LI-542 Portfolio
I have included here my portfolio of works from LI542. Included are four discussion forum posts and two formal writing assignments.
Forum I
Part I
I took an Honors English class my junior year of high school. We read many novels throughout the course, some which interested me, and some that I found completely boring or confusing. One novel stands out to me, however. The Great Gatsby was one of the most interesting books we read in that course and was probably the one I enjoyed the most. At the time I was seventeen years old, and the romance and scandals of the novel had me hooked. I was incredibly intrigued by Jay Gatsby and his mysterious persona. Mrs. Harris, my teacher for the class, always wanted us to find the symbols in novels so I understand why she thought it was important for the class to read The Great Gatsby. After seeing the symbolism in the green light at the end of Daisy's dock and the eyes on the billboard near the valley of ashes, I had a greater understanding of how symbols can be used in novels to convey an underlying message. This novel was also important in characterizing greed and the mindset that tends to come along with wealth. The lives of the characters in The Great Gatsby were so drastically different than my teenage, small town life, and I was captivated by the lavish details of their homes, clothing, cars, and parties. I think that it was important at my age to see how the characters had everything people are supposed to desire, yet they were still unhappy in their lives. This novel is still one of my favorites to this day. I have not read it in quite some time, but I think that if I were to read it again now, I would take even more from it than I did the first time I read it. At seventeen, the struggles the characters were dealing with seemed far away from anything in my life, but I still learned from the power struggle and lives based solely upon money. I think it is extremely important for high school students to read literature that contrasts with their lives. The Great Gatsby is an excellent example of a novel that will intrigue students with romance and scandals, but also shows the heart-breaking result of basing your entire identity and happiness upon money and lies.
Part II
1. In comparison to a traditional course, a web course should be conducted at the student's leisure, but with some type of structure. A student taking a web course needs to be self-motivated and organized in order to complete all of the assigned work. In a traditional course, the instructor is there to remind to students to turn in homework. This is not the case in a web course. Students must keep track of due dates and take it upon themselves to not fall behind in the course. Some of the advantages web courses have over traditional courses are the opportunities for self-teaching, individual privacy, and natural
environment learning. These are not present in the traditional classroom setting as they are in web courses.
2. An assessment is a means of measuring a student's progress. This is done with one test, assignment, or criteria. An evaluation is done by looking at a student's work as a whole and measuring quality, knowledge, and understanding of the material. Objectives are tasks or ideas that a student is expected to both understand and complete throughout the course.
3. If an assignment is late or the drop box is closed, there is a place called he “Late Box” in which late assignments can be uploaded. This will come with a penalty to the grade, however. Assignments will not be accepted after three days past the original due date, even in the late box. If the drop box has been closed before the due date of an assignment, students should contact the facilitator about this problem. Students will not be penalized in instances such as these.
4. Out of the five criteria being applied to students skills, the one that encourages you to come up with new approaches and not worry so much about “being right” is application(creativity). In this criteria, being wrong can prove to be an advantage because of the learning experience it results in.
5. In all web courses, plagiarism is handled by first notifying the student of the speculation of plagiarism. The student will then meet with the course instructor to see the evidence of plagiarism in their work, having a chance to show knowledge of the subject if the plagiarism was an honest mistake. If it was deliberate, the student will receive a zero for the assignment. In the event of another case of plagiarism, the student
will be barred from the course. Students are encouraged to fully research a topic and gain knowledge that allows them to explain important concepts in their own words from their own understanding, rather than copying another person's words.
6. The difference between a “threaded conversation” and a “real-time conversation” is that a threaded conversation is one in which a response can be made to a fellow student on the forum via a thread, or virtual line. This conversation does not happen in real time, and students can respond at their leisure. A real-time conversation is one that is happening right now, in the present time. An example of a real-time conversation would be instant messaging. Responses are immediately made, much like a face-to-face
conversation.
7. The condition pertaining to vacation time and extra credit is that neither exist. Vacation time from classes essentially has no effect on the web course. Due to the fact that students are not bound in the constraint of a classroom settings, this also mean there will be no “missing” of class for breaks. Students are given a schedule and expected to plan ahead to complete and turn in homework even during a break. Extra credit will not be offered in this course because students are encouraged to work to their full ability at all
times to achieve the grade they want and deserve. The grade is earned by work done throughout the semester, not by one sudden adding of points for a single extra credit assignment.
