EDG4376 Reflection #10

In the 1960’s and 1970’s the schools in Great Britain began focusing on heavily integrating Language Arts into their curriculums. Students in Social Studies, Science, and even Mathematics classes were encouraged to write about the subject matter they were currently learning. This approach eventually made its way over to the United States when educational researchers found that cognition and language were closely interrelated. In fact, it is now common knowledge that language, thinking, and learning are just about inseparable. However, it has been difficult in US schools to fully integrate Language Arts into curriculum design and practice for a variety of reasons. First off, there is only so much time in any given school day, with an incredible amount of learning material to cover. It must be quite a challenge for a Chemistry teacher to conduct a lesson on the Periodic Table and then incorporate an essay or reflection about the various elements in one class period. Additionally, teachers in the US must adhere to rigid and specific state and national standards on what they must cover throughout the school year. In Florida, for instance, the FCAT has become a priority, to the extent that other important subject matter areas are being pushed to the side. “Back to the basics” instruction is being promoted, and teachers, in general, are uncomfortable with techniques that incorporate Language Arts into their curriculum. They feel that such a dramatic curriculum change would be revolutionary and even though they agree with the idea, integration has been a difficult concept to practice. However, reading, speaking, writing, and listening are vital skills all children must become proficient in, and the earlier the better. This concept seems to work best in schools where communication is stressed and books are abundant. Students are given choices on what they would like to research and how to go about doing so. It makes sense that children will show motivation in getting an assignment complete if they possess intrinsic motivation. And the more educators emphasize books, reading, and communication in their curriculums, the more interest children will show in learning about any given subject matter. Literacy and communication are essential components of education, and we must figure out a successful way to incorporate Language Arts into the everyday curriculum.

EDG4376 Reflection #11

I completely agree with J. Doug McGlothlin in that it is almost impossible for adults to learn new languages. In my past, I have taken numerous Spanish and Italian classes and still have trouble holding a simple conversation in any language besides English. Even with an Italian background, I cannot seem to grasp comprehension. And ironically, I understand more Russian than anything, simply because I was surrounded by the Russian culture when I lived in Brooklyn, NY. I am a true believer that learning a new language as an adult takes time, energy, and effort. Furthermore, to me, one must immerse himself or herself in the culture for quite awhile in order to achieve true understanding.
For young children, language development is a completely different story. And again, I agree with the author of “A Child’s First Steps in Language Learning” in that language environment and the strategies utilized to obtain verbal communication are key concepts in how a child obtains this essential skill. To break it down, children have all the time in the world to learn how to communicate, but because communication is vital, they have an innate motivation to learn to mimic what they hear. They do not have to deal with the pressure of tests, as an adult might, but they are given the unique opportunity to learn vocabulary and grammar as they discover more and more about the world. A child’s language environment directly coincides with the world he or she is learning about, and curiosity is the powerful underlying factor in his or her ability to learn how to communicate. Furthermore, the adults raising the child simplify the language, provide reinforcement, and make corrections when necessary, which further aids in language development. In terms of the strategies children use to obtain communication skills, I found the author’s thoughts interesting. McGlothlin feels that language development is of secondary importance to the child, since his or her immediate environment takes precedence. Toys, family, and friends are much more interesting, and communication only aids in learning more about these things. It is natural for the child to want to call objects and people by name, but apparently, children are undisturbed if they don’t understand certain words immediately. Repetition and curiosity aid in their eventual comprehension of foreign, challenging vocabulary words. As a young child actively participates in the world around him or her, the small communication development steps that are taken build confidence, which drives the child to continue to learn.

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EDG4376 Reflection #8

Any curriculum designed for any school needs to focus on combining student needs, state frameworks, and national standards. However, to me, covering state and national standards can be quite a tedious task within any given school year. It can be done, but it is imperative that school administrators make the curriculum engaging and interesting for the students. Students might be able to store facts in their short-term memories for test purposes, but I assure you, if the information is not relevant or appealing to their lives, that information will be gone by the very next day. Therefore, learner relevancy is imperative to the curriculum designer. For instance, as schools become more and more diverse throughout America, administrators need to combat prejudice and discrimination by integrating tolerance, compassion, and acceptance into students’ everyday lives. Students’ thinking processes, emotions, cultural backgrounds, and developmental stages need to be addressed in curriculum design as well. At the end of the day, it is a collaborative effort on the teachers and administrators to ensure that students are being taught what they need to know in an effective manner. If learner relevancy is made to be a significant concept in curriculum design, everyone will benefit. Students will be engaged in the discovery process and excited to learn, which will make the teaching process easier and more rewarding for educators and administration. Furthermore, if students are learning, as opposed to just memorizing facts, state and national standards will be met with ease. There are many different views on exactly how a school’s curriculum should be organized and integrated, but the majority of educational researchers agree that course content should be connected in such a way that the student benefits and feels that they are learning to deal with real world situations. Therefore, to the curriculum designer, learner relevancy is everything. I think the demographics of the student body in any given school should play a large part of how the curriculum should be designed. It is up to administration to determine whether the curriculum is fragmented, connected, nested, sequenced, shared, webbed, threaded, integrated, immersed, or networked. However, administration definitely needs to put learner relevancy first.