Identity Formation

Dear New Teacher,

Identity can be a complex idea to think about, though whether you realize it or not, your role as an educator is helping adolescents to form their own identities. There is far too much to cover in regards to identity in one post, so we will devote a little time each week to discussing various components of identity.

One of the best ways I think teacher’s can help support students in their identity development is being aware of the formal operational stage of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, and creating lessons that emphasize some of the key components of this stage. According to Dolgin (2011), adolescents in the format operational stage “become inventive, imaginative, and original in their thinking. Possibility dominates reality” (p. 123). This really struck me as I feel that much of current day education encourages just the opposite, standard based reform and high stakes testing does little to encourage inventive, imaginative and original thinkers.

Identity is largely tied to decision-making ability in adolescents. In terms of decision-making skills, teachers are able to support students by including critical thinking skills in their curriculum. Not only is critical thinking crucial in schools, Dolgin suggests that adolescents who are involved in the family decision making process are often more successful at making good decisions as well (p. 135). Also mentioned by Dolgin is the common occurrence of stereotyping as a barrier to good decision-making. Examining stereotypes is an easy lesson for a teacher to deliver, and can be utilized within many subjects. I think on a larger scale, teachers can encourage and students in their identity formation by not letting their personal biases influence the way in which they teach and interact with students, and also by providing a variety of perspectives in the classroom.

Have you thought much about the identity formation process of you students? What about your own personal identity formation? What can you do as an educator to help guide adolescents through this process?

Best,

Mallory

Dolgin, K.G. (2011). The adolescent: Development, relationships, and culture (13thed.).              Boston, MA: Pearson.

Technology Tuesday: Digital Native or Digital Immigrant?

Dear New Teacher,

This week’s Technology Tuesday isn’t focusing on a specific technology, but more about technology in general. I read an interesting article not a long ago by Mark Prensky, Digital Natives Digital Immigrants. According to Prensky (2001) digital natives are “all ‘native speakers’ of the digital language of computers, video games and the internet” (p. 1). Digital Natives essentially refers to the generation of students who have grown up always knowing this technology. Digital immigrant, thus, refers to the group of people who have had to learn this new technology as they have aged. A majority of today’s teachers fall into this category.

However, a new set of teachers are entering the field-yourself included- who would most likely fall into the Digital Native category. In her article “Digital Natives as Preservice Teachers: What Technology Preparation is Needed?” Jing Lei of Syracuse University presents the results of a study conducted in which the “beliefs, attitudes, and technology experiences and expertise” of  “digital native” pre-service teachers. Lei (2009) also sought to “identify the strengths and weaknesses in their technology knowledge and skills, and explore what technology preparation was needed to prepare them to integrate technology in their future classrooms” (p.87).

According to Lei’s findings, only about half of digital natives surveyed felt they “did well with technology” (p. 90). Lei (2009) states that, “We cannot assume that this generation of pre-service teachers is a homogeneous group with the same technology experiences” (p. 90).

Using my personal experience as an example, I was trained to use such technologies as interactive whiteboards, idea processors, assistive technologies etc, however my training failed me in two areas. First, the training I received was strictly on how to use the technologies, it never incorporated subject specific examples and I was left to figure that out on my own; a task that few first year teachers have the time or energy for. Second, I ended up teaching in a school that was light years behind in terms of technology and the majority of my students came from families that did not have computers in the home.

As a Digital Native, think about your own experience learning about technology in your teacher education program. Do you feel prepared to incorporate these technologies into your classroom? If not, what could your teacher education program have done differently?

Sorry, this post got a bit lengthy- there is just so much to talk about in regards to technology!

Happy Teaching!

Mallory

Lei, J. (2009). Digital Natives as Preservice Teachers: What Technology Preparation Is             Needed?. Journal Of Computing In Teacher Education, 25(3), 87-97.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, 9 (5), 1-6. 

Traditional vs. Progressive Education

Dear New Teacher,

As an educator, you will hear countless terms used when talking about the current state of education. Currently there is much debate between what are known as traditionalists and progressives in the field of education.

 “Traditionalists argue that the purpose of education is to teach the basics—English, science, math, history and foreign languages—so as to increase student knowledge and intellectual powers” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 308). Traditional education is what is most often associated with some of the common educational reforms across the United States, high stakes standards, common core standards, attacks on ethnic studies programs, etc.

On the other hand, “Progressives urge that the purpose of education is to prepare students for live by teaching citizenship, home and family living, a vocation, physical health, gratifying use of leisure time, and effective personality growth” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 308).

“Progressive educators believe that students should be recognized as individuals, that they should be treated in a culturally sensitive manner, and that they should be trained to be capable of participating in the community” (p. 308).

           

In terms of the atmosphere, teachers and curriculum that contribute to a progressive education, Dolgin offers some great basics to work from. Any who has worked in a school knows that the atmosphere directly contributes to the kind of learning that takes place, as mentioned in the text a strong and competent principal is important.

Dolgin also mentions an atmosphere of learning and a place where students are able to take responsibility for their own learning as essential in a progressive atmosphere.

           

Dolgin identifies a few ways in which a teacher can be viewed as progressive. Mainly by creating a learning environment in which students are interested in the content presented, are able to take responsibility for their own learning and are able to demonstrate mastery of course material in non-traditional ways. 

This is at odds with traditional education for a number of reasons. Standards based reform movements and high stakes testing have left little room for teachers to present engaging material to students, often teaching to the test occurs and students are left disengaged and uninterested.

As a new teacher do you see yourself as more of a traditional or progressive educator? What other benefits do you see in the progressive school of thought?

Best,

Mallory

Dolgin, K.G. (2011). The adolescent: Development, relationships, and culture (13thed.).              Boston, MA: Pearson.

