Collaborative+group+task+-+Tut+group+2

Hey thanks for doing this Lil, it is fantastic!! I was going to put together against, however now was told we can just move onto assignment 3, which is coming together nicely on the google doc. Look forward to working with you on it soon, cheers, Jess :) April 9th.

Hi group 9, I've finally posted the 'For' statement for Kohn. A long time coming I know. Had two assessments to get in and they were pretty full on. I'll post it and I hope it's ok. Now on to Google docs for the next assessment Yea. Hope you all have a great Easter Break. Cheers Lil 2/4/2010 5.30 pm


 * Literacy incorporates reading, writig, and speaking and listening. Theorists maintain hat learning occurs in a social environment and is more meaningfu when children construct their own learning and understanding is the key to literacy, developing active learners. Teaching students to read requires more than just decoding a text becuase children must have a purpose and understand the text. Kohn (2000), argues that children may learn to read under the traditionaist approach but may not fully understand what they have read. As educators it is our responsibility to ensure our stdents are not only learning the fundamentals of literacy but most importantly that they understand what they are learning and they can use the skills they are learning in meaningful contexts.

Children having the freedom toselect their own text has some advantages. Actively being involved in the pocess of selecting books that they are interested in and n turen,are able to construt meaning and understand the meaning of text, allows the student to control their own learning and become enthusiastic reders and writers. Kohn (2000) argues the positive benefitsof children reading material that they select has meaning and value for them, claiming they are more likely to become avid readers who truly enjoy reading and become creative story tellers wen they have such freedom.**


 * There are many approaches to teaching literacy and Kohn (2000) states there is no linear way of teaching literacy. He does not argue against the importance of learning phonics and decoding of texts, however, it is how the skills are taught and eant that is essentially important. Children will learn more effectively through meaningful and relevant contexts, accroding to Kohn (2000), rather dthan explicit teaching of phonics and decodig using worksheets and drills.**


 * The 'whole language' perspective to teaching literacy values the fact that children have an opportunity to not just memorise letters or umbers but to have an understanding of them. Whole language is an approach that assists students' in becoming independent learners which is a skill for life. Incorporating a whole language approach to our teaching can foster the individualism and independence of students' as well as their love of learnng. Memorisation of rules, on the other hand, encourages students' to rely on informations provided instead of exploring what would make sense to do next.**

Hey Lilan and group 9, I am happy to pull the against into one response if that is what we are to do. I am not sure if we need to put it together into neat responses or id this is just a practice for the assignment 3 collaborative? Does anyone know? Id we need to pull it together I can do against if you like, Cheers, JESS 13/03/10 5:10pm (WA time :) ) = Hi group 9, I was wondering if we're meant to place a final response on the wiki. I'm happy to have a go at pulling the 'For' statement together, if you like. What do you think? Lilan 13/3/10 7.30pm = Hi Lilan that's a good idea, I was just reading our responses and I do feel that we need to sum it all up with a final statement at the end. I don't think it should be with each. What does everyone else think? Also I agree with you that it needs to be into neat responses. = HI Group 9, I have sorted reponses into two groups, for and against, is anyone wanting to add more? i think we have built some great arguments already, well done guys! cheers Tracey. = = // Hey lovely group 9, have we been lucky enough to get an extra member, Ange? If so, welcome Ange to group 9. Guys should two of us put our responses into one response that flows for and one that flows against? I don't mind doing either, just let me know. I am so thrilled to be a part of such a proactive, participating group. Cheers, JESS :). // = Hi Ange, WELCOME!! sorry about the confusion with the group 9/group 2 thing, I haven't been able to work out how to change the title of this page, when do we need to finnish this and submit? Cheers, Tracey.(friday 12/3)

= Hi Tracey, Jess and Mary, I hope this is the right group (9). It looks like Mary has added some info on here, so I will assume that I'm in the right place. I'll have to add my For and against (need to copy and paste). Back soon. Sorry it's taken me so long to get on. I'll be back. = = Cheers Lilian = Hi, I am not sure but is this group 14? If it is I think I am in this group can anyone please help? Could someone please confirm to me if this is my group? **Regards Ange** Hey Ange, this is GROUP 9 sorry :( Hope you find your group xx (JESS)

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 * Statement 1 - Agree with Kohn.**

Literacy is no longer a sole subject. It is a part of learning that cannot be fragmented. Theorists believe that learning occurs in a social environment and children construct their own learning. Literacy incorporates reading, writing and language and is considered to be a whole approach to learning, rather than “a one size-fits-all approach,” of drill until they get it. Students become inquirers, actively constructing their knowledge and meaning. These practices according to Kohn (2000), enable the student to, ‘become and see themselves as a member of a community of learners, in this instance, readers and writers and ensures motivation and ownership of their learning. Teaching students to read requires more than just decoding because children must have a purpose and meaning from a text. ‘Mindless worksheets of unrelated words’, according to Kohn has little impact when attempting to acquire new learning because the task is unrelated to what is required to effectively learn, it has little or no meaning. A child, for example could decode a word and pronounce it correctly but lack understanding of what it means and the context it is applied. Actively being involved in the process of constructing meaning allows the student to control their own learning and become enthusiastic readers and writers. It is our responsibility as educators to ensure that students are exposed to the opportunity to become inquirers and learn to meet their own needs. Hope this makes sense. Cheers, Lil. 11/3/10 9.10pm

