Content Pedagogy: English

Content Pedagogy: English Title Page: Erin Percacciolo Manhattan College

Content Pedagogy: English Abstract: I focused majority of my research on what methods and teaching strategies make a teacher effective, how these effective teachers teach English, and what students in these effective classrooms do. I used the research I found to develop an argument that would support and compliment my pedagogy for English - analyzing and comprehending. Majority of my research focused on engaging students in collaborative learning where they can exchange ideas with peers to better their comprehension. One strategy in particular that I choose to focus on was looping. Research concluded that loop teams promoted positive relationships with students and parents. These loop teams increased student performance and increased expectations. Students gained confidence, set goals, and accomplished new milestones that aided in furthering their growth and development as learners. All of this data supported the development of my pedagogy for teaching English Language Arts.

Content Pedagogy: English Often times you hear a student ask the dreaded question that every teacher hates to hear, Why do I have to learn this? All subject areas contain content that is beneficial to students and essential for their growth and development as a learner. In particular, the pedagogy for English Language Arts is comprised of two main areas; comprehension and analysis. One must analyze material in order to completely understand what they are learning. According to the New York State Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy, Students who meet the Standards develop the skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening that are the foundation for any creative and purposeful expression in language (1). All children learn differently but every child should comprehend concepts that are taught. The primary purpose for teaching English is to prepare students to become college and career ready in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language. At the point of college and career readiness, students will be able to: demonstrate independence, build strong content knowledge, respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline, comprehend as well as critique, value evidence, use technology and digital media strategically and capably, and come to understand other perspectives and cultures (New York State Standards, 2011, p. 5). As educators it is our responsibility to develop effective and engaging strategies and techniques for teaching that will help students achieve their expectations and enjoy learning at the same time. Students grow and develop a sense of independence by finding a voice with which they are able to build on others ideas, articulate their own, and most importantly comprehend both.

Content Pedagogy: English According to Stronge (2002), Students taught by teachers with high verbal skills perform better on standardized tests than those students taught by teachers with lower verbal ability (p. 4). In English it is essential for students to develop good speaking and listening skills. A teacher who has a poor verbal ability will not positively assist in developing adequate speaking and learning skills to further a childs cognitive development. Stronge also points out that effective teachers need to understand how children grow, learn, and develop. They need to know how to support learning differences. If a teacher cannot accommodate and support diverse learners then they cannot be deemed effective. Content knowledge and educational coursework are also important. Studies show that students English achievement positively relates to teachers course-taking background in both education and English. Stronge (2002) points out, The more methods courses in a teachers preparation program, the more likely the teacher is to emphasize conceptual understanding and hands-on learning techniques in the classroom (p. 6). Content knowledge and educational coursework make up the framework for effective teaching in any subject area. In the area of English Language Arts an effective teacher who is proficient in his or her content area will use literature to teach a concept and a strategy such as collaborative learning to assist in the exchange of ideas amongst their students. Learning strategies are essential in a childs development. They assist in making concepts easier to comprehend. When teachers know theirs students strengths and weaknesses, the child is more likely to be successful. This advantage leads to a teachers ability to differentiate and customize instruction. According to the National Middle

Content Pedagogy: English School Association a strategy known as looping has proven to be an effective strategy used by English teachers. An article in The Middle School Journal touches specifically on how both regular and special needs students performed better in looped teams. According to the article, Looping occurs when teachers and students stay together in teams for two or more years to increase student growth and development (McCown & Sherman, 2002, p. 18). The teams demonstrate student-teacher progression. The strategy is a grouping strategy that became popular in the United States in the 1970s. It has four basic principals: McCown & Sherman (2002) stated the following elaborating on looping: Students will stay together for a longer period of time than in traditional schools. Class size is not as important as the continuity from year to year. The teacher, or team of teachers, is advanced with the students to the next grade. School administration determines the length of time the students will loop with two years being the most common but three to four years being possible (p. 18). When students are given the ability to grow with their peers and their teacher, they are more likely to become comfortable, openly sharing their opinions, ideas, and experiences with their loop teams. In English it is essential to develop the ability to analyze things critically. When students can analyze things as individuals and then compare their work with peers through collaboration, it also demonstrates their individual comprehension. The subject of English focuses heavily on literacy. The majority of what teachers do with their students incorporates their ability to read and write. According to the article, Learning From Literacy Successes in High-Achieving Urban Schools, by Doris

