13:2 Summative Writing Assessment

When and Where Did I Find It:   I found this term multiple times when reading Chapter 6 of the text, The Digital Writing Workshop, for my LTED 618 class, (HIcks, 2009,  pp. 104-109). The first time it appears is when the author was arguing the point that when assessing students' digital writing, the focus of the assessment still needs to be on the writing "rather than the tools themselves."  He says, "we need to begin thinking about what it means to assess the process and products of digital writing, using means that are both formative and summative" (Hicks, p. 104).    

Full citation 
Hicks, T. (2009).  The digital writing workshop.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.


What it means: The term summative writing assessment is a term Hicks uses to identify the judgements that are made on a piece of writing while the piece is being created (ie. during the process of writing).   At the same time he uses this description as a way to distinguish these judgements from those made on the final piece (or the product).   

"Formative writing assessments include 'commenting on drafts, soliciting peer response, and holding writing conferences' whereas summative writing assessments are 'a letter grade on a final essay or portfolio, or a standardized test score' (NCTE 2008)" 

                           (as cited in Hicks, 2009, pp. 105-106)

Level of Familiarity: Although I know this term well, I hadn't thought a great deal about how particular aspects of summative (and formative assessment) would change in a digital writing workshop.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   As a teacher of writing, I do believe I need to consider what Hicks offers here as a way to understand summative (and formative) writing assessment.   However, I was glad to see that Hicks notes that "it may be artificial to divide the two types of assessments in this manner...[and] one could argue that a final portfolio is just as much a formative assessment of the writer as it is a summative assessment of the writing itself" (p. 106) as I would also agree that this analogy does have it's limitations.

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?   
In our educational culture of high stakes assessments I certainly believe that all teachers need to have an understanding of how judgements are made on their students knowledge and abilities.   Having a clear understanding of summative writing assessments (and formative assessments) would help them to better interpret the results of the State Test data. 

13:1 Formative Writing Assessment

When and Where Did I Find It:   I found this term multiple times when reading Chapter 6 of the text, The Digital Writing Workshop, for my LTED 618 class, (HIcks, 2009,  pp. 104-109). The first time it appears is when the author was arguing the point that when assessing students' digital writing, the focus of the assessment still needs to be on the writing "rather than the tools themselves."  He says, "we need to begin thinking about what it means to assess the process and products of digital writing, using means that are both formative and summative" (Hicks, p. 104).    

Full citation 
Hicks, T. (2009).  The digital writing workshop.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.


What it means: The term formative assessment is a term Hicks uses to identify the judgements that are made on a piece of writing while the piece is being created (ie. during the process of writing).   At the same time he uses this description as a way to distinguish these judgements from those made on the final piece (or the product).   

"Formative writing assessments include 'commenting on drafts, soliciting peer response, and holding writing conferences' whereas summative writing assessments are 'a letter grade on a final essay or portfolio, or a standardized test score' (NCTE 2008)" 

                           (as cited in Hicks, 2009, pp. 105-106)

Level of Familiarity: Although I know this term well, I hadn't thought a great deal about how formative (and summative assessment) would work in a digital writing workshop.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   As a teacher of writing, I do believe I need to consider what Hicks offers here as a way to understand formative (and summative) writing assessment.   However, I was glad to see that Hicks notes that "it may be artificial to divide the two types of assessments in this manner...[and] one could argue that a final portfolio is just as much a formative assessment of the writer as it is a summative assessment of the writing itself" (p. 106) as I would also agree that this analogy does have it's limitations.  

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?   
In our educational culture of high stakes assessments I certainly believe that all teachers need to have an understanding of how judgements are made on their students knowledge and abilities.   Having a clear understanding of formative (and summative) assessment would help them to better interpret the results of the assessment data.  

11:3 Strategic Teaching

When and Where Did I Find It:   I found this term when reviewing our LTED 625 TR text.(Billmeyer & Barton, 1998,  p. 57).  Strategic teaching is the title of SECTION 3 of this book.  
Full citation 
Billmeyer, R. & Barton, M.L. (1998).  Teaching reading in the content areas:  If not me, then who? (2^nd ed.).  Aurora, CO:  Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory.  


What it means: The term strategic teaching is a term Billmeyer and Barton use to describe the decisions a purposeful teacher is constantly making when teaching.  They say, 
"Teaching strategically means being purposeful and thoughtful about planning instruction.  It means analyzing how every aspect of the lesson will contribute to the instruction goal or objective.  It means selecting teaching and learning strategies that will enhance student learning.  It means helping students acquire the skills they need in order to be self-directed, independent learners.  
Specifically, teachers need to help students learn how to:
1.  prepare for learning through prereading activities;
2. ensure comprehension through the use of metacognitive strategies during reading; and 
3. extend and refine the new knowledge they aquire."  

