The Organizational Context of Curricula - Essay Example

Running Head: TEACHING READING IN THE CONCEPTUAL AGE Teaching Reading in the Conceptual Age Children today are living in a digital world where computer literacy rules what children can and cannot do. The current school system as we know it has worked on skill levels within reading from an outdated curriculum. In order for children to truly learn to read and learn other skills, we need to let go of the old way of teaching and teach through a variety of concepts. Central to teaching through concepts is using techniques to engage children in learning. Although the No Child Left Behind legislation is working for some, for other children it has failed. This proposal is to create s pilot program to engage 150 children in the learning process through the use of digital programs. Learning in an Analog Age Thirty years ago, children learned very differently. There were no computers and children were content to learn inside a classroom. They worked individually and in groups. Teachers expected children to read out loud and not to talk to their neighbors. They were taught to read using phonics, sight reading or a combination of both. Teachers brought into every classroom interesting reading and students were engaged in the process of reading. During the summers, there were summer reading programs at some libraries, and children subscribed to "Weekly Reader," and "Highlights for Children," magazines and learned about many things. Learning in the Digital Age Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age (2005) states: The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of mind – computer programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch numbers… The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. These people – artists, inventors, designers, storytellers…will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys. (p. 1) Although Pink is talking about business, we have to be cognizant about this when we are teaching children. Today, children live in a digital world. They do not have to go to the library anymore and they dont have to read. Everything is given to them, via the computer. They can look up anything they want, and the most important thing to them is that the information is relevant. These children have grown up at a time when all they know is a digital world. Their parents and their teachers have grown up in an analog world that changed to a digital world. Because of this, parents and teachers are often behind their children in learning these skills. In order to help these children learn, we have to understand that they arent like the children from 30 years ago. They have different needs that regular classroom work is not addressing. According to Layton (2000) there are several differences in their learning: a. They dont learn in isolation b. They like to work together in groups and share their work. c. They hate jumping through "arbitrary hoops" d. They want to solve real problems We can see these children across the country in a variety of classroom settings. Those who are learning, have relevant curriculum that includes technology and a teacher who acts as facilitator rather than teacher. Community to be Served This proposal seeks to prepare a pilot project to choose 150 students in grades 2-4 who are "at-risk" of school failure. These children will be chosen on the basis of their Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) reading and reading comprehension scores, which will be lower than 27 points. This information will be gathered through their report cards. Parents will be involved from the beginning. Parents will first to help reinforce the concepts that children learn through our program. The program will be based not on tutoring, but on teaching relevant curriculum using interactive websites. Children will work in small groups for a nine week period. Afterwards, an evaluation will be made to tweak areas that are weak. Some critics may think that interactive websites would be detrimental to childrens use. However, in a study done by Indiana University, children who used a specific interactive website were found to be able to learn in through their learning styles more effectively. For instance, a child described as "always creative was able to extend his work to more creative spaces such that his teacher saw in this an emergent sense of leadership" (Indiana University, p. 20). In that study, they showed how each child was able to engage in the learning process. We will choose children from Alice Terry Elementary School and Fort Logan Elementary School. We have chosen these two schools because of their emphasis on literacy and because they are a diverse community. This will be an after school program. The following organizations will be involved: Alice Terry Elementary School ,Sheridan School District, First Baptist Church of Englewood Elementary School Counselor, PTA, Technology person who understands interactive learning environments. We will advertise the program to the community and encourage churches and community centers in the area to send children. Interactive Website We will use Quest Atlantis from the Center for Research on Learning and technology at http://crlt.indiana.edu/research/qa.html . This is a "3D multi-user environment to immerse children, ages 9 to 12, in educational tasks." The purpose of this site is to engage students in learning. Our objectives will be simple: Objective 1: To engage students in learning to read Objective 2: To become more computer literate by learning how to get around the social environment Objective 3: To learn and increase research skills on the Internet. The Curriculum Quest Atlantis has created a through curriculum for teachers and students that are based on seven social commitments: Compassionate Wisdom, Creative Expression, Environmental Awareness, Personal Agency, Healthy Communities, Social Responsibility and Diversity Affirmation. Within each of these areas, children create a quest that is guided by their teacher. The teacher is there to give feedback, participate in engaging curriculum. They set the stage for students to work on their own. However, there are a variety of reading, writing and interactive activities. The point here is to engage students together and as small groups to learn as much as they can while they are learning to read. Teachers are trained in the software and then have Units that they can design (Indiana University, Quest Atlantis Manual, p. 17). Children will learn by doing. Evaluation All students will bring their report cards that show their scores in reading. They will take the CSAP test twice within the year. We will create an evaluation tool that is specific to the categories we have shown here. Children will develop a portfolio of their work in the program to show parents and teachers. We will also work with local universities to create an evaluation instrument to measure what children are learning. Because this is such a new field, there are no existing instruments for measure. References Indiana University. "Childrens Sense of Self: Learning and Meaning in the Digital Age", paper intended for publication in scholarly journal, retrieved February 4, 2008 from http://inkido.india.edu/research/onlinemanu/papers/meaning_digital.pdf Indiana University (2006). "Quest Atlantis Manual for Teachers and Facilitators." Retrieved February 4, 2008 from http://atlantis.crlt.indiana.edu/centers/teachermanual_v5_2008.pdf Layton, Thomas G. "Digital Learning: Why Tomorrows Schools Must Learn to Let Go of the Past", Electronic School Magazine, September 2000, retrieved February 4, 2008 from http://www.electronic-school.com/2000/09/0900fl.html Pink, Daniel. (2005) A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. NY: Riverhead Books. Read More