As stated in the Bransford article (pg. 223), “A major goal of MOST environments is to accelerate children’s learning by organizing instruction around visually rich, meaningful “macrocontexts” that students and teachers can mutually share and explore.” Like other models that we have delved into, MOST is designed to support a diverse group of learners. What initially captured my attention was the focus on our at-risk population and how this model can be designed to embrace this “hard to reach” population. One important statement that stood out in the Bransford article (pg. 224) is “Literacy skills are foundational for lifelong learning.” I also found to be very interesting was the assumption that emphasized that there is rigid hierarcy of skills development that proceeds from the “basics” to “higher order thinking” (pg. 225). Is this true or can one exercise critical thinking skills without the “basics?” That is certainly “food for thought.”
As Bransford identified special problems with the programs that are designed and used with at-risk students, I found myself relating to this. We have a scripted curriculum called “Language!” that is used from elementary through high school in our district. This program is a component of our state improvement plan. This is a highly structured curriculum that literally begins with the “basics.” It is designed to improve their reading, grammar, and writing. However, while I think that it is ideal at the elementary level, trying to get the 8th graders on board is quite the challenge. They actually begin learning phonemic awareness with words like, “cat”, “hat”, and “bat.” They do not appear to be challenged by this at all and it is easy to tune in to their self-esteem plummeting. I am on board with giving them challenging work that enables them to exercise their higher order thinking skills. With the multimedia rich world out there, I think that this model would definitely benefit at-risk students more so than the traditional curriculum. As the NCIP article noted, MOST environments create a motivating environment for the students to learn, empower them to exercise their higher order thinking skills, there are opportunities to scaffold learning, professional development to assist struggling students, and there must be effective communication maintained between the school and home. So many of our at-risk students fall behind because their talents and what they are able to do are never tapped into. Perhaps, if we would “think outside of the box” more and tap into their strengths and not their deficits they would be more successful. I think collectively as Educators, it is engrained into us to focus on what students cannot do and remediate, remediate, and remediate. This is mostly due to the standardized testing and what the norm is. The other common challenge to overcome is the lack of planning to time to effectively create a MOST environment. Also, it is important for others, PLC, and Administrators to be “on board” with this instructional model.
With the abundance of Web 2.0 tools out there, the possibilities are endless. There are so many different channels to explore. Trailfire, LuLu, LetterPop, JumpCut, and BubblShare are just to name a few.
I love when you said, "tap into their strengths and not their deficits they would be more successful. I think collectively as Educators, it is engrained into us to focus on what students cannot do and remediate, remediate, and remediate." I agree 100%! I feel like we, educators are the problem quite often. If we raise our expectations, the students will raise their own personal expectations. They will be more motivated because they will feel confident that we are supporting them, facilitating their learning, allowing them --- no encouraging them to learn from MISTAKES! I love that!!
ReplyDeleteDonia,
ReplyDeleteI agree that MOST serves a diverse population. The majority of students enjoy visuals and audio to keep them engaged. I appreciated the fact that the MOST model motivates students to learn and delve into critical thinking skills. Several at risk students do not receive the opportunity to be challenged because teachers are focusing on their foundational knowledge.
I agree taht we need to tap into our student's strenghts more and not their weaknesses. I try to find the glass half full instead of half empty. I would not want someone to continually focus on what I do wrong instead of what I do right. Good point.
ReplyDeleteDonia - I agree with your post about MOST being ideal for at-risk students. Not only are we helping these students excel in linguistics and critical thinking skills; we are also exposing them to the multimedia and technology. Many at risk students do not have access to multimedia and technology at home, and are therefore lacking in these 21st century, necessary skills.
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