The 'whole language, approach to teaching literacy values such things as children having the opportunity to not just memarise letters, or numbers but to have an understanding of them. Kohn argues that chidlren may learn to read under the traditionalist appraoch but may not fully understand what they have read. Kohn argues the postive benifits of children reading material that they select and has meaning and value for them...Kohn also argues that chidlren are more likely to become avid readers who truly enjoy reading and creative story tellers when they have such freedom, he advocates the many pluses that this appraoch can offer. Children having the freedom to select their own text can have some positive advantages. To being with, they will select books that they are interested in and in turn are able to understand the meaning of the text. Their is no point in reading a text if your don't understand what it is trying to say or even comprehend the moral of the story. Motivating children to have a passion and love of reading is very important to not only their self esteem but also their motivation to learn (MaryN).

whole langauge is an apporach that assist students in becoming independant learners which is a skill for life as well as focusing on the oral language experiences of the child, and the communication of meaning through print, rather than emphasizing the teaching of reading skills such as word recognition, sound symbol associations, or sound blending. It exposes children to interesting reading and writing at the expense of systematically teaching specific reading and writing skills. Whole-language teachers, for instance, encourage young students to recite along with them as the teachers read aloud from entertaining big-print books (Kohn, 2000) (Mary N)

the importance of understanding text is...

active learning...

JESS: Kohn – For: As educators it is our responsibility to ensure our students are not only learning the fundamentals of literacy but most importantly that they understand what they are learning and they can use the skills they are learning in meaningful contexts. In order to achieve such goals, we choose to use a whole language approach, which is far more than strategies that help children decode texts, rather it signifies the most essential aspect to literacy, is the meaning. Kohn (2000) does not argue against the importance of learning phonics and decoding of texts, however it is how these skills are taught/learned that is essentially important. Children can learn phonics and decoding without the need for worksheets and drills, rather they will learn them more effectively through their inclusion in meaningful, relevant contexts. If children are taught a rule, and this rule is enforces on them from the start, even if they understand how to work out a problem a different way, when stuck, a student taught in a traditional method of teaching will attempt to remember what the next step should be, rather than trying to figure out what would make sense to do next. This example shows how incorporating a whole language approach to our teaching can foster the individualism and independence of students, as well as their love of learning rather than their fear to continue on with the ‘wrong’ approach. As an educator it is very important not to push information on students when they cannot handle that work, whereas facilitating their learning can allow for children’s personal growth and understanding which is indispensable. As Kohn (2000) argues: “don’t give young children more than they can handle, but do give them a chance to show you what they can do” (p. 182). As future teachers we need to be aware of the effectiveness of whole language for teaching reading. More importantly, are there other methods such as direct instruction in phonics that may be more affective? Direct instruction means that learning can be greatly accelerated if instructional presentations are clear, rule out likely misinterpretations and facilitate generalizations ( MaryN).


 * Statement 2 - Disagree with Kohn.**

JESS: Kohn – Against: The inclusion of phonics and drill practice of these skills in the classroom can have very positive effects for children’s learning. Children who have prospered from this inclusion are those who need repetition in order to remember rules in literacy and other learning areas. Learning phonics and decoding and other fundamental skills in the classroom also act as building blocks to learning reading and writing. To understand the basics of letter sounds and combinations give children a head start when attempting to write words or even read. The natural progression of phonics is to begin with letters and combinations, moving onto syllables, whole words and eventually sentences. This progression offers children a rich understanding of phonics, and the order in which to take when not so certain. Here is my 'Against' statement ThaThe recent release of the Draft of the National Curriculum document should be applauded with its ‘Back to Basics approach’, particularly in the role of literacy in educating children. Authors such as Alfie Kohn insist on persuading educators, governments and parents that a ‘whole language approach’ is best. The problem with active learning and using whole language is that children require the skills before they can apply and use them in the appropriate context. “Children need direct instruction in phonics”, (Kohn, 2000. P.159), and as such educators should use the ‘drill and skill’ directly teaching phonics so that phonemic awareness is embedded and students can instantly recall sounds and symbols. Students who can identify sounds possess the skills to decode words and sound out words when writing. This is work in progress. Please feel free to add or alter as necessary. Thanks Lilian Cheers 11/3/10 10pm Lil

in making a direct response to the arguments made by Kohn in his article it is impertative that educators return to a 'back to basics' apprach in literacy education in Australia. Are we really comfortable with allowing our children to select their own books and reading material? Who can we be sure that what they are reading and digesting is appropraite? Kohn argues that...

teaching children to learn to read via the ...appraoch is an important step...solid foundations of teaching....?

letter sounds, an awarness of these, enables children to unlock the code of reading, cannot deter from this age old approach.....

phonics is a sound base for learning how to read and it does not use invented spelling but rather teaches children phonics explicitly through direct instuction which is beneficial for at least 20 percent of students in the classroom (Kohn, 2000). Ange 10/3/10) 10.23pm. Phonics is part of learning to read, an essential, but not total part of the process of acquiring literacy. This means the necessity to teaching spelling while also teaching phonics learning will be beneficial towards the children becoming literate users of the language.