RICKY BALLARD
FALL 2006 Ricky Ballard's Work

Thank you, Dawn
Thank you, Dawn, for sharing your expertise and enthusiasm with us.

Please share your reflections, reactions, thoughts, and/or questions below about Dawn Sell's presentation tonight. We will share your comments with Dawn.

Appreciatively, Frances

OUR CLASS LOGS
Jan. 23 Class Log

Frances Vitali

A class log will be maintained each week highlighting what transpired in our class with handouts that will be kept in a three-ring binder in our classroom as a way of chronicling our progress, events and achievements. The instructor was responsible for tonight's log.

Our first night of class began with a writing prompt:

Reading is..........simple, complex, life altering, connecting, a human technology, something that humans do to bring and give meaning to their lives.

Each completed index cards with vital contact information-phone numbers, emails, what instructor should know about you as a learner, and what do you want to learn in this class.

We each completed a continuum of learning. See handout-Development in content literacy

Sent around a food sign-up sheet

We spent time choosing from a selection of nonfiction books provided by the instructor, one that we will aesthetically read each week.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves:Lisa & Emily

Jonathan Kozol: Kelly, Toni, Michelle H. & Terri

Getting Lost: Eileen, Marlena, Melanie, Michelle P., Chad & Heather

Angela's Ashes: Allison & Catherine

Burn Journal: Gladys & Jo

Night: Frances

How to Speak Dog: Shantel & Jill

Introduced our class blog at https://unm-sjc.tripod.com/438

This blog will be a communication medium during our course. It serves as a communication tool as well as a resource for our class.

Tentative Course Schedule and Checklist of assignments were handed out (See Handouts) and it is students' responsibility to print out the rest of the syllabus online at http://unm-farmington.tripod.com/438/index06.html

Please bring your syllabus copy with you to class on Jan. 30.

We talked a lot about paradigms, introduced by an Illuminaria video animation story. We read selections the instructor posted to the blog about paradigms.

First blog assignment is to post your reflections about paradigms: Think about paradigms and paradigm shifts on all different levels: personal, cultural, academic, professional, national, international, intergalactic. What shifts have you recognized and what changes do you anticipate? Please post your own ponderings about paradigms here.

Dawn Sells, a graduate student at NAU in Information Technology will continue our discussion about theoretical paradigms next week during her prsentation (Jan. 30). As educators, it is necessary that we identify the theoretical frameworks that underlie the strategies and methodologies that we use. In this way we know "who is doing the speaking" and we can enter into these discussions, taking our place among and contributing our voice to those who are in positions of making informed educational policy. With an understanding of our deeper educational culture, we become credible teacher practitioners.

Looking forward to a fun and productive semester!

Thank you, Frances

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Class Log

January 30, 2006

Allison Ritchie

Frances started the class by blowing her new and improved bubbles. She continued to do this at various times throughout the class period. We all listened while Toni practiced her whisper voice, which wasn?t much of a whisper! ? Frances read the daily log from January 23, 2006 to give us a brief review of how our first class went.

Reading Groups: Angela's Ashes the burn journals The Shame of the Nation How to Speak Dog ? guess who?s in that group! We spent approximately twenty minutes reading from our chosen book with our group members until suddenly the lights went out! This was Frances? way of telling us that it was time to stop.

Dawn Sells visited the class to give a PowerPoint presentation titled: Instructional/Learning Theories and Educational Leadership. She focused on constructivism, learning environments, and research. Definitions of theory, learning, instruction, and education are in the handouts that the class received. Copies of these handouts are available in the class binder. A copy of the presentation is forthcoming, possibly on the blog.

The class came to a close after discussing blooooooog issues, and entering a few comments on the blooooooog as a class.

Assignments: Comment on paradigms on the blog. Reflect on Dawn?s presentation on the blog. Skim chapters 1-7 in Illuminating Texts.

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Class Log

Feb. 6, 2006

By Michele Picotte

Class started with: --Frances praising Chad?s "God-sent" technological abilities. Teacher pet!

--Toni stumbling in with loads of mouth-watering sandwich stuff.

--Allison reading the January 30 log, a copy of which can be found on the blooog.

I offered to pick up the torch in order to stay awake, but there was no need for extra stimulation. We had an exciting, fast-paced, event-filled class. Sorry you missed it Cathy.

We lined up in an orderly fashion to get food before breaking up into our Reading Groups. Back in our seats we discovered cards from Roger Van Oech?s Creative Whack Pack which described four types of personality: Explorer, Artist, Warrior, and Judge. I expected a Discover who you are/Personality/Psychology type of activity but it was almost better than that. Our task was to read our card and relate it to our chosen book with our respective groups. During the class sharing time, we learned the following:

Eats, Shoots and Leaves (Lisa, Emily, and Allison): Paradigms? keeping up with society- Should rules change according to the needs of the times?

