Reflection Journals:
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Zoom and Class Discussion:
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In-Class Assignment / Discussion: Culturally Responsive Instructional Processes, by Dave Brown. Full PDF document available on Reggie Net Course site
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On August 18 we were assigned to read chapter four PDF, The Culturally Responsive Instructional Process of Dave Brown’s book ( ), and were to be prepared to come to class ready for discussion. Brown begins talking in the first paragraph about how classrooms in America need to create and implement a specific instructional process to help diverse students succeed academically (Brown). This is a crucial development period for young adolescents to respond to the ethnic and cultural characteristics of other students due to an increase of social and cognitive awareness. This was a perfect opening piece of text for us to read as we are in a class that teaches literacy instruction in culturally & linguistically diverse middle level class. In schools today there has been an increase in the importance of changing curriculum to accommodate all students not just those who use English as a first language but also for English language learners as well. As future educators I think this is a great piece of text that all teachers should read and have deep understanding of how to implement these practices into their lessons. Brown goes on in this chapter to explain ways we as teachers can create an ethnic and cultural instructional process that will positively influence diverse learners. By including collaborative learning, inductive learning, contextual instruction, and working on student’s communication process. We can create an environment that will be suitable for all children to have an equal opportunity to learn and be successful. In our class discussion we began with Dr. Hurd asking us if we were familiar with any of these practices and how they would look in a general classroom. For me personally I think this was a good class discussion because I had little understanding of most of these practices and almost no understanding of how to implement it into the classroom. I also like this activity because it allows for you to hear your classmate’s perspectives. Being a teacher means you will constantly be working collaboratively with other teachers as a team. Learning from one another is a crucial skill that needs to be mastered as teachers, and this activity is a great introduction to that as my mindset grew vastly after hearing the input from my classmates.
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The Conga line Activity
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During the week of September 14th our class partook in an activity known as the Conga Line via ZOOM. The focus of this week was teaching vocabulary to English learners as well as exploring the reflexivity of pain and privilege. We were assigned to read chapter one in the book, The Reflexivity of Pain and Privilege (P&P), By Dr. Ellis Hurd. The chapter uses advanced vocabulary that if one did not know they would have difficulty comprehending what they are reading, resulting in them failing to connect to the experiences they are reading and understand their true importance. That is why an activity such as The Conga Line is a great learning experience that can be used to enhance reading comprehension. In the Conga Line activity, we were given a list of key vocabulary terms that were important to the chapter. We were all given the opportunity to choose one of the key terms that we would need to research, find the definition, and master the term to the point where we could teach it to another classmate. We were then grouped into partners for our first round of the activity and got to show our knowledge of our term by teaching it to one another. After some time had passed, we then would take that partners card and teach it to another student. After multiple rounds of learning and teaching new terms you begin to start a vocabulary library in your head that will help you comprehend what you are learning. The only critique I have for this lesson is in the scenario where there is to many terms on the list and not enough time for each student to be introduced to those terms. This leaves some students not being introduced to terms that could be more crucial than others. I think one way this could be resolved is by trying to select fewer numbers of terms, and planning prior to the activity to organize partners and rotations in a way that all students are introduced to each term. I would use this activity in my future classroom for multiple occasions. My two endorsements are Social Studies and English Language Arts, and this activity could be used in both areas to benefit students and improve reading comprehension as well as developing their vocabulary. When working with English Language Learners it is important as the teacher to focus on what specific words your students need to know at that point in their development. That can be the focus when doing an activity such as the Conga Line. You can select specific vocabulary that your students struggle to understand. This activity is also a way to assess our student’s vocabulary development by seeing if they are able to understand the terms and re-teach it back to another student.
