Post on 25-Dec-2015
The Future of Individualized InstructionJesuit Schools Network Symposium 2015Wednesday, June 24
@MrJohnDamasoBrophy College Prep | Phoenix, AZ
@MrJohnDamaso
About me
Agenda
● Class Size Myth?● Grad @ Grad and cura personalis● Individualizing the English classroom
o Vocabularyo Grammar & Writingo Active Reading
● The Future of Individualized Instruction● Discussion
The Class Size Myth?
We have become obsessed with what is good about small classrooms and oblivious about what also can be good about large classes. It’s a strange thing isn't it, to have an educational philosophy that thinks of the other students in the classroom with your child as competitors for the attention of the teacher and not allies in the adventure of learning.
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Grad @ Grad profile as cura personalis
Have you read the 92 subgoals?
Consider:
How does care for the whole person include learning outcomes that match an individual's strengths, weaknesses, interests, learning styles?
Ask the individual himself/herself!
FROM WIDE TRENDS TO INDIVIDUAL POVs → If you could alter our reading list, which book from American Literature would you remove and which would you add?
I would have been interested to read another Puritan type play such as The Crucible. I think it's an interesting work and it would have made my Puritan essay better than it was since we just watched the movie. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair I wouldn't want to specifically replace another book, on account of the fact that I enjoyed most of the reads. In terms of chronological placement it would probably go in place of Devil in the White City, but I really liked that book so I cannot say for sure.I personally didn't care for the Scarlet Letter but I can't really find something to replace. It's just one of those you "have to read." Personally, I woulld like to read Hemmingway, but that might dive into AP4. Not that these two books are related at all, but I would replace Black Like Me with The Art of Racing in the Rain. Of course one is an important social critique focused on racism, and one is a fictional story from the perspective of a dog, but it's great. I just liked BLM the least and this is one of my favorites. I liked all of the books that we read. I do not have a book that would better one that we read. I would go with To Kill A Mockingbird because I have not read it. I would replace the Devil in the White City/I would replace Pafco at the Wall with Uncle Tom's Cabin because I haven't read it yet.Anything to replace CatcherSadly, I really can't decide. I loved the reading of this course. replace Pafko at the Wall with a more interesting piece of Gonzo journalism (can't think of one off the top of my head, I'm not a Gonzo journalism expert)Take out The Scarlett Letter and add in another podcast like Serial.I would replace Devil in the White City with Kite Runner.To Kill A Mockingbird instead of Pafko at the WallI would replace the Devil in the White City with something more modern like The Fault in Our Stars.I would add Animal Farm. I read this novel back in 7th grade, but I feel like if we read it now during 11th grade, we would be able to really understand and dissect the hidden messages and themes in the novel. If I had to replace one book with Animal Farm, I would have to choose The Devil in the White City. I did not necessarily dislike this book, but out of everything we read this year, it was the one novel that I would be okay with replacing.I would remove A Streetcar Named Desire and add something by Edgar Allen Poe.I would add Invisible Man or The Color Purple and replace The Devil in the White City.I would change A Streetcar Named Desire and replace it with The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.Some of jack londons short novellas. I a not sure if he is American though. But if he is, those would be good classics to read.I was hoping we would read Bell Jar. We can probably remove Black Like Me. Even though the story was very powerful, it was not very useful in the essay because there were very few parts that related to the Summit.I think I would have replaced Pafko at the Wall with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I saw some other English classes reading that and it looked interesting, and I didn't get a lot out of reading Pafko for some reasonI wish we read a long novel by Hunter S. Thompson. I heard that other classes were enjoying the book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". I would replace "A Streetcar Named Desire" because I found it hard to make clear and good connections with the American Dream and all the things we were looking for. It was hard to actively read, and it was hard to find the theme and point of the book. not familiar with many American Literature worksGrendel, maybe. I would get rid of Great Gatsby. It is a great novel, but I feel like there are others "classics" that aren't as commonly read in English classes.I would suggest Sherlock Holmes, but I realize it isn't American-made. Otherwise I would try and add something that is more entertaining, similar to The Devil in the White City.Maybe replace a streetcar named desire with a WW11 book or a book on the Great DepressionFor Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, my Dad always says that's a good book. I would add another adventure book like Huck Finn and get rid of the catcher in the rye.Slaughterhouse Five I would replace Huck Finn with Crime and Punishment as an example of realism in literatureI would replace The Devil in the White City and add Flight I would add Grapes of Wrath and replace Pafko at the wall. Perhaps replace The Great Gatsby. It's a great book but I felt like a good number of people had already read it. Perhaps replace it with Lord of the Flies.Replace The Things They Carried with a differnt book from him.One book I would like to add is "To Kill a Mockingbird." I would take out Black Like Me and add in To Kill a Mockingbird I would choose to add Tom Sawyer before we read Huck Finn, because I feel that those two would go hand-in-hand and make for great compare/contrast assignments and extra analysis of Twain, one of the most unique writers I've read. I would replace The Devil
“I don't really know a lot of literature. Maybe something like The Odyssey? ”
“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for The Scarlet Letter.”
“How to Kill a Mockingbird.”
Individualizing the English Classroom
Vocab | Grammar | Reading
Individualizing the English Classroom
Vocab | Grammar | Reading
new words
incorrect answers
correct answers
a year later...
Individualizing the English Classroom
Vocab | Grammar | Reading
Individualizing the English Classroom
Vocab | Grammar | Reading
6 Reading Habits for Interrogating Texts (Harvard)
http://guides.hcl.harvard.edu/sixreadinghabits
1. Preview2. Annotate3. Outline, Summarize, and Analyze4. Look for repetitions and patterns5. Contextualize
Many ways to annotate the text
...and many ways to read
...and many ways to individualize communication
The Future?
How will you individualize instruction for your students? AND How will your students individualize their own learning?
Discussion
Questions for Roundtables
● How have you individualized the classroom?● What are the greatest threats to cura personalis in the
pursuit of individualized instruction?● How can we balance the empowering of the individual
with the fostering of community?● Can we over-individualize curriculum to the point at
which students no longer share a common experience of Ignatian education?
@MrJohnDamaso
And that’s the end! JohnDamaso.com