Double Journal Entry # 6

Speaker 1

1. Why is this video helpful for teaching in West Virginia? This video is helpful for teaching In West Virginia because the research-based strategies mentioned in the video extend to anyone who speaks and writes in everyday language different than Standard English.

2. What evidence is presented that supports the credibility of the speaker? Rebecca Wheeler is an Associate Professor of English Language and Literature and co-author of the book “Code Switching”. She is a literacy consultant for the National Council for Teachers of English; she has a BA from the University of Virginia and an MS from Georgetown, and a PHD for the University of Chicago in linguistics.

3. Describe the traditional approach to responding to student writing. The traditional approach is to respond by finding and correcting errors in student writing. Teachers often focus on what the student is not doing

4. Why does the traditional approach not work in improving student writing? The traditional approach does not work because with this approach the teacher is too busy looking at what they are not doing and not really looking at what the student IS doing. However, these issues are following the students up through the grades; therefore it obviously does not work.

5. Name the 3 stages associated with the linguistic approach to writing instruction? Applying the scientific method to grammar discovery, contrastive analysis (comparing and contrasting in order to discover the pattern of formal English), and using code switching as Meta cognition

6. How do you know the cat and Taylor go together? The pattern of the owner and what they own. The pattern is owner + what they own (informal) or owner + ‘s + what they own (formal)

7. What is the difference between the two patterns of possessives for informal and formal English? The difference is that the pattern for formal English requires another step  ( + and ‘s)

8. What strategy is being used for teaching the second grade students the different patterns between informal and formal English? Comparing and contrasting or looking for what changed between the two patterns.

9. Describe how the scientific method is used to teach students to code switch. The students look at the pattern, collect data, observe data and seek a pattern, hypothesize and then check and revise

10. What question is being asked to engage students in the comparison and contrast strategy? The teacher asked them “What has changed?”  The students will recognize a pattern by realizing elements of the pattern that are different.

 11. How does code switching support Meta cognition?  When students begin to think about what they know, they begin to realize what they need to do. They use this Meta cognition to learn code switching. They will own the language and chose the language to fit the setting.

12. What evidence is presented that the code switching approach works? Describe one of the studies.  (Taylor 1991) In this study where Taylor built two composition classrooms during the course of one semester.  One used the traditional approach and there was an 8% increase in vernacular features. The other used the comparison approach and produced a 59% decrease.

Speaker 2

1. How did the students respond when asked how the felt about being corrected when they talked? Mostly they felt angry, stupid and confused. They did not feel they were being helped at all.

2. Give an example of a “fund of knowledge” the teacher drew on to help students learn to code switch. The teacher used the idea of dressing up (formal) and not dressing up (informal) or formal and informal places to help them understand the connection to code switching.

3. What are some added benefits from raising test scores that stem from using contrastive analysis? Some added benefits include student realization that though we may all speak differently, it does not reflect their intelligence.  Students will also begin to identify patterns in everyday life and use comparative/ contrastive skills to recognize differences.

Now:

Explain how contrastive analysis for writing is an example of each of these research-based strategies.

Generating and testing hypothesis:  Contrastive analysis is used to generate good questions, make predictions, and look at the results, identify patterns and use the results to solve/correct.

Identifying difference and similarity: Contrastive analysis is used to compare things that are similar and contrast things that are different. This allows them to make more complicated cognitive connections.