Readings for Jan 17 - Becky

I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the literacy and math readings for this week (coincidence? probably not). I strongly believe in the importance for teachers to properly understand multiple dimensions of their students, including their background knowledge, funds of knowledge (social and linguistic practices of their home/community), and their learning styles.

One of the most beneficial parts to the Tompkins chapter was putting names to the different teaching styles that can be adapted to particular students. The two broad categories are a great place to begin: teacher-centered and student-centered. Looking around the classroom I'm currently in for field placement, it isn't always difficult to spot the students who prefer to construct their own knowledge as active learners versus the ones that prefer to have the teacher be in charge of their learning. My CT's teaching style has to change between the students to accommodate how they learn and whether or not they're responsible for their own knowledge construction.

The teacher-centered styles are similar to the "banking" model of teaching seen in the Gibbons chapter. The teacher deposits information into the "empty memory banks" of their students, using language as a reinforcement tool to transfer the information.
The student-centered styles are similar to the "progressive" model (Gibbons), in that the student is responsible for the active construction of his or her knowledge, while the teacher manages the experiences (particularly with the constructivism style).


These particular styles tie in nicely to the Rosebery reading for Math this week. In that article, it was stated that "to be successful, teachers must ultimately engage with the complexity of educating their particular children." (p. 116) In this case they are referring to minority students, but it can (and should) be applied to all students that enter a classroom. Just because a child is Caucasian and from the middle class does not mean that he or she will be successful with any teaching style used in a classroom taught by a teacher from a similar background. It is crucial to understand and accept differences in students in order for everyone to be successful.