Intro







 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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You are about to embark upon a journey that will challenge your thinking, your beliefs, and your attitudes.  If not, we have not done our jobs.

  Before you read further, please take a few minutes and complete a Literacy and Multicultural Education survey.  This survey will provide some baseline data for us as a class.  Your instructor will analyze the information gathered and provide you with feedback.  Click HERE to begin the survey.  Click the RED arrow at the bottom of the survey page to return to this introduction page.  There are more activities listed for you below. 


To say that literacy instruction is a is an understatement.  In an already highly debated field of study, enter "Washington" to heat things up a bit.  The days of educators and parents sitting back and letting the various reading and writing gurus battle it out are over.  More than ever before in history we face challenges that make it imperative that we understand and TAKE A STAND in the literacy instruction and literacy development of our nation's citizens.  Literacy development is a lifelong venture.  Just as it "takes a village to raise a child," it takes that same village to ensure that each child is able to read, write, speak, listen, critically view with understanding, and use technology fluently. 

Education reform in general is a highly debated, controversial concept.  Pressure and finger-pointing are intense from many fronts.  Consider the arguments in Diversity and Complexity in the Classroom:  Considerations of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender.  What about the students of color, poverty, abuse, and other circumstances of diversity who have little or no voice in the political arena of school reform? 

Use the form below to provide your initial reactions to these articles:

NOTE: None of the information you type or paste into the text boxes below is saved, therefore it will disappear from this screen when you click "submit." If you're working with computers or browsers that tend to crash often, please copy / paste and save your work as a Word document first and then copy and paste the information into the correct text boxes below. Save the Word files on your computer in case your instructor loses your comments or in case a failure in the email transmission occurs and your work is lost. 

Enter your name here                

Enter your THOUGHTS and REACTIONS to Diversity and Complexity in the Classroom:  Considerations of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender.  Include any examples or scenarios which support your current beliefs/attitudes:

Click "submit" to send your response to Dr. Petty then continue with the rest of this page.  Clicking "submit" sends  your response to Dr. Petty in an email.  If your computer crashes or you fail to click "submit" then your response will NOT be delivered to your instructor. EVEN if you get an ERROR message that says I DID NOT receive this message - I DID. IGNORE the error message as it is related to a server problem.  I am getting these messages.  pwp

So what do we hope to collectively accomplish in this WebQuest? 

THE QUESTion

What is considered equitable pedagogy in literacy instruction and how can ALL educators enhance literacy instruction for ALL students including those of diverse backgrounds? 

By completing this WebQuest you should achieve the following goals:

  • learn an expanded definition of literacy and understand each educator's responsibility for student literacy development
     
  • understand and apply perspectives on exemplary practices in literacy
     
  • use effective strategies for learning and teaching
     
  • formulate a personal philosophy of literacy by examining your own literacy development and verbalizing your beliefs and attitudes that affect your ability to provide literacy instruction for diverse populations of students
     
  • recognize how cultural differences affect language learning and literacy
     
  • formulate a reflective paper that tracks your journey through this course
     
  • design and develop a WebQuest that demonstrates your understanding and
    ability to translate the content of this course into practical and effective
    instruction for ALL learners

Throughout this process you will be supported by your instructor (Dr. Petty) and fellow classmates.  The discussion board in Blackboard, email,  MSN Messenger (free download - http://www.msn.com),  and the chat capabilities in Blackboard (high-tech) are available to keep you informed and in touch with others throughout this learning process.  Face-to-face (high-touch) meetings will be scheduled so that we can engage in discussions, brainstorming sessions, technology support sessions, and to address other student needs as they arise.  Also, office hours are by appointment for any time we need to meet. 

Ready to go?  Click on TASK 1 from the menu on the left/top of this screen! 

 05/17/2004 17:40:04 -0500  Hit Counter