How to Speak Dog (Shantel & Jill): It's really about dogs!

Burn (Gladys & Jo): Tear and fear - a world of emotions.

Getting lost (Eileen, Heather, Melanie, Chad, Marlena, & Michele P.): to find yourself, shouldn't you know that you are lost, or are you just confused?

Kozol (Toni, Kelly, Michelle H.) - Word associations - from profit - There is no profit in public schools - to prophet - Let the children lead. Is this about finding our own way out of the woods?

After a brief interlude with comments about the paradox of violence committed by 'religious' people, we took a break and ate some more.

Next we signed up for presenting, in the near future, a chapter of Jim Burke's Illuminating Texts. This will be done Socratic Seminar style.

Then we watched a clip from the movie Phenomenon and actively participated in a Silent Discussion (handout in the log folder). We wrote questions and answered questions and passed them to our right, then to our other right, known as the left. Sharing out loud generated discussions and much laughter. I know now why the sky is blue!

Later we went through the Syllabus and Course Description, which is posted on the Web site, and assignments were explained. This concluded our lively Monday night class.

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Class Log Feb. 13, 2006

Class Log February 13, 2006

Frances was taking care of business at the beginning of class, so after helping ourselves to delicious chocolatey brownies, and other assorted snacks brought by Chad, Melanie and Heather, all got into our reading groups.

After reading groups Terri reported about her IRB. She was approved by SJC and said that they were very helpful and are excited to see the results of her research. FINALLY!! Congratulations Teri!

Michelle P. read the log from last week while Frances passed out sheet music, and suggested we have a partner for the song activity.

Frances thanked everyone for their insightful blogging.

Frances asked everyone to think about the reading strategies that we use everyday in order to prepare for work that will be coming up the next time we meet.

We will do two activities to start thinking about ourselves as readers. We will also start learning about Socratic Seminar.

Frances introduced the song that she wrote for her graduating Master?s class. In the song are several terms related to paradigm. We worked in groups to define the words in the song.

Heterarchy: systems and organisms experience many simultaneous and potentially equally dominant orderings?none of which are ?naturally? ordered;

Holographic: images and systems are created by a dynamic process of interaction that is (metaphorically) similar to the holograph, the 3-dimensional images of which are stored and recreated by the interference patterns of laser beams;

Indeterminate: future states of systems and organisms are in principle unpredictable;

Morphogenisis: new forms of systems and organisms unpredicted (and unpredictable) from any of their parts can arise spontaneously under conditions of diversity, openness, complexity, mutual causality and indeterminancy;

Complex: real world entities are a diverse lot of complex systems and organisms;

Mutually Causal: systems and organisms evolve and change together in such a way (with feedback and feedforward) as to make the distinction between cause and effect;

Perspectival: mental processes, instruments, and even disciplines are not neutral.

This is the vocabulary of a new paradigm.

The following are reading strategies we used to decipher this somewhat familiar and somewhat indeterminate vocabulary. Talking Etymological skills (root words, suffixes and prefixes, synonyms and antonyms) Google Dictionary Asked the English teachers Prior knowledge Antonyms Phonemic Awareness Phonics Movement, Repetition, Music Context clues Self-reflection Semantics

Then we sang the song. Kelly had Frances clarified why she was singing ?bum?s when the lyrics clearly state ?bah?s. Frances said sometimes you just gotta feel the music. We got out a half-hearted rendition of the song and definitely should not quit our day jobs.

Break time!

Round 2. . . the home stretch

Socratic Seminars This is the vehicle that we will be using to present our chapters. 2/27 Reading the World (Jill & Shantel) 3/13 Reading Textbooks (Gladys & Marlena) ` 3/20 Reading a Test (Cathy, Toni & Lisa) 4/3 Reading Images (Michelle P., Terri, Eileen, Emily) 4/10 Reading the Internet (Melanie, Heather & Chad) 4/17 Reading Literature and Reading Information (Allison, Kelly, Michelle H.)

Read chapters and come with QUESTIONS!!

The PowerPoint, which defines Socratic Seminars and gives guidelines, expectations and theoretical framework, is on the bloooooooog. After a very informative PP by Stephanie Jacquez, we discussed the logistics of how the seminar will work in our class. It was determined that because of our class size, we will probably only have one circle, rather than an inner and outer circle. Frances said we will probably seminar for about a half an hour.

It is not about the quantity of questions, but about what really interests you. Think of it as interacting with the chapter. The facilitator could open with a passage that was interesting. The facilitators will begin and lead questions, but do not have to prepare a long lists of questions.

This endeavor is not meant to be time intensive. This is a conversation, a dialogue, about what was read.

Last thoughts. . . . Teri is excited!! And so is everyone else because we got out 15 minutes early! ____________________________________________

Class Log Feb. 27, 2006

NO CLASS. Work at home.

