ZDP

What is the ZPD? How does it impact what we teach?

The zone of proximal development, or ZDP, is a concept developed by psychologist and social constructivist Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky explains the ZDP as “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers.” It’s the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. The educator’s role, then, is to give his or her students experiences that are within their zones of proximal development, which would encourage and advance their individual learning. In plain English, it means I design experiences in my classroom that will stretch my students intellectually with attainable goals. My assignments should not be too easy, but they shouldn’t too hard, either. My students should be stretched but not broken.

Building a Classroom Library

As an English teacher, I need to ensure I can surround my students with interesting, challenging books. Well, I don’t have many books so I need to get my library started. Her are a few suggestions from Gallagher, Daniels, and Grierson:

-Send home wish lists of books and literacy supplies to parents
-Ask if any parents want to donate old couches, beanbag chairs, lights, etc.
-Write grant requests and ask for matching funds thru schools foundation
-Gather old magazines and books
-Go find discounts at yard sales
-Book clubs: ask them to donate books to your class (sometimes they will send sets of books)
-Write to magazine publishers. Many will send you a class set for free! The Newspapers in the classroom program will do the same. http://www.fnpnie.com/
-Look at this link for free ebooks, even for mobile apps: http://drscavanaugh.org/ebooks/libraries/ebook_libraries.htm
-Many publishers will send you free books: http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_classroom_books
www.amazon.com used books (many are a dollar or less)
www.bookcloseouts.com
-Find out who has iPads or use your class computers. More and more books are available free for educational purposes.

Wolk Response

Wolk argues that when looking at what students are required to read in school in 2010, it might as well be 1960, because we are reading the same books, the same genres, and the same texts that were being red over 50 years ago. Though they may be wonderful classics, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mocking Bird, The catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Macbeth, Of Mice and Men, Hamlet, 1984, and The Things They Carried are older texts far removed from the interest of today’s modern adolescent students. More contemporary texts should be added to the cannon. As Wolk says, the world is “brimming with marvelous writing.” Along with a few of the classics, I would love to teach some of the more modern literature. Where ever I am given freedom to choose my texts, I going to choose challenging texts that I believe my students would be interested it. I’ll bring in some of my favorite McCarthy books—or the ones I know I can get away with teaching—The Road or The Sunset Limited. I can do a unit on political science or Marxism and teach The Hunger Games. I can do a unit on war texts and read Fallen Angels alongside diaries written from WWI, WWII, and Afghanistan soldiers. In short, I can bring in contemporary literature from multiple genres to incorporate rigor while facilitating excitement for reading.

Theodore Sizer

“The measure of the worth of a society is how it treats its weakest and more vulnerable citizens.”
-Theodore Sizer

I’m not exactly sure I understand what Sizer is trying to say here. Is this in relation to education, medical care, food, and shelter, all of the above? I don’t know the context of this passage so it’s difficult for me to respond to it. I certainly am a member of provided member of society: I have a nice home, I always have plenty of food, I’m literate, and I have a car. And beyond that I’ve been able to attend a university and gain an education. The only reason I’m uneasy about this quote is because it has an attitude of benevolence inherent in it: “Let me condescend from my life of privilege to help you.” That attitude, historically, hasn’t really worked in the past. While I agree that we have a social obligation to help one another—I’m an aspiring teacher, for crying out loud—I’m not sure exactly how to do it. We need to educate the uneducated and protect the unprotected but we need to do it with the right attitude.

The Unexamined Reading Life

I’ve realized that I only like a particular type of literature. I’m not exactly sure how to describe my taste but I know it when I see it. For instance, my wife recommended a book to me the other day and, after she explained to me what it was about, I turned my nose at it. Too spiritual, not “intellectual” enough, I guess. However, my taste in books might make it difficult for me to help struggling or reluctant readers. How can I explained to thee students that there is interesting reading material in every field when I have only picked up the books that seemed interesting to me? I realized that I need to read more from a wide range of genres so I can recommend literature to my students’ unique tastes.

Justifying A Media Literacy Curriculum

I support using media in the English Language Arts curriculum. Besides the obvious reason that today’s youth expect media in the classroom, I believe that technology, if chosen and employed carefully, can enhance students’ literacy. While a convincing case came be made that modern technology can alienate us from others, staring into a computer screen illuminating social networking sites certainly loses some of the advantages of face-to-face discourse, it can also help us to connect with others and places that wouldn’t necessarily be possible without technology. For instance, during a unit on African American fiction I can allow my students listen to some of folk songs Zora Hurston collected and recorded in journeys through the South or I can have my students watch a recording Maya Angelo read her own poem, “Phenomenal Women,” which is greatly enhanced when heard from the soft, powerful voice of the author. I can teach my student about the new genres and forms that are emerging—text messages, blogs, wikis, digital storytelling, photo essays, and e-portfolios—and address their place in our society and the literary cannon. I believe that media ought to be used in the classroom to augment the study of literature and to prepare the rising generation for adulthood in a technology-centered world.

Beach Ch. 2

Beach Ch. 2
Today’s youth are different from any previous generations. For better or worse, depending on how you view the influence of technology, today’s adolescents are more technologically savvy than any generation who has come before; they are referred to as the Millennials (yes, that’s an authentic technical term).
There are three types of Millennial nonreaders: those who don’t, won’t, and can’t. To help these reluctant readers, I think it is imperative to use to fast-paced technology they are accustomed with to augment their learning. Today’s students expect visual, audial, and tactile stimuli. Reading, however, may not necessarily provide these; but it can, with a teacher’s help, at least. I think I can successful implement technology in my classroom to help my student become engaged in reading and writing. I can use digital stories, blogs, illuminated text, book trailers, photo essays, and even Twitter and Facebook to help my students learn the value of literature and literacy.