Words. As graduate students we can not escape them! Looking over my vocabulary blog, most of my entries respond to the required readings for the course texts and the professional articles relating to upcoming class discussions. Two recurring themes of the words I chose emerge; having students become critical thinkers for life beyond school, and fostering a collaborative environment in the classroom. When I look at the words I found important to know, the words represent my teaching philosophy; using words and ideas that can build a community of learners and critical thinkers. Words are what we use to communicate, to build meaning and understanding of those around us. Although I love reading, there are only two entries that went outside of the required readings. This is something I was aware of throughout the course. I rarely seem to fit other reading in, except for a quick fix from a magazine during the school semester.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am sometimes frustrated by and question the use of technology, even more so if it’s just for the sake of using technology. I’ve seen teachers feel the pressure of hurrying up to develop multimodal classrooms, feeling compelled to “push technology” without having the time to be strategic about how and when to use it, all with the best of intentions of having students be well versed in the digital world. In these instances, I’ve seen students muddle through learning new content, getting lost in the technology, instead of practicing and mastering the content. But, the vocabulary journal through a blog is different. I was able to focus on the word learning, the real intention of the assignment. One of the most beneficial aspects of keeping a vocabulary journal through a blog is seeing the effective use of technology in action, not just as an activity. This is no small realization for me. Privately, I was not convinced that a blog was going to be the best use of my time. However, I learned that the blog merges digital learning seamlessly and supports word consciousness.
Not only has the vocabulary blog shown me how to use technology effectively, but keeping a journal heightened my contextual awareness of words even those I have seen many times before. As a graduate student, I’ve become fairly proficient at skimming texts. Being held accountable for a vocabulary journal forces me to pay attention not only to words that are new to me, but also words I’m familiar with, but use in a different contexts. The VSS focuses and heightens this awareness, since the VSS questions (i.e., why it’s an important word to know, and who should know it and why) being asked of the reader require deeper thinking, a type of conversation, and more reflective practices. Instead of just choosing a word, and writing the definition, I need to think more critically about the word’s meaning to adequately respond to the vocabulary blog. I have to substantiate what I was thinking and learning about my chosen word and write about its importance. This is when reading and writing become truly transactive and where my deeper learning took place and holds me more accountable for my own learning.
Vocabulary tests are another more traditional method of holding students responsible. Generally, I angst over tests and exams, but vocabulary tests have traditionally been ones that I feel less anxious over. I’ve given vocabulary tests and assessed for correct spelling. I’m not a big fan of vocabulary tests because they are not terribly authentic assessments. One of the most useful components of the VSS practiced during this semester is that if students are contributing and keeping up with their vocabulary journal, then the tests really do not need to be that weighty on the students overall grade. While we wants students to be able to do well on the tests, the real goal is to have students become more word conscious. The real work is in the journal. That’s what matters and that’s what students learn most from and what we can learn the most about our students. Heavily weighted vocabulary tests can put word conscious efforts at a standstill and kill motivation. Preparing for the tests requires paying attention to the other bloggers entries, which I did, but not as much as I think I could or should have. Time always seems so limited! I think more conversation on the blog, in the classroom about blogging, or both would be beneficial to have a general conversation going.
Now that the semester is over, I will continue to be more aware of learning and sharing new and familiar words. I feel as though I am reasonably word conscious and do pay attention to words I know and don’t know, but prior to this course I have not stopped to think as deeply about how I would explain a word to someone else, and why the word is important to know. As a literacy specialist I will continue to learn new words, reading professional articles relevant to my role as a literacy specialist. I will also pay more attention to etching in a little time to read outside of my professional life.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am sometimes frustrated by and question the use of technology, even more so if it’s just for the sake of using technology. I’ve seen teachers feel the pressure of hurrying up to develop multimodal classrooms, feeling compelled to “push technology” without having the time to be strategic about how and when to use it, all with the best of intentions of having students be well versed in the digital world. In these instances, I’ve seen students muddle through learning new content, getting lost in the technology, instead of practicing and mastering the content. But, the vocabulary journal through a blog is different. I was able to focus on the word learning, the real intention of the assignment. One of the most beneficial aspects of keeping a vocabulary journal through a blog is seeing the effective use of technology in action, not just as an activity. This is no small realization for me. Privately, I was not convinced that a blog was going to be the best use of my time. However, I learned that the blog merges digital learning seamlessly and supports word consciousness.
Not only has the vocabulary blog shown me how to use technology effectively, but keeping a journal heightened my contextual awareness of words even those I have seen many times before. As a graduate student, I’ve become fairly proficient at skimming texts. Being held accountable for a vocabulary journal forces me to pay attention not only to words that are new to me, but also words I’m familiar with, but use in a different contexts. The VSS focuses and heightens this awareness, since the VSS questions (i.e., why it’s an important word to know, and who should know it and why) being asked of the reader require deeper thinking, a type of conversation, and more reflective practices. Instead of just choosing a word, and writing the definition, I need to think more critically about the word’s meaning to adequately respond to the vocabulary blog. I have to substantiate what I was thinking and learning about my chosen word and write about its importance. This is when reading and writing become truly transactive and where my deeper learning took place and holds me more accountable for my own learning.
Vocabulary tests are another more traditional method of holding students responsible. Generally, I angst over tests and exams, but vocabulary tests have traditionally been ones that I feel less anxious over. I’ve given vocabulary tests and assessed for correct spelling. I’m not a big fan of vocabulary tests because they are not terribly authentic assessments. One of the most useful components of the VSS practiced during this semester is that if students are contributing and keeping up with their vocabulary journal, then the tests really do not need to be that weighty on the students overall grade. While we wants students to be able to do well on the tests, the real goal is to have students become more word conscious. The real work is in the journal. That’s what matters and that’s what students learn most from and what we can learn the most about our students. Heavily weighted vocabulary tests can put word conscious efforts at a standstill and kill motivation. Preparing for the tests requires paying attention to the other bloggers entries, which I did, but not as much as I think I could or should have. Time always seems so limited! I think more conversation on the blog, in the classroom about blogging, or both would be beneficial to have a general conversation going.
Now that the semester is over, I will continue to be more aware of learning and sharing new and familiar words. I feel as though I am reasonably word conscious and do pay attention to words I know and don’t know, but prior to this course I have not stopped to think as deeply about how I would explain a word to someone else, and why the word is important to know. As a literacy specialist I will continue to learn new words, reading professional articles relevant to my role as a literacy specialist. I will also pay more attention to etching in a little time to read outside of my professional life.
Happy Holidays, fellow bloggers!
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