INDIAN EDUCATION FOR ALL AND OTHER DIVERSITY-RELATED HIGHLIGHTS FROM
EDUC 497 PK-8 READING METHODS - BRAYKO
SPRING 2013
A NOTE TO REVIEWERS: My name is Kate Brayko. I am a new faculty member at UM, and this is my first semester teaching Reading Methods here. I have a deep passion for Indian Education, the teaching/learning of English language learners, and school-community partnerships.
I made numerous changes to the previous reading methods course (the syllabi you read previously). This table includes some of the ways that IEFA was engaged in the Reading Methods course this spring so far. I also include some information about work we’ve done in the course that has focused on preparing candidates to work with students with diverse backgrounds and learning strengths/needs.
MODELING/SIMULATION OF TEACHING METHODS USING IEFA-RELATED TEXTS AND LITERACIES
Pedagogical focus Artifact
Critical literacy/Writing to Learn
The Day the Columbia Ran Backward (Celilo Falls fishing/damming the Columbia)
Candidates participated in a simulation of a pre-reading “writing to learn” strategy that promotes critical literacy; this involved the viewing of photographs of Umatilla and Yakama fisherman at Celilo Falls, watching a film in which the Native communities’ perspectives were represented, and a critical analysis of the issue.
Critical literacy/reading-writing connections/argumentative writing
“Take a Stand” activity to facilitate deliberation and argumentative writing
Crow and Hawk (Pueblo)
Candidates participated in a simulated lesson; I read aloud Crow and Hawk, and after considering multiple perspectives in the story’s dilemma, students physically positioned themselves on a continuum. They engaged in spirited deliberation, which led into an argumentative writing activity.
Critical literacy/before reading strategies (content area literacy)
Carousel activity associated with Rethinking Columbus curriculum
Candidates participated in a simulation of a prereading strategy called a “carousel.”
In small groups, they traveled to four posters hung around the classroom; each poster had a question about Columbus and/or the Tainos. This was intended to expose students to activities that activate/build background knowledge, surface misunderstandings, and promote the consideration of critically considering multiple perspectives.
ASSIGNMENTS FOR WHICH STUDENTS USED IEFA-RELATED TEXTS OR LITERACIES
Assignments
Explicit comprehension strategy lesson
Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing
Anticipation guide/Questioning the Author
Many students used Montana History textbook chapter “People of the Dog Days”
(about people who lived in the Ice Age in what is now Montana, oral histories)
Artifact 1-Powerpoint slides
Artifact 2-Candidate crit literacy/ writing-to-learn template
Artifact 3-Powerpoint slides
Artifact 4- Powerpoint slide
Artifact 5-Photos of carousel posters
Artifacts
Artifact 6- Comp strategy lesson assignment description
Artifact 7- Challenging text assignment description

OTHER IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES FOCUSED ON IEFA POLICY
Activities Artifacts
Candidates explored language arts (and other subject area) lessons on OPI website.
They selected and brought in lessons that they hoped to utilize in fieldwork/student teaching. They engaged in discussion about how, specifically, each lesson engaged one or more of the Essential Understandings.
Artifact 8 - Powerpoint slides
Artifact 9 - Essential
Understanding charts with OPI
IEFA lesson descriptions posted
Candidates engaged in group discussions about IEFA implementation in a reading classroom.
These discussions focused on texts (and resources for vetting text, etc.), critical literacy, partnering with Native Community Specialists and other tribal members/Native teachers and leaders, research on teacher expectations of students of color/importance of teacher expectations for student learning, positionality/privilege .
See Artifact 8
DIVERSE LEARNERS AND LEARNING STRENGTHS/NEEDS
This course has a very strong focus on learning about learners, and providing reading instruction that is responsive to the needs of students. This was infused throughout the course. Candidates learned about and practiced a range of teaching strategies for fostering phonological awareness, phonics, oral language, fluency, comprehension, critical literacy, deep reading of literary and nonfiction text. For example, they practiced analytic and synthetic approaches to teaching phonics—both with a strong emphasis on formative assessment so that they carefully noted the extent to which a particular approach was effective for different individual students. There were many examples of this kind of work in the course, so I don’t include all of my course PowerPoints, lesson descriptions, etc. However, in the table below I list a few examples of activities/assignments that require candidates to attend to diverse learners.
Evidence
Artifact 10 - Assessment assignment description
Activity/Assignment
Assessment assignment in the field
Candidates are asked to learn more about one child and his/her reading. This also includes inquiry into a child’s background, interest, family, strengths. Candidates make instructional recommendations based on what they learn in the assessment and in their interviewing/learning about the child.
Lesson plan assignments in the field
Candidates are asked to design and implement lesson plans in their placement classrooms. These assignments include a prompt for candidates to consider diversity in their classroom – a range of backgrounds and needs—and explain how the instruction they design in the lesson plan responds to this.
Field Journal prompts
The prompts for journal entries during candidates 400 block practicum engage topics like working with families, evaluating curriculum materials (cultural representations, accommodating for diverse learners, etc.), closely studying individual students, etc.
Student case analyses
Artifact 11 - Artifact Lesson plan assignment description
Artifact 12 – Journal prompt assignment description
Candidates created and read cases of students with a range of backgrounds and literacy interests, learning preferences, reading profiles; candidates analyzed these student cases and made instructional recommendations.
Artifact 13 - Case study instructional recommendation sheet (hard copy on display)