Session 4 Constructivism and Theories of Literacy Development

1. Session 4 Constructivism and Theories of Literacy Development Chapters 4 and 5 Tracey and Morrow Morrow, L. M., & Tracey, D. H. (2006). Lenses on Reading: An Introduction to Theories and Models. New York, N.Y.: The Guilford Press.Content in this section is cited from Lenses on Reading unless otherwise noted Benedictine University

2. Online Session 4 Session 4 Objectives In Session 4, you will: • Review Session 3 content • Examine the theories and models within Constructivism • Examine a “Reading Wars” Article and relate it to a literacy classroom • Determine and discuss the relevance of Metacognition and its application in a literacy classroom • Examine important aspects of the theories and models within Theories of Literacy Development • Determine and discuss how social collaboration applies in a literacy classroom …by discussing the slides and completing all activities and assessments presented in Session 4 PPT. Benedictine University

3. Session 3 Review EDUC 622 Benedictine University

4. Online Session 4 ‘PICTURE NOTES’ IN YOUR CLASSROOM How can you use the ‘picture notes’ after-reading activity in your own classroom? • Changing words into pictures encourages active synthesis of ideas • No two productions will be the same • Several student examples will usually launch the rest of the class into creating their own unique representations • You can turn the small group creations into a large group class share for increased collaboration! Benedictine Univerisity

5. Online Session 4 COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY INSTRUCTION Why is it important to integrate these strategies into your classroom activities? Can you share a specific benefit that these strategies can provide for learners? Benedictine Univerisity

6. Constructivism(1920s-Present)EDUC 622Chapter 4Tracey and Morrow Morrow, L. M., & Tracey, D. H. (2006). Lenses on Reading: An Introduction to Theories and Models. New York, N.Y.: The Guilford Press.Content in this section is directly cited from Lenses on Reading unless otherwise noted Benedictine University

7. Online Session 4 Constructivism: The General Concept Constructivism includes the following areas: Inquiry Learning Schema Theory Transactional/Reader Response Theory Psycholinguistic Theory and Whole Language Theory Metacognition Engagement Theory Benedictine University

8. Online Session 4 Constructivism (1920s- Present) • Constructivismis a theory of learning that emphasizes the active construction of knowledge by individuals • From a constructivist viewpoint, learning occurs when individuals integrate new knowledge with existing knowledge • This integration can only occur when the learner is actively engaged in the learning process • Constructivism presents learning as a by-product of active mental engagement • Learning is a natural and ongoing state of mind Benedictine University

9. Online Session 4 Constructivism3 Major Components Benedictine University

10. Online Session 4 ConstructivismInferencing and its Relationship to Reading • Inferencing is the process of “filling in the meaning gaps” • It is also known as “reading between the lines” • Any time a reader figures out something that is not explicitly stated in the text, he or she is making an inference • Constructivism has been applied directly to the study of reading as an explanation of the way in which readers construct messages, or comprehend, during the reading process Benedictine University

11. INQUIRY LEARNINGEDUC 622 Tracey and Morrow-Chapter 4 Benedictine University

12. Online Session 4 ConstructivismInquiry Learning – John Dewey • John Dewey (1859-1952) was one of the first American constructivists whose work has had a profound influence on American education since the early 1900s, especially from the 1920s-1950s • When Behaviorism was at its peak during the 1950s, Dewey’s influence was less apparent • Beginning in the 1960s, Dewey’s work was reevaluated and had a growing impact • Dewey’s work contributed to defining the characteristics of education in the 20th Century • Dewey’s notion of learning was based on the UnfoldmentTheory as developed by Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Froebel Benedictine University

13. Online Session 4 ConstructivismInquiry Learning Dewey emphasized the growth of the individual, the importance of the environment, and the role of the teacher in students’ learning Dewey’s philosophy of education became known as Inquiry Learning Inquiry learning was designed to produce involved citizens capable of successfully participating in a democratic society The curriculum emphasizes the development of students’ cognitive abilities, such as reasoning and decision making Benedictine University

14. Online Session 4 ConstructivismInquiry Learning Cont. • Consistent with the Constructivist perspective, Dewey’s work emphasized: • A problem-based learning approach • Which is central to motivating learners’ interest • Inquiry learning suggests, that to optimize learning, students must: • Formulate hypotheses • Collect data to test hypotheses • Draw conclusions • Reflect on the original problem and the thinking processes required to solve it • Dewey criticizedcompetition in education • Instead, he promotedcollaboration, cooperation, and the use of a democratic style in education Benedictine University

