j richards

Summer Arts Based Literacy Camp: 

Summer Arts Based Literacy Camp 2005 Presented to the IRA Conference, Toronto, May 15, 2007 Janet Richards, Ph.D. Lorna Cole, Doctoral Candidate Coleen Sams, Doctoral Candidate

Charter School: 

Charter School

Camp Participants: 

Camp Participants Doctoral Students Master Students Teacher Candidates Elementary School Students Doctoral Students Master Students Teacher Candidates Students

Mentoring Each Other: 

Mentoring Each Other Dr. Richards Master Doctoral Preservice Students

Planning : 

Planning Brainstorming Dividing Jobs Contacting Parents

Slide6: 

Dr. Richards- presented lesson to preservice teachers Doctoral students - answered questions to Master students Master students guided preservice teachers Preservice teachers conducted lesson with students

Issues: 

Issues Many of the families did not speak English Spanish Indian Bosnian Time 10 weeks 2 Monday holidays Uncertainty of elementary school participant attendance.

Contacting Parents: 

Contacting Parents Spanish speaker contacted Spanish speaking parents All others contacted by English speakers

Visual Literacy: 

Visual Literacy

Collaboration Among Peers: 

Collaboration Among Peers

Master Teachers Model Lessons: 

Master Teachers Model Lessons

Student as Mentors: 

Student as Mentors

Preservice Teachers as Mentors: 

Preservice Teachers as Mentors

Course Requirements: 

Course Requirements Case Report assessments cloze passage interest inventory informal reading inventory portfolio dialogue journal student-created book mural (students and teacher) Lesson Plans Weekly Reflections to Dr. Richards

Slide15: 

Nametags Group Rules Camp Notes Dialogue Journals Student Dictionaries Interest Inventories Prediction Logs Reading Logs Music Semiotic Systems-transmediation Cloze and Maze Passages Visuals to Accompany Fiction Combining Fiction and Informational Text Collaborative Interactions with Graduate Students Reflections- email to Dr. Richards

Extending the Definition of a Professional Development School:: 

Extending the Definition of a Professional Development School: Multiple Connections among Teachers and Learners in an Arts-Based Summer Literacy Camp

Preservice Teachers in a Summer Literacy Camp for Children At-Risk: 

Preservice Teachers in a Summer Literacy Camp for Children At-Risk A Sociocultural Perspective

Poverty’s Blight on Education: 

Poverty’s Blight on Education malnutrition, a paucity of text in the homes, limited parent-to-child time, lack of mentally stimulating activities, limited access to computer technology, and, where this study comes in, the cessation of educational opportunities during the summer months. Poverty impedes educational progress in many ways:

How we helped:: 

How we helped: In the year 2000, 42.2% of Hillsborough’s children lived below 200% of the poverty level (Center for the Study of Children’s Futures, 2004, pp. 92-93). During summer vacation, the poorer the children, the greater their educational losses (Schachter, 2001). By offering literacy opportunities, our children made gains rather than incurring losses.

…and how we helped our students:: 

…and how we helped our students: Poor teacher preparation has been cited as one of the factors contributing to low academic achievement in impoverished children (Darling-Hammond, 1997). By providing meaningful, site-based learning experiences, the pre-service teachers developed their skills in: parent communications, working with diverse populations, and developing the strengths in the children with whom they worked.

Most importantly, : 

Most importantly, The children benefited by experiencing summer literacy opportunities leading to their educational achievements rather than losses.

Preservice Teachers and their Lessons: 

Preservice Teachers and their Lessons Lessons based on themes Used journals, shared book experiences Taught reading comprehension strategies Linked fiction with informational sources Extended lessons with creative arts activities

Preservice Teachers’ Reflections: 

Preservice Teachers’ Reflections Emailed weekly reflections to the faculty member in charge of the program. Completed an exit survey to learn more about the summer camp experiences. Responses were used to structure future camp activities and participation in the survey was voluntary.

Exit Survey Questions: 

Exit Survey Questions How did you communicate with parents? What have you learned about your self as a teacher? How have your views changed since our first two sessions? What do you want to say about the children in the camp? What do you want to say about the graduate mentors? What else do you want to tell us?

Mentors: 

Mentors 15 masters degree students and 7 doctoral research assistants served as mentors to the preservice teachers (all experienced teachers). Teams of 1 doctoral student and 2-3 masters students mentored 6 preservice teachers in a expert-novice community of practice model

Literature Informing the Inquiry: 

Literature Informing the Inquiry sociocultural theories: Matthews & Cobb, 2006; Rogoff, 1990; Tharp & Gallimore, 1988; Vygotsky, 1978) three planes of analysis: the personal, the interpersonal, and the community “a consolidation of many perspectives and voices or genres of others we have known” (Stahl, 2000, p. 70)

Data Sources: 

Data Sources preservice teachers’ weekly email reflections end-of-semester survey masters and doctoral students’ observation field notes

Rationale: 

Rationale to prepare teachers to work with diverse populations to provide a unique mentorship model for preservice teachers to discover how teaching at-risk students in a nurturing community might impact preservice teachers’ professional development to add to the limited body of research on teacher preparation for diverse populations comments from weekly meetings e-mail exchanges with the preservice teachers with the university faculty member

Questions: 

Questions How did the preservice teachers’ participation as teachers of children at-risk transform their professional development? How did the preservice teachers’ interpersonal interactions with parents and mentors impact their professional development? How did the preservice teachers’ participation in a mutual learning community enhance their professional development? How did the mentors perceive the preservice teachers’ professional development?

Data Analysis: 

Data Analysis

Data Analysis: 

Data Analysis The premise of our research- Sociocultural ideas “regard individual development as inseparable from interpersonal and community processes.” (Rogoff, Baker-Senett, Lacasa, & Goldsmith, 1995, p 45) This can best be demonstrated through the use of a diagram.