                           (Billmeyer & Barton, 1998, p. 57)

Level of Familiarity: I know this term well.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Not only do I know this term well, but I certainly want to know this concept well.  Of particular note, is  the importance to recognize the distinct difference between strategic teaching and strategic learning/thinking.

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?   
I think for students to excel as strategic content area literacy teachers, they must understand the difference between strategic teaching and strategic thinking/learning.  While strategic teaching is often designed to facilitate and/or hone strategic thinking/learning; strategic thinking/learning CAN (and hopefully OFTEN) occurs without the assistance of strategic teaching (scaffolded instruction).     Probably at the most basic level, I hope my LTED 625 students in particular see how the SCAT Project is providing them with multiple opportunities to develop their strategic teaching knowledge and abilities.   

11:2 Toxic Xenophobia

When and Where Did I Find It:   I attended the School of Education Autum Lecture Series last Thursday night.  One of the presenters was Dr. Rachel Bailey Jones who gave a presentation titled, ""Mosques, Minarets and Meaning: Graphic Xenophobia and its Implications for Educators."   She explained at the start of her talk that she had changed the term "graphic xenophobia" to "toxic xenophobia." 
Full citation 
Bailey Jones, R. (2010, November). Mosques, Minarets and Meaning: Graphic Xenophobia and its Implications for Educators.   A faculty presentation at the School of Education Autumn Lecture Series.  Nazareth College, Rochester, NY.  


What it means: The term toxic xenophobia is a term Dr. Bailey Jones has conceptualized to describe a particularly zealous, and politically powerful form of xenophobia.  She defined the term in relationship to two other forms of xenophobia:   

1. Exclusive xenophobia- you are fundamentally different from us and therefore exist outside of our imagined community.
2. Possessive xenophobia- you are fundamentally different from us and outside our imagined community AND you are trying to take our jobs, education, tax dollars, medical care, etc.
3. Toxic xenophobia- you are fundamentally different from us and outside our imagined community AND you are trying to destroy that which we hold most dear. (Bailey Jones, 2010)

Level of Familiarity: I had never heard of this term before.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   I do feel a sense of urgency to carefully consider what Rachel has suggested and how to identify this particular type of xenophobia.  As Rachel suggested, it is particularly important for socially responsible educators to consider the varying degrees of xenophobia and the particular xenophobic attitude that has developed in the United States and Europe against the Muslim people, their  religious practices, and their cultural practices.   

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?   
I do think it is worthwhile for Nazareth education students and faculty (as well as the Naz community at large) to what this term means.  If we are going to be a campus that fulfills its promise to be a place which reflects the tenants of social responsibility and critical consciousness, then it would do all "citizens of Naz" well to know this term.

11:1 Orbis Pictus Award

When and Where Did I Find It:   I was reading the RSS feeds I have included in my Google Reader and I noticed NCTE has announced its Orbis Pictus Award.  
Full citation NCTE. (online).  INBOX:  Ideas:  A Look at Nonfiction Literature from NCTE INBOX 11-9-10. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/newsletter/ideas (11.14.10).


What it means: According to NCTE, 
"The Orbis Pictus Award was established by the Elementary Section of the National Council of Teachers of English in 1989 to honor nonfiction for children. For the 2010 award, the seven members of the committeeread, evaluated, and discussed over 350 books submitted by publishers to select an award winner, five honor books, and eight recommended books. " 
                                                       (NCTE, http://www.ncte.org/newsletter/ideas, Retrieved, 11/14/10)


Level of Familiarity: Although I knew this category of award winners existed, I could not have placed the name of the award if asked.  

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Yes, I do want to remember the Orbis Pictus Awards.   Even in my YA Literature class, it would be useful for me to share this additional award classification with my secondary students as well as the more well known awards such as the Printz Award, National Book Award, and others.

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?   
I think all K-12 educators (and teacher educators) should be aware of the Orbis Pictus Awards.   I also think my current LTED 625 students might be interested in knowing about the most recent award winners, since they might want to review these sources for their SCAT Project:  Part IV Resources.   If so, they simply need to follow this link:     http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/LA/0882-nov2010/LA0882Childrens.pdf

10:4 Word/Words

When and Where Did I Find It:   Although most adults would think they know what the word, "words" means but I have no doubt it is a tacit understanding.   I found this word when revisiting an old version of the McKenna and Robinson text, Teaching Through Text (2002).  The authors state, "Words are symbols for concepts...a schema is all the information and experiences that an individual has learned in association with a given concept. ...The written symbol itself does not 'carry' meaning; rather, the reader brings meaning to the symbol (Smith, 1988)"  (as cited in McKenna & Robinson, 2002, p. 99).
Full citation McKenna, M. C. & Robinson, R.D. (2002).  Teaching through text:  Reading and writing in the content areas (3rd ed.).  Boston, MA:  Allyn and Bacon.  
 