8. When you see a red padlock on a drop box or forum, this means it is locked and you cannot upload material to it. In the occurrence of this instance, one can either use an amnesty or notify the facilitator if the drop box or forum has been accidentally locked early.
9. This course is a pure online course. There will never be a physical meeting of the class within the semester. All homework, tests, and communication will take place online, via drop boxes and forums. The only exception to this is if a student meets with the instructor face-to-face during office hours.
10. Three ways to communicate with the instructor are to email at tmeaton@semo.edu, to call or text at 979-0071, or to arrange a time during office hours which are 1:30-3:00 P.M. on Tuesdays and
Thursdays.
Forum II
I do not agree with Montague's statement about learning. Montague says that learning starts out very simple and turns into something more complex, going from concrete to abstract. While Piaget's stages of development do change to acquire to a more developed thinking, they also build upon one another in a very basic way. As mentioned in the notes, some aspects of early stages and sub components can be found and interpreted in young adults and the way they learn and understand literature. I believe that humans are constantly going through adoption, accommodation, adaptation, and maturation. Each time we begin learning something new, whether it be in school, work, or simply tasks of every day life, we use these concepts to adjust to new practices. We use a form of adoption when we, in a sense, “feel out” our
surroundings and explore what the expected behaviors will be. We mimic others because we want to be sure that we are behaving correctly. As we become more comfortable in the surroundings, we move through the other stages by becoming independent of others and being able to make decisions and actions on our own. This is a constant cycle throughout our lives. Montague implies that learning becomes a completely different process with maturation. I do not believe that development ever becomes abstract.
While the specific steps and behaviors may not be printed in the exact description of which development happens, I believe that Piaget's levels of learning are applicable and a loose framework for nearly every developmental process humans experience.
Forum III
The importance of values and being valued is constantly stressed to students as they journey through their young adult years. For the most part, the majority of students this age are concerned with achieving their goals and aspirations through academic success, social acceptance and/or popularity, and approval from
leadership. While these may be attributes that adults also hope for young adults to attain, the processes by which they are achieved can be viewed differently by young adults and their parents and teachers. Many students place their concern primarily upon the end result and are willing to take the quickest route to get there. For some this includes cheating to gain academic success, lying about themselves or others to gain social success, and often a combination of these two in order to gain approval from adults. While this is definitely not true for all teenagers, I know from my experience working with junior high and high
school students and from being one myself in the past, that these paths are not uncommon for students to take in order to achieve their goals. Teachers and parents, however, view the process quite differently than these students. They believe that hard work, perseverance, and honesty are the most valuable aides in a young adult's achievement. Adults can convey this perspective and foster attitudes aligning with this by simply taking the time to acknowledge the young adult in a caring, compassionate, and encouraging way.
Wenzel explains that when teachers show that they care about the students, take time to find common understanding, reinforce positive behaviors and attitudes, and provide both models and opportunities for students to care for and respect others, the students are impacted and are more willing to engage in these behaviors voluntarily. Students that are part of a minority culture may experience these struggles in a different way. The social goals and expectations they were raised with may not necessarily align with that of the school they are attending. This can cause the students to not only feel some confusion in
regards to their actions and attitudes, but can also cause a non-majority student to act timid around the other students due to the fact that their different set of goals and beliefs make them feel uncomfortable and incapable of adapting in their school environment.