Content Pedagogy: English Walker-Dalhouse and Victoria J. Risko, two features that are essential in literacy development include teacher-student-parent connections and cross circular connections and how they can become a reality in classrooms. When teachers build successful caring relationships with parents it encourages higher student expectations. When students are encouraged by multiple individuals as opposed to one, it increases their confidence and motivates their engagement. Often times a student is unsuccessful in prospering due to the lack of support they receive from a parent or guardian. Interested teachers challenge their students in several ways. They challenge them intellectually through rigorous coursework. They challenge them socially through teaching techniques that demonstrate collaborative learning. Lastly, teachers challenge their students ability to set goals that are achievable (Walker-Dalhouse & Risko, 2008, p. 422). When children set goals they expect to achieve them. With literature, a goal can include a students desire to further comprehend a novel or complex text. When children comprehend they learn. Cross circular connections provide learners with the ability to relate concepts to out of classroom experiences. Culture is a great way to introduce new concepts as well as allow students to bring in outside information. For example, when you attend a New York City public school in any of the five boroughs, it is likely that you will be presented with a very diverse culture. In an English class you can incorporate a multicultural literature unit in which you read and analyze texts that associate and incorporate cultural ideals and principals of students from several different backgrounds. In multicultural units students are given the opportunity to examine different cultures as well as see their own culture from another cultures point of view. They can

Content Pedagogy: English analyze, compare, and contrast several cultures and their distinguished practices, traditions, and rituals all while learning a new concept. Teachers who implement and develop cross-curricular development such as multicultural units are effectively providing their students with the ability to analyze and comprehend new literature while making real life connections. Successful urban teachers make cultural and linguistic experiences and differences visible and use the knowledge as a resource for developing content and skills (Walker-Dalhouse & Risko, 2008, p.422). As a future English Language Arts teacher I hope to develop skill sets and learn new strategies that provide my students with engaging opportunities that foster development. As I prepare to take on the challenges of becoming a teacher I fully intend to have an impact on my students and ensure that I am an effective teacher. The purpose for learning English is to instill within students the ability to analyze and comprehend. If a student can analyze a text, collaborate with peers, and exchange ideas their comprehension of a concept will be solidified. All of this is achieved through the strategies of looping, think-pair-share, grand conversations, and more. Students who are placed in effective classrooms grow and prosper as learners. They arent afraid to think outside the box or voice their opinion because they are comfortable in the classroom community their teacher has created. The signature pedagogy for the content area of English focuses in on two aspects of learning that have previously been elaborated on. In order for children to adequately comprehend the materials they read and study they need to first analyze the literature. Once they have analyzed what they have read, through the exchange of ideas with peers, they are able to develop confidence and elaborate on certain concepts that they learned

Content Pedagogy: English from the text. Through collaborative learning anything that was once unclear becomes clear and the student is now able to fully comprehend the material. This approach demonstrates how effective teaching directly correlates with analyzing and comprehending. Teachers who instill confidence in their students help develop the leaders of tomorrow.

Content Pedagogy: English Resources: New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & . (2011). Students Who are College and Career Ready in Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, and Language. New York, NY: US. State Printing Office. McCown, Claire, & Sherman, Scott (2002). Looping for Better Performance in the Middle Grades. Middle School Journal, 33 (4), 17-21. Strong, James H. (2002). Qualities of Effective Teachers. Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Walker-Dalhouse, Doris, & Riko J. Victoria (2008). Learning From Literacy Successes in High-Achieving Urban Schools. The Reading Teacher, 61 (5), 422-424.