Guidelines for Supporting Moral Development:Moral Education

Dear New Teacher,

Moral education can be a slippery slope, one that even veteran teachers sometimes avoid. “Because we all are affected by the moral behavior of others, American schools have historically been concerned with instilling morality in their students” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 192). The question that I often think about is, what do we mean by morals? Aren’t my morals different from yours? How do I, as an educator, navigate this and instill a good set of morals in my students.

There are several possible approaches that have popped up throughout history, we will look at three of them here: inculcation, moral development, and values clarification.

Inculcation is “an approach to moral education that teaches students to accept specific moral values, such as honesty and trustworthiness” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 193). Though this is one of the earliest approaches, it has become more prominent in the past decade or so. Dolgin brings up the point that I am sure you are probably thinking as well, “In a pluralistic society, whose values will you teach?”

Moral development is “an approach to moral education that uses moral dilemmas and the like to give youths experience in higher-level reasoning” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 193). This approach grew directly out of Kohlberg’s theories and strives to help students develop higher level reasoning.

My personal favorite is values clarification, “a method of teaching values that helps students become aware of their own beliefs and values” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 195). In values clarification students are allowed to choose their own values, which to some is the major downfall of the approach.

Other approaches include analysis which involves critical thinking and the increasingly popular service learning.

As an educator, which approach would you take to teach moral development to your students? Can you think of other approaches that aren’t listed here?

Best,

Mallory

Dolgin, K.G. (2011). The adolescent: Development, relationships, and culture (13thed.).              Boston, MA: Pearson.

Positive Self-Concept

Dear New Teacher,

Along with a healthy body image, a positive self-concept is essential during adolescence. Self-concept is defined as “ a person’s conscious, cognitive perception and evaluation of himself or herself; one’s thoughts and opinions about oneself” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 151).

Why is a positive self-concept important? This might seem like a pretty obvious question, and to a certain extent it is. A student who feels that they are intelligent and hard-working is more likely to do well in an educational setting than a student who thinks the opposite.

Dolgin (2011) presents the idea of possible selves, “the people he or she might be someday; they refer to the future, not to the present” (p. 151). Our possible selves can be broken into three categories; hoped-for selves, expected selves and feared selves.

Hoped-for self: the people we hope to be in the future.

Expected self: the people we think we will likely be in the future.

Feared self: the people we are afraid of becoming in the future.

Picture the student with low self-esteem, poor grades, who is constantly being told by someone in their life that they are not good enough. That student probably has a difficult time picturing a hoped-for self, and even an expected self.

As educators, it is important to help students build a positive self-concept. My personal philosophy of education is that ALL students have the capability of achieving at their highest potential, and I make sure they know that I feel that way. Sometimes, being a supportive person in their life is enough to make a difference.

As an educator, are there ways you can think of to encourage students to determine their “hoped-for self” and to work towards that goal?

Happy Teaching!

Mallory

Dolgin, K.G. (2011). The adolescent: Development, relationships, and culture (13thed.).              Boston, MA: Pearson.

Technology Tuesday: VoiceThread

Dear New Teacher,

Happy Tuesday, welcome to another installment of Technology Tuesday! Today we are going to look at a fairly new-to-me technology, but one that I am excited to try in my own classroom: VoiceThread.

 A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate slides and leave comments in 5 ways - using voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). Share a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too.

(Source: www.voicethread.com)

What's a VoiceThread anyways?

VoiceThread can be used in a few ways,

1. As a way for you as a teacher to present information. Think of it as a more interactive version of PowerPoint.

2. As a project for your students to complete on a given topic. The interactive element of VoiceThread would allow students to comment on each other's presentations and hold asynchronous conversations.

3. As a way for students to reflect on a course or topic, with option of teacher providing feedback.

What other ways can you think of to use VoiceThread in the classroom?

Feel free to play around on the VoiceThread site and share what you come up with!

Best,

Mallory

Cognitive Development

Dear New Teacher,

I don’t know about you but when I first stepped into my first classroom teaching position, things like cognitive development fled my brain almost immediately as I struggled to just stay afloat. After I had been teaching for awhile I was able to revisit much of what I had been taught in my teacher education program and utilize it in my classroom practices.

One particular element that I found particular helpful to revisit was the concept of Higher Order Thought Processes. I first school I taught at was really into “HOT Skills” and we had several in-service trainings around the idea. Dolgin (2011) identifies three higher-order thought processes, each of which improves during adolescence (p. 132).

Inference

Inference is the “ability to generate new thoughts from old information” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 132).  Sounds familiar doesn’t it? You can also think of this as a form of activating prior knowledge, another educational buzz term. I used inference strategies often in my classroom. For example, I might read my students a specific account of a historical event and ask them to infer other details from the example.

Thinking

“Thinking is more advanced in that it is the conscious, deliberate coordination of information. You are thinking when you struggle with a problem, try to decide between two options, or plan the itinerary of your vacation” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 132). Trying to decide between two options is one of my favorite lesson ideas; you may know it as “debate”. I would often present an issue, have my students research and form an opinion based on said research.

Reasoning

Reasoning “occurs when you constrain and limit your thinking along lines that you believe are rational and useful” (Dolgin, 2011, p. 133). Adolescents certainly don’t perfect the art of reasoning, though there are several opportunities for educators to help them sharpen their skills. Reasoning is related to analogies, deductions and problem-solving- all of which are easily incorporated into curriculum.

Many of you are probably already incorporating higher order thought processes in your curriculum whether you know it or not, it never hurts though to take the time for a quick review of important concepts.

Are there any areas of your teacher education program that you wish you could focus more on now that you are in the classroom?

Happy Teaching!

Mallory

Dolgin, K.G. (2011). The adolescent: Development, relationships, and culture (13thed.).              Boston, MA: Pearson.