Participant Journal Entry Excerpts

Summer Institute: The New Language Arts and the Arts

Excerpt #1 (Male Participant): Prior to entering the Summer Institute my definition would have been something as follows: A literate person should be able to read and write and draw meaning from that which he/she reads. A literate person should be able to orally communicate ideas and be able to comprehend the spoken message which he/she receives. Today while I recognize my definition is still incomplete, I would define literacy as the ability to critically draw meaning from a variety of different text and effectively communicate meaning using a variety of text. Text includes written and spoken language, artwork, dance, movement, music, drama and multimedia technology (includes computer technology, film, video, television and radio). The person who is able to create and derive meaning from text is a literate person.

Except #2 (Female Participant): This course has broadened my perspective enormously. I think I more fully appreciate the need to consider my students’ experiences in an increasingly image-centered world and to capitalize on their knowledge of that world. I see that drawing on the multiplicity of sign systems offers greater possibility for learners to achieve growth in literacy than when we restrict their options to those approaches based on only words in print. We increase the chance for learner success when we use teaching strategies drawn from the full range of sign systems. The readings I’ve completed indicate that, both in theory and practice, students struggling with reading and writing experience measurable skill development if they are allowed the opportunities to use “other ways of knowing” through exposure to other sign systems. Research has also proven that there is a “spill-over’ effect from skill development within one sign system to another (form example, music to mathematics).

Excerpt #3 (Female Participant): Long ago, when I first became an English teacher, I thought my job was to improve the verbal literacy of my students and to enhance their literary appreciation. Now, I see my role as a communications skills facilitator. I need to gauge my students’ ability to interact with and in literary and transactional, print and non-print media, so that I can help them to find and use their best learning strategies. I need to support them in improving those communication skills as much as they can. I need to consider all the “hooks” we have at our disposal and use them to motivate my students, and to offer them a choice of pathways toward the concepts we’re exploring. I need to give my students the tools to deconstruct and appreciate the finished products of artists and to assess their own efforts and abilities to communicate verbally, musically, or dramatically.

Excerpt #4 (Female Participant): By viewing and representing using a variety of sign systems, I layered my learning and consequently learned how to layer my students’ learning. To layer learning is to give new meaning to it. The result is an enriched learning experience. I discovered what a valuable word “enrich” is to our teaching. Whatever we can to do to enrich and enhance our students’ learning will be the best thing we can do for them…I experienced multiple viewing and representing at its finest. This brought me to a new understanding of my job as a teacher. Including viewing and representing in the Language Arts curriculum will give depth to my students’ learning. Students will only benefit from such inclusion.

Excerpt #5 (Female Participant): I discovered in the past three weeks the great influence of classroom atmosphere. If I take nothing else back to my classroom, I hope that I will take back the ability to create an atmosphere that was created in our sessions at this institute. Having to go back to university after 28 years has been scary and intimidating. After the first 5 minutes I felt comfortable and ready to learn. The openness created put me at ease and gave me a freedom to offer a response when I was comfortable with one. The open atmosphere gave me the confidence to take risks in my analyzing, evaluating, communication and creating. To successfully include viewing and representing in my Language Arts curriculum I learned the importance of accepting each students’ ideas and contributions, validating each students’ worth, and, therefore, encouraging each student in his or her own personal learning process.

Excerpt #6 (Female Participant): By participating in this summer institute, I saw first hand how collaborative instruction operates and succeeds (at least from my view point). I enjoyed and learned from four similar yet different styles and approaches to teaching. Just as the English Language Arts Framework stresses, all four instructors promoted the importance of developing reflective learners by promoting inquiry and critical thinking.

Excerpt #7 (Female Participant): Since media and other non-print text are found so readily in today’s society it has to be used to incorporate meaning and authentic learning experiences for students in school. I am not saying that the print material is no longer important. It is just as important as it ever was, but now there are more ways to get the information that used to only be available through print material. Instead of reading the morning newspaper, many people now watch the morning new on TV or listen to the radio in the car on their way to work. Our word is becoming more and more media based every year and as teachers we have to combine the media with the written word. By using both print and non-print materials everyday in class and modeling viewing and representing techniques with students, they will learn the value of all forms of communication which in itself will enhance literacy.