Critical Literacy as Inquiry

Recently, I have decided to dig a little deeper into critical literacy- its definition, pedagogical implications, purpose, and most especially what it looks like in the classroom.  My interest in the topic comes from volunteer work I have been doing with a group of upper elementary girls each week.  We meet, read and talk about a book we have decided on together, and respond in authentic and different ways at each meeting.  The selection of books I tend to "book talk" (and ultimately have the girls choose from) have strong female characters that exhibit different traits which make them strong girls or women.  These books usually deal with or discuss what we call "tough topics".  These tough topics lead us to incredible, critical conversations about our world and the things happening in our characters lives which connect to our own.

Behind the scenes, as I like to call it, I am purposefully exposing the girls to literature which makes them think critically about their world and the kinds of relationships dynamics that exist. When I choose a book I am thinking about the 3Ps- power, perspective, and positioning. How is the character positioned in relation to the other characters in the book and/or the society in general?  What perspective/s are represented?  Which voices are missing from the text and what is the author's purpose in doing this?  How does the author position the characters in the book or even us as the reader?  What is the reader assuming about us as the reader? These are just a couple examples of the kinds of questions that guide me as I select books for our group. 

By digging deeper, I mean I am going to be completing an inquiry project based on critical literacy and how I could potentially implement it in my future classroom.  I plan to read professional textbooks and published articles on the topic to gain a better understanding of its definition, purpose, and application.  Major contributors to the world of critical literacy include: Vivian Vasquez, Mitzi Lewison, Christine Leland, Jerome Harste, and Patrick Shannon among many, many others.  These professionals will make up the majority of my professional reading. 

My plan is to compile a pin board on Pinterest which displays the online resources I have explored, professional texts I have/ plan to read, plus a potential text set which could be used in an upper elementary grade to encourage critical literacy talk in the classroom.  This text set will include both picture books, graphic novels, and chapter book selections.  Since I believe students learn best when they are asked to complete projects and activities that are purposeful, have real world applications, and result in authentic products this is a natural way to align my beliefs with practice.  The real, authentic conversation begins with modeling and questioning by teachers- opening the eyes and minds of the students.  I foresee this kind of class discussion taking awhile to take root but once it does I imagine the possibilities are endless.  The product of this kind of talk in the classroom are students that are prepared for the twenty-first century and have the skills to think critically about their world and ultimately make change.

A Reflection Over the Shoulder

The formal miscue analysis takes a lot of time and training to be able to catch every miscue and code each in a specific way as to remember exactly what the reader did or said.  I have found this process time consuming and, at times, frustrating, anxiety ridden, and in the end the data sometimes overwhelmed me about a single student.  Until now, I had never heard of the Over the Shoulder Miscue Analysis format.  I much prefer this format to the formal miscue format!

Reflecting back on the process, I felt more relaxed and I think this transferred to my student reader, as well.  She had moments of nerves but for the most part she seemed open and accepting of the process.   Since my previous miscues were done with primary grade students, I didn't know what to expect from a more advanced reader.    I have to admit I was a bit skeptical that I would gain much data from a 6th grade, proficient reader.  I knew she would have very different miscues than a primary grade student but I wasn't quite sure what kind.  At first, this made me nervous that I would have trouble designing a next-step strategy for a mini-lesson.  Wow, was I wrong! Performing the OTSMA instead of a formal miscue gave me focused, narrow data which helped me decided easily what should come next in the reader's instruction.  Since I didn't have every single miscue recorded and coded and hadn't spent my time worrying about getting everything down exactly right, I was able to focus on the reader and what I knew about her.  I was also able to listen and communicate in a way that helped me gain great insight into her strategy use and confidence.  Instead of worry about filling out the recording template, I was zoned in on the reading and retelling for the substance rather than the data facts.  