Theoretical Framework: 

Theoretical Framework

Theoretical Framework: 

Theoretical Framework Using Rogoff’s notion of planes of analysis, we examined our data using a prismatic lens to examine the transformations experienced by our pre-service teachers in terms of professional development.

Theoretical Framework for our research: 

Theoretical Framework for our research

Data Collection Process: 

Data Collection Process Data was collected chronologically in order to successfully analyze transformations. We used a content analysis technique to filter through large volumes of data to locate and code relevant information. We read and underlined relevant information.

Data Collection Process: 

Data Collection Process We then used the filtered data which was underlined to scrutinize to a distinct triadic: The pre-service teachers and the personal The pre-service teachers and the interpersonal The pre-service teachers and the community

Caution: 

Caution Although we examined and are presenting each of the planes independently, we are aware that the planes do not exist independently.

Magnifying glass vs. Prism: 

Magnifying glass vs. Prism Just as peering through a multifaceted crystal, this data organizational scheme allowed us to understand the dimensions of the pre-service teachers’ development that we might have overlooked through a single foci analysis.

Data Analysis: 

Data Analysis These five areas were attributed to their involvement in the tutoring sessions: Overcame doubts and fears about teaching Recognized importance of lesson preparation Acquisition of management and organizational skills Empathy for at risk-students Introspection- learning about themselves as teachers.

Overcoming doubts and fears: 

Overcoming doubts and fears E-mail narrative A- Oh, I was overwhelmed the first night. On the way home I called my best friend and said I was dropping the course. But I stuck with it. The class did not get easier, but it was the most beneficial class I have taken. E-mail narrative B- I did not know if the camp would work and if I could learn all I needed to know. Now I know I did learn what I needed to know. I was terrified in the beginning, but it all worked out. I did it.

Importance of Preparation: 

Importance of Preparation E-mail narrative A- I felt a lot of stress at the beginning of the semester because I was not as prepared as I could have been. Plenty of prior planning is the key to success. I acquired the motivation to plan and plan and plan---a behavior I did not have before tutoring these children. E-mail narrative B- I never knew it took so much time to plan a lesson. If you are not prepared, the lesson fails. The children know you are confused.

Group Management and Organization: 

Group Management and Organization E-mail narrative A- I learned about adjusting to different situations that popped up during our sessions and I learned from my mistakes. I also learned not to rush through everything- to take my time. On the other hand, I also learned to speed things up if necessary. E-mail narrative B- I learned to keep every student engaged. I used to have non-productive teaching times. I could not adjust to any small or large changes that were necessary. I would continue to plow through the lesson.

Group Management and Organization: 

Group Management and Organization E-mail narrative C- I learned that I needed to figure out how to allot my teaching time so I didn’t finish my lessons too soon, or I didn’t run out of time. Also, organization is the key. You must be prepared for anything and always have a back up plan. Expect anything.

Empathy for At-risk Children: 

Empathy for At-risk Children E-mail narrative A- I discovered that every child is different and I need to meet every child’s needs. I learned that the children in my group were wonderful. They even helped me if I forgot something. I actually learned from the kids in my group. I forgot that they were children at-risk for school failure. E-mail narrative B- I learned to focus on the children’s abilities and not their at-risk disabilities. All children are different and that’s fine. These children are just like children everywhere.

Self-Awareness as Teachers: 

Self-Awareness as Teachers E-mail narrative A- Tutoring the children has forced me to look at myself as a teacher and not as, “I want to be a teacher.” I now can teach children who are at-risk, I listen to them. I can keep them on task. I scaffold their learning. I pretend I’m Lev Vygotsky. E-mail narrative B- I learned to model-model-model and not ask the children so many questions. Most of all I learned that I could do it! I learned to give the children concrete examples before I offered abstract information.

Self-Awareness as Teachers: 

Self-Awareness as Teachers E-mail narrative C- I learned about myself by planning and offering literacy lessons. Imagine that?

Preservice Teachers and the Interpersonal: 

Preservice Teachers and the Interpersonal Analysis of the email reflections and the exit survey responses showed transformations in the preservice teachers in 2 areas related to interpersonal interactions: Communication with parents Communication with mentors

Preservice Teachers and the Interpersonal: 

Preservice Teachers and the Interpersonal Responses from Communication with Mentors included…. Thank you mentors. You have helped me every step of the way. You gave us confidence. We learned about the job of teaching as we went along, thanks to your guidance. At first I did not want anyone to observe me teaching, but I learned I could count on my mentors to help me. I would like to thank the mentors because they boosted our confidence and that helped the children in the camp. They were always available and they endured question after question after question. I got a bit nervous when the mentor observed me the first few weeks, but she was only trying to be helpful. My mentor was excellent. She had great ideas. All of the mentors provided unlimited support. If they did not know an answer to my question, they did their best to find out.

Preservice Teachers and the Interpersonal: 

Preservice Teachers and the Interpersonal Responses from Communication with Parents include….. I was actually able to talk to parents in Spanish. I never had to speak with Spanish speaking parents. I had wonderful interactions with parents. New teachers say they never know how to talk with parents- well- I learned in the camp. I talked to parents before and after every session. I also called parents on the phone. I loved talking to parents. Each week I gave parents a copy of our camp notes so they were able to ask questions express concerns, and know exactly what their child was doing each session.

Reflections: 

Reflections Trust is key element. Build relationship between preservice teachers and mentors. Plan together. More documentation. More pictures. Celebrate!

Several others assisted in both the camp and this presentation.: 

Several others assisted in both the camp and this presentation. Verizon financially assisted Research assistants included: Melissa Gray Diane Kroeger Sherry Moser Maura Santiago Kim Shea Rebel Williams