with alcohol that reflects the author’s background, position, and opinions.  The Pine Ridge reservation inhabits an isolated portion of the United States that few Americans ar...