15. Online Session 4 ConstructivismDewey as a Constructivist • Dewey is a constructivist because he saw that, although it is the teacher’s job to… • Create an enticing curriculum and a supportive, motivational environment in the classroom • In the end, the student… • Must actively create his or her own learning • Furthermore, inquiry learning emphasizes: • The active construction of knowledge by individuals • Learning as an internal, not necessarily observable, phenomenon • Many components of high-quality education have been drawn from Dewey’s work Benedictine University

16. Components of a High-Quality Education: Dewey’s Influence In The Classroom Benedictine University

17. SCHEMA THEORYEDUC 622 Tracey and Morrow-Chapter 4 Benedictine University

18. Online Session 4 ConstructivismSchema Theory • Schema Theory strives to explain how knowledge is createdand used by learners • According to Schema Theory: • People organize everything they know into schemas, or knowledge structures • As a result, people create individualized schemas for everything in their lives • Including people, places, things, language, processes, and skills • Differences in existing schemas greatly influence learning • The more elaborate an individual’s schema for any topic (cooking, boating, dogs), the more easily he or she will be able to learn new information in that topic area • It also suggests that, without existing schemas, it is very hard to learn new information on a topic Benedictine University

19. Examples of Schemas Benedictine University

20. Examples of Schemas Benedictine University

21. Online Session 4 ConstructivismSchema Theory Another important characteristic of the theory is that knowledge structures are pliant and expandable Examples: • Even if a child who has only eaten at “fast food” restaurants, just one fine dining experience will quickly cause his or her schema for restaurants to be elaborated • For a child who has only be exposed to small dogs; if she or he meets a Great Dane, her or his dog schema will rapidly change to accommodate this new knowledge • Thus, Schema Theory suggests that existing knowledge structures are constantly changing Benedictine University

22. Online Session 4 Constructivism-Schema Theory3 Processes Schema Theory articulates three processes through which knowledge structures change: Accretation: Learners take in new information but have no need to change existing schemas (e.g., a gardener who is familiar with many types of flowers learns of a new variety) Tuning: An existing schema is modified to incorporate new information (e.g., a child who has only seen small pleasure boats see an oil tanker) Restructuring: A new schema must be created by the learner because the old one is no longer sufficient (e.g., a person has held a stereotype modifies it as a result of a new experience) Benedictine University

23. Online Session 4 ConstructivismSchema Theory in Reading Bartlett (1932) has been credited with the creation of the term “schema” as we use it in education, and the initial, general application of that term to the field of reading Bartlett viewed a schema as a “an active organization of past reactions, or past experience” He studied the concept by having research subjects read texts and then recall what they had read after varying periods of time To him, the schema was, in actuality, what was recalled after reading was concluded Benedictine University

24. Online Session 4 ConstructivismSchema Theory in Reading • Anderson and Pearson (1984) wrote an influential chapter about the applicationof Schema Theory to the: • Reading process and • Its implications for reading instruction • In their writing, they asserted that: • In addition to having schemas for content (e.g., people, places, and things) • Readers have schemas for reading processes (e.g., decoding, skimming, inferencing, and summarizing) and for different types of text structures (e.g., narrative texts, expository texts) • They argued that differences in these realms are related to differences in comprehension Benedictine University

25. Online Session 4 ConstructivismSchema Theory in Reading • A reader who has an elaborate schema for hiking will comprehend a text on that topic much differently than someone who has a very limited schema on hiking • Thus, a well developed reader’s schema in the areas of skills and text structures will influence their reading comprehension • The converse is also true: without adequate existing schemas regarding the • Topic of the text • Skills needed to read the text • Structure of the text • Reading comprehension will not occur Benedictine University

26. Online Session 4 ConstructivismSchema Conclusions This theory has most influenced reading instruction by highlighting the central role of existing knowledge (i.e., schemas) in processing new knowledge Educators now understand how important existing knowledge is to the acquisition of new knowledge As such, many classroom teachers have become adept at buildingand activating students’ background knowledge (schemas) prior to reading texts with students Instructional practices such as webbing, vocabularyactivities, anticipation guides, andpreviewingall build and activate students’ schemas prior to reading Benedictine University

27. Schema Theory In The Classroom • Schema Theory is known for generating the classroom practices of brainstorming and webbing • In Brainstorming, teachers guide students through activities in which they get students to: • Activate any background information (schemas) they have on a topic • Extend their already existing background knowledge on the topic • Brainstorm activities are based on the premise that reading comprehension will improve when students’ schemas are activated and strengthened prior to reading Benedictine University