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Class Log March 6, 2006

MIDTERM: Literacy Autobiographies - wonderful telling and sharing of your learning stories.

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Class Log March 13, 2006

Finished Literacy Autobiographies.

First Socratic Seminar led by Jill and Shantel on Chapter 1: Reading the World.

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Class Log March 20, 2006

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

Writing Prompt: pondering our theoretical framework Socratic Seminars on chapters: Reading the Test (Catherine, Lisa, Toni) & Reading Textbooks (Gladys & Marlena).

Handouts on Schemas, the basis of human storying. We are above all storytelling primates!

HAPPY SPRING BREAK!

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Class Log April 3, 2006

- Read "Book Club" books aloud. - Appraised where we were at. Discussed future assignments: Viedotaping a reading strategy- due either on 4/10 or 4/17

Theoretical Framework (see BLOG for ideas)- due on 4/24

- Read a handout of quotes - Collaborative group assignments: Problem-Solving and debriefing

- Discussed culminating activity: Web page assignment. Decided on categories: Arts, History, Science, Math, Stress reducers, Prevention, Languages (Spanish and Navajo), and Research.

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Class Log April 10, 2006 Socratic seminar on remaining chapters

Finish collaboration webpage project

View videotaped segments of reading strategies

Refine theoretical frameworks (due 4/24)

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Class Log April 17, 2006

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Class Log April 24, 2006

Reading Strategy Presentation REFLECTION
Please post here your refelctions about your own learning, observations, discoveries related to working on your reading strategy presentation.

Paradigm Ponderer
Jan. 7, 2005

An example of paradigm: On television this morning I listened as biblical researchers discussed the role of Mary Magdalene in the Catholic Church. They uncovered a Gospel of Mary and were trying to discover its authenticity. This discovery challenges our present view of Mary. By finding this Coptic text, the information questions what we believed about Mary. Was she a close apostle of Christ, his companion, a leader, a rival of Peter? Why was her Gospel censored? Are there other gospels that also disappeared and why? Were her views considered radical, heretical challenging the paradigm of the church back then? Was female leadership encouraged in the 4th or 5th century? Was it on purpose that she was confused with another Mary Magdalene cited in a gospel and expounded by Pope Gregory?

All of these questions now uproot what I believed, was told, read about Mary Magdalene. This information changes what I knew to be true. This new information threatens the paradigm about my underlying beliefs about my faith and the Catholic Church.

Another more well-known historical paradigm shift example changed the course of astrology and science with Copericus and Ptolemy's theories about the universe. In Europe most people believed Ptolmey's hypothesis that Earth was the center of the universe and all planets revolved around it. In the 1500s Copernicus challenged this theory by suggesting otherwise and was reluctant to publish his ideas for fear of persecution by the establishment (church, government, science community). With limited support from his colleagues and science community, he was encouraged to publish his ideas. The rest is history, as we know it!

One distinguishable sign of a paradigm shift is the amount of intellectual conflict associated with the new idea because it demands an ideolgic shift in the way we believed something to be. This seismic change is not usually easy to accept - at first and eventually becomes accepted and common knowledge until the next big revolutionary shift in thinking comes our way. This is the cycle that Thomas Kuhn explains in Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

I invite you to think about paradigms and paradigm shifts on all different levels: personal, cultural, academic, professional, national, international, intergalactic. What shifts have you recognized and what changes do you anticipate?

Please post your own ponderings about paradigms here. Thank you, Frances

Have you heard of Babelfish?

"A Pair of Dimes?"
paradigm

A paradigm (pronounced PEHR-uh-daim, from Greek paradeiknyai - to show side by side) is a pattern or an example of something. The word also connotes the ideas of a mental picture and pattern of thought. Thomas Kuhn uses the word to mean the model that scientists hold about a particular area of knowledge. Kuhn's famous book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, is his view of the stages through which a science goes in getting from one paradigm to the next.
Source:
Whatis.com

"The school of life is unplanned and choatic while the educational system operates according to a definite scheme...That explains...why education is such an important political instrument: there is always the danger that it may become an object of exploitation by contending political groups. While at school, the student may be taught ominous prejudices from which he may find it difficult to free himself in later years. The process of education may be so controlled by the state that its citizens will be kept in intellectual bondage". ---message to the New Jersey Education Association, Atlantic City, 1939 (Source: Taketheleap.com

Welcome to READING IN THE CONTENT AREAS this Spring 2006 semester. We will work from the center outward, considering knowledge construction, theories, paradigms and the current reading theories to help build a foundation for our ongoing course content.

This blog (web + log) is a communication tool we will be using throughout our course. It will be a medium for reflection, distributing information, posting assignments, and collegial dialogue.

Your instructor, Frances Vitali