Ideological Stance

Sarah M. SchultzUniversity of Southern California, Rossier School of Education

Professor Rebecca WilliamsEduc 505

June 5, 2016

My Ideological Stance:

My ideological stance is that of a warm demander. I can’t say that I’m there yet, but it is an aspirational goal of mine to be the teacher and “coach” who believes in the students and insists they do more than what they think are capable of. I want to create a learning environment where students feel a responsibility to themselves and where they develop self-discipline. Based in social cognitive and sociocultural learning theories, I know that I must create relevant lesson plans based in student interests. Self-regulation and motivation are skills that transfer to any subject. To practice cultural relevant pedagogy, I will need to bring my own personal experiences to the classroom to share with students. I will break down complex tasks, provide mnemonics, introduce multiple perspectives and supplement texts with historical fiction and vibrant primary sources. And finally, I will continue to learn as a teacher in order to provide students with opportunities for transfer of skills to other disciplines.

How I Arrived At My Stance:• I arrived at my stance through Guided

Practice, Literacy class and through fieldwork observation of 7th grade Social Studies classroom at Joseph Le Conte Middle School in Hollywood, CA.• Also from doing a Case Study of an ELL

student. • Also from getting to know different

Charter School classrooms through substitute teaching.

Learning Theory:• The learning theory I base my ideology in is social cognitive theory

and constructivism. Social cognitive theory believes that learners partially learn from social interaction and outside media influences.

• The concept of self-efficacy stems from social cognitive theory. The American Psychological Association defines self efficacy as follows, “self-efficacy reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one's own motivation, behavior, and social environment. These cognitive self-evaluations influence all manner of human experience, including the goals for which people strive, the amount of energy expended toward goal achievement, and likelihood of attaining particular levels of behavioral performance.

• For example, if you scored well on a test one day, then that form of reassurance will affect the way you see yourself and your abilities to achieve even more. Students would benefit from knowing this trick, particularly if they struggle with reading and writing.

• Constructivist methods based in constructivism have proven effective in classrooms. Suk Kim found that using constructivist teaching methods for 6th graders resulted in better student achievement than traditional teaching methods. Learning is a social process. Learning is not a process that only takes place inside our minds. Meaningful learning occurs when individuals are engaged in social activities (Snowman & McCown, 2012). This is why I design lesson plans with structured pair-share and triads working collaboratively.

Equity – Be an advocate for change

• To promote equity:• Build relationships of respect.• Teach students how to code-switch and

know when and where to speak in formal way, without trying to eradicate the way they are used to speaking.• Monitor progress and plan interventions.• Use Funds of knowledge• Establish a line of communication with

parent or guardian (Payne, 2008).

How I Plan to Implement My Stance – Social Studies• I will design lesson plans and create historical

questions that explore:• -Cause and effect• -Change and continuity• -Turning points• -Using the past • -Through their eyes • -bias• -Stereotyping• -double-talk • -primary and secondary source analysis

• Importantly, I will remember that even when you’ve honed a trusted pedagogical technique that works for many students, it will not always work for every students. There is no “one size fits all” strategy that works with certainty.

Pedagogical Approaches/Strategy:• Modeling disciplinary approaches – i.e socratic seminars, meeting of

the minds, and writing comparison essays • Repeated practice using multiple strategies to read and analyze

primary and secondary resources.• Design lesson plans that incorporate student interest and funds of

knowledge (Nieto, 2012).

• Incorporate technology in a meaningful way, i.e. in a lesson about civic participation, students could research neighborhood politics and record demographic data to see how government policy and legislation is written.

• Systematic and well-planned vocabulary instruction (Kinsella, 2005).

• Plan active classroom lessons• Simulation, role-playing lesson plans to put students at the center

of the historical moment.

• Teach and model effective strategyuse (Zwiers, 2006).

-- strategies include: Venn diagrams, Inquiry charts, storyboards, vocabulary overview model, Circle thinking charts, mind maps, concept maps, Cornell notes, prezi!

