CAPSTONE My journey through the Graduate English Education Program At Gardner-Webb University Nikki Cheek SECURITY Flexibility Structure Trust Consistency Surprises Foucault’s Discipline and Punish addresses the use of discipline as a social disciplinary tool in prisons and other similar institutions such as schools. When that institution is actually a classroom in jail, one can imagine the shift of power given to the authority. Discipline in Jail… 1. Teachers have the final say 2. Teachers can teach whatever they want without penalty 3. Teachers can dismiss students without explanations What does this means for the students? They are not individuals-they are inmates 2. They are not allowed to control their learning 3. They are forced to learn as dictated by teacher and institution 1. How did my studies at Gardner-Webb challenge those conclusions and practices? The Young Adult Library Services Association serves as a great resources for connecting literature and activities for students to the classrooms. For 2011 “Teen Tech Week” (March 6-12), sponsored by the ALA, the librarian and I collaborated on a lesson plan about Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman The original plan of students recording an optional ending to the story in the library flopped, but I was able to save it using the Book Talk strategy in which students give a quick glimpse of the book. Students acknowledged that teachers who show them that they care about them are willing to show that they care about their situation (“Transistion from an Alternative to Traditional School Settings” Konkol and Owen, 2004) Evidence of Standard 2 Daybook Entry Using Lippi-Green’s book, I am able to learn and analyze the use of language in my own classroom and what steps I can take as a Teacher to make my students feel comfortable as speakers. • According to Teaching English by Design, Smagorinsky encourages teachers to provide learning scaffolds so that the students will be in control of their own learning • Adolescent Literacy (Beers, Probst, and Rief, 2007) suggests that teachers make use of multi-intelligences to fit the 21 st Century classroom. *Assess students based on student intelligences The Rose That Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur Monster by Walter Dean Myers In a Conceptual Unit Plan the students were required to relate the lives of the authors and characters with their own. They chose how to assess shared common experiences. I was able to facilitate student learning through evidence- based practice Urbanski urges teachers to model writing and the thinking process while writing to students in Using Workshop Approach Albers and Harste “The Arts, New Literacies, and Multimodality” states that teachers should make connections between the digital technologies and the empowerment of literacy teaching and learning of English & Infusion of multimodal tools into an integrated set of courses in the classroom Teacher Student Using the research in order to problem solve how I can facilitate learning effectively in the classroom— especially in an alternative education setting. 2. Continuously analyze my classroom practices and support professional development that promote a successful classroom. 1. *This will be accomplished by applying related research and professional development knowledge to the classroom and myself as an educator as demonstrated in Standards 1-4. How did I come up with the question? -I would question my student’s actions in the classroom Why are they stealing books from class? Why is he telling me so much about his life on paper? Why does he want to research WWII all day? -Family, Friends, and other teachers were curious What do the kids do in class in jail? Are they bad? Are you scared? Are they really learning? As I researched, I began to understand my population of students better in reference to being in an alternative learning setting The research revealed to me practices outside of teaching that were or were not appropriate for my setting Asking students for the truth will reveal effective and ineffective classroom practices just as much as the research 2. Keeping a personal journal on the classroom for weeks allowed me to recognize different patterns within the classroom and with the students 1. I was able to conclude using my research for my research that it was more than me that influenced my classroom in a jail institution. -other students -detention officers -court dates -counselors -news from home or court Although I am an important factor, the jail structure ultimately determines what a student does in English class in jail Could a curriculum aligning to the Common Core Standards that prepare students for college and careers be created/implemented in alternative learning settings like jails? What would be the challenges in developing curriculum knowing that institutions parallel to jails have initiatives and interests that may possibly contradict those standards? British Science-Fiction and Fantasy Created a classroom sci-fi collection and requested book orders to be supplied to the library in order to expand Young Adult Literature selection in jail library Irish Literature Created a lesson that compares Irish culture to Southern culture in the United States World Literature-Caribbean women Gave me an appreciation to explore the marginalized and the other in classroom texts and practices Shakespeare Use Shakespearean villain or monster with a unit plan with Monster and The Rose That Grew from Concrete Used Hamlet in conjunction with Speak and Stuck in Neutral Allow students to explore their own learning. It is okay for the teacher to transfer control to the students to be assessed. Rationale and Purpose: Have a clear reason why the students are learning what they are learning and why it is important. Introduce the students to more. In order for the students to be innovative in the classroom, they have to model the teacher. Collaborate with other teachers and staff to give students a full experience beyond the classroom. Foster the student’s yearning for more. Point them in directions that will encourage learning outside of the classroom. Know your student population. Be aware of the challenges your students face in the classroom and at home. Know what they think is cool and incorporate and/acknowledge to make connections.