Chapter 10 - April 5 - 11

1. How does this topic fit in with what I have already learned?
So much of this chapter directly coincides with the information we have already learned about. The cognitive model of writing ties in with so much we have learned. The self-efficacy effect of writing states that if one perceives to posses an adept writing ability, there is a higher likelihood that their writing will be better than another with less self-esteem. I can easily connect this to the fact that we learn and work better in a positive environment. This also ties in with what we learned in chapter nine about negatives taking longer to process. Negative information seems to work against us, where positive information and beliefs help us in all aspects of our lives. I also connected working memory with writing, as it states in the chapter. We need our working memory to help supply our writing with content and information. We also need our long-term memory to activate semantic and syntactic rules for proper writing. Our phonological loop comes into play during the writing process because we can "hear" our thoughts as we write them down. In fact, I am using mine now to tell me the sentences that I am forming. One other, but far from final, aspect that I can connect to this chapter is the visuospatial sketchpad. When writing, one has to picture and visualize what they are writing about in order to be descriptive.

2. What am I still not clear on from this chapter's readings?
I believe that I am okay on most of the concepts in this chapter. It was easy to read and understand. I believe that I am more of a language person, and this chapter appealed to my interests. I kept going back to the section on common ground. I know that this is the background knowledge and experiences needed for effective communication. I teach in a small, rural town with a high poverty level. I keep referring back to my Ruby Payne training to help me understand the differences in social classes. Generating a common ground for my students is one of the most important and most difficult things I do as a teacher. I hope that I am doing enough hands-on activities, showing enough visual examples, and appealing to all of the modalities in enough manners to determine common ground with my students.

3. Under what conditions will I apply this to my own teaching?
One thing that I try to do is to engage my students as we are learning. I try very hard to incorporate movement in almost all things that I teach. When teaching the color words, I also teach the American sign language movement for the color. It seems that many of my non-readers become successful readers by using these types of movements. The text states that using our hands can help the learning process and the retention process. I knew that this worked for me, but I know now that this works for most people. I am going to try to incorporate more movement and sign language when teaching other words.

After reading that we do not edit our own writing very well, I began to think about my own students. Their writing seems perfect to them. I am going to have other students try to read the writing to show some of the possible editing opportunities. I think that this will have to be done in centers with an adult assisting. This would be a great opportunity for spelling rules.