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Midterm Discussion / Convergences of Identity and Cultural Responsiveness, Reflexivity of Pain & Privilege: Part 3, Chapters 8
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On October 5th we had Our midterm discussion over chapter 8 in which we discussed a few topics and then related it back to our personal experiences and what was going on in our country at that time. We were posed a few questions to think about after we had completed the reading of the chapter. Those questions were to describe what a creole was, what a Francophone was, and to explain the African diaspora. As well as explain the complete Identity of the individual we were reading about as he referred to himself, not as he was seen by others. Finally, we were to discuss how President Trump’s election “Shattered the collective hallucination of post racialism”. I chose to include this discussion to my collection because this is a moment that will be remembered in history for decades to come, and to be a young adult at that time I think it allowed for a lot of teaching moments and self-reflection to hear the voices of others and to understand their hardships. I think discussions like these are needed for young adolescents as well to begin exposure to these issues at a young age so we can try to put an end to the conflict before it ever even escalates. Too many students are misinformed about the hardships people of color face in their lives and until we change our school’s curriculum to fit a culturally responsive one. Students are going to remain misinformed about systematic racism and will continue to contribute to systematic racism. Again, that is why I think activities such as this discussion are a great way incorporate a culturally responsive environment in your classrooms. As these stories are continued to be shared, the number of people who are aware of the broken system will increase. Thus, hopefully creating more advocates for improving treatment of people of color. I can see myself using many discussion-based activities in my future lessons as I am a big believer in social constructivism. I feel that especially for young adolescents that they learn the most from one another, and that everyone wants to fit in or be like the dominant group. Because of this, kids will act in a way or say things they really do not mean, but are repeating something that they have seen on social media or a movie etc. We can begin to model a culturally responsive attitude to our students through the way we speak to them and how we respond to certain questions. We can model that it is not a bad thing to be different and that we are all unique in are own way. I think the more students that start to think and act in a culturally responsive way will create a contagious wave and more students will begin to follow. We as teachers need to break away from social norms and allow our classrooms to be an accepting place for all students of all races, cultures, ethnicities, genders and so on to be a place to discover ones identity and have no one tell you that you are wrong for it.
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Sharing your Identity text on Flip grid
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Another discussion-based activity we did in TCH 207 was creating and sharing an Identity Text with our classmates. I think this is a great activity for multiple reasons to help improve learning as well as to help us become a more culturally responsive individual. Getting to know your classmates is a huge part of the classroom environment. As I have mentioned before and probably will again, I think social constructivism is one of the best ways if not the best way at least for me personally to learn. Working in collaborative groups is a great way to expand knowledge and create a unique piece of work that can show great meaning and really resonate in your mind for future use. Not only is it a great way to build outside knowledge but it also starts to teach you good communication skills and how to work as a team. For the Identity Text assignment, we were to create an identity text that showed how are family came to the United states or how we ended up living where we are today. We were then to share our Identity Text’s via Flip Grid with a video format of our choosing. Then after watching several of our classmate’s videos we were to provide them with some feedback about what they shared. One thing I took away from this activity was the differences in everyone’s story and that was cool because that was what made each person’s story unique. It was their own experiences that made them who they are today, and nobody can take those experiences away from them. I think this would be a great activity to use in my future middle level classroom because it can show students at a young age how many differences they have from all their classmates. I would use this activity to stress each of their individual uniqueness and to show that even though they all have different backgrounds they are all now in the same place and position where they want to continue their development and become the best individual they can be. Going off building communication skills this is also a good activity to introduce students the skill of showcasing their work. As students get further into their schooling, they are going to be presenting projects, giving speeches, and speaking in front of groups. Working on activities like this where they can share their life story should be good starting points for presenting as they should be able to share their lives quite easily in detail. Still some students struggle no matter what when it comes to speaking publicly so be aware of students who might deal with this and make an announcement that if there is anyone who feels uncomfortable sharing their identity text that they can come to you as the teacher and decide on an alternative decision.