Forum IV
Scientific inquiry is a process by which students can create and explore investigations and experiments to broaden their understanding of a topic. This is a very important concept for students to learn as it aids them in the learning process for the rest of their lives.In my opinion, multicultural literature is an
important genre of literature that students should be exposed to. This type of novel can help a student to gain understanding of another culture and almost give them a first-hand view of a lifestyle that is probably very different from their own. Speaking as an individual coming from a rural community with little to no diversity whatsoever, I can attest to the fact that literature is one of the best ways to understand
another culture. The best way would of course be to visit another country or area and be physically immersed, but most people do not have the resources to do such a thing. Reading a novel about a Hispanic family may be the only exposure a student from the Midwest ever has to that type of culture.The traditional literary canon is held in high regard in most school districts due to the ability to address such standardized tests as the MAPP in the teaching of these novels. I am in no way downplaying the benefits of teaching a literary canon, but I do believe that as teachers, we should explore options that will give our students the most rounded view of the world and other cultures. Can we expect for this to happen by simply driving forward lessons to gain high test scores? I do not believe so. In taking this approach, believe that students are not only turned off to literature, but they also lose the desire to explore novels and challenge their minds with new concepts and ideas presented in their reading.
Formal I
Analysis of Social Environments in
Literature for Young Adults
Literature is a prominent force in the thinking and ideals of society today. Information and thoughts are constantly presented through writing whether it be a newspaper, magazine, novel, short story, or even an informational brochure, the world is endlessly pounded with more and more to read. This concept is no different in the life of young adults. The presentation and the way young adults relate to literature is different than the way adults receive literature, however. Kenneth Bruffee(1999) addresses the relationship between young adults and literature by suggesting that it deals greatly with social environments and multiple communities. One example of how Bruffee's (1999) concept relates to literature can be shown through the popular young adult novel, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (2001).
When Bruffee (1999) refers to “social environments,” he is talking about the communities and groups children find themselves in or strive to be a part of. These groups are often referred to as “cliques” and represent the desire people have to be accepted, loved, popular, and well-known. Young adults especially deal with this issue. Middle school and high school are years that create the most pressure to fit in and the years in which students struggle the most with appearance or status among their peers. In Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century, Pam B. Cole (2009) discusses the prominence of egocentrism in adolescence and the emotional development occurring at this time in life. Young adults are engulfed by their own egocentrism, causing the perception of these social environments. Teenagers are constantly thinking about themselves and their images, wondering how this can be improved and how they can make themselves look better. They are focused on the idea that being affiliated with a certain group of people may elevate their social status, maybe even to the point of raising them high enough to enter a totally new clique. This is the thought process young adults go through in regards to social environments. Brashares (2001) illustrates social environments with the group of close friends she creates in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a novel written about four best friends and their journeys as they spend the summer apart for the first time in their lives. Brashares (2001) chronicles the lives of Lena Kaligaris, a beautiful but shy young woman who spends the summer in Greece with her grandparents, Tibby Rollins, a sarcastic and cynical girl who is stuck at home for the summer, feeling abandoned by her friends, Bridget Vreeland, an energetic soccer player with beautiful blonde hair spending the summer months at a soccer camp in Mexico, and Carmen Lowell, a stubborn and independent young woman who is excited to spend the summer with her father in South Carolina. These four girls are each very different, but also search for similar things. Each is trying to discover herself, fit in, and feel important. They have created for themselves a comfortable social environment within the bond that lies between them, but are quickly realizing that life is much more intimidating and threatening once removed from that comfortable and safe environment. The girls are forced to adjust and find some sort of significance within themselves in this new environment.
Lena Kaligaris is shy and timid, and spending the summer in Greece away from her friends and with her charming, outgoing younger sister is not an easy adjustment for her. Lena prefers to keep to herself and has a fear of being vulnerable with people. The sharp contrast between her home life with her three best friends and her experience in Greece with over-bearing grandparents who are determined to set her up with a boy named Kostos is challenging for Lena, who prefers to spend time alone drawing or painting. A fear of vulnerability is evident in Lena's unwillingness to get to know Kostos. Lena fears giving up too much of herself that she will not get back and prefers complete solitude over that risk. She is searching for her significance within herself because she fears pain too much to risk letting someone else define her. Throughout the novel, Brashares (2001) shows Lena slowly opening up and getting out of her comfort zone enough to build a relationship with Kostos. Through this, Lena is not only learning about Kostos and who he is, but she is also discovering more about herself and who she really is, apart from familiarity and the social environment she has always known.
