funds of knowledge: the importance of how i view my ... · leticia’s story leticia, a 3rd grader,...

JamesCohen,Ph.D.NorthernIllinoisUniversity

FUNDSOFKNOWLEDGE:THEIMPORTANCEOFHOWIVIEWMYENGLISHLEARNERS

Whatisyourinitialreactiontolearningaboutthebelowstudent?

• Marisolarrivestoyourclassroomtwoweeksintothefirstsemester.SheisclearlyhavingdifficultyworkinginyourclassbecauseinadditiontonotknowinganyEnglishatall,sheseeminglydoesnotunderstandanyofthecontenteither.Wordgetsoutthatsheisalsoundocumented(illegallyintheU.S.).

Marisol’sstory

DidyourinitialreactiontoMarisolchangeafterhearingthestoryofMarisol?Ifyes,how?

Content

PedagogyPerspective

FundsofKnowledgevs.Deficitmodel

OutsideofSchoolVariables(75%)

Teachers'Role(75%)

School(OtherthanTeachers‐‐25%)

InsideofSchoolVariables(25%)

VariablesLeadingtoChildren'sAcademicSuccess

Lilly’sstorypart1

Lilly• Inpairsorsmallgroups,pleasediscusswhyyouthinkLillywasactinginthewayshewasinclass.

Lilly’sstorypart2

• Afterhavingheardtherestofthestory,whatconclusionscanyoucomeupwithnow?

• WhatactionscanyouasateachertaketohelpLillybemoresuccessfulinyourclassroom?

Leticia’sstoryLeticia,a3rdgrader,scoredatthe40thpercentileinSpanishonLaPrueba,aSpanish‐languageachievementtest,andatthe25thpercentileinEnglishontheIllinoisTestofBasicSkills.Theteacher’sconclusionwasthatLeticiareadpoorlyinbothlanguagesandthatbiliteracyperhapscausedherconfusion.

Alfredo,amonolingualEnglishstudentinthesameclass,alsoscoredatthe40thpercentileinEnglish.Thistimetheteacher’sinterpretationwasthathewasdoingfineandthathewasoneofherbetterreaders.

Whatisgoingonhere?

Waysofgettingtoknowyourstudents

• Homevisits(BiographyDrivenCulturallyResponsivePedagogybySocorroHerrera)

• Dialoguejournals(Holms,1997)

• Essaywritingasopposedtoworksheets,multiplechoice,andfillintheblanksassessments

Waysofgettingtoknowyourstudents

• Genrestudy(i.e.teachstudentshowtowritememoirs)

• Takeadvantageofparent/teacherconferences

• Callhometocompliment,notjusttocomplain

Whatotherideascanhelpyougettoknowyourstudents?

ACTIONPLAN

• Whataresomethingsyoucanstartdoinginyourclassroom?

• Whataresomethingsyoucanstopdoinginyourclassroom?

• Whataresomethingsyoucandodifferentlystartingtoday?