Week 5 T2P Hypotheses

Excellent response here. You've done a great job synthesizing Jeff's key principle of critical literacy and SDT. I'm going to challenge you to know make this real for you. Provide at least one concrete example of how you would incorporate theses principles into your own pedagogical practices. Also, where do the students who are decidedly "won't do" (vs. can't do) fit into your practice?

An example of how I could use cultural literacy in the classroom to intrinsically motivate my students is through the use of music. As a special education teacher I will be working with struggling readers. Simple early reading task such as rhyming can be very difficult for struggling readers. Many current songs have examples of rhymes embedded in the lyrics. I could identify which songs my students are listening to and find examples of rhyming patterns within these songs. The students will be more likely to become actively engaged in an activity that is culturally relevant to them. I would use this technique to scaffold the use of reading strategies throughout the academic curriculum.

If teachers follow a step by step heuristic approach for attending to teacher and learner dilemmas then the teacher will be able to produce productive solutions because this approach provides a clear process for solving a dilemma across many different contexts using evidence based verifiable data. As a teacher our heuristic approach should consist of three stages. During the initial stage the teacher can gather data about a certain conflict. Concrete data can include observation of students and school policy. Self study data can be used as a way for teachers to identify personal connections or biases. The middle stage is where the teacher needs to categorize the problem as being ill of well defined. The teacher can then use this data to generate specific "profiles." These profiles can be linked to relevant theories and research. Lastly, the teacher needs to identify the goals and needs of everyone involved in the conflict. The final stage is where the analysis can be applied to the specific situation. It is important for the teachers and students to talk out hypothetical solutions to the problem and decide on a plan of action. The solution then needs to be tested and the outcomes reflected upon. It is important for the teacher to collect new data and revise their plan of action. This process can be applied across many situations. For example in the case study of Elizabeth Rhodes she could use this process to solve the problem of her students lack of calibration in group work.