Tibby Rollins is a character extremely different from Lena. Tibby is sarcastic and opinionated, always willing to voice her mind. One of the greatest struggles Tibby deals with but does not confront or talk about, however, is herself. The role she unwillingly takes on as older sister and babysitter creates tension between Tibby and her parents and leaves Tibby feeling unloved and unimportant within her family. Cole (2009) discusses family relationships, especially relationships with parents, as being one of the greatest weighing factors on an individual's relationship and view of their self. When young adults do not feel love from their parents, they may begin to feel inadequate or as though they simply cannot be loved. Tibby is experiencing these feelings in regards to her relationship with her parents, but she begins to find the importance of love and friendship when she reluctantly befriends and twelve-year-old named Bailey. Bailey helps Tibby to discover what it means to be a friend and how rewarding it can be. Through her relationship with Bailey and being thrust into a new social environment, Tibby finds joy and significance that can be applied to every aspect of her life.
Bridget Vreeland is confident and seems very self-assured on the surface. S he is beautiful and a talented athlete. This exterior is the person she convinces her peers she actually is, but Bridget has struggles that go past surface level relationships and only those who really know her can see. Bridget's mother was severely depressed and died, leaving Bridget with extreme pain and the feeling that she was not good enough or special enough for her mom to recover and live. Her relationship with her father feels distant, so Bridget relies on her talent and looks to bring attention to herself and to define her self-worth. Due to Bridget's desperate need for love and attention, she tend to be over-the-top in pursuing what she wants, especially boys. In the novel, Brashare (2001) shows this in Bridget's pursuit of a boy named Eric. Bridget and Eric become close and romantically involved. Bridget uses Eric as a means to find love and significance, eventually having sex with him in order to feel that love she so desperately wanted. Cole (2009) references this type of behavior when talking about family problems. Cole (2009) says that when girls are not receiving love at home from their families, they will engage in behaviors such as sex or even drugs to fill that void and give them some type of love. Bridget was trying desperately to use her circumstances and physical qualities to achieve love and acceptance. Through that she discovered that those things are not satisfying and she began to learn what love really is and the love she already possessed within her close friendships.
Carmen Lowell is stubborn and independent, but she is also insecure. Carmen's parents got divorced when she was young, so time with her father has always been special and limited. Carmen loves being with her father and loves having his undivided attention, so the thought of spending the whole summer with him sounded perfect. Upon arriving in South Carolina, however, Carmen was shocked to see her father's new life, complete with a fiance and two soon-to-be step-children. Feeling hurt and insignificant, Carmen pulled away, refusing to build relationships with the new family members, trying desperately to gain her father's attention. These feelings built and built until Carmen finally lashed out at her father and his new family and left South Carolina. Carmen felt inadequate and angry, searching within herself, trying to find something that would make her feel special and loved. She also struggled with her body image and the pressure to be thin and blonde, like her father's fiance and step-children. In trying to adjust, Carmen realized that she could not change everything about herself to please someone else. She resisted the pressure to fit into a mold and a certain social community that she did not fit in.
Kenneth Bruffee (1999) did extensive work researching the social environments of young adults and how they use these as means of finding significance and acceptance. Young adult literature illustrates this concept very well and relates social environments to real life in a way that is understandable and universal. Ann Brashares' (2001) Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a novel that uniquely depicts four girls who are searching for significance and acceptance in an unfamiliar and intimidating social environment.
References
Brashares, A. (2001). Sisterhood of the traveling pants. New York, NY: Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
Bruffee, K. (1999). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence, and the
authority of knowledge. Baltimore, MY: Johns-Hopkins University.
Cole, P. B. (2009). Young adult literature in the 21st century. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Formal II
Comparison of Mental Representations and Mental
Development in Literature for the Young Adult
The developing mind has for years been a topic under heavy consideration. Countless hours of research have been done in an attempt to understand how development occurs and how it is affected. Two specific studies of such have been done by Carol S. Dweck & Bonita London (2004), and J. Flavell (2004). Dweck & London discuss mental representation and how morals guide learning whereas Flavell (2004) relates more to physical development and the learning process. Holes by Louis Sachar (1998) is a young adult novel that I believe would benefit students in mental representation and further their mental development of the young adult years.
