Thematic Teaching

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Specifically address the following topics:

  • Describe your concept of a thematic unit
  • Share your initial thematic unit ideas
  • Discuss your beliefs about the importance or non importance of thematic teaching strategies as evidenced through course readings/materials.
  • Describe how you have seen or may see thematic units/thematic teaching strategies used in the classroom.
  • You are required to compose a substantive, response to the respective questions. Scholarly work that is commensurate for a Masters level program is the expectation. This includes the inclusion of references and resources in alignment with APA guidelines.

  • The rubric

  • The response should be comprehensive in scope and it is highly responsive to the question. Moreover, this answer is fully developed. APA style is correctly utilized including the use of in-text citations and references.
    I have attached articles and websites from this week's lesson along with ones that are scholarly. Please make sure all questions are answered.
  • http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v8n2/birbili.html
  • http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/concept_m...

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What is a Thematic Unit? A thematic, or integrated unit, is the organization of multiple skills and subjects developed around a central theme. It is a compilation of lessons infusing several realms of the curriculum-such as math, reading, social studies, science, language arts, etc. A thematic unit integrates core subjects, as well as a variety of approaches to teaching and learning. Effective, integrated learning will appeal to multiple styles of learners while providing cohesive and connected learning experiences. All of the lessons tie into the main theme of the unit. Each activity should have a main focus toward the thematic idea. Thematic, or integrated units, could be based on either a topic or a concept. For example, the solar system, the human body, plants, farm animals, five senses, or mammals. It could also address a concept such as diversity or interdependence. A thematic unit IS connected, intentional, standards-based learning. A thematic unit is NOT fun, random activities. Based on current brain research and best practice, thematic/integrated teaching supports overall achievement and efficacy with both teaching and learning. Why Use Thematic Units? Thematic units: • Increase student interest • Helps students make and understand connections • Expands assessment strategies • Keeps students engaged • Compacts the curriculum into manageable units-by incorporating all subjects • Draws connections to real world life experiences • Research supports the use of connected learning opportunities Key Components of a Thematic Unit • Theme-select theme based on learning standards, student interests and student experiences • Grade Level-selected for specific grade level-activities are judged as appropriate to grade level • Objectives-specific objectives are identified and these are the learning objectives the students will master during the course of the unit. • Standards – infuses multiple subjects and standards • Materials-preplanned materials for use in teaching the unit• Activities-Specific activities that you will use to teach your thematic unit-activities cover across the curriculum • Discussion Questions-teachers create a variety of discussion questions to guide students to think about the theme of the unit • Literature Selections-A variety of books are selected that correlate with the activities and central them of the unit. • Assessment-Evaluation of student progress throughout the unit. Measure student mastery by using rubrics or other means of assessment. Tips for Creating Thematic Units • Find an engaging theme- The theme should be age-appropriate and motivate and captivate student interest. • Standards-based – Anchored in relevant standards and objectives • Create fun activities-these activities are central to a successful thematic unit. Activities need to cross the curriculum and sustain student interest. Learn Centers are a great way for students to experience a theme. • Evaluate Student Learning-a portfolio based assessment is a good way to see student progress throughout a thematic unit. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 (2015) 246 – 250 Global Conference on Contemporary Issues in Education, GLOBE-EDU 2014, 12-14 July 2014, Las Vegas, USA Advancing Kindergarten Teachers’ Knowledge and Capabilities of Differentiated Instruction Associated with Implementation of Thematic Integrated Curriculum Dr. Su-Chiao (Angel) Wua* , Dr. Yu-Liang (Aldy) Changb a Department of Early Childhood Education, National Chiayi University Address: 85 Wunlong Village, Minsyong, Chaiyi 62103, Taiwan b Graduate Institute of Educational Administration and Policy Development, National Chiayi University Abstract Within the “multiple and heterogeneous” kindergarten classrooms that have young children with academic diversity, the implementation of “differentiated instruction” is truly valuable and useful in achieving the goals of considering individual differences and teaching with the student-center philosophy. However, do our kindergarten teachers have adequate professional knowledge and capability of evaluating young children’s learning profiles, and designing and executing differentiated instruction (DI)? Based on these arguments, the researchers (as teacher educators) establish and develop a kindergarten teacher learning organization. Also, the main purpose of this study is to explore kindergarten teachers’ professional growth of DI. A single-case holistic design is employed in this qualitative and “explanatory and descriptive” case study. One kindergarten classroom of one public elementary school in southern Taiwan is selected as the research field. Two kindergarten teachers and their young children are the main participants. Data is gathered through semi-structured observations, in-depth interviews and follow-up interviews, and various kinds of documents, and then analyzed qualitatively. According to the results of preliminary analyses, main findings are reported as followings: At the beginning, it is found that these two teachers own adequate professional knowledge and capability in designing and executing the thematic integrated curriculum in the kindergarten classroom. However, their comprehension of DI is comparatively inadequate. Same as mentioned in previous studies and articles, they possess some misconceptions of DI; for example, they think DI is one kind of “instructional strategy or method”, which is similar to other instructional strategies (or methods). After receiving the professional development program, they gradually become familiar with DI, as well as understanding how to design DI within the thematic integrated curriculum. Since this is an ongoing research, more findings and analyses (about how these teachers design and execute DI) will be provided at the presentation of the conference. * Dr. Su-Chiao (Angel) Wu. Tel.: +886-932632687 . E-mail address: angelwu421@yahoo.com.tw 1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of GLOBE-EDU 2014. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.404 Su-Chiao (Angel) Wu and Yu-Liang (Aldy) Chang / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 (2015) 246 – 250 © Published by by Elsevier Ltd.Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ©2015 2014The TheAuthors. Authors. Published Elsevier (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of GLOBE-EDU 2014. Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of GLOBE-EDU 2014. Keywords: Differentiated Instruction, Thematic Integrated Curriculum, Kindergarten Teacher. 1. Introduction Within the “multiple and heterogeneous” kindergarten classrooms that have young children with academic diversity, the implementation of “differentiated instruction (DI)” is truly valuable and useful in achieving the goals of considering individual differences and teaching with the student-center philosophy. Children in a classroom are at different knowledge, skill levels and progress at different rates. kindergarten teachers need to be aware of children's diversity and recognize how to meet the learning readiness, learning profile, learning interest of all children (Tomlinson & Edison 2003). Through DI, kindergarten teachers are able to create an environment that is welcoming, safe and respectful for children to learn (Tomlinson, 1999). One However, do our kindergarten teachers have adequate professional knowledge and capability of evaluating young children’s learning profiles, and designing and executing differentiated instruction (DI)? Based on these arguments, the researchers (as teacher educators) establish and develop a kindergarten teacher learning organization. Also, the main purpose of this study is to explore kindergarten teachers’ professional growth of DI. 2. Methodology A single-case holistic design is employed in this qualitative and “explanatory and descriptive” case study. One kindergarten classroom of one public elementary school in southern Taiwan is selected as the research field. Two kindergarten teachers and their young children (in one class) are the main participants. Data is gathered through semi-structured observations, in-depth interviews and follow-up interviews, and various kinds of documents, and then analyzed qualitatively. The research procedure and focus are generalized in Table 1. Table 1. Research procedure and Focus Phase/Procedure Focus Research Task Time Phase I Designing professional Research team members work August 2013! Professional development program for together to discuss and design development— kindergarten teachers (A learning professional development activities Merging organization) differentiated 1. Starting professional instruction (DI) into development program thematic curriculum 2. Meetings and operation records of the learning organization 1. Implementing thematic curriculum August 2013 ~ (designed and executed by two January 2014! kindergarten teachers, and monitored by the research team) 2. Weekly discussion meeting 3. Data collection — e.g. teachers’ reflection notes Guiding/assisting two teachers to understand their children’s learning profiles, which are beneficial for designing/merging 1. Observing children’s learning profiles 2. Two teachers write their observations September 2013 ~ January 2014 247 248 Su-Chiao (Angel) Wu and Yu-Liang (Aldy) Chang / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 (2015) 246 – 250 DI into thematic curriculum 3. Discussing every child’s learning profile — the research team works with two teachers (reviewing the profiles together) Phase II Designing the curriculum for the Analyses of teachers’ second semester (merging DI into professional thematic curriculum) 1. Two teachers design the targeted curriculum for the second semester 2. Observing (the curriculum and its knowledge and implementation) and interviewing capability in merging teachers in understanding the DI into thematic design focus and content curriculum February 2014 Continuous professional 1. Weekly discussion meeting February 2014 ~ development (for teachers) and 2. Observing (curriculum July 2014 revising the targeted curriculum implementation) and interviewing teachers in understanding possible changes and the whole process of the two teachers’ professional development (especially for DI) 3. Findings (Because of the page limit, only a small part of findings was presented here.) According to the results of preliminary analyses, main findings are reported as followings: At the beginning, it is found that these two teachers own adequate professional knowledge and capability in designing and executing the thematic integrated curriculum in the kindergarten classroom. However, their comprehension of DI is comparatively inadequate. Same as mentioned in previous studies and articles, they possess some misconceptions of DI; for example, they think DI is one kind of “instructional strategy or method”, which is similar to other instructional strategies (or methods). After receiving the professional development program, they gradually become familiar with DI, as well as understanding how to design DI within the thematic integrated curriculum. 