28. Schema TheoryIn The Classroom Cont. • Webbingis a more organized form of brainstorming: • In brainstorming, student-generated ideas are written down randomly, in the order that they are introduced • In webbing, the student-generated ideas are organized into categories by the teacher as he or she records them • One popular form of webbing is the KWL Approach • In this activity, prior to reading, teachers ask students to: • Generate what they already know(K)about a topic • What they wouldlike to know about it (W) • Following reading, students complete the chart by discussing that they learned(L) as a result of their reading Benedictine University

29. Online Session 4 ConstructivismSchema Theory in Reading Conclusions Instruction related to reading process and text structures is also valuable in developing students’ schema Schema Theory is consistent with a constructivist perspective because of its emphasis on the central role of activity in the learning and reading processes In Schema Theory, students actively construct and revise their schemas as they read and learn In addition, as they read and learn, students use their existing schemasfor language and content to assist with new reading and learning experiences Benedictine University

30. TRANSACTIONAL/READER RESPONSE THEORYEDUC 622 Tracey and Morrow-Chapter 4 Benedictine University

31. Online Session 4 ConstructivismTransactional/Reader Response Theory • Louise Rosenblatt (1978) further extended the application of Schema Theory to the field of reading • Based on the idea that every individual is unique with regard to what constitutes his or her schema in any particular area, • Rosenblatt argued that every reading experience is therefore unique to each individual as well • This notion forms the cornerstone of Rosenblatt’s Transactional/Reader Response Theory • This theory is constructivist in nature because it: • Emphasizes the active role of the reader in meaning-making • Recognizes the centrality of internal, non-observable events to learning and knowledge construction Benedictine University

32. Online Session 4 ConstructivismTransactional/Reader Response Theory Rosenblatt’s work makes a distinction between two kinds of reader responses to texts: • Efferent Responses– Fact oriented. This type of meaning-making requires readers to personally disengage when reading, in order to obtain facts • Aesthetic Responses– Personally and emotionally based. This meaning-making is subjective and personal • This refers to the process of selecting ideas, sensations, feelings, and images and making something unique and personal with them (The literary evocation) • Readers who connect emotionally with text become one with it • The classroom implication of this theory is that… • When designing lessons for students, the purposes of reading informational texts versus literature are very different Benedictine University

33. Online Session 4 ConstructivismTransactional/Reader Response Theory EXPOSITORY TEXT literature When designing lessons using literature, target instruction at promoting children’s aesthetic responses to the text Important to this response: Elicit connections between the text and their lives so readers are able to vicariously “live through” - what they see, hear, and feel - the text • When designing lessons around this type of text, focus on obtaining efferent responses from students • Important to this response: What remains after the reading---the understanding acquired, the inferences made, the conclusions developed, and the opinions generated Benedictine University

34. Transactional/Reader Response Theory In The Classroom • Due to Rosenblatt’s writings, it is now common for teachers to create follow-up activities after reading that encourage a wide range of creative and individualized responses • Post-reading responses that stimulate a broad spectrum of reading responses are: • Writing in literature response journals • Talking about books in literature response groups • Readers’ Theater • Storytelling • Puppetry • Videotaping • Dioramas • Bookmaking • Story Books, Story Maps, and Story Quilts Benedictine University

35. Transactional/Reader Response Theory In The Classroom One popular activity based on this theory is drawing students’ attention to the use of three different types of connections during reading: Benedictine University

36. PSYCHOLINGUISTIC THEORYEDUC 622 Tracey and Morrow-Chapter 4 Benedictine University

37. Online Session 4 ConstructivismPsycholinguistic Theory • Psycholinguistics is the study of the links between: • Psychology and language • At the core of the psycholinguistic perspective on reading is the assumption that reading is primarily a language process • A central component of the Psycholinguistic Theory of reading is that readers rely on language cueing systems to help them rapidly read text • The cueing systems most often cited in conjunction with this theory are the systems of syntactic, semantic, and graphophonicinformation • According to this theory, after young children successfully, although unconsciously, internalize these systems in their oral language they are able to use these cueing systems to guide their reading • Slide 38 details these cueing systems Benedictine University