Learning theories are a topic covered by Dweck & London (2004) in their research of metal representations. The research discusses the theories of both malleable intelligence and the idea that intelligence is a fixed trait that one cannot change or increase. Dweck & London’s (2004) research shows that students who understand intelligence to be a malleable quality will be able to focus on their efforts and strategies when they fail whereas students who have learned intelligence to be a fixed trait are prone to blaming that intelligence rather than assessing the efforts they put into the work or the strategy they used. According to Dweck & London (2004), this belief can also result in the lowering of self-esteem and grades, while students who see intelligence as a malleable trait experience rising self-esteem and mastery-oriented effort attributions. I think that by teaching Holes in a classroom of young adults, students would understand intelligence as being a malleable trait by seeing specific examples in the novel. Sachar (1998) exemplifies this quality through his characters Hector Zeroni and Stanley Yelnats. Hector was homeless growing up, and was not exposed to a learning environment that fostered academic growth. As a result, Hector is illiterate. When Stanley learns this, he begins to teach Hector how to read and write. Over time, Hector shows serious improvement and reaches a point in which he is able to read and write. This is a perfect example to students of how intelligence is a malleable quality and that with effort and time, their intelligence can be increased. Teaching this concept through Holes will benefit students academically, of course, but also socially by giving them opportunities to grow and increase self-esteem.
Dweck & London (2004) also state that when children develop global negative self-attributions, they become vulnerable to shame, depression, and sadness. Children create their own self-attributions and use these to predict their own futures. Students with global negative self-attributions predict their futures as a continuation of their low self-esteem and see very little achievement possible for themselves. Holes portrays this well in the character of Hector. Hector was raised homeless, feeling small and having global negative self-attributions. Due to these beliefs he held, Hector had below average intelligence compared to the other boys at Camp Green Lake and was often called out as being “stupid” or “dumb.” Sachar (1998) shows Hector gaining confidence as he learns more and his self confidence also improves. I think many students would be able to relate to Hector in this aspect and they would gain hope that even an individual with negative self-attributions can rise above what he or she predicts for themselves.
Flavell (2004) introduces an idea called the simulation theory that is a common way for students to learn and understand different perspectives. The simulation theory states that children gain the ability to understand mental processes of others by taking the role upon themselves, also known as stepping into another person's “shoes.” This gives the student the opportunity to view circumstances from a different perspective than their own and possibly understand the struggles of others rather than only operating from their own egocentric viewpoint. The simulation theory is one that I believe benefits students through all literature, but Sachar (1998) does an excellent job of creating opportunities for simulation in Holes. Most students that read Holes will have never been incarcerated or faced the serious legal allegations that Stanley faces in the novel. Most young adults will most likely never be stranded in the heat of Texas after escaping from a juvenile detention facility. Holes gives young adults an opportunity to step into the shoes of Stanley Yelnats as he makes his journey at Camp Green Lake. Many readers will feel betrayed as Stanley feels betrayed and they will feel joy when Stanley feels joy. Also, Sachar (1998) gives readers a chance to understand that there are young adults who are faced with homelessness, just as Hector “Zero” Zeroni was in his childhood. This aspect of the novel can aid students in developing apathy as they learn of Hector’s struggles throughout his troubled childhood. By teaching Holes in a classroom, students would be faced with an excellent opportunity for mental development through the simulation theory that Flavell (2004) explains.
Mental representation can essentially be explained as beliefs through guided learning. It is based heavily upon the beliefs young adults acquire through their experiences and interactions, as well as the relationships they have with peers, parents, and teachers. Mental development is based more upon the biological factors incorporated into the growth of various age groups. Both Dweck & London (2004) and Flavell (2004) have discussed factors of representations and mental and social development in differing ways. By assessing both pieces of research, it is obvious that the concepts introduced in these works are played out in literature. By choosing to teach a piece of literature that includes these concepts, teachers give students more opportunities to have a well-rounded mental and social development.
References
Dweck, Carol S., 1946- & London, Bonita E. (2004). The role of mental representation in social development. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 50(4), 428-444. Retrieved January 21, 2011, from Project MUSE database.
Flavell, J. (2004). Theory-of-mind development: Retrospect and Prospect. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 50, 3, pp. 274-290.
Sachar, L. (1998).Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.