What it means:   The term is defined in the sentence above.  "Words are symbols for concepts; words themselves do not carry meaning, rather the reader brings the meaning to the symbol" (McKenna & Robinson).  
To further detail this discussion the authors state:   
"Words therefore come to have many associations for us.  Those associations concerned with the word's general meaning and which are likely to be shared by most users of the word are said to be denotative.  The word's dictionary definition is sometimes called its denotation.  Associations that are not directly connected to a word's denotative meaning are described as connotative.  Such associations vary with individuals because their experiences vary.  To some, the word golf might connote doctors, presidents, and country clubs.  To thers it might connote frustration, fatigue, and wasted hours...Both denotations and connotations are very much a part of a student's schema for a given word."  (McKenna & Robinson, p. 99).

Level of Familiarity:   I am familiar with this concept, but I think it always good to be reminded of the symbolic nature of words.  

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Ha! I love that the word, "word" is in this prompt.  Yes, I want my schemata for this concept to be well developed.  I think understanding the symbolic nature of words is key to becoming a strategic teacher of vocabulary. 

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?:   I certainly think my LTED 625 students (as well as all teachers) should have a deep and principled understanding of what words are -- as well as how best to learn them. 

10:3 Self-Efficacy

When and Where Did I Find It:   I didn't really find this term, instead I couldn't remember it late last night in class.   So, today I went back to my files to locate an article I remembered a student from a LTED 625 (back in 2008) brought to class for his Reciprocal Teaching discussion.  
Full citation
Walker, B.J. (2003).  The cultivation of student self-efficacy in reading and writing.  Reading and Writing Quarterly, 19, 173-187.

What it means:   "Self-efficacy refers to people's beliefs about their capabilities to carry out actions required to achieve a confident level of achievement (Bandura, 1993).  Specifically, they are beliefs that individuals have that they can do something like read a book, write a poem, or dance.  Self-efficacy beliefs refer to specific judgments rather than more global judgments like being a good reader, writer , or dancer.  In fact, self-efficacy often refers to specific situations within a learning environment based on learn goals" (as cited in Walker, 2003, pp. 174).  

Level of Familiarity:   Funny enough, even though I am familiar with this concept, I couldn't for the life of me remember the word signifying the concept last night.    

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Yes. As Walker states, "Understanding the situational nature of self-efficacy can help teachers design classroom procedures that reinforce positive attributions for specific tasks" (p. 174).  

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?:   I definitely think this is an important concept for teachers to understand.  Again, to quote Walker directly:  "...students who are efficacious are more likely to work hard, to persist, and seek help so they can complete a task.  These same students use cognitive and metacognitive strategies to increase their understanding. ... Self-efficacy is also linked to motivational beliefs like interest, value, and utility, as well s positive affective reactions.  Collectively these characteristics of self-efficacy demonstrate a relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance." (Walker, p. 174)

10:2 Study Skills

When and Where Did I Find It:   I found this word when reviewing information for my students about study skills and test taking strategies.  There is a section in Chapter Twelve called:  Study Skills:  Encouraging Independence in Content Literacy.  "Study skills, by their very nature, require active participation"  (McKenna & Robinson, 2006, p. 287).
Full citation
McKenna, M. C. & Robinson, R.D. (2006).  Teaching through text:  Reading and writing in the content areas (4th ed.).  Boston, MA:  Allyn and Bacon.  

What it means:   A specific set of skills utilized to prepare to take a test (McKenna & Robinson, pp. 286).  

Level of Familiarity:   I am familiar with this concept.  

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Yes. I think it is useful to understand that performing well on a test does not just require one to know the information but also how to review and reconsider the information in preparation for the test.

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?:   Study skills are certainly useful to know in order to make studying as efficient and purposeful as possible.  