The conversation following the miscue is where I think I had the most success. Since my reader had very few miscues and none that went uncorrected, I decided to spend most of our time talking about the retelling and the kinds of strategies she uses to comprehend what she reads.  This is where most of my teaching came in.  We talked about rereading, visualizing, and making meaning as ways to better ourselves as readers.  This part, the conversation, is what attracts me the most to the OTSMA.  Since I believe students learn best when they have positive, trusting relationships with their teachers, this is one of the first steps to that kind of relationship.  This conversation, centered around the students strengths and strategies as a reader, leads to rapport with the student.  In order for students to feel comfortable taking academic risks and making academic choices, they need to feel comfortable discussing their strengths and miscues. This kind of talk encourages students to take responsibility for their education and begin thinking about themselves as readers and thinkers- the kinds of strategies they use, what is important to them, their strengths and areas to work on improving, etc. To me, this is an important skill for students to carry with them throughout their educational careers and ultimately their lives.  In the future, I can see myself using this tool as a way to find out valuable information about my students but also introduce authentic conversation into the classroom. 

Thinking back about the miscue analysis session as a whole, the scenario was completely different from my first time.  I allowed my reader to bring her independent reading book (Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins) instead of choosing the text for her.  I'm wondering if this played a role in our miscue analysis and later in our conversation?  Does it make a difference that she was near the end of the book rather than at a different place in the text?  I also have been reflecting on the fact that I had previously read the book myself.  Would I have gathered the same data about the retelling had I not read and comprehended the book myself? This could affect whether or not I allow students to use their independent reading books for miscue analysis in the future.  Also, what affect does the fact that she read the other books in the series have on the data collected about her retelling?  Would she have had more miscues if she weren’t as familiar with the tone, style, and vocabulary used in the previous two books? Finally, does any of this really matter?  Should I be focusing instead on what happened during the ten-minute session?  How much do these outside circumstances affect the data collected during the session?
 

From MINE to OURS!

When contemplating my beliefs and how to align my practice with those beliefs, the environment I create in my classroom becomes very important. As a future teacher, I often find myself daydreaming about how my classroom might look.  What will be adorning the walls, how will the furniture and reading nooks be setup to get students excited about reading and learning?  Over the last couple years, these daydreams have been filled with bulletin board ideas, cute and comfy reading beanbags, and countless other things I think will make my classroom feel welcoming.  Missing from this daydream...my students ideas and feelings about the space. Granted, I do not have my own students quite yet, but I have realized it is important to begin reflecting and planning how I will make my classroom, our classroom.  This idea of our classroom, unfortunately and strangely hadn't occurred to me.  I thought I would walk in and "put up" all the things I thought were important and fill in with my students work.  I now feel I would have been going about it all wrong.

I want to create an environment where my students feel ownership over and responsibility for our classroom. I plan to do this by asking them how they would like certain things setup in the room, where they think the most logical location for our supplies would be, or where seems the most comfortable place to put our rug for a meeting area.  In Teaching with Intention, Debbie Miller talks a lot about creating an environment that is aligned with your beliefs.  She stresses that the environment you create should communicate your beliefs to those who spend even a couple minutes in your room. Since reading Miller's ideas about environment, my understanding has evolved to a place where I now feel strongly that students' voices should be heard even when they have long since gone home for the day.  These voices will be heard by looking around the room and seeing all the student work, ideas, creativity, and thinking that has been made public.

Since I believe students learn best in an environment which is warm and homey, I will create a space which feels organized and logical.  I want them to know what to expect each day when they come in and feel that they can count on the same routines and traditions to follow us through the year. This, to me, feels like a family- a home.  I my family, routines and traditions are what hold us together and this will serve the same purpose in my classroom.  The warmth in the environment will not only radiate from me as the teacher with a passion for teaching and learning but from the interactions between children.  They will know they are loved and respected in our community and family of learners.