38. Online Session 4 Constructivism– Psycholinguistic Theory What Types of Cues Do Readers Use? Benedictine University

39. Online Session 4 ConstructivismPsycholinguistic Theory This theory argues that readers use their knowledge about language, and the world in general, to drive their thinking as they engage in the reading process As they read, readers make predictions about what the text will say based on their knowledge in these areas Benedictine University

40. Online Session 4 ConstructivismPsycholinguistic Theory • This theory emphasizes the idea that readers are active participants in the reading process who try to construct a coherent, meaningful interpretation of the text as they read • In this regard, Psycholinguistic Theory can be viewed as a Constructivist Theory • Smith applied concepts from Psycholinguistic Theory to the teaching of reading in his highly influential book Understanding Reading • This work laid the foundation for Whole Language Theory, a theory of literacy learning and instruction that has had a powerful impact on literacy education since the 1980s Benedictine University

41. Online Session 4 ConstructivismPsycholinguistic Theory This theory regards prediction as a key point of the reading process in which the reader makes and tests hypotheses as he or she reads In this context, a hypothesis, is what the reader thinks or predicts that the text will say as they attend to the first words in the sentence Benedictine University

42. Online Session 4 Psycholinguistic Theory In The Classroom-Guided Reading • The application of this theory is most apparent in the use of running records during guided reading lessons • In guided reading lessons, teachers: • Meet with small groups of students with similar levels of reading skill • Provide them with reading texts that are matched to their level of reading achievement • As the guided reading session progresses, and after all students are familiar with the text and (have read it both silently and aloud) as a part of the group, students are asked to read aloud individually • At this point, the teacher may conduct a “running record” of the child’s oral reading during which the teacher records the types of errors, or “miscues”, that the student makes • As the theory suggests, these “miscues” are windows into the mind that help the teacher determine what types of cueing systems the student is relying on during the reading experience • Running records are also used during Reading Recovery lessons with at-risk students Benedictine University

43. WHOLE LANGUAGE THEORYEDUC 622 Tracey and Morrow-Chapter 4 Benedictine University

44. Online Session 4 ConstructivismWhole Language Theory Explained! Benedictine University

45. Online Session 4 Whole Language TheoryWhat Does the Classroom Look Like? Benedictine University

46. Online Session 4 Whole Language Theory In The ClassroomThematic Instruction • Another aspect of Whole Language Theory is Thematic Instruction • A form of instruction that is integrated through the use of a unifying concept or theme • Three types of thematic units are popular: • Type #1is organized around a literacy genre or a particular author • Type #2identifies a theme that has a science or social studies thrust. Reading materials related to that theme are then used as the basis for many lessons • Type #3uses a science or social studies topic and consciously integrates literacy into all content area lessons, including music , art, play, math, social studies, and science Benedictine University

47. Online Session 4 Whole Language TheoryThe Reading Wars Articles • Whole Language Theory has shaped and changed the way educators view the educational process and instruction • Read “History of the Reading Wars” by Nicholas Lemannin The Atlantic Monthly (November 1997 v280 n5 p128 (6)) • The article is located at the following website or in Session 4 Resource Folder: www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/97nov/read.htm • This article details the: • Reading wars • Implementation of Whole Language Theory in U.S. classrooms that has had a dramatic impact on education • Way students have been taught for a large expanse of the previous two decades • History of the Reading Wars explains the reading wars of the 1980s and the movement away from phonics and the pull toward Whole Language Theory Benedictine University

48. Online Session 4 Sess. 4: Short Answer Reading Wars – Slide 48 Online Time! Individual Activity: • After reading and immersing yourself in the article, cite quotations to support your view and write a short reflection utilizing your new knowledge of Whole Language Theory • As you reflect, decide if you agree or disagree with the emphasis of the Whole Language Theory in classrooms • Based on personal experience and what you have learned about Whole Language in this article and Chapter4 of Lenses on Reading • Provide rationale andprepare to debrief your response in the Round Table Reflection in Session 5 • Submit your Short Answer to: • Sess. 4: Short Answer – Reading Wars – Slide 48 Benedictine University

49. METACOGNITION EDUC 622 Tracey and Morrow-Chapter 4 Benedictine University

50. Online Session 4 ConstructivismMetacognition • Metacognitionis the process of thinkingabout one’s own thinking • The concept when applied to reading: • Contributes to a constructivist understanding of how reading comprehension occurs • As well as to a body of knowledge regarding instructional strategies that can be used to facilitate reading comprehension • Research on the concept of metacognition was introduced in the mid-1970s (Flavell and Brown) and studied the development of children’s ability to be aware of and control their own cognitive processes Benedictine University