The Transformation

Literacy development begins in the early stages of childhood. Furthermore, many would argue that literacy development is most prominent during a student’s kindergarten through third grade years. Thus, educators have a small window of time to foster a love of and appreciation for literacy within their students, as well as help them to grow as literacy learners. While my students come to me with their prior experiences regarding literacy, and the basic skills they have acquired in kindergarten, it is in first grade that we really begin to explore and uncover the 5 big ideas of literacy development (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension). With so much to explore in so little time, it is crucial to my students’ literacy development that they be as engaged as possible during our literacy activities.

• Transformation of Teaching

The biggest transformation I hope to see in my teaching, is that it becomes less teacher-directed and more student-directed. I want my students to learn how to take responsibility for their own literacy learning. My hope is that through the integration of several technologies, I can begin to establish a sense of accountability within my students. For example, I feel by using the SMART Response Clickers, I will be holding my students accountable for their participation in literacy activities. I also feel that by allowing my students to use MP3 players to record and listen to their own audio books, I am encouraging my students to take responsibility for their own learning.

• Transformation of Student Learning

The biggest transformation I hope to see as far as my students’ learning goes, is again an increased level of engagement during literacy activities. Again, I feel this will be accomplished by the use of the SMART Response Clickers during literacy activities and assessments, as well as through the use of MP3 players and allowing students to record and listen to their own audio books.

• The Six Facets of Understanding

In regards to the six facets of understanding, the facets which are most important to the domain I will be teaching and to my students are explain, application, and self-knowledge. First and foremost, my students need to be able to explain not only what they are doing, but also why and how they are doing it. In other words, my students need to understand the long-term implications of being literate as it pertains to their own lives. This also plays into the ability to apply what they have learned to new situations and contexts. My students need to be able to take the literacy skills they have developed in my classroom and apply them to their everyday lives. Finally, as it pertains to taking responsibility of their own learning, I want my students to have a self-knowledge or metacognition when it comes to their literacy development. I want my students to question what they know, or what they “think” they know and really push themselves when it comes to their literacy development.