Strategies for reading primary and secondary resources.

Teaching a reading strategy

After I model how to use the strategy, then students try it with a partner. After that, they try it independently. If it’s still too hard, we repeat the cycle of teacher model, group work, and independent practice. My students will use The Inquiry chart to organize research findings in a visual that shows you your evidence side-by-side your questions and initial assumptions. Then students formulate an argument based on how the sources support or deny their initial assumption.

“New questions,” on the right-hand side of the chart, create the possibility for deeper inquiry or allows students to clarify misconceptions. Ideally, students can use the I-chart to build on previous inquiries.

The textual complexity of the academic sources will be challenging for students, but scaffolding techniques in the form of close-read and think aloud techniques will help students break down the content into smaller chunks to analyze.

Additional Thinking Maps, Graphic Organizers, and Visual Aids

Vocabulary instruction: I will design an instruction plan from the outset of the year that is well-planned, teaches high-use academic words, uses visual representations of the words being taught, and have students keep a record of vocabulary in a class journal.

storyboard

Equity & Access• I will continue to seek out new forms of literacy to

understand and explore ways in which it could benefit students and aid in teaching.

• I will always supplement the textbook with additional audio, visual, and aural sources.

• I will implement differentiated instruction to serve the needs of diverse learners.

• I will visit a student’s home to gain a deeper understanding of their home life and access to certain life and academic resources (Payne, Payne’s 9 Powerful Practices, 2008).

• I will use assessments to gain insight into my own teaching, rather than as control over a students.

• I will teach students to value each other’s contribution (Nieto, Culturally responsive pedagogy).

• I will get to know students on an individual basis.• I will design goal-oriented lessons and institute

benchmarked goal-setting as a priority. • I will model think aloud technique early in the semester so

that we can use it often, so much that the students will be able to use it independently and in other classes.

References • American Psychological Association, http://www.apa.org/pi/aids/resources/education/self-efficacy.aspx

• Cummins, J. (2005). Teaching the language of academic success: A framework for school-based language policies. In C. Leyba (Ed.), Schooling and Language Minority Students: A Theoretical Framework (3rd ed.), pp. 3-32.

• Flanigan, K., Templeton, S., & Hayes, L. (2012). What’s in a word? Using content vocabulary to generate growth in general academic vocabulary knowledge. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56(2), 132-140.

• Kinsella, K. (2005). “Series Part 1 – Preparing for effective vocabulary instruction & Part 2 – Teaching academic vocabulary,” Aiming High/Aspirando a lo mejor. Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE), Santa Rosa, CA.

• Nieto, S., & Bode, P. (2012). Learning from students. In Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (pp. 296-341). Boston: Pearson.

• Payne, R. (2008). Nine Powerful Practices. Poverty and Learning, p. 48-52.

• Sedita, J. (2005). Effective vocabulary instruction. Insights on Learning Disabilities, 2(1), 33-45.

• Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2012). ED PSYCH (1st ed.) Boston: Cengage.

• Wong Fillmore, L. & Fillmore, C. J. ( n.d.). What Does Text Complexity Mean for English Learners and Language Minority Students? URL: http://ell.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/academic-papers/06-LWF%20CJF%20Text%20Complexity%20FINAL_0.pdf

• Zwiers, J. (2006). Developing Academic Thinking Skills In Grades 6-12.

5/4 3/2 1/0 ScorePedagogy reflects literacies of the discipline

Pedagogy is inclusive of integration for students’ development of content understanding

Pedagogy discusses strategies to support literacy development

Pedagogy is not aligned with literacy or content understanding

Equity & Access Stance clearly illustrates how literacy integration provides equity and access

Stance is related to equity and access Equity and access are discussed peripherally or not included EXPLICITLY

Learning Theory Learning Theory is clearly is included to support your stance and pedagogy

Learning Theory is mentioned

Choice of Media Medium chosen for product is appropriate and does not limit scholarly, fluent, and comprehensive infromation

APA Format All information is correctly cited and reference list is in proper format