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Lesson J continued… Reflexivity of Pain & Privilege: Part 2, Chapters 4 and 5 (or) Chapters 6 and 7, depending on groupings assigned by instructor. (Blue Group, Green Group)
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In class on September 30th we partook in an activity called Structuring and Planning Content-Language Integrated Lessons. The lesson/discussion consisted of us reading either chapters 4 and 5, or chapters 6 and 7 depending on the group we were assigned to (Green/Blue). Each group had a series of questions that once we came together as a class, we were put into breakout rooms where we discussed and talked about each question and posted a response in our forum page. After some time was given in our assigned groups to answer our questions we came back briefly as a whole class and were instructed to join new groups with members that were assigned to the other group color, and then we shared what we had discussed in our original groups. I like this activity because it is working in groups to come up with a final answer. This allows for social constructivism as we learn new knowledge from one another and get to hear a range of input you may not have previously considered. I also like this activity because it does a good job helping with time management. In this activity we covered four chapters, even though we were only assigned to read two of those chapters. There can be a lot of information to get through in a short semester so using activities such as this can be a good method used by teachers to get more done in a shorter period. This activity required students from one group to read half of the assigned reading while the other group read the other half. While some could look at this activity and think it is not effective, because each group is missing two chapters of the text that could be important information. It is quite the opposite in that it is using your students time in a more efficient way that they will get the information needed from collaborating with their peers and not needing to spend long periods of time reading.
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Virtual Clinicals and Outside Work
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Atlas Case 213
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One of the "outside" clinicals I decided to observe was ATLAS Case 213 which was a 5th grade Social Studies class and they were discussing fairness and equity during the immigration to Ellis Island. In this class there are 29 students. Among the 29 students there are 13 who are white, 5 who are Hispanic, 6 Asian, 2 Black, and 3 who are multi-racial. The classroom teacher worked to create a community where students embrace differences by engaging students in discussions where differences are shared and celebrated. The teacher supports her students by giving them graphic organizers that help them connect prior knowledge to new information. This method has proven to be highly successful in working with EL students. In this lesson the students are working in small groups to discuss different aspects of immigration. The video starts with the students talking about First class, second class and Steerage passengers and if they were treated equally. The students were able to identify that the first and second class passengers who had money were treated better than those in steerage. The students referenced a book that they had previously read that gave examples of people from steerage being treated unfairly by doctors and inspectors at Ellis Island. (Background knowledge) They were also able to identify times that they saw this happening in today’s world on TV and in the media. The teacher continued to pull the students back to the discussion on fairness and then move into discussions about stereotypes. It was interesting to watch how the students interacted with each other. They were very respectful even when they disagreed with each other. It is evident that the teacher has placed high standards in her room that everyone will be treated with respect. It is also evident that she has spent time preparing her students for this lesson. They had background knowledge in diverse cultures, customs and traditions. The teacher was laying a foundation for future lessons where students would be able to appreciate and respect the beliefs and cultures of other people.
The teacher also worked with her students to provide a foundation for them to each take responsibility for their own learning. She states that the students set learning goals for themselves prior to the video. The main goal was to be actively involved in the discussion. It is evident that the teacher has worked to instill a sense of confidence in her students. Students openly communicated their views and feelings. They were able to do this because the teacher started the year with establishing rules and consequences on how others would be treated. Her students knew from the beginning that they would be respected and validated even if others disagreed with them. In working in other classrooms as a para a few years ago, it was evident which teachers had started out the year in the same way. These similar classrooms had fewer behavioral issues, a sense of unity and moved farther along in with the curriculum. I truly believe that this will be an important part of my classroom set up and how the first few weeks will go. Having the students help with establishing the classroom guidelines gives them a sense of unity and increases the likelihood that they will follow the guidelines they set for themselves. These practices will be beneficial for my students as they move along in this world and experience different cultures, beliefs and ideas.
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Atlas Case 181
One of the “outside” clinicals I decided to observe was ATLAS case 181. This was a 7th grade sheltered English class with 24 students. All the students were born in the USA and 90% of them speak Spanish at home. They live in a community that supports their first language and culture. In order to expose them to other communities and cultures this teacher will take her students out of their neighborhood on various field trips. The teacher reports that many of her students have exceptional needs, meaning they have visual and auditory deficits. They have difficulty remembering what they see and hear. I can only imagine how difficult this would be as a teacher to find ways to reach these students. Being sure to spend time laying the foundation for learning would be a key. Students learn best and can retain learning when they are able to relate the learning to their own experiences. The students in the video were having a discussion on who they felt the leader was in the story. Even if they disagreed with each other they did so in a very respectful way. The teacher was able to steer the conversation to different stereotypes in our society. The students were able to identify that there are times that they themselves and others are treated differently or unfairly because they have a different cultural background than others. The students agreed that it did not matter where you came from or your cultural background, that everyone who worked hard and did their best could achieve great things in their lives. The Teacher used different strategies to get her students involved. She used Question-Answer Relationship, Whip around ( students share in turn without interruption, and accountable-talk-conversations and discussion. These strategies work well if you have students who may prefer not to talk in front of a group. She also moved between the strategies during the discussion. The information below the video talked about the groundwork the teacher had to do prior to the lesson so that all the students were at the same level in their understanding. I was impressed by this video and how it was evident that the teacher had created a safe and comfortable environment for the students.