3.1 Teachers’ “pre-assessment”—from absence to actually design adequate activities Before receiving the professional development (PD) program, the two teachers didn’t really know why and how to design pre-assessment activities (or tools) for understanding their children’s learning profiles. In fact, it is important for teachers to do the “pre-assessment”, which allows them to generally assess their children’s backgrounds, previous experiences, needs, and interests before the actual implementation of the designed curriculum (Tomlinson & Moon, 2013). Once they obtain essential information through the pre-assessment, they can use concept maps to plan their thematic curriculum. Also, it is easier to know most of children's backgrounds through their entrance family reports (4-year-old children) or previous learning portfolios (5-year-old children). On the contrary, it is more difficult to understand children's favored learning styles and/or intelligences, because there is less classroom “pre-assessment” used in the kindergarten. Actually at the beginning of the semester, the two teachers didn’t take the “pre-assessment” as an appropriate tool in understanding their kids. However, after receiving the PD, they gradually understood that they could design some activities or games as “pre-assessments” before formal learning activities, which would be beneficial for them to clarify their children's individual learning needs and learning profiles. In fact, at the second semester, they designed some proper “pre-assessments” in the Su-Chiao (Angel) Wu and Yu-Liang (Aldy) Chang / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 (2015) 246 – 250 249 targeted curriculum. As Kelly’s (2007) opinion, if a teacher could apply proper instructional strategies (e.g. using pre-assessment) in designing the curriculum, it will be very helpful for the implementation of the targeted curriculum. Accordingly, kindergarten teachers should carefully evaluate their children’s learning profiles (such as readiness, interest, and affection) in order to apply the evaluation results to the design process of instructional content, process, and outcome, as well as using these results for revising the curriculum and instruction. 3.2 The teachers design diversity learning content form the beginning to the end Traditionally, kindergarten teachers are encouraged to provide varying levels of resources and materials for children rather than giving the standard text or learning content. The two teachers are good at design thematic integrated curriculum with interesting content and abundant materials. After the PD classes, thy are getting more familiar of providing various support mechanisms (e.g., reading buddies, small group learning, and learning guides). For example, the two teachers want to consider children's difference of learning readiness in space concept, they apply differentiated instruction (DI) strategies in the original thematic curriculum; that is, they design three tiers of activities for kids to learn the space concept (see figure 1): The “first tier (easier)” activity is to let children learn “direction—front, back, left, and right” concepts by asking children draw the dining seat map. The “second tier (middle)” activity is more difficult, which is to understand the basic coordinates. The teachers use the graph of “animals live in the apartment” for their kids to recognize the concept of “coordinates”—e.g. first building and second floor) and operate themselves. The “third tier (more difficult)” activity is to ask children to observe the space/room scheme of the whole classroom, and then they can draw the floor plan of their classroom. In this way, these children can gradually and successfully learn the space concept through the three-tier activities, which just matching Tomlinson’s (2001) thought, that is, using tiered activities or assignments can ensure that children with different learning needs will work with the same essential ideas and use the same key skills but at different levels of complexity, abstractness, and open-endedness (Tomlinson, 2001). Examples Tier 1 Direction Examples Space Tier 2 Coordinates Examples Tier 3 Floor Plan Figure 1. Tiered activities of space concept 250 Su-Chiao (Angel) Wu and Yu-Liang (Aldy) Chang / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 (2015) 246 – 250 Acknowledgements This “High Scope” project (Phase II) is supported by National Science Council of Taiwan, NSC 100-2514-S-415 -001. The author was grateful to all scholars and participants for their valuable suggestions. (Note: “National Science Council” is renamed as “Ministry of Science and Technology” References Kelly, M. A. (2007), Differentiating instruction to include all students, Preventing School Failure, 51(3), 49. Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). Mapping a route toward differentiated instruction. Educational Leadership, 57(1), 12-16. Tomlinson, C. A., & Edison, C. C. (2003). Differentiation in practice: A resource guide for differentiating curriculum, grades 5-9. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Tomlinson, C. A., & Moon, T. R. (2013). Assessment and student success in a differentiated classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Tomlinson, C.A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed ability classroom (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMX films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. 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O rder N um ber 9112579 Thematic teaching in the kindergarten: A description of changed and unchanged practices Jay, Annemarie B., Ph.D. U niversity of Pennsylvania, 1990 C opyright © 1990 b y Jay, A nnem arie B . AH rig h ts reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NOTE TO USERS THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT RECEIVED BY UJVLI. CONTAINED PAGES WITH BLACK MARKS AND POOR PRINT. PAGES WERE FILMED AS RECEIVED. THIS REPRODUCTION IS THE BEST AVAILABLE COPY. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THEMATIC TEACHING IN THE KINDERGARTEN: A DESCRIPTION OF CHANGED AND UNCHANGED PRACTICES Annemarie B. Jay A Dissertation in Education Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1990 Supervisor of Dissertation Graduate Group Chairperson Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright A. jay 1990 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION To Jim and Christine, who are miraculously my own, and who are an inspiration to everything that I do. The you have two of given such full meaning to my life. I am proud of both of you, and I proudly dedicate this research study to you. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. iv Acknowledgements This research would not have been possible without willing participation of significant professionals, and the support of Although my my the educational family and friends. gratitude is briefly stated here, it is deeply felt and will endure as long as I do. The members of my committee have been a guiding light and constant source of support and encouragement. Dr. Morton Botel, my adviser chair, has at Penn over the years and dissertation consistently encouraged my interest in researching emergent literacy and demonstrated an unwavering standard of excellence. Dr. Marty Chaffee, of the University of Pennsylvania and Cabrini College, has been my teacher and mentor. Her openness and Dr. colleagiality are inspirational. Alan Kapczynski ("Dr. Kap"), Director of Curriculum and Instruction in the Ridley School District and external scholar to my committee, is a constant source of support and encouragement both at work in Ridley and as an adviser to my work at Penn. I am extremely grateful to Drs. Botel, Chaffee, and Kapczynski for serving on my committee. It has been a privilege to know and work with each of them. All of my friends have been supportive of my efforts in this research, but two deserve special recognition, First, Dr. Patti Baxter, a long-time friend, has had unlimited Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V patience in reading brainstorming ideas draft for after revised improvement draft and and clarity. She enthusiastically encouraged me throughout the writing of the dissertation. Also, Mrs. Dot friend, has been a constant though she Rubincam, another long-time source of encouragement even typed draft after revised draft. Her friendship and clerical experitse are sincerely appreciated. I am also indebted to the members of the Ridley School District family. Mr. John S. Cochran, Superintendent, allowed the study to take place in Ridley and encouraged the researcher to go forward. Arts Coordinator, Mrs. provided Charlotte Roede, encouragement to Language all of involvement with kindergarten studies and in-service in district, my the and was especially encouraging of this study. She is cherished as a dear friend and professional colleague. The participating teachers, Mrs. Vicki Clement, Mrs. Sandy Jones, and Mrs. Marlene Lark were of my presence cooperation expectations. and and intrusion openness I am also was extremely tolerant in their classrooms. Their above grateful and to beyond the my elementary principals who agreed to the study being conducted in their particular buildings. There is no way I can adequately express my gratitude to my family. My parents, Pip and Madeline Baroni, Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vi the most loving and unselfish people I know, have always been supportive of my career and educational endeavors. They are a constant source of inspiration and I am proud to be their daughter. My husband, Jeff, my son, Jim, Christine, have been the strongest support Their and my system daughter, of all. love and encouragement mean the world to me; they are the "extended theme" in my life. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Vll ABSTRACT THEMATIC TEACHING IN THE KINDERGARTEN: A DESCRIPTION OF CHANGED AND UNCHANGED PRACTICES The process purpose through teaching analyze of this in the recent implementation relationship and between the literacy the of newly growth practices in representative classrooms research the change thematic the kindergartens in a school district, and to the curriculum study Was to examine of implemented the are children; described. The is unlike other studies for two reasons. First, it is a qualitative description of extended teaching themes, that is, themes which are designed to cover an instructional period of at least a few weeks. Second, it investigates areas in which the change process affects and is affected by the implementation of qualitative study a it new is curriculum framework. As a a contribution to the theory of overview of the staff development that change process. An preceded historical and teacher-written accompanied thematic the units development and the roles agents are given. The main research questions of the of change addressed in this study focus on teachers' assumptions about teaching and learning, the implementation of thematic teaching, types and Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. viii frequencies of students' literacy progress. research tended to events, The and the assumptions support the evaluation which stance of guided that a the standard framework of curriculum does not necessarily denote standard implementation of participant-observer, school district's examine the teaching ethnographic seven various practices. study kindergartens teaching of was practices A three of conducted a to that might exist within the thematic structure. Data related to curriculum implementation revealed the relevancy of promoting a fundamental aspects literate of environment the curriculum kindergarten, established a relationship between the curriculum and literacy learning. Both spontaneous literacy events occurred during data assumptions were revealed what they said. The data teaching facilitated and collection. to and framework directed Teachers' in what teachers did as well as revealed the that learning extended processes thematic of young children and promoted literacy. Change study. was Positive found to changes be a recurring theme within the were evidenced in teachers' assumptions and instrucitonal practices. The pertinence and convergence of roles of learners, educational administrators in early the teachers, and literacy learning is discussed. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.......................................... iv ABSTRACT........ vii LIST OF FIGURES AND TRANSCRIPTS......................... xii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Overview.................................................. 1 Background................................................ 1 The New Curriculum and the Change Process.............. 6 Assumptions Guiding the Research........................ 8 Questions Guiding the Research.......................... 9 Organization of the Dissertation.......... ..............9 chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND KEY TERMS Overview ....................................... ......... 11 - Change Process within Education.. ..................... 11 - Emergent L i t e r a c y ......................................16 - Developmentally Appropriate Practice ................. 18 - Teachers' Roles and Assumptions.. ..................... 22 - Conclusions Based on the Research .................... 27 - This Study as a Contribution tothe R e s e a r c h ......... 28 Key Terms Relevant to the Research .....................30 - Thematic Teaching ......................................30 - Teachers' Assumptions ................................. 30 - Literate Environment .................................. 31 - Literacy Events ........................................ 32 Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY O v e r v i e w ................................................. 33 Rationale ................................................ 33 The Site ................................................. 37 The P a r t i c i p a n t s .......... .............................. 39 Data Collection Procedures ............................. 40 Data Coding and Retrieval ...............................42 The Role of the Researcher ............................. 42 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. X Chapter 4 DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS O v e r v i e w .................................................. 45 Implementation: The Three Themes ("Plants and Seeds," "Bears," "Seasons")..45 - Centers, Goals, and Concepts ............... 46 - Curriculum Framework: Its Relationship to Literacy Learning ................ 65 Types and Frequencies of Literacy Events ............... 66 - Spontaneous and Directed Literacy Events .............67 - How Literacy Events Promote Children's Literacy Growth 76 Teachers' Assumptions ....................................80 - What Teachers Did ...................................... 81 - What Teachers S a i d ..................................... 88 Evaluation: Growth in L i t e r a c y ....... 102 - Congruence/Incongruence Between Curriculum and Evaluation ................................ 105 Chapter 5 SUMMARY AND FINDINGS Overview ................................................. 109 109 S u m m a r y ....... The Recurring Theme: Change ............................ Ill - Teachers' Assumptions ............................... 112 - Instructional Practices .............................. 114 Educational Implications ............................... 120 - Promoting Congruence Between Curriculum and Evaluation .............. 120 - Staff Development ..................................... 122 Reflections of the Researcher ..... 125 Conclusions ............................................. 130 chapter 6 NEXT STEPS: CONTINUING EMERGENCE Overview ................................................. 135 Roles: Learners, Teachers, Administrators .............135 - Learners' Roles ....................................... 136 - Teachers' Roles ....................................... 137 - Administrators' R o l e s .... ........................... 139 - Convergence of Roles:Achieving Continuity ............139 The Socio-Cultural Context of Change .................. 141 Literacy: The Rite of Passage ..........................143 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. xi APPENDICES A B C D E F G Kindergarten Philosophy ......................... 146 "Plants and Seeds" (Representative Theme) ......147 Principles for Congruent Evaluation from PCRP I I ........... 157 Spatial Mappings of Classrooms in which observations took place: Classroom # 1 ......... 159 Classroom # 2 ......... 160 Classroom # 3 ......... 161 Ridley School District Kindergarten Curriculum Unit Goals: Plants and Seeds ................................ 162 Bears ............................................ 164 Seasons .......................................... 166 List of Trade Books R e a d - a i o u d ..................168 Formal Evaluation: Metropolitan Readiness Test Class Profile ...... 170 Ridley School District Kindergarten H Progress Report ........ 171 Informal Evaluation (Teacher-made Instruments): Questionaire ..................................... 172 Checklist # 1 .................................... 173 Checklist # 2 .................................... 174 BIBLIOGRAPHY 175 INDEX 186 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. xii LIST OF FIGURES AND TRANSCRIPTS Figures 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Interview Script ............................... 35 Data Collection Time Line ..................... 41 An Overview of Unit Goals for "Plants and Seeds," "Bears," and "Seasons".. ............. 49 A Comparison of Three Teachers' use of Centers, Goals, and Concepts for the Thematic Unit "Plants and Seeds" ...................... 52 Samples of Children's Writing of Original Stories ........................................ 54 A Comparison of 3 Teachers' use of Centers, Goals, and Concepts for the Thematic Unit "Bears" ........................................ 61 A Comparison of 3 Teachers' use of Centers, Goals, and Concepts for the Thematic Unit "Seasons" ...................................... 64 The Spontaneous and Directed Literacy Events in Three Kindergartens which implemented Thematic Teaching ............................. 75 A Sample of a Student's Written Composing using Invented Spelling ............. 84 Transcripts # 1 # # # # 2 3 4 5 # 6 #7 # 8 # 9 # 10 # # # # 11 12 13 14 Helping Students Understand Different Characteristics and Sizes of Bears .......... 57 Helping Students Understand Size ............. 60 Spontaneous Literacy Event ....................68 Directed Literacy Event ....................... 69 Example of Teacher encouraging Choice in Students' Writing ............................. 83 Example of Teacher encouraging Choice in Students' Writing ............................. 85 An Example of a Writing Activity Void of C h o i c e ....... 87 Entry from Dialogue journal (Researcher & Teacher # 1) ................... 89 Entry from Dialogue Journal (Researcher & Teacher # 2) ................... 92 Entry from Dialogue journal (Researcher & Teacher # 3) ................... 94 Entry from Researcher's Journal ............ 126 Entry from Researcher's Journal ............ 126 Entry from Researcher's Journal ............ 127 Entry from Researcher's Journal".......... ..128 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Overview The purpose of this process through the study recent is to examine implementation the of change thematic teaching in a school district's kindergartens. This chapter provides an argument for examining extended thematic teaching in kindergarten classrooms. of extended thematic reflects emergent consider the teaching literacy social nature is significant perspectives of The timeliness because which learning. it strongly Facilitating emergent literacy through holistic teaching approaches is a recurring topic in current educational journals. A brief historical background regarding the change process in this particular research stated. study as well will as be given. questions Assumptions guiding the guiding the research are Finally, the remainder of the dissertation will be organized to guide the reader through the process of reading this document. Background This study evolved as I became invested in the writing and implementation of a teacher-constructed curriculum for kindergarten teaching. The development of the curriculum Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 spanned four interest years. themes It for involved teachers children. Each choosing of the high- themes was developed in an extended manner: the teaching time frame was to be at least several weeks, and, the scope was to be integrated across all curricular areas. My investment was cast in both theoretical perspectives and practical applications of emergent literacy research. Literacy learning, and all the complexity it entails, begins before young children developmentally literacy appropriate learning Therefore, the enter is vital school; ways to for early curriculum design set a continue emphasize the literacy out to and the need for c h i ldren’s reflect (1975; both 1978) and (1978). Both notions importance of adult assistance development of childhood educators. Bruner's notion of scaffolded instruction Vygotsky's notion of mediated learning realization such in children's assistance to support the child in achieving the child's intended outcome. The adult supports questions, the modeling child’s sense-making by strategies, guiding answering practice, and gradually removing himself from the scaffold or mediation as the child constructs new knowledge. I came to the curriculum-writing task with a strong belief in these notions and the assumption that each of the co-writers shared this belief; the teachers had participated in in-service training in which they were made aware of theoretical postions and discussed the implications of the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3 theory for their own teaching practices practices which may warrant change. especially those Because the kindergarten teachers themselves wrote the curriculum there was generally high-ownership of the final p r o duct. However,the implementation, the processes engaged in by both teachers and students, was varied. The process purpose of this through the study recent is to examine implementation the of thematic teaching in the kindergartens in a school district, analyze the relationship between the newly change and to implemented curriculum and the literacy growth of the children. Practices in three representative classrooms are described. This research is unlike other