A Situated-Sociocultural Approach to Literacy and Technology
1) Throughout the chapter James provides background and context for the following argument, which he makes on page 180:
"We cannot just move on to reading instruction of the 'decode and literallly comprehend' sort as if it doesn't matter that these children have missed out on early specialist-language learning."
Considering his reasoning for this argument, do you agree or disagree? If you agree, what should be be doing differently to prepare students to become literate? If you disagree, explain why you disagree and why you think this approach works. Use information from the chapter to support your response.
If teaching decoding and literal comprehension were working, we wouldn't have so many schools that do not meet or exceed the standard. Gee contends that the acquisition of one's native language is not a matter of ability or skill. My school has over 57% English language learners with less than 40% of our students reading at a level considered "on grade level". We cannot simply put these students into a room just to teach coding and comprehension. We instead need to immerse these students in the general classroom and allow them to have conversations using the specialist language that James Gee is referring to in Chapter 8. Gee's argument is that we must take into account the learner as a whole when thinking about literacy. While these ELL students are being exposed to the specialist language of each content area, they spend part of their day in the ELL classroom where they are given specific language instruction. All of these elements work together to improve the learners literacy. When we look at building data alone, it is not just the ELL students who are struggling. Less than 40% of our students read at a level considered proficient. The link I have provided below is an article about my school district. In particular, the article talks about the struggles of the English Language Learner in the general classroom. The main struggle is academic vocabulary knowledge, which is the same as specialist-language.
Reading and writing are not the only components that go a long with being literate. Students need to be engaged in peer learning groups where they are able to receive specialist-language learning. These learning groups allow students not just to learn how to read, but to learn how to read in such a way that it creates what Gee calls a "trajectory" where a student is able to make sense of increasingly complex language. These groups should not just start after the 4th grade slump. In order to make it past this slump we must teach language with a vengeance Gee claims. To push the students past general knowledge and combine the manual with the learning!
2) Do you agree with Gee's argument that video games can be used to support learning and literacy. Cite specific examples from the chapter to support your response.
Video games can absolutely be used to support learning and literacy. Gee presents a compelling argument about the type of support video games can provide using highly specialist styles of language. He contends that pop culture may be better at providing students with informal specialist-language lessons than in education. While the video game company's underlying goal is probably not to provide children with these lessons, these games capture the attention of some of the most distracted youth. Gee gives a number of examples of how this style of language not only supports learning and literacy, but it also shows the importance of bringing the game to the manual (188). It is not enough just to teach students the general meaning of words, but situated learning is when students are able to take those words and use them to advance their understanding. Video games and video game-like teaching allow us to give students a chance to experience the learning and then make their meaning of the manual. The article/video that I have shared below is a neurologist who became an educator after studying the brain for many years. She shares her case for using video games and video game-like teaching strategies for effective student engagement. Students are motivated by learning when given game-like tasks. They are self-directed intrinsic learners when they are given problems and not solutions. They are able to situate meaning instead of just making verbal meanings (189).
3) James Gee is a prolific author who is well-respected for his view of literacy. As such, there is a lot of information available about his work. Find one interesting artifact, piece of information, article, or website (or anything else that seems relevant) related to James Gee's work to share with your group members. Explain why you chose it.
This is a clip about why James Gee is so passionate about games and education. "What I'm pushing is really not digital media," James clarifies. "It's what I call 'situated and embodied learning.' And what I mean by that is being able to solve problems with what you know, not just know a bunch of inert facts. But be able to use facts and information as tools for problem solving in specific contexts." I like that he clarifies that he is not suggesting that digital media is the solution to the many problems with the traditional model, but furthermore he is asserting that literacy is about being able to use learning to solve problems and use specific information for specific situations. These contemporary learning models are making our traditional skill and drill schools look bad. I have shared this with you, because I think that it really articulates what situated learning means for the contemporary classroom.
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