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Hurd Text
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Chapter One
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In chapter one of The Reflexivity of Pain and Privilege, by Dr. Ellis Hurd. We are introduced to one of the individuals in the book who has shared her life experiences to help raise awareness about the pain and privilege they have encountered during their lives as a person of mixed race living in the United States. In this chapter, Dian Mitrayani shares what it means to be mixed and tells us what she perceived her own complete identity as. We were introduced to a couple cultural terms Totok, and Peranaken and were able to tell what the difference between the two were. A Totok can trace their family history back to China and Chinese culture. These people are typically the children or grandchildren of someone who immigrated from China to Indonesia. Totoks also highly value Chinese culture and still use much of the Chinese language and ethnic dialects in addition to following their traditions. A Peranakan is a descendant of a Chinese born in Indonesia that speaks Indonesian or the regional language as their first language. While both totok and peranakan people are descendants of Chinese who immigrated to Indonesia, a totok is someone that holds onto the Chinese culture, language, and dialects even though they have never lived in China. Where peranakans are people that have strayed from the Chinese language, dialects, and culture. These people are typically not classified as pure blood Chinese or pure blood Indonesian. Dian refers to herself as a millennial woman of Chinese descent, born in Indonesia. Growing up in Surabaya she was the oldest among three siblings. Surabaya is the 2nd largest city in Indonesia, with Indonesia’s total population of 236.7 million people with over 600 ethnic groups. Mitrayani considers herself not lacking in family oral history. Mitrayani’s family built a peranakan history. They understood that their oral history would consist of a mix between life experiences in Indonesia, as Indonesian citizens, as Chinese descendants, and as a Dutch influenced family. Mitrayani’s families main peranakan identity is always Indonesian first. Mitrayani saw herself with the physical appearance of being Chinese, while her parents taught her to be Indonesian. As a future teacher I will need to understand that students will be struggling to find their identity especially those students that are racially mixed living in the United States. As teachers it is our job to show all students that they have meaningful purpose in your classroom and as well as in the world.
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Chapter Four
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In Chapter 4 of The Reflexivity of Pain and Privilege, by Dr. Ellis Hurd. We get to see and hear the story of Hwa Pyung. Hwa is what you would consider a TCK, a third culture kid. As a TCK Hwa explains his struggles as he navigates through middle school. Hwa talks about his encounters from fourth grade to sixth grade and how he was finally able to stay in the same school for a longer period. Prior to fourth grade his family was constantly moving so he was never able to fit in or get to know any of his peers. In grades 4-6 he finally started connecting with his classmates and making friends. Hwa started to enjoy school for the first time and was excited to go to school. We learned what Identity moratorium is and how it affected Hwa. Hwa struggled to juggle between two identities as when he went to school, he did not follow a lot of his native traditions and wanted to fit in with the other kids at school. When he would come home, he was heavily encouraged to follow his native traditions by his parents and was never supported for his new identity at school, because his parents lacked the knowledge to accommodate his new interests. This identity moratorium can lead to culture guilt. TCKs are in a world where they are surrounded by other kids who have grown up with different cultures and that can make TCKs want to explore other cultures, this can cause kids to feel a culture guilt feeling they are not using their native values enough resulting in issues with family and relatives. Hwa gives structural supports that middle schools could use to benefit middle school students especially those that are considered a TCK. These supports are Personal conversations, class discussions about sensitive issues, design lessons to spark student interest, exploratory curriculum, Considering the bias for western and Euro-centric perspectives. As a future teacher I can work to understand these support methods and find ways to implement them into my future lessons.