studies because it examines extended teaching themes, that is, themes which are designed to cover an instructional period of at least a few weeks. Although the literature seems to advocate thematic teaching, virtually found to date. no qualitative descriptions have The significance of the paradigm shift been from the traditional kindergarten, centered on an arranged, skilloriented curriculum, to the current focus on the emergent literacy kindergarten, centered on a holistic, child-centered curriculum, is implicitly imbedded in the examination of teaching practices in this study. This study was conducted in a school district which had a traditional years. planned course of study in place for many However, there was a large variance of teaching Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 4 philosophy , methods, and materials used in the kindergartens across the district until the thematic teaching units were implemented during the 1988-1989 school year. Beginning with the 1986-1987 school year, a long-range of inservice purpose of for kindergarten teachers was initiated. the in-service was to examine the The d i s trict’s philosophy of kindergarten education and to network a longrange plan for a cohesive curriculum across the district's ki n d e r g artens. Earliest discussions ce n t e r e d on the historical perspective of kindergarten with an emphasis on the differences between the fragmented curriculum of the arranged environment and the whole language approach of the literate environment. about practices discussed the classrooms. visit Next, as literate implications literate district, in Teachers then read research articles of the kindergartens research arrangements were made environment well environment as classrooms to observe, kindergartens arrangements to for their for teachers outside visit each of and own to the others’ discuss and share their own teaching practices. Subsequent meetings were held to discuss the importance of curricular congruence across the district's kindergartens and how the research and visitations could lend support to such congruence. It was decided by the teachers and the support staff participating in these meetings that thematic teaching units could provide curricular congruence as well as Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 5 the means to apply research to teaching practices language, math, socialization, so that and other content areas could be integrated. During the summer of 1987, a committee of four kindergarten teachers, all volunteers, and I, as the Language Arts Supervisor, were charged with writing a philosophy (See Appendix A) and the goals for kindergarten curriculum as well as with selecting three themes and choosing a format for the thematic units. Because the units were literature-based, children's books were the core of each unit. The committees of in t e a cher-writers classrooms and piloted shared their their units experiences with their own colleagues. Subsequent committees were formed intermittently through the spring of 1990 until all kindergarten teachers had been on committees responsible for writing thematic units. The curriculum of thematic units was mandated beginning with the 1989-1990 school year. Each of the thematic units assumes the same framework. That is, for each theme pertinent concepts are selected for teaching holistically. as suggestions. Activities are detailed and offered Teachers are encouraged to select activities which best meet the needs of their particular students. "Plants and Seeds" theme, teacher-written units, representative of the The twelve illustrates the standard framework of the thematic goals, concepts, and activities (Appendix B ) . Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The New Curriculum and the Change Process Networking a long-range plan for a cohesive curriculum across the district's kindergartens involved facilitating and supporting a educators, change the use process which of materials, affected and district students, policy. I played a major role as a key facilitator of in-service and therefore served as a change agent in the before, during, and after stages of the curriculum writing. introducing teachers to emergent literacy practices before the writing began. which teachers shared ideas This role involved from research and I planned meetings in readings and from visitations they made to kindergartens outside the district. These visits were made as one or two teachers and I spent a day at a visitation site. Establishing time for teachers to gather and share ideas and reflections seemed to provide for the emergence of“ tttfe literature-based thematic teaching units as the common instructional framework in our kindergartens. I taught demonstration lessons in each of the kindergarten classrooms which emphasized the implementation of integrated teaching. The demonstrations frequently involved the use of materials and/or methods which were new to the teachers. books, enlarged predictable texts, hand-held texts were newly Big and accompanying sets of introduced materials. New methods, such as responding to literature through independent writing, booksharing, and p aired reading were also demonstrated. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 7 During the writing process I participated as a co-writer and mentor of a p p r o p r iate concepts brainstorming, piloted in informing rationale, teachers. and various and I Informing elementary principals, about outcomes other was of involved the with philosophy, extended administrators, crucial. involved Once themes were became constituencies determining activities and concensus. classrooms desired themes, related selectivity, several teaching. Choosing thematic especially Regularily scheduled meetings with principals and curriculum coordinators provided the opportunity to make principals aware of the curriculum imple m e ntation instructional and changes practices. in I also use of materials and had the opportunity to present this information to the Board of School Directors and to Home-School Associations. each We gained mutual awareness for o t h e r s ' expectations of the new curriculum and the change process. The sharing of ideas among teachers continued after the twelve extended themes periodically to exchange had been written. Teachers meet ideas and attempt to improve upon them. A lthough continuous, role in the change process has been I was not the only change agent involved in the implementation c hange my of the new agents. The curriculum; initiators of there were multiple change were the administrators who determined the district's need for a Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 8 cohesive program and made a commitment to a long-term improvement process. The largest number of change agents, as well change as significant teachers themselves. especially with agents, were the kindergarten Their interactions with each other, and their own students, were paramount to implementing extended thematic teaching in the classrooms. The creation of a new curriculum change process began four years ago. an attempt to coordinate an and it's inherent It may be described as understanding of theoretical concepts and appropriate instructional practices to best meet the needs and learning styles of young children, be described as the creation cohesive kindergarten teachers represented practiced, and of a new curriculum was a community revised the of an it may also district policy: innovation. learners implementation who a The shared, of a new curriculum. Assumptions Guiding the Research Although the structure of the thematic units endorses the literate environment by acknowledging the varying stages of preparedness and experiences assumptions which guided the stance that necessarily a standard denote young children, research tend to framework standard of of support curriculum implementation of does the the not teaching practices. I believe that the human dynamics involved in the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. teaching/learning process are affected by change implementation whether of imposed internalized a new curriculum or naturally due to framework), evolved, individual (such as the change differences and that is uniquely in teaching styles, beliefs, and knowledge. Questions Guiding the Research Given this historical development of thematic teaching in a district's kindergartens, the identification of a change process, and the perspective the current main emphasis on an emergent research questions addressed literacy in this study include: 1. What are the teacher's assumptions about teaching and learning in the development of the thematic unit? 2. How is thematic teaching implemented in representative classrooms? 3. Are instructional practices changed or static? What are the types and frequencies of literacy events occuring in these classrooms and what purposes do they serve in promoting children's literacy growth? 4. In what ways are the methods used to evaluate student progress congruent or incongruent with instructional philosophy of thematic teaching? Organization &£ the Dissertation Each overview. chapter of this dissertation begins with an The purpose of the overview is to guide the reader Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 10 through the sections, as well as the whole, of each chapter. Chapter Two provides related to this study. research and an a of current literature Conclusions are drawn based on the argument is contribution to the research. pertain to this study. review made about this Key terms are study as a defined which . Chapter Three presents the methodology used to collect data for given; this study. the site, A rational the participants, for the methodology is and the data collection procedures are discussed. Chapter Four includes the description and analysis of thematic teaching in representative kindergarten classrooms. The f ramework relationship to The congruence of the thematic literacy and/or learning c u r r iculum is incongruence discussed between and in it's detail. curriculum and evaluation is also discussed. Chapter discussion Five of presents educational a summary of implications, findings, and a personal reflections of the researcher. Chapter steps to learners, importance occurs affects Six, the final promote the emergence teachers, of the chapter, of suggests literacy. continuing Roles and administrators are discussed. context is discussed in of the setting relation to these literacy development. in which roles of The change and as it Literacy is described as a life-long learning process. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 11 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND KEY TERMS Overview The purpose of this literature related literature that major areas: literacy, to chapter is to review the current this study. informed this the Perspectives study were from drawn from change process within education, studies the four emergent of developmentally appropriate practice, and teachers' roles and assumptions. These areas are deemed relevant because their convergence provides substance to the argument of this study: the learning literacy. processes Conclusions literatures. research. extended theme teaching facilitates of young are drawn children from the and four promotes converging This study is described as a contribution to Key terms relevant to this study are defined. Whangs. Erocess within Education The change persis t ent process effort to within coordinate education an involves u n d erstanding a of theoretical concepts and appropriate instructional practices among professionals who vary in how and why they teach. The variations occur because teaching professionals are people, and people are as diverse teaching/learning process itself. and complex as the The goal of change process Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 12 within education is Educational change, continuous educational improvement. or any institutional change, invariably takes a great deal of time (Academy for Cultural Development, 1985) . The school district subtly imposed in which this change on study was conducted teaching professionals by acknowledging change as a process which occurs and evolves over time, often than short-sighted. curriculum within rather an event which Because this implementation, education is the particularly (Owen, short-lived and study research reveals that teachers are at the improvement" is on deals change relevant. The with process research "front line of curriculum 1990), yet it makes recurring arguments for the need of further research on teachers’ practices and how teachers learn about teaching (Bertoff, 1987; Cochran- Smith & Lytel, 1990; Fullan, 1985; 1990; Joyce, et al, 1990). Therefore, it seems that the role of teacher-as-learner is inherent in the concept of change process within education. Fullan (1985) reports that initial stages of any significant change involve anxiety and uncertainty and that on-going support from school leaders and teaching peers is crucial in alleviating anxiety and uncertainty. Fullan also emphasizes the developmental aspect of change for the teacheras-learner: new skills and practices are repeated practice and supportive feedback. learned through In Taking Charge Chance (Hurd, et al, 1987) the Concerns-based Adoption Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 13 Model (CBAM) (Hall, 1979) of change emphasizes a focus on the individual in implementing a new program. It seems that this model this has a significant relationship to individual implementing the new program k ind e r g arten curriculum) teacher implementing study. The (in this case, the the newly-introduced experiences change because of the innovation. The CBAM rationalizes change as a highly personal, developmental experience. It facilitation systematic" endorses of change in sound leadership order to and promote effective "adaptive and interventions of individuals' needs which exist in "particular contexts and settings." There seems to be a correlation between the CBAM model and the change process initiated which this study was conducted. in the kindergartens in The changes represented in both the CBAM model and the school district’s in-service plan are intended to be improvement endeavors. Harrison, et al (1989) recommends that "school districts clearly define their understanding of the desired end result early in the change process." The participating school district seemed desire to positive changes t e a c h e r s’ increased theoretical and improvement in their which in this study would result in and pedagogical knowledge, instructional practices. Such incentives are both ambitious and commendable. An unfortunate aspect of the change literature is the identification of a major roadblock to professional improvement efforts in schools: decline or lack of supportive Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 14 services for teachers involved in educational change: "...change effects typically demand that the majority of staff participants become heroes since organizational often impede improvement. conditions That is, the time it takes to understand an innovation and translate it into practice conflicts with the pe r f o r m time their priorities staff duties. compete i ncentives for members need to Improvement with one making another; changes are glaringly absent, and participants rarely see evidence of a systematic support innovation." (Corbett, 1989) Those charged with assessing and implementing needed change in education must be acutely aware of these obstacles and concerns to avoid the roadblock mentioned above. path can parents cushion administrators, teachers, A safer students, from unimproved educational endeavors when services match process. The participants' coordination of needs throughout services and and support a needs change is important yet difficult dimension of the change process, an for it has to be addressed and readdressed as needs increase or decrease. a It seems that the evolving nature of change defies generic treatment to educational innovations, for the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 15 context and setting of each innovation set particular criteria for the change process within education. Hurd, et al (1987) caution facilitators of change that frustration may accompany attempts to change the status quo for two reasons. First, facilitators often falsely presume that once an innovation has been introduced and training has been completed, the intended users will put the innovation into idealized practice. assume that similarly. all users Second, some facilitators of change of the implementation will react It would seem that in order to avoid frustration during the change process facilitators should realize that change within education does not occur easily. should strongly consider the impact of human Also, they dynamics and individual differences and concerns as they affect and are affected by change. "Accepting legitimate reflections of changes individuals’ concerns in process" (Hurd, as 1987) seems to be a key in successful facilitation of change within education. A shortcoming of recent research on teachers' awarenss of change related to their beliefs and attitudes is that much of the data does not "provide any direct statement of what teachers 1986). Because this study specifically deals with teachers assumptions, it think helps and to feel" lessen (Feiman-Nemsar the gap in & Floden, this type of research by providing direct statements of teachers beliefs and the effects of change on those beliefs as well as on instructional practices. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 16 The research on the change process within education pertains to each of the four questions asked as part of this study. An understanding of the research regarding change should help provide insight into the experiences of students, teachers, and administrators as thematic teaching was implemented in representative classrooms. Emergent Literacy The IRA Joint Statement be encouraged to be (1986) recommends that children active participants in the learning process rather than passive recipients of knowledge by using activities that listening, writing, recommendations allow for and parallel experimentation reading. the I with believe critical talking, that these experiences in Pennsylvania Comprehensive Reading/Writing Plan: Language and Learning Across 1988) the Curriculum (PCRP II) . (Lytle & Botel, and that inherent in both documents is the philosophy of active student participation and manipulation of language in order to construct meaning. Both the IRA Joint Statement and PCRP II deal with the concept of integrated curriculum, a notion with theoretical roots implanted in the work of Dewey (1966), equal Piaget (1964), significance the and Vygotsky interests of the manipulative instruction over time. learn their from repeated behaviors evolving interests and (1978) and which view with child and active, Because young children experiences experiences over are time, seen as Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. practical and functional. that "integration includes of concern content for differences" framework, that is a function" and emergent c h i l d r e n ’s individual "realistic Strickland and Morrow (1990) state and that thematic for realization of the purposes interests an unit, learners for becoming skills and integrated teaching young literacy to their teaching provides a come a literate. to In an earlier study Strickland and Morrow (1989) state that "Themed units of instruction bring new literacy activities in science, art, music, literacy and play materials" opportunities to enhance social studies, mathematics, through especially inclusion when of reading appropriate and writing materials based on a particular theme are placed in a "play area” in the classroom. appreciate reading, In writing, to learn and to communicate. other words, young children and speaking as what people do This appreciation is as much an attitude as it is the acquisition of complex skills. In a study involving the acquisition of literacy from a developmental perspective (Mason, 1984) it is suggested that the education of young children should involve a "less formal approach" to learning to allow for the natural emergence of literacy. concepts Holistic, in a way thematic which developmental perspective. Risk. Elkind (1987) teaching typifies the In Miseducation. advocates thematic includes rationale these of a Preschoolers At teaching for young children through what he terms "permeable learning," because Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 18 children younger than six or seven are not capable of categorizing skills and subjects: "Young children do not organize their thinking and knowledge in subject-matter terms such as reading, math, science, and art. Rather, their thinking is organized around projects, activi­ ties and frames. Each project, activity, or frame includes skills and information which at a later age might be grouped under one or another subject matter category, but which for children are part of a global whole" (P. 143). It seems, foundation for therefore, emergent that literacy from the home to the school. can be deemed the "natural" sound supports theoretical its continuance Both environments for learning in that they provide reading, writing, and speaking interests and experiences for children under the guidance of an adult who models those interests and participates in those events. Developmentally Appropriate Practice Developmentally appropriate practice involves purposely guiding teaching participate in and learning activities socialization and developmentally appropriate c hi l d ' s so that that promote collaboration. developmental, when they cognitive, young children meaningful Practices nurture and the are young maturational Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 19 milestones. Developmentally appropriate curriculum can be put into practice with thematic teaching. Thematic teaching allows a community of young learners to share a common avenue leading to the exploration choices. Children of a topic can choose or theme those to them in a variety activities and with of which are they are particularly interesting which comfortable. A formalized kindergarten curriculum outlining skill and drill in a scope and sequence is too linear, and seems likely to be a mismatch to the natural learning style of the young child. Martin (1985) reports that a formalized kindergarten curriculum is a misunderstanding of the way young children learn and is actually counterproductive. Thematic teaching seems to broaden the scope by embracing the possibilities of a wide-range neither of of responses these options and is encouraging included in risk-taking? a formalized curriculum which procedes in a lock-step manner. When developmentally appropriate practices occur the experiences of the kindergartener can be thought of as the bridge between the learning experiences of the home and the learning experiences of research naturalistic (Brown, encourages 1986; Combs, the 1987; school. Huck Much settings of the in & Kerstetter, the current school 1987; IRA Position Statement, 1986; Lehr, 1988; Martinez & Teale, 1987) to provide continued support and maintain established comfort Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 