I am finding all the ideas in the book--as you just described this one,
Jennifer--"powerful." I have to admit that in the opening pages I was dismayed
by some of what I considered jargon and "made up" words ("agentive,"
"dialogic," etc.). However, I have moved past that response because so much of
the book resonates very (again) powerfully. Some have reacted strongly to
Johnston's "criticism" of praise, emphasizing he process rather than the
product or the producer when examining "work" has helped me understand the
rationale behind some of our "best practices" that have not always worked very
effectively for me. I think the kind of training and preparation he describes
in the chapter will give things like "reciprocal teaching" and paired reading
activities greater depth and meaning. The long-term value he posits I found
very moving and inspiring.
(PS: You have phrased your prompts very clearly and effectively; as you
reflected on them, which ones would you change?)
________________________________________
From: Mosaic [[email protected]] on behalf of
Palmer, Jennifer [[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 3:29 PM
To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group
Subject: [MOSAIC] Chapter four of Opening Minds
Are you all still interested in Opening Minds???
I know I am behind in posting prompts but each prompt has had only a little
bit of interest. Maybe I need to work on my prompts a bit??? :-)
I am going to try again with a prompt...please feel free to post your own
thoughts or prompts if mine don't work for you.
Johnston talks about the problems with person-oriented praise: "Saying I am
proud of you has the same effect as saying I'm disappointed in you. It's just
the other end of the same conversation." ...and then later adds on page 40
when talking about process rather than product oriented feedback "Trying is
more important than success." He states that process feedback is therefore more
important than praise because it gets students into the habit of explaining
successes and failures in the terms of strategy use--that it is less risky than
praising effort because sometimes even 100% effort is not enough.
These are some pretty powerful ideas... what are your reactions to these ideas?
What have you been trying in your classroom in terms of changing your language
and how has it affected your students???
Jennifer
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