10:1 Test Wiseness

When and Where Did I Find It:   I found this word when reviewing information for my students about study skills.  "Millman, Bishop, and Ebel (1965) defined test wiseness as the 'capacity to utilize the characteristics and formats of the test and/or the test taking situation to receive a high score Test wiseness is logically independent of an examinee's knowledge of the subject matter' (p. 707)"  (as cited in McKenna & Robinson, 2006, p. 294).
Full citation McKenna, M. C. & Robinson, R.D. (2006).  Teaching through text:  Reading and writing in the content areas (4th ed.).  Boston, MA:  Allyn and Bacon.  
What it means:   The term is defined in the sentence above.  Interestingly enough, McKenna and Robinson elaborate that to teach test-wiseness, teachers need to adopt "a three-part policy.  First, they should teach students strategies that promise to make their test taking more efficient and to display their achievement to best advantage.  Second, they should become aware of techniques calculated to improve scores in the absence of achievement.  Finally, the should not teach these strategies but should instead construct tests that are impervious to their use."  (McKenna & Robinson, pp. 295-296).

Level of Familiarity:   I am familiar with this concept.  

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Yes. I think it is useful to understand that performing well on a test does not just require one to know the information but also to know the types of tasks on the test.

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?:   Test wiseness is certainly a useful competency to have as it would obviously benefit one's academic level of achievement.  

9:2 Digital Story

When and Where Did I Find It: I found this term in one of the articles the LTED 625 students provided during our RT discussions.  "A digital story is a multimedia text consisting of still images complemented by a narrated soundtrack to tell a story or present a documentary; sometimes video clips are embedded between images" (Sylvester & Greenidge, 2009, p. 284).     
Full citation:

Sylvester, R. & Greenidge, W. (2009). Digital storytelling:  Extending the potential for struggling writers.  The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 284-295. doi: 10.1598/RT.63.4.3.

What It Means: The term digital story is used to describe a specific type of digital or multimedia text which includes the following or a "combination of these seven elements:
1.  Point of View
2.  Dramatic question
3.  Emotional content
4.  Economy
5.  Pacing
6. The gift of voice
7. Sountrack.   (Sylvester & Greenidge, p. 287) 


I found a very interesting web-based presentation on the concept of Digital Storytelling online:  http://pwoessner.wikispaces.com/Digital+Storytelling


Level of Familiarity: I had heard this term prior to reading the article, but honestly, it wasn't until I read this piece that if finally "clicked" for me how this particular type of story was very different from traditional stories or narrative texts.  



Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? I think this is such an important term to fully understand.   At first glance, one would assume this term implies we are talking about digital narratives (like a film); however, these digital narratives or digital stories that are most frequently created and published are NOT full narratives.  Instead, they are a mix of elements of biography and narrative.   It is important to be able to distinguish between this particular type of "story" and what a reader would expect to find given most people's traditional understanding of story/narrative.  


Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?  I think all teachers of writing should understand what is meant by this particular term.   Too often the term "story" is used when creating writing assignments, without much thought to what is expected.   If teachers were more careful and purposeful in how they talked about the genre of narrative, then perhaps students (K-12 and beyond) would develop a deeper and more principled understanding of the various types of works that can be produced under the very large umbrella term of "story."  

9:1 Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

When and Where Did I Find It: I found this term on page 644 of Ikpeze and Boyd's (2007) artlcle.  They write:  "The Internet and other information and communication technologies (CTs) have the potential to revolutionize teaching and learning through purposeful integration of technology for thoughtful and critical literacy" (p. 644).  
Full citation:
Ikepze, C.H. & Boyd, F.B. (2007).  Web-based inquiry learning:  Facilitating thoughtful literacy with WebQuests.  The Reading Teacher, 60(7), 644-654.  doi:10.1598/RT.60.7.5


What It Means: This term is used to identify the specific types of computer and digital technologies used most recently used to construct and compose informational texts.  The authors note that "ICTs are ever-changing (Leu, et.al.) at the same, the best to identify these technologies is to look for the qualities of the new literacies of the Internet [which] enable learners to search for, retrieve, and critically evaluate Internet resources; collaborate; and construct new knowledge" (Ikpeze & Boyd, p. 645). 


I also found a great secondary source which provides a definition for ICTs on tutor2u
 

Level of Familiarity: I had not seen this particular term used before when identifying multimedia literacy tools.


Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? Yes. I think there is some advance to knowing and being able to use this term -- especially since I think it helps me to be able to better answer students" (and colleagues') questions regarding the "newness" of technology.  When I use the term New Literacy or New Literacy Technologies, sometimes people ask -- what's so new about these tools?  I think the definition that the authors (and Leu et. al) provide help to distinguish this type of literacy practice from traditional information literacy practices. 

Donald Leu (photo taken
from UConn webpage
http://www.education.uconn.edu/
directory/details.cfm?id=46)

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?: I certainly think Literacy Specialist, particularly my LTED 625 students would find this term useful.   Even this semester some students have asked...what makes literacy "new"?  What makes technology "new"?  I think knowing this term might help to clarify some of their confusion.