20 levels Combs for continued cognitive (1987) and Brown this support through and the For example, (1986) state that one way to continue comfort reading development. of with enlarged kindergarten children texts. This is activity "continues many of the positive aspects of lap reading while modeling the reading process" (Combs, 1987). Brown (1986) suggests that "home style reading" continue at school so that young children receive contextual support more closely familiar resembling the and that in an learning with environment which "rich in they are literary experiences" including exposure to good literature, hands-on experiences, close contact with caring adults and activities that enhance self-concept, "children's reading-like behavior will emerge." According to Hill (1987) one of the functions of the kindergarten is to "look backward to the home, studying the experiences and types of learning which have taken place." Elkind (1986) cautions us to the fact that the education of young children must "be in keeping with their unique modes of learning" and that young children learn best through "direct encounters with their world rather than the formal education involving the inculcation of symbolic rules." seems that the concept of Therefore, developmentally it appropriate practice connotes the types of activities and interactions in which teachers and students construct and share meanings based on social encounters and literary themes in a caring, Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 21 supportive atmosphere scaffolding of 1986; the Vygotsky, in child's 1978). naturalistic o n e ’s earliest learning that setting, the learnings thematic adult engineers experiences the (Spencer, involving language contexts comprise a large part of in learning in the classroom. reasons the These processes immersion through social the which setting the home which to helps o n e ’s bridge extended It is for these research-based teaching and naturalistic settings complement each other. The need exists to research the area of especially thematic teaching, at the kindergarten early grades stage of the educational continuum, and because so little can be found about it in the current literature. The literature seems to advocate thematic teaching, also cited as " inte g r ated learning," but virtually no qualitative descriptions can be found. According to Atwood and Finkelstein (March, 1988) socialization is a major objective in the kindergarten. objective is met thr o u g h a recursive agenda, The often spontaneous, and deals with developing positive self-concept, acceptance of differences among people, personal qualities. collaboration as The more inducive independent work for the Drake, 1986; Duckworth, current and development research to learning young child 1979; NAEYC, also 1988). identifies than (Azmita, of that 1988; of Day & Azmita’s study of eighty five-year olds involved with peer interaction and problem-solving showed that collaboration had greater effects Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 22 on novices' task engagement than on experts1 task engagement because "...expertise effects." experts ’ clearly contributed to interactive In this sense, learning was mediated "not only by guidance observings, but also imitating interactive effects, and novices’ making largely own initiative suggestions." These students’ conversations, generally task-oriented and Azmita benefits increased over time.” found that Day and Drake in were "interactive (1986) remind us "interaction, understanding and cooperation in a group are fundamental (1986) requirements repeatedly states of society." that In addition, children are active meaning -makers and supports such claims with evidence. adults to help children learn guidance, and encouragement" In reflecting upon "by giving Wells them He charges evidence, (p.215). the research on developmentally appropriate practice it seems that a grasp of this research is fundamental to an acute understanding of emergent literacy and schooled practices for young children. because the interactive, collaborative, It is fundamental social nature of learning is basic to the continuing psychological, cognitive, and social development of young children. Teachers ’ Roles and Assumptions Maximum learning takes place as children interact with peers and environments adults in (Vygotsky, social 1978). settings and conducive This theoretical perspective Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. implies that the teacher of young children should serve the role of facilitator, one who provides a classroom setting in which language is the foundation of all learning. to Vygotsky, literacy events which are According initially socially mediated are eventually internalized and become part of the repertoire of the individual (Langer & Applebee, 1986). Vygotsky stresses the social origin of learning in his notion of mediated learning which occurs in an interacitve social setting. a In mediated learning child grows to value purposeful knowledge by realizing that he can receive help from an adult who models the learning process. of the model is gradually decreased The structure and the child internalizes the structure. It seems that theories of the social origin of learning, and especially research of properties Winograd of mediated Wood, Bruner, an interactive & Paris procedures and instruction. (1989) the work These Piaget, child development adult assistance children. are Ross reflected (1976) who cite the same dialogue in the list six exchange, and who instructional properties properties for (recruitment, as scaffolded reduction in direction maintainence, marking critical frustration of & instructional degrees of freedom, features, learning, control, Bruner, and demonstration) and Vygotsky parallel on learning and in that they emphasize the importance of in promoting growth in literacy of young The crucial variable in this structure is the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 24 adult, and when that adult is the classroom teacher he/she needs to capitalize on children's learning potential. In "Creating Thinking" (Wells, effectively the Conditions 1990} when to Encourage Literate it is emphasized that children learn they participate in "meaningful joint activities in which their performance is assisted and guided by a more competent member of the culture." Wells' earlier studies to "active (1986) which meaning-makers’ found have young children important be implications for the instructional role and personal assumptions of the teacher. The structure envir o n ment of by p reparedness recommends thematic a c k nowledging and experience child-centered connote teacher guidance, participates units endorses the of varying young activities. but not the literate stages learners Such dominance, as of it activities as the child in inquiry and manipulation-based activities. It seems that Duckworth’s view of the teacher's role is atuned to the philosophy of the literate, classroom for situations in she states which that children their intellectual structures, at teachers various (1979) child-centered should levels, "...offer whatever can come to know parts of the world in new ways." In this way both teachers and students control literacy learning for such acquisition involves "negotiations between and among students and teachers" to Holdaway (1984) (Shannon, 1989). According "common sense" shapes the teacher's role Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 25 as a facilitator in literacy development as the teacher makes herself that "redundant" for teacher to the child. child-centered must assume The activities three communicator with parents) roles to research indicates to be effective (observer, ensure optimal the model, and learning for each child. The teacher-observer is cognizant of the processes the students use with the tasks (1982) (s)he sets before them. states that the "noticing teacher not only discovers new behaviors, and changes in behaviors, but also begins to think about children's learning in new w a y s ." Strickland tend Clay to (1986) Cullinan and report that teachers of young children who carefully observe the learning process of their students tend to view themselves as active learners in the classroom, frequently use literature-based activities as a means to study the development of language and literacy, and adapt methodologies that coincide with their view of language and literacy development. The role of teacher as model is implicit in emergent literacy research. teachers should use language both explicit and "In the classroom, appropriately, listen and respond to children's talk, and engage in their own reading and writing" (IRA Joint Statement, 1986). The research suggests that these types of activities provide dual modeling opportunities — and those those involving uses of literate behaviors involving social skills such as turn-taking, Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 26 politeness, acceptance of others' views, and the responsible use of materials. The third role of the teacher is that of communicator with parents. many paper Child-centered activities may not include as and pencil Teachers need to child-centered, Statement of the inform parents some parents may expect. about the philosophy of a The IRA Joint recommends that teachers make parents aware reasons and as emergent literacy classroom. (1986) curriculum tasks for provide carry out at home. a language-based, them with ideas child-centered and activities to This type of communication keeps parents informed about the topics and activities that their children are involved with in school and provides them the opportunity to discuss, read, view television programs and movies, visit museums or local attractions with their children that pertain to those themes being learned about in school. The research related to teachers roles indicates that close home-school relationships which adequately communicate school happenings to parents gives the young child the message that both parents and teacher are as interested in school activities as (s)he is. Such communication makes the child's commutative existence between the home and the school more meaningful than if the two environments were diverse, sharing no reciprocity. teacher's need to intrinsically assume motivated; The research also implies that the the aforementioned roles must that is, a positive be attitude, Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 27 willingly applied to the delivery of instruction. Conclusions Based on the Research B a sed on research education, emergent practice, teachers' on the literacy, roles change process developmentally and within appropriate assumptions, a core of theoretical conclusions may be stated: 1. Emergent literacy, the natural continuation of language learning in young children, and guide children's is maximized when adults model learning in natural, meaningful contexts. 2. The paradigm shift from the traditional kindergarten to the emergent learning literacy for young children together may construct, An kindergarten so that emphasizes teachers informal and students share, and control literacy learning. informal approach seems to promote spontaneous literacy development. 3. Teachers of understanding that internalized; their young ch i l d r e n mediated roles s hould learning guide reflect eventually (rather than an becomes dominate) children's production and comprehension of text. 4. wi t h Implementation of a new framework of curriculum is laden i mplica t i o n s instructional development, for change experiences. training, in Change both personal involves and learning approaches. a range and of Perceptions of change may either promote or hinder the implementation of Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 28 an innovation. This Study as a Contribution to the Research This study is deemed a significant contribution to the educational research for two reasons. First, informal approaches are most often discussed in general terms in the research. Specific practices such as lap reading and written composing are cited as promoting literacy but implementation via holistic, integrated curriculum generalities throughout the literature. is found only in Therefore, a review of the literature indicates that examining specific informal approaches, such kindergarten, a needed as extended thematic teaching in the is both a complement to current literature and link between what is known and what needs to be learned about emergent literacy, developmentally appropriate practice, and teachers’ roles. Second, research regarding the change breaking new ground in educational contexts. process is This particular study investigates areas in which the change process affects and is affected by the implementation of a new curriculum framework. The particular educational context of this study, representative kindergartens which implemented extended thematic teaching, provides the opportunity for a case study of educational change in emergent literacy kindergartens. As a qualitative study it is a contribution to the theory of Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 29 change because change as of the change scarcity of qualitative continues to evolve within research of a particular context. Literatures reviewed for this study provided critical information for shaping the participant-observation and other data collection procedures also created implementation a of this theoretical of extended study. base-line thematic for The literatures analyzing teaching as it the was observed throughout this study. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 30 Key Terms Relevant to the Study Themat ic-Teachiag Thematic teaching is the provision of instruction which focuses on a particular theme or topic without confining the theme to a specific content area. Thematic teaching embraces a scope which integrates content area learning in order to promote knowledge of key concepts. Thematic teaching allows a community of learners to share a common avenue leading to the exploration of a theme in a variety of choices. Children can choose those activities which are particularly interest­ ing to them and with which they feel comfortable. This study specifically teaching in kindergarten. examined extended thematic Extended themes are designed to cover an instructional period of a least a few weeks. The nature of extended thematic teaching endorses an informal, child-centered approach to teaching and learning. Teachers' Assumptions Teachers' assumptions regarding the are their beliefs and attitudes teaching/learning process. I believe there is a strong connection between teachers' and the instructional decisions they make, a holistic, literate environment that assumptions and that creating requires reexamination of o n e ’s beliefs and attitudes on a regular basis. In this study, teachers' assumptions were examined by analyzing what teachers did and what teachers said. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 31 A Literate Environment Literacy learning begins kindergarten classrooms. kindergarten learning is that kindergarten. to well children enter The goal of a literate environment continue, has before not preceded disrupt, the the c h i l d ’s literacy entry into Unfortunately, much of the current research is replete with evidence of qualitative differences between the literacy contexts of the home and the literacy contexts of the school. the school ideal If a disparity exists between the two contexts, experience may be dramatic for the child. situation seems to be that the child come The from an oral/print-enriched home to an oral/print-enriched school. A literate environment is more than the arrangement of books, paper, literate and objects environment within a does not merely physical exist, space. A it is created through the events which facilitate oral and written language de v e l o p m e n t . A literate literacy expectation, speaking, reading, a environment desired is one outcome and writing by children, in for which a frequent is nurtured by adults who provide opportunities for such occurrances. The opportunities should be interesting and meaningful to young language users. The adult should facilitate the language learning processes until the child demonstrates a proficiency commensurate with his developmental milestones. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 32 Literacy Events A literacy event may be defined as an experience in which one actively engages in the production or comprehenson of text. The text may be oral or written. Literacy events occur in social groups as well as in independent engagement with language. of kindergarteners For example, a group sharing and discussing picture books engaged in a literacy event. is An adult reading a newspaper or magazine is also engaged in a literacy event. A major focus of this study was to examine the types and frequencies of literacy events occurring in the classrooms which implemented extended thematic teaching. They will be described and analyzed in Chapter Three. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 33 Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY Overview This chapter provides a rationale methodologies used in this study. the site, participants, secured information for the research A detailed discussion of and data collection procedures which regarding the implementation and evaluation of thematic teaching and the types and frequencies of literacy events is included. A time line for the procedures is given as well as a description of the role of the researcher. Rationale Because this research dealt with classroom practices, information pertaining to the research questions was gathered primarily through observations of those practices. kept a journal observation was in which recorded. a reflective The research account I also of addressed each these questions: 1. What are the teacher’s assumptions about teaching and learning in the development of the thematic units? 2. How is thematic teaching implemented in representative classrooms? 3. Are instructional practices changed or static? What are the types and frequencies of literacy events Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 34 occuring in these classrooms and what purposes do they serve in promoting children’s literacy growth? 4. In what ways are the methods used to evaluate student progress congruent or incongruent with the instructional philosophy of thematic teaching? In order to collect data on the first question several methods were utilitzed: first, classroom observations were made and recorded via video/audio-taping, and both formal and informal interviews were conducted informal interviews took place with teachers. immediately The following an observation. They were usually brief due to the teacher’s instructional obligations. took place children when the attending education class. Sometimes observations a were school-wide had interviews interrupted by assembly or a the physical In these instances when the teacher was not the primary supervisor of the children, researcher informal the opportunity to the teacher and the discuss what had just evolved in the classroom observation. The formal interviews took place on a day that was set aside specifically for the purpose of interviewing teachers. A major goal of the formal interview was for the researcher to meet with each teacher individually in order to obtain additional questions significant asked information related to the in this study. Figure 3.1, The specific Interview Script, lists questions asked during the formal interview and correlates interview questions with questions related to the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 35 Figure 3.1 INTERVIEW SCRIPT QUESTIONS FOR TEACHER INTERVIEWS Questions for Teacher Interviews Related Research Question 1. How does RSD's curriculum framework help/hinder you in deciding what to teach as you prepare to teach a thematic unit? #1, #2, #3, #4 2. Which of the following events occur most frequently in your classroom? Which occur least frequently?: Read-aloud SSR/Booksharing Oral composing Written composing Language Experience Activity Creative drama/Role-playing #1, #3 3. How do you evaluate students' progress at the completion of a thematic unit? #1, #2, #4 4. Do you feel that the district's required evaluative measures, Metropolitan Achievement Test Primary Level 2, and the Ridley Kindergarten Report Card give a valid rendering of students' progress? #1, #4 5. Do you think that most students benefit from the integrated language arts/integrated curric­ ulum? Why? Why not? #1, #2 6. Which of your teaching practices do you feel best meets the needs of your students? In what way(s)? #1, #2 7. What do you see as the advantages/ disadvantages of thematic teaching in the kindergarten? #1, #2 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 36 research. Parts teachers of the video/audio and discussed with the formal interviews. in the entries form of tapes researcher played for the researcher as part of the Another source of information was found of the dialogue on-going were journals which served as a information between throughout the study. the teachers The dialogue and the journals, written entries and responses between the researcher and the teachers, were focused on observations of teaching practices. To research the second question, in three kindergarten classes thematic teaching approach. in and observed during which teachers used a Two or three observations per theme and per classroom were made. taught observations were made the Three similar themes were study. The participating teachers met prior to the observations to decide upon the themes to be taught during the time the study took place. The three themes chosen were "Bears," "Plants and Seeds," and "Seasons." Both observations and journals were primary sources of data in examining this question. Figure 3.2 shows the schedule of observations. To address the concerns of the third question, the methodologies of the prior questions were used as well as two others: video/audio taping of specific literacy events, and collection of samples of children's written work. The taped transactions as well as participant observation by the researcher rendered information about the social and Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 37 Figure 3.2 Data Collection Time Line: Observations of Thematic Teaching "Bears" Theme "Seasons" Theme "Plants & Seeds" Theme Teacher: M r s . Clement M r s . Jones T Jan. 16 T March 13 T May 15 W Jan. 17 W March 14 W May 16 F Jan. 19 M March 19 Th May 17 M April 30 M Jan. 29 T W May 2 T Jan. 30 Th March 22 M Jan. 22 M Feb. 12 W May 9 W Jan. 24 T Feb. 13 F May 11 March 20 ThMay 3 M r s . Lark ThFeb. 15 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 38 collaborative expressed components connections or of the events extensions of as well as any- the theme by the learners. The fourth question was addressed largely through interviews as well as descriptions of evaluative processes and forms used by teachers. The Principles for Congruent Evaluation, as outlined in PCRP II. (Appendix C) were used to qualify the types of evaluation used by the classroom teachers during the study. The rationale for the research methodology used in this study provided a holistic approach for collecting valid data on teacher-student, interactions. student-student, and teacher-researcher The variety of instruments used to collect data, multiplicity of observations and journal entries, and the use of both formal and informal interviews allowed the researcher to collect multiple threats to interview data and Simmons, perspectives and to (Evertson and Green, avoid 1986; McCall 1969). The S ite All observations took place in the elementary schools of the Ridley School District in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The school district encompasses the Township of Ridley and the boroughs of Eddystone and Ridley Park and comprises an area of seven and three-quarter square miles. The three elementary schools in which this research was conducted were Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 39 the Eddystone School in Eddystone, Pa., the Lakeview School in Ridley Park, Pa. and the Woodlyn School in Woodlyn, Ridley Township, Pa. boundaries District working Only the Woodlyn School is situated within the of the township. come class from Students in the Ridley School predominantly families. The m i d d l e .to district's scheduled for half-day sessions. lower-middle kindergartens are Observations were made in the afternoon sessions of the kindergartens in each of the three buildings involved in this research. two There were twenty- (22) children in the Eddystone kindergarten, sixteen (16) children in the Lakeview kindergarten, and eighteen (18) children in the Woodlyn kindergarten. In addition to class size being fairly similar in each of the three heterogeneous kindergartens, classroom equipment and materials were also similiar. Two of the the classrooms were similar in their generous size; the Woodlyn kindergarten was considerably Ridley School smaller District in terms of physical Kindergarten space. Curriculum, The which provides a strong literacy expectation in kindergarten, implemented in each of the classrooms. was Spatial mappings of each of the three classrooms can be found in Appendix D; the physical classroom environment is an important consideration in this study because it can either promote or hinder (1) the types and frequencies of literacy events which occur, and, (2) the manner in which children are grouped for instruction. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 40 The Participants The three teachers, (3) participating teachers were kindergarten each from a different elementary school, consented to take part in this study. who had The three women have each spent their entire teaching careers in the Ridley School District. Two of the teachers, School and Mrs. completed taught fifteen from the Lakeview School, years of teaching and kindergarten during their tenure. Eddystone Her Jones Mrs. Lark from the Woodlyn School, career began have each have exclusively Mrs. Clement, of has completed sixteen years of teaching. as a junior high reading teacher making the transition to elementary teaching. before She taught fifth grade for most of her elementary career and has spent the past five and a half years teaching kindergarten. The participants demonstrated cooperation and interest in the study from start to finish. Such willingness actually precluded the need to negotiate entry into their classrooms; each of the participants had been part of the in-service and curriculum b uilding writing principals that were had preceded also the study. cooperative when Their formal requests to conduct the study in their schools were received. Prior to the actual classroom observations, the three participating teachers met as a group and chose and agreed upon the thematic teaching observed during the study. units that were taught and They chose "Bears,” Seasons,” and "Plants and Seeds" from among the twelve available units. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 41 Data Collection Procedures Collection January and May of data of 1990. for this The three selected classrooms. study occured between researcher observed in the The observations, which varied in length from one to three hours depending on the individual classroom schedules, were made during a reasonable time frame (from three to seven teaching days). This schedule was arranged in order to study the development of a particular theme and the frequency of spontaneous directed (teacher-initiated) Video/audio tapings transcriptions were were (student-initiated) or literacy events which emerged. made analyzed of to each observation determine how the and data answered the questions raised in this study. Data collection interviews with also teachers, childrens' written work. information which for the reflective notations dialogue journals. and formal collecting and samples informal of the Two types of journals also provided study: participating teachers included the were and the The researcher kept a diary in recorded, and each of the researcher made entries included entries comments in and questions about the most recent observations. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 42 Data Coding and Retrieval Information collected throughout this study was coded in order to systematically analyze and retrieve observation was video and audio taped. exact transcripts according teacher. to the of each theme Each The researcher made observation particular data. and taught coded by a each specific In this way the implementation of thematic teaching, could be compared and analyzed among the three classrooms. Frequent transcripts reviewing allowed of the video tapes researcher frequencies of literacy events. to and rereading focus The types on types of events of and were initially coded into three general areas, and later coded as specific types of literacy events by identifying each type with an appropriate label. written on transcripts. The labeling term was hand­ Occurrences of events were computed to determine their frequency in classrooms. The Literacy Events are described and analyzed in Chapter Four. The Role of the Researcher This research is continuing process. administrators actually The process the middle originated when of a district identified the need to implement a cohesive program among the district’s kindergartens. not stage consciously aware researcher began then, of it at the Although I was time, my role as in the early stages of the process, Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 43 being charged with planning and implementing the changes that would result in a cohesive, developmentally sound program eventually led to examining the implementation of curriculum in an ethnographic study. The process was the kindergarten teachers, Methods and discussed regarding district materials and collaborative used evaluated; both emergent as the read the staff current and of and myself. teaching the literacy appropriate teaching practices, well administrators by we endeavor were literature developmentally and we visited each others' classrooms as kindergarten classrooms in other districts. The decision was made to write thematic teaching units for which children's literature was the springboard for language arts and content area learning. My role as researcher in this particular study was nurtured from the seeds planted a few years before the study took place. study I had been began and observations an active continued of the an study. participant before active Not role only was during I the active the key as a participant-observer but also as a facilitator of specific literacy events, experience pieces. role story such or as the the creation creation of of a language individually written I read to children and children read to me. blossomed during the five months that spanned The this study. The role as researcher also had an impact on my Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 44 interactions with the participating teachers. these women as co-workers for a undertaking this research project. th e m and presumably attempted to they protect felt the several I had known years before I felt comfortable with comfortable quality of data with by me. I ensuring confidentiality of communication between each participating teac h e r and myself and by supporting each instructional practices with non-threatening, verbal and physical behaviors. My t e a c h e r ’s non-judgmental relationship with the teachers had been that of working colleague and friend both before and during welcome when notebook, the study. invading their and professionalism frequent and Each of feel classrooms with video cameras, v erbal their them made me interruptions. friendship made my Their role as researcher an enjoyable experience. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 45 Chapter 4 DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS Overview The purpose of this chapter is to describe the structure an d nature of thematic teaching and to analyze the information as it relates to the specific questions asked in this research. curriculum The major components of the thematic teaching (centers, goals, and concepts) will be discussed. Because a major thrust of this study concerns the types and frequencies of literacy teaching, literacy compared among Teachers' thematic events events the assumptions teaching occurring will be three during categorized, representative regarding the and an evaluation thematic coded, classrooms. implementation of and growth of in literacy and Seeds, will also be described and analyzed. I m p l e m e ntation :__ His__ Three Themes (" P l a n t s "Bears." "Seasons11) The three themes described and analyzed in this study (as well as the other nine thematic units which comprise the Ridley School literature-based, District holistic Kinder g a r t e n curricula. stories are th...
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Explanation & Answer

Running head: THEMATIC TEACHING

1

Thematic Teaching
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date

THEMATIC TEACHING

2
Thematic Teaching
The concept of a thematic unit

A Thematic unit is an organization of a program of study focusing on a specific theme. It
is a sequence of lessons which incorporate many subjects across a program of studies, like math,
reading, science, language arts, and social studies among others which tie to the key subject
matter of the unit. Every action has a major focus on the thematic initiative. However, a thematic
unit is broader than choosing a theme. They cover up a wide variety such as mammals, Australia,
or the system of solar. A number of teachers select a dissimilar thematic unit for the classroom
every week, at the same time others plan to teach themes for about nine weeks. The input of
learners becomes a necessary element of the curriculum since it focuses on group activity when
solving the problem as well as creative thinking (Temple, Ogle, Crawford & Frapping, 2017).
Initial thematic unit ideas
Thematic ideas are concepts in pedagogy. It has proved as the most powerful
instructional scheme for incorporating a range of concepts in core curriculum using daily life
examples in addition to experiences. Thematic ideas are geared towards interests’
accommodation of single learners plus their abilities. Thematic learning practice promotes
collaboration and holds up in the group given that the group is a varied combination being
trained by a team of facilitators. Thematic learning encompasses teams with diverse sizes, as
well as work using predicament solving method and scheme methods (Gargoyle & Metcalf,
2017). The entity is made to develop at one's individual rapidity, and as a result, develop skill
and responsibility of decision making.
The im...


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