Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Chapter 4 Explicit Instruction in Comprehension

In chapter four Beers manages to put a completely new definition to the word explicit.  She could not have been any more explicit in her explanation of teaching in an explicit way.  She puts everything out there for you to see leaving no stone unturned.  As I right this I feel like it has a negative vibe to it, well that could not be further from the truth.  I am extremely glad that she went into such detail because with out it I can not help but feel like I would be lost.  It is confusing at times like when she started talking about "thinking aloud' she lost me.  I had a hard time imagining what she meant by that, but after rereading it a couple of times and paying attention to context clues, at her suggestion, I quickly caught on to what she meant and how this might help when dealing with explicit instruction, which is basically how she is teaching us.
Having this information come directly from a teacher is invaluable.  She is able to give us exact recreations from her own personal experience, what could be better.  The difference between transcript one and transcript three was a huge one.  It really showed how discussing this with someone more experience can change your whole perspective on teaching and learning not only for the students you teach, but for you as a teacher as well.
I found this chapter to be very helpful I hope the book continues to be this valuable, even though the topics can seem a little monotonous and repetitive at times, she still manages to keep it fresh and interesting.  Especially with this chapter and its interesting transcripts and insights into the teaching world.

1 comment:

  1. I think her explicit steps are helpful for when you first think about teaching reading strategies. After you get used to teaching them, you might be able to combine steps etc...

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