Since I believe students learn best in an environment that reflects them and their classmates, I am taking a page from Debbie Miller's book once again.  Debbie Miller proposes a challenge to all teachers when she writes, "That's why on the first days of school the classroom walls, bulletin boards, and doors will be almost bare. That's as it should be! Don't jump in and 'put stuff up' just to make yourself feel better.  Be Patient. Wait" (Miller, 42).  I am still reflecting on this idea but have come to really appreciate what the blank bulletin board could represent.  The excitement of walking into your new classroom and looking around to find colorful yet blank bulletin boards.  Could this work? I think yes! With one comment, during morning meeting, about how we are going to fill our boards with so much fun, exciting, and challenging learning- the students will be itching to get started.  This is my hope at least.... Besides, who doesn't love the look and feel of freshness. To me this sounds mysterious and exciting!

Below I have included a hand-drawn (not to scale...are you kidding me... I left design school a long time ago!) depiction of my dream classroom. The spaces, resources, and nooks I have been daydreaming about for the last however many years.  Now I realize, this "dream" of a classroom won't necessarily be feasible when I actually walk into that first classroom, but a girl can dream can't she? The red dashed line represents the easy walking paths I have considered for facilitating desk work and over the shoulder conferring. I know it is small and in pencil but I am hoping my ideas are clear and, one day when you walk into our classroom, my beliefs will be this clear, as well.

Let me know your thoughts about my diagram.  Offer advice or suggestions from your experience that might help me to better meet the needs of my students. I would love to hear whatever you have to offer!

Your Beliefs- They Will Guide You

As I sit here at my kitchen table, looking out at the snow covered neighborhood, I feel a sense of disappointment (no- not just for the immense amounts of snow).  I was so excited to get up early this morning and get ready to meet my practicum classroom of sixth graders.  I suppose I can wait a couple hours until this late start goes by.

I can't help but think this is the day my career really begins.  This is the first day I meet my real students and come face to face with their energy, enthusiasm, frustrations, and struggles.  With this late start, it gives me the opportunity to sit here (with my coffee of course) and reflect on the last couple semesters and the incredible journey I am about to embark upon.

With the big ideas from class still bouncing around in my head, I keep thinking about formulating and putting down in writing my teaching beliefs and philosophies.  What a better time than right now!
I am going to use this post to get all my ideas out there and then pick through the mess to find the gems, which will become my guiding beliefs.

First and foremost- I believe ALL students can learn. The big ideas I develop below will support this most important belief.

Relationships: I believe positive, trusting relationships in the classroom lead to academic risk-taking and improve students' feelings about their worth as individuals and their self-efficacy as learners.

Environment: I believe students learn best in a warm, homey environment where they feel loved and know they are respected. The environment is not one that is mine (the teacher) but ours.  Students feel most at home in a classroom that reflects them and their classmates, where they feel they have some ownership and hold responsibilities to the rest of the classroom community.

Instruction: I believe students learn best when they are asked to complete projects and activities that are purposeful, have real world applications, and result in authentic products.  Learning in the classroom should focus on deriving meaning from text.

Instruction: I believe students learn best when they are taught how to make academic choices and required to take gradual responsibility for their learning.  For this to be true, I must provide ample time and space for inquiry, curiosity, and imagination.

Assessment: I believe I learn the most about my students when I engage in one-on-one conferences in the classroom.  This conferencing serves as a means of formative assessment and allows me to plan future instruction which meets my students where they are and focus on what they know and can do.

Wow...as I look back at what I just wrote, I didn't expect it to come pouring out like it did. As I said above, I thought I was just going to write down some big ideas and try to sort through to find the gold. Well... I guess I had more solid beliefs than I thought. I know these six beliefs will be rewritten, revised, and ultimately change a great deal once I spend more time in the classroom. I can't help but feel a sense of amazement and pride that over the last three semesters I have learned and absorbed so much that I am able to sit here today, on the first real day of my life as a teacher, and spew out my beliefs so readily.  I'm excited to see what my new sixth graders have in store